Welcome to our podcast on the causes of World War 2. Today, we will be discussing the major factors that led to one of the deadliest wars in history.

The first major cause of World War 2 was the Treaty of Versailles, which was imposed on Germany after World War 1. The Treaty forced Germany to accept blame for the war and pay reparations. Additionally, Germany was not allowed to have a large military and lost a significant amount of territory. The humiliation faced by Germany under this treaty paved the way for the spread of ultra-nationalism in Germany, which ultimately contributed to the rise of fascism.

The second major cause was the failure of the League of Nations. The League was established in 1919 to keep world peace, with the aim that all countries would be members and disputes could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. Unfortunately, the League failed, as not all countries joined, and it had no army to prevent military aggression such as Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in Africa or Japan’s invasion of Manchuria in China.

The third major cause was the worldwide economic depression of 1929. In Europe, political power shifted to totalitarian and imperialist governments in several countries, including Germany, Italy, and Spain. In Asia, a resource-starved Japan began to expand aggressively, invading China and maneuvering to control a sphere of influence in the Pacific.

The fourth major cause was the rise of fascism, which promised to minister to peoples’ wants more effectively than democracy and presented itself as the one sure defense against communism. Benito Mussolini established the first fascist European dictatorship during the interwar period in Italy in 1922. Adolf Hitler, the leader of the German National Socialist (Nazi) party, preached a racist brand of fascism, and in 1933, he became the German Chancellor, establishing himself as dictator.

The fifth major cause was the policy of appeasement. Although Britain and France knew of Hitler’s actions, they thought a stronger Germany would stop the spread of communism from Russia. An example of appeasement was the Munich Agreement of September 1938, in which Britain and France allowed Germany to annex areas in Czechoslovakia where German-speakers lived. However, in March 1939, Germany broke its promise and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, and even then, neither Britain nor France was prepared to take military action.

In conclusion, the major causes of World War 2 were numerous, and they included the impact of the Treaty of Versailles following World War 2, the worldwide economic depression, failure of appeasement, the rise of militarism in Germany and Japan, and the failure of the League of Nations. These factors all contributed to the escalation of tensions, ultimately leading to the deadliest war in human history. Thank you for tuning in to our podcast.

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