Preview

To What Extent Were the Consequences of Wwi the Causes of Wwii

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1670 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
To What Extent Were the Consequences of Wwi the Causes of Wwii
To what extent were the consequences of WWI the causes for WWII

At the end of World War One, Europe was left in a devastating state, four major empires disappeared and the economy was profoundly damaged. The first global war had taken place and fear of a second one was strongly felt across the continent. In order to bring political order to European politics and to prevent such a catastrophe from ever happening again, the Paris Peace Settlement took place. The outcomes were the signing of the Treaty of Versailles and the foundation of the League of Nations in 1919. Despite the inherently weak attempts to prevent a repetition of WW1, twenty years later, WWII broke out upon the invasion of Poland by Germany. Although exploding from a seemingly unrelated motive, the origins of WWII can be traced back to the aftermath of the First World War. The harshness of the treaty of Versailles and the economic instability which WW1 was responsible for, lead to a series of events which heavily complemented by independent factors such as European foreign policy, accumulated and eventually exploded into The Second World War.

The agreements made at the Paris Peace Settlement were destined to fail as the Treaty of Versailles did not effectively manage to relief Europe from German threat. The orthodox historians view the settlement as being a failed compromise between the idealism of Wilson and the realism and selfishness of the European powers. Wilson had a subjective aim as he believed that peace was impeded by three elements: the selfishness of European Diplomacy, the tendency of larger powers to deny ethnic minorities self determination and autocratic regimes which ignored the wishes of the people. Wilson’s perspective was quite idealistic and encompassed high moral values, it was too unrealistic to follow through. His principles clashed Clemenceau as France felt that Germany must be demilitarized and he pleaded for home land security. Clemenceau wanted to eradicate any

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Treaty of Versailles has been said to be the most important, indirect cause of WWII. After Germany was defeated in World War I, they were forced via the Treaty to pay heavy reparations to the victors. Their economy could not take the pressure from the harsh reparations and it quickly fell…

    • 488 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wars are large and complicated affairs. The first word war was the product of many, many things. Although the war officially began on July 28th, 1914, it had been building up for a while. The beginning of the war was much like a domino affect. It started when Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On July 29, Russia ordered a mobilization only against Austria-Hungary in support of Serbia. The Germans threatened war on July 31 if the Russians did not demobilize. France then mobilized. On August 1, Germany declared war on Russia, and two days later, on France. The German invasion of Belgium to attack France, which violated Belgium's official neutrality, prompted Britain to declare war on Germany. World War I had begun. Nationalism, militarism, and imperialism all prompted the rivalry between nations which led to WWI.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    World War Ii Dbq

    • 2347 Words
    • 10 Pages

    After the deaths of 37,508,686 soldiers by the end of World War I, Europe was a mess. Countries had been dissolved and rearranged, governments had fallen and been replaced, and economies were thriving then crashing, all as a result from World War I. One of the main goals at the end of World War I was to prevent another tragedy like World War I from happening again. Clearly that did not happen, as World War II still happened, causing over 50 million deaths. The repercussions of World War I caused World War II due to radical ideology, bad economic conditions, and nationalism to the point of extremity.…

    • 2347 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • 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
  • Better Essays

    Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.” This was Germany’s philosophy after losing the war. WWI began on July 28, 1914, with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a secret group of people who originated from Serbia. Austria’s anger sparked World War I by declaring war on Serbia. This led to a chain reaction in which countries from all over Europe declared war on each, and resulted in the creation of two alliances. Even though WWI was supposed to end by an armistice signed between France and Germany, the war raged on due to poor communication. The war formally ended when a group known as the League of Nations created a document called the Treaty of Versailles in which Germany was not represented. This document was harsh to the Germans as it blamed the entire war on them and gave them a colossal, unmanageable debt under the war guilt clause. From a current standpoint, this was a very foolish thing to do, but the question is what parts of that Treaty led to the Germans to fight back? The Treaty of Versailles helped cause WWII because the Germans were unwilling to pay the debt, they felt very insecure, they wanted to regain lost territory, and most importantly wanted the restore glory for Germany.…

    • 1128 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    League Of Nations Dbq

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Treaty of Versailles brought World War I to an end. It was signed on 28 June 1919 in Versailles. The main structure in the treaty was for Germany and her allies to accept the responsibility for causing all the “loss and damage" during the war. The clause of the treaty stated Germany as the antagonist in the war and therefore made Germany responsible for making amends to the Allied nations in payment for the losses and damage they had sustained in the war. The Treaty called for the formation of a League of Nations in which the promise of mutual security would avoid another major world war…

