Preview

In What Ways Did the Causes of the Second World War Differ from the Causes of the First World War?

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1996 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
In What Ways Did the Causes of the Second World War Differ from the Causes of the First World War?
In what ways did the causes of the Second World War differ from the causes of the First World War?

The First World War (1914-1918) was the deadliest, most destructive war that had occurred in history up to that time; it was of a scale unknown to previous generations. Nonetheless, the Second World War (1939-1945) proved to be by far deadlier than the First One. Both World War I and World War II were total wars fought between the major industrial nations and their empires and both were wars of attrition, in which any means and weapons became justified in order to make the enemy unconditionally surrender. Understanding the differences of the causes of both wars is important to determine why two conflicts of a similar nature occurred under different circumstances and therefore be able to prevent other worldwide catastrophes of that kind. The long-term causes of the Second World War differ in some ways from those of the First World War: World War I was caused by imperial rivalry and rivalry over trade and markets while World War II was triggered by the impact the Treaty of Versailles had on the defeated nations; the alliances and treaties that existed between the Great Powers were another long-term cause of World War I, while the League of Nations was a cause World War II. The short-term causes of the Second World War also differ in some ways from those of the First World War: political and social unrest in the Balkans caused World War I, while the economic and political factors after 1929 caused World War II; mobilization led to WWI vs. appeasement that led to WWII; however, the Second World War was triggered by a unique short-term cause: ideology. Both World War I and World War II were caused by long-term tensions between the Great Powers of Europe: the impact the Treaty of Versailles had on defeated nations was one of the main long-term causes of the Second World War, which differs from the imperial rivalry and rivalry over trade and markets that were a main

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    World War Two is the cruel, black scar that marks the back of the Twentieth century. Etched out by dictators, genocides and opening of the Atomic Era, how did this fiery conflict erupt into the biggest bloodiest War on this Earth? After World War One the seeds of World War Two were planted through the unbearable burdens put on the German people from the infamous treaty of Versailles. With the rise of the notorious dictator Hitler, the German people thirsted for a new beginning. The Western World appeased Nazi Germany which sought more land and threatened war if it’s demands were not met and the Great Powers complied to try to prevent another fierce war, but the new dictator couldn’t be appeased and eventually invaded Poland, sparking World War Two. In order to liken the prevention of war the League of Nations should have introduced collective security to deal with the German aggression instead of appeasement.…

    • 1068 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Look at history. World War 2 occurred as a result of factors such as the Treaty of Versailles and the Great Depression.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    After World War I created instability with in Europe the stage was being set for another world war that would follow a mere two decades later. Germany was both unstable politically and economically and with the help of Hitler they were determined to get back on their feet. Hitler began rearming the country and signed strategic treaties with Italy and Japan in order to gain more ground on his goal of world domination. Hitler invaded Poland in September of 1939 and as a result Great Britain and France were inclined to declared war on Germany. World War II…

    • 2536 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War II was arguably the largest and most destructive war in history. It shaped the world we live in today and its shadows can still be found. Battles were fought on multiple continents, the air, and the sea. The many facets of the war have been explored by scholars and students for over 65 years. The many causes, the results and the importance of the battles won or lost lies in the eyes of the author. It can easily be assumed that this war flared from the cinders of World War I, but complexity of it expands from there. Similar to WWI, there were many conflicting situations leading up to the war, (Treaty of Versailles, Hitler and Mussolini’s actions, and failure of appeasement and the League of Nations) but Germany’s invasion of Poland set the wheels in motion (parallel to the assassination of Franz Ferdinand in WWI). This resulted in Britain and France declaring war on Germany in September 1939 (historyonthenet).…

    • 660 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    b. The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party) had greatly destabilized Europe, and in many respects World.…

    • 1292 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    WWI and WWII were the bloodiest wars to ever happen in the world. However, some countries the first war changed their side in the second. In this essay, I will discuss the similarity between the two wars.…

