Causes of World War II Hi this is ______, and ______, and today we are going to discuss the causes of World War II. The road to World War II really began at the end of World War I. World War I ended with the "Treaty of Versailles" - and since Germany lost the war - she received all of the blame for the war. The victorious allied forces claimed that Germany was the aggressor in World War I and that Germany should be responsible for all of the loss and damage caused by the war. The allies took away all of Germany's oversees colonies, limited the size of the German army, took away about 12% of Germany's land, and forced the Germans to pay billions in damages. The Treaty of Versailles of 1919 really beat up on the Germans and devastated the country. Because of the treaty - the 1920's were a tough time for Germany. And things got worse in the 1930's because of a global economic depression. The German people were hurting and desperately looking for someone or something to lead them out of their misery. Along came Adolph Hitler and his fascist (Nazi) party. Fascism proved to be a popular alternative to democracy. Fascist governments emphasized obedience to the state and its leader, they were not to interested in personal freedoms. Fascists also promised great changes and were quick to blame others for their own problems. This was an ideal situation for Hitler, who blamed Germany's problems on The Treaty of Versailles and the Jews of Europe. Hitler promised to win back the territory lost because of the Treaty of Versailles. He also promised to rebuild Germany and once again make it one of the most powerful nations in the world. The German people were quick to accept Hitler and his promises. They probably did not realize the extent of his madness and hatred. Hitler eventually tried to conquer the world for the German people and he also tried to kill all the Jews in Europe. As Hitler began to build his power and rebuild the German army in the 1930's - other European leaders began to worry. Hitler was breaking the rules of The Treaty of Versailles. British leaders tried a policy of "Appeasement" - where they let Hitler have his way. They thought that if they gave him his way for a while he would eventually stop building his army and trying to re-take German land. It was kind of like being nice to a bully, and hoping that the bully will stop. But Hitler did not stop. He continued to violate the Treaty of Versailles and build a massive German army. Fascism took hold in other nations as well. Benito Mussolini led a fascist government in Italy, and General Franco led a fascist government in Spain. Mussolini and Italy would eventually side with Hitler in World War II. Over in the Pacific Ocean, Japan began to flex its military muscles as they invaded and captured part of China in 1931. They also invaded Korea. The Japanese invaded China and Korea because they needed raw materials for their rapidly growing industry. Remember that Japan is an island nation with very few natural resources, so they needed to get resources from other nations. Japan also sided with Hitler and Germany in World War II. The League of Nations - which was kind of an early version of The United Nations - tried to stop all this aggression. They attempted to use discussion and diplomacy to avoid a future war. But Germany, Italy and Japan all withdrew from The League of Nations. Finally, in September of 1939, Hitler and his German army invaded Poland and began their attempt to take over Europe. France and England then declared war on Germany and World War II was underway.