    • 464 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    When the peace processes were to start after the finishing of World War One, there were four people who were major components in the treaty of Paris: Clemenceau, George, Orlando, and Wilson. Clemenceau wanted revenge on the German's by punishing them through the treaties because he believed that they were at fault for the war; George was in agreement with Clemenceau although he did not feel that Germany should suffer severe punishment; Orlando who wanted the irredenta to be re-established; and President Wilson of the United States of America wanted to create a mild peace with Germany in a fair way. In view of this, Wilson created fourteen points that he wanted accomplished in full as a result of the peace treaties. His fourteen points were his plan for a world peace and included plans for the end of secret treaties, freedom of the seas, free trade, arms reduction, the just settlement of colonial claims, the establishment of a League of Nations, and the evacuation of occupied territories and national self-determination. Many of his points were carried out in the Treaty of Versailles, although not all of them were successful or followed completely.…

    • 1282 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    05)I agree with the statement within the source that Clemenceau did not accept all of the aims of Woodrow Wilson. Source B clearly shows that Clemenceau did not accept Wilson’s 14 points plan put forward at the end of world one and the reference to Wilson’s demands being greater than god’s implies that Wilson was higher than god and of course people of the time would have thought it wrong for Wilson to have pushed further for the 14points plan as many people were religious. The purpose of the source was to make it clear that France was going to get what they ‘rightly’ deserved , which was revenge on Germany, as Clemenceau came up with some of the harshest rules within the treaty of Versailles. Source B also clearly shows that their were flaws in the big 3 (Britain , France , USA) . France wanted to punish Germany and make them take entire blame for the War , but Wilson wanted to give a more generous punishment to ensure peace was kept, Britain went for a middle sized punishment as they also felt crippled by the war as France had and therefore sided with France over USA.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prior to the First World War, Europe was the world center of industry and capital. Massive death, destruction, and resentment after World War I left most countries unable to recover to a normal existence and damaged the world economy. The economic collapse and the political instability caused by World War I eventually led to the rise of fascism in Europe. Forceful dictators in Italy, Germany, and Japan took advantage of these problems to seize power by territorial expansion. These events caused a major repositioning of world power and influence. This paper traces a variety of significant factors and forces that contributed to the outbreak of World War II.…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It was difficult to make a peace settlement that would please all the Allies because all of them had very different wishes and views on what should happen next. France and Britain disagreed with most of Woodrow Wilson’s views, as he was too idealist and believed in self-determination, the idea that nations should rule themselves rather than by others, whereas the other allies believed in imperialism, the opposite of self-determination. David Lloyd George did not want the treaty to be too harsh, fearing German revenge, and desired to keep the trade with Germany. Georges Clemenceau’s main aim was to cripple Germany so hard that it would never dare to try declaring a war in Europe again. Woodrow Wilson was the most idealist out of all the allies.…

    • 210 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    After World War I, Germany had been badly beaten and they felt like they were being punished because of their loss of the first war. That anger helped to fuel the Nazi partnering, and the election of Adolf Hitler. That is basically the start the World War II, but World War I was a different story. In Europe “the pot was boiling” and the heat of tension was rising, so when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated this set everything off. And the countries were now…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mass murder, a fight between good and evil, a war over resources, countries call to justice; these are usually the words we hear when we consider when we think of September 1st, 1939 and what became known as the tragic Second Great War or World War 2. The war officially started when Germany, under the influence of Adolf Hitler, introduced rapid militarization and a grasp for important resources seized control of Poland. Just two days after the fateful attack, Britain and France declared war on the Third Reich. Now as Britain was off to war, Canada soon followed feeling patriotic towards their once Motherland. As Canada went off to war, there were 2 groups that stood out in the debate for “Canada’s Call for Justice”. These two…

    • 883 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What Are The Causes Of Ww2

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages

    World War 2 was one of the greatest milestones in 20th-century history, involving more than 70 countries around the world. The war began in Europe on September 3rd, 1939, when the British and French prime ministers, Neville Chamberlain and Edouard Daladier declared war on Germany. The main Allied powers were Great Britain, The United States, and the Soviet Union, who had the goal of defeating the Axis powers, whose leaders were Germany, Japan, and Italy. The war was initiated by Adolf Hitler's invasion of Poland in 1939, and the war continued for years until the Allies defeated both Nazi Germany and Japan in 1945. The war was in many regards a continuation of the unresolved disputes from World War 1. The war lasted for six years and resulted…

    • 1604 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A sovereign state is a political organization with a centralized government that has supreme independent authority over a geographic area.[1] It has a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states.[2] It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither dependent on nor subject to any other power or state.[3] The existence or disappearance of a state is a question of fact.[4] While according to the declaratory theory of state recognition a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised states will often find it hard to exercise full treaty-making powers and engage in diplomatic relations with other sovereign states.…

    • 1546 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Impacts of First World War

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages

    When Great War started, it influenced the entire world policy and economy. Millions of people died and equal number of people became homeless. Big empires of 20th century fell apart and new small national countries were established. We can say that WWI caused a really big disaster, especially for country which was participant. But there are similarities and differences how it did effect. On different countries in the same way war had different influence. The example for that is Germany and Serbia.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays