Responsibility for the outbreak of war

In what way was Hitler to blame for causing the outbreak of World War Two?

Hitler claimed that the only way to make Germany strong again was to overturn the Treaty of Versaillesand take Lebensraum. Hitler also hated communism and wanted to stop it by controlling Russia (which would cause war) and his aggressive foreign policies required him to invade other countries

In what way was the failure of the League of Nations to blame for causing the outbreak of World War Two?

During the Abyssinian crisis, acts of aggression weren’t dealt with effectively, the League had no army so couldn’t create immediate action and showed that Britain and France would undermine the League on purpose, and its weaknesses were further showcased through the League’s failure in Manchuria

In what way was the Great Depression to blame for causing the outbreak of World War Two?

Desperate countries were too preoccupied with their own problems to support the League, leading to less international cooperation. Desperate people also turned to dictators often such as Mussolini and Hitler, which meant that the League couldn’t use moral condemnation on aggressive countries but more effective economic and trade sanctions were seen to be weak too as countries couldn’t afford the loss in trade

In what way was appeasement to blame for causing the outbreak of World War Two?

Chamberlain made a mistake in trusting Hitler so gave Germany the opportunity to grow in power, opportunities to stop Hitler were missed (such as the remilitarisation of the Rhineland), people all over Europe were desperate to avoid repeating the horrors of the First World War, and the Munich agreement alienated Stalin, who turned to Hitler and signed the Nazi-Soviet pact

In what way was the Nazi-Soviet pact to blame for causing the outbreak of World War Two?

It meant that Hitler didn’t have to fight a war on two fronts and gave Hitler much needed back up from Russia, allowing Hitler to invade Poland, which France and Britain promised to protect

In what way was the Treaty of Versailles to blame for causing the outbreak of World War Two?

It was too harsh on Germany, so Hitler promised to right the wrongs of the Treaty, Britain also felt that Hitler should be allowed to overturn parts of the Treaty so didn’t intervene to prevent events such as Anschluss at first, territory was taken from Russia to create Poland (who wanted this back so signed the Nazi-Soviet pact, and new states such as Czechoslovakia and Poland were created - this is where many Germans were living, so Hitler was determined to reunite these people in a Greater Germany