There were profound structural
forces which undermined stability in Europe. In fact, the Second World War was
the continuation of the first. There was clear imbalance of power which had
existed in Europe since the unification of Germany. The war was a manifestation
of deep-rooted instability in Europe. To many historians. The second world war was not only propelled
by structural forces but human angle also played a role in bringing about the
second world war. For instance, no story of the origin of the war would be told
without particular reference to Adolf Hitter. In fact, some historians argue that it was simply Hitler’s war the post-war Nuremberg trials of Nazi war criminals
equally
admitted that it was
Hitlers war.
Generally, the
origins of World War II have been subject of controversy among scholars.
Most historians maintain that Hitler
and Nazi Germany were responsible for the war, that is their attempt in expand
German power in Europe.
Perhaps
the most controversial of the origin of World War II by a known historian is
that by A.J.P Taylors. The origin of
world war ii: in this text, Taylor
argues that Nazi ideology had nothing whatsoever to do with the second world war though
responsible for the evil of the gas
chamber.
However,
many reasons accounted for the outbreak of World War II
- German nationalism propelled the people to recover lost territories and regain people of German origin living in Austria, Poland and Czechoslovakia.
- German imperialistic desires were pushed by Nazi regimes ideology (fascism) which encouraged racism, nationalism and imperialism.
- There was a strong desire to forcefully expand the German state.
- German aggression was inflamed by resentment of punitive, unfair and unfavourable terms arising from the 1919 Versailles peace treaty. For instance, under pressure, the peacemakers accepted French insistence on the destruction of German armed forces and the loss of German territory (alsce-lorraine) a rich territory which Germany had acquired earlier following the Franco Prussian war, 1870-1871.
- There was the disintegration of Austro-Hungarian empires.
- Germany was denied entry into the international system as co-equal member. She was only admitted into League of Nations in 1926