Introduction
First of all, arguing on the matters of the inevitability of World War II it is necessary to point out, that the causes of it take the roots at the end of World War I, the foundation of the Versailles-Washington system of international relations particularly. Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, which ended World War I. Therewith, the country had to cede huge parts of its territory, had to give up most of its military forces, and was forced to pay the enormous amount of 132 billion Goldmark