    • 171 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Second World War started in 1939 's. In the beginning it was a war only in Europe, but as the time passed on, all world was getting involved in it. Some countries weren 't happy about their situation and one of them was Japan. In this essay I am going to discuss why Japanese attack the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Japan getting stronger, about atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was Truman right to drop it.…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War Two can be likened in many ways to a massive mixing pot in which a (revolting) stew is brewing. You take a little bit of unstable economy, a pinch of the rise of fascism in Europe, a few slices of a major treaty that puts all of the blame on Germany for the first World War, and top it off with a nice bit of rising tensions between Russia and France/Great Britain. These ingredients all came together to create a war which killed between 50 and 80 million people and left much of the world in unrest.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The First World War, WW I, the Great War, and "The War to End All Wars", was a global military conflict that took place mostly in Europe between 1914 and 1918.1 WW I was a conflict between the Allied Powers (France, Russia, Serbia, Great Britain and Italy) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire). And then World War I began because of M.A.I.N., this stands for Militarism, Alliance system, Imperialism, and Nationalism.WW1 ended by the mean of the Treaty of Versailles which was constructed to punish Germany for their actions. This was possibly one of the main reasons which led to World War Two. WWII, or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict fought between the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers, from 1939 until 1945. Armed forces from over seventy nations engaged in aerial, naval, and ground-based combat. Spanning much of the globe, World War II resulted in the deaths of over sixty million people, making it the deadliest conflict in human history. The war ended with an Allied victory. In the next few paragraphs we will discuss why these actions taken by the victors after WW I may be solely responsible for the outbreak of World War II.…

    • 2977 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    World War 1 Vs Ww2 Essay

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Also the great depression period in nineteen thirties was another factor that played a critical role in provoking another war in the world. So the fact that World War two started due to the reasons than the First World War this makes these two conflicts distinct from each other. Fighting Tactics and technological advancements are another factor that makes First and Second World War distinct from each other. First World War was all about trench warfare while in the Second World War the concept of blitzkrieg or lighting war was introduced, where tanks, airplanes and ground forces were simultaneously used at the same time to over whelm the enemy. The first world war was the time when the concept of attack air planes and armored tanks were introduced but in the Second World War those concepts evolved and a new age of warfare was born. Also the end of the first Great war starting the beginning of another end because at the end of the war left disappointed Italy, ambitious/determined Japan and defeated Germany. This gave rise the dictatorial, centralized, and militarized regimes in Japan, Italy and Germany which all wanted to get to the world stage and become…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Great War Causes

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages

    World War I has short-term and long-term causes. The immediate cause of the world war was the assassination of Habsburg Archduke Franz…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    One cause of World War I was Militarism. Germany had an industrialized military and spent millions of dollars trying improve and prepare them for war. Many other countries seen this newfound competition and started to try and rebuild their armies and navy so they could keep up. With Germany’s new and improved army, they started to gain confidence and were convinced that they could win a war. Germany was very focused on utilizing their army. As soon as the war declared, Germany without a doubt didn’t hesitate to “make the first move.” This caused a problem however because of the other nations rush to industrialize their armies and try to make them just as good or if not better than Germanys. Militarism played a huge part in the cause of World War I.…

    • 359 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Desma Hamilton Mr. Wurdeman American History 6th 16 February 2016 WW2 World War Two is considered to be the deadliest war in all of human history. World War Two began because of anger over the Versailles Treaty, Hitler’s rising power, failure of appeasement, and failure of the League of Nations. The first reason behind World War Two was immense anger over the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed by the Allied powers, and Germany.…

    • 150 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Great War, or more commonly known as World War One, was one of the most important wars in history. It was the first war which involved the whole globe. It took place in Central Europe when central powers such as Germany and Austria-Hungary aligned with other countries in order to obtain more land. Most of the states which were controlled under the Ottoman Empire aligned with each other against Russia. Russia then began to ally themselves with other states such as France. World War One was caused by many things; but most importantly militarism, nationalism and imperialism.…

    • 593 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ww1 vs Ww2

    • 2180 Words
    • 9 Pages

    World War I and World War II are two battles that will haunt Germany and many other countries for years to come. When thinking about World War I, the Great War, my main thought is that it is the cause and reason for World War II occurring. Many believe that Germany was at fault for really just being in the wrong place at the wrong time during WWI. They did not want to clean up their mess of WWI and broke the Peace Treaty of Versailles which was the World’s only hope to ending all wars and creating peace. WWII came around and no one expected what was to come from the evil Germany. Who knew that various lives would be taken and many would not go home to see their families ever again. Everyone in Europe and Africa thought the trench warfare from WWI was bad, but the sprout of WWII would be far more devastating.…

    • 2180 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics