Psychological factors

Appeasement

Appeasement is a strategy where, in exchange for continued peace, one party grants concessions to the other. Britain and France demonstrated this with the 1938 Munich Agreement, sacrificing a potent ally, Czechoslovakia. Appeasement not only gave Hitler what he wanted, but it made him confident that he could get what he wanted once again without provoking war. This turned out not to be the case.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Specific events

Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War was initiated by Napoleon III, who was alarmed at the rapid growth in population and concerned by the potential for a united German people. The Second Industrial Revolution - as well as nationalism - had greatly changed the European political landscape. This period was also marked by a relative decline in the strength of France, which would continue into the 20th century.
The Franco-Prussian War was a French defeat. The war ended with reparations and the transfer of Alsace-Lorraine to the newly unified Germany.

                                                                                                        more to ..... Franco-Prusian War

 

Causes through World War I

Many people view World War II as a continuation of World War I. Firstly, some believe that the Versailles Treaty, drafted at the conclusion of the First World War, failed to set up the parameters which may have prevented the Second.

World War I lacked a dramatically decisive conclusion. Allied troops had not entered Germany and its people anticipated a treaty along the lines of the Fourteen Points. This meant the German people argued that had the 'traitors' not gone and surrendered to the Allies, Germany could have gone on to win the war, however unlikely the reality. This peace proposal was largely abandoned in favor of punishing Germany for its alleged "war responsibility", an ineffective compromise that left Germany smaller, weaker and embittered, but capable of rebounding and seeking revenge.
Large groups of nationalistic minorities still remained trapped in other nations. For example, Yugoslavia (originally the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes) had 5 major ethnic groups (the Serbs, Croats, Macedons, Montenegrins, and the Slovenes), and it was created after the war. Other examples abound in the former lands of Austria-Hungary which were divided up quite arbitrarily and unfairly after the war. For example, Hungary was held responsible for the war and stripped of two thirds of its territory while Austria, which had been an equal partner in the Austro-Hungarian government, had its territory expanded.
The Germans had a difficult time accepting defeat. At the end of the war, the navy was in a state of mutiny, and the army was retreating (but not routing) in the face of an enemy with more men and material. Despite this reality, some Germans, notably Hitler, advanced the idea that the army would somehow have triumphed if not for the German Revolution at home. This "Stab in the Back" theory was used to convince the people that a second world war would be winnable.

 

Weimar Republic

The Weimar Republic governed Germany from 1919 to 1933. The republic was named after the city of Weimar, where a national assembly convened to produce a new constitution after the German Empire was abolished following the nation's defeat in World War I. It was a liberal democracy in the style of France and the United States.     

more to ..... Weimer Republic

Economic depression

The Great Depression resulted in 33% unemployment rate in Germany and a 25% unemployment rate in the US. This led many people to support dictatorships just for a steady job and adequate food.
The Great Depression hit Germany second only to the United States. Severe unemployment prompted the Nazi party, which had been losing favor, to experience a surge in membership. This more than anything contributed to the rise of Hitler in Germany, and therefore World War II in Europe. After the end of World War I many American industries and banks invested their money in rebuilding Europe. This happened in many European countries, but especially in Germany. After the 1929 crash many American investors fearing that they would lose their money, or having lost all their capital, stopped investing as heavily in Europe. Additionally, it has also been suggested that the economic downturn that struck Britain in 1939 influenced the decision to back Poland, knowing that this increased the danger of going to war. Interestingly, these conditions were a direct result of most of Central Europe, now part of Nazi Germany, dropping out of the international economy.

more to ..... Great depression

Italian Invasion of Ethiopia

Second Italo-Abyssinian War

Benito Mussolini attempted to expand the Italian Empire in Africa by invading Ethiopia, which had so far successfully resisted European colonization. With the pretext of the Walwal incident in September 1935, Italy invaded on October 3, 1935, without a formal declaration of war. The League of Nations declared Italy the aggressor but failed to impose effective sanctions.
The war progressed slowly for Italy despite its advantage in weaponry and the use of mustard gas. By March 31, 1936, the Italians won the last major battle of the war, the Battle of Maychew. Emperor Haile Selassie fled into exile on May 2, and Italy took the capital, Addis Ababa, on May 5. Italy annexed the country on May 7, merging Eritrea, Abyssinia and Somaliland into a single state known as Italian East Africa.
On 30 June 1936, Emperor Haile Selassie gave a stirring speech before the League of Nations denouncing Italy's actions and criticizing the world community for standing by. He warned that "It is us today. It will be you tomorrow". As a result of the League's condemnation of Italy, Mussolini declared the country's withdrawal from the organisation.

Spanish Civil War Scene during the Siege of Teruel, Spain, April 1, 1938 (A.B.C. Press Service)

Germany and Italy lent support to the Nationalist insurrection led by general Francisco Franco in Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government, the Spanish Republic which showed leftist tendencies. Both sides used this war as an opportunity to test improved weapons and tactics. The Bombing of Guernica was a horrific attack on civilians which foreshadowed events that would occur throughout Europe.It was the first clash among the fascism and the freedom in the field of battle. Also as the democratic nations like United Kingdom and France they were very weak and they did not want to help to the Second Spanish Republic before the fascism, for the fear of the snap of a war, that later to be.

Sino-Japanese War

Second Sino-Japanese War

The Second Sino-Japanese War began in 1937 when Japan attacked deep into China from its foothold in Manchuria. The Japanese captured the Chinese capital city Nanking (now Nanjing), and committed brutal atrocities in the Rape of Nanking.                                             

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Anschluss

The Anschluss was the 1938 annexation of Austria into Germany. Such an action was expressly forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles. Historically, the idea of creating a Greater Germany through such a union had been popular in Austria as well as Germany, peaking just after World War I; in the years prior to the actual Anschluss, many Austrians had lost interest. As such, the Austrian National Socialist Party and Austria's German nationalist movement became dependent on their northern neighbor. Hitlerian Germany pressed for the Austrian Nazi Party's legality, played a critical role in the assassination of Austrian chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss, and pressured for several Austrian Nazi Party members to be incorporated into offices within the administration.
Following a Hitler speech at the Reichstag, Dollfuss' successor, Kurt Schuschnigg, made it clear that he could be pushed "no further". Amidst mounting pressures from Germany, he elected to hold a plebiscite, hoping to retain autonomy. However, just days prior to the balloting, a successful Austrian Nazi Party coup transferred power within the country. The takeover allowed German troops to enter Austria as "enforcers of the Anschluss", since the Party quickly transferred power to Hitler. Consequently, no fighting occurred and Britain, France and Fascist Italy, who all vehemently opposed such a union, did nothing. Just as importantly, the quarrelling amongst these powers doomed any continuation of a Stresa Front and, with no choice but to accept the unfavorable Anschluss, Italy had little reason for continued opposition to Germany, and was actually drawn in closer to the Nazis. Austria ceased to exist as an independent state.

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Munich Agreement

The Sudetenland was a predominantly German region within recently formed Czechoslovakia. As a whole, Czechoslovakia had a large, modern army backed by a well-noted armament industry, and a military alliance with France. The Sudetenland region formed about one third of Bohemia (western Czechoslovakia) in terms of territory, population, and economy. It contained most of the huge defensive system (larger than the Maginot line) that represented Czechoslovakia's only viable military defense, well protected by the mountainous terrain. In order to build these positions, some land had been expropriated (with compensation).
Hitler pressed for the Sudetenland's incorporation into the Reich, supporting German separatist groups within the Sudeten region. Alleged "Czech brutality" and "persecution under Prague" helped to stir up nationalist tendencies with the help of the Nazi press. After the Anschluss all German parties (except German Social-Democratic party) merged with the Sudeten German Party (SdP). As a result, the SdP gained 91% of the German votes in 1938 Local election. Paramilitary activity and extremist violence peaked during this period. The Prague government resorted to increasingly violent means to suppress the separatists, and the antidemocratic measures that it resorted to only exacerbated tensions. Germany requested the immediate annexation of the Sudetenland.
Finally, in the Munich Agreement of September 30, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and French leaders appeased Hitler. The conferring powers allowed Germany to move troops into the region and incorporate it into the Reich "for the sake of peace." In exchange for this, Hitler gave his word that Germany would make no further territorial claims in Europe. Czechoslovakia, which at that time had already mobilized over one million troops and was prepared to fight to preserve its sovereignty, was not allowed to participate in the conference. When the French and British negotiators informed the Czechoslovak representatives about the agreement, and that if Czechoslovakia would not accept it, France and Britain would consider Czechoslovakia to be responsible for war, President Edvard Beneš capitulated. Germany took the Sudetenland.
In March, 1939, breaking the Munich agreement, German troops invaded Prague and the remainder of Czechoslovakia.

 

Soviet-Japanese Border War

Battle of Khalkhin Gol

In 1939, the Japanese attacked north from Manchuria into Siberia. They were decisively beaten by Soviet units under General Georgy Zhukov. Following this battle, the Soviet Union and Japan were at peace until 1945. Japan looked south to expand its empire, leading to conflict with the United States over the Philippines and control of shipping lanes to the Dutch East Indies. The Soviet Union focused on the west, leaving only minimal troops to guard the frontier with Japan.

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

Nominally, the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a non-aggression treaty between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. It was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939, by the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov and the German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.
In 1939, neither Germany nor the Soviet Union were ready to go to war with each other. The Soviet Union had lost territory to Poland in 1920 and would not tolerate German occupation of all of Poland. Although officially labeled a "non-aggression treaty", the Pact included a secret protocol, in which the independent countries of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania were divided into spheres of interest of the parties. The secret protocol explicitly assumed "territorial and political rearrangements" in the areas of these countries.
Subsequently all the mentioned countries were invaded, occupied or forced to cede part of their territory by either the Soviet Union, Germany, or both.

 

Attack on Poland On the first of Sept 1939 the German Army attacked Poland “Militarily” to regain it’s lost Territory. Tensions had existed between Poland and Germany for some time in regards to the Free City of Danzig and the Polish Corridor. Despite Hitler's proposals and the massing of German troops along the border, Poland stood firm. Britain and France signed alliances which guaranteed military intervention should Poland be attacked. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. The United Kingdom and France issued an ultimatum to withdraw or face war. Germany declined, and World War II began.

 

Invasion of the Soviet Union

Operation Barbarossa

By attacking the Soviet Union in June, 1941, Hitler enlarged the scale of the war, committing what today is widely regarded as a strategic blunder. Leaving a determined United Kingdom in his rear, in effect, opened up a debilitating two front war. Hitler also believed that the Soviet Union could be defeated in a fast-paced and relentless assault that capitalized on the Soviet Union's ill-prepared state.
A more recent theory goes that if Germany had not attacked, Stalin would have done so first, under conditions in which the massive Red Army could bring all its force to bear. This would have been a disaster for the Germans, as the Wehrmacht would lose the element of surprise and the ability to maneuver, which contributed to the military's ability to confront the Russians so successfully. Furthermore, the terrain of Germany's east would not have been favorable for defensive warfare, as it is flat and relatively open. Still, the view promoted by Viktor Suvorov relies on a number of assumptions, including the underlying notion that a war between the two powers was, for various reasons, inevitable.

 

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The Japanese Combined Fleet attacked Pearl Harbor hoping to destroy the United States Pacific Fleet at anchor. Even though the Japanese knew that the U.S. had the potential to build more ships, they hoped that they would feed reinforcements in piecemeal and thus the Japanese Navy would be able to defeat them in detail. This nearly happened during the Battle of Wake Island shortly after.
Within days, Germany declared war on the United States, effectively ending isolationist sentiment in the U.S. which had so far prevented it from entering the war.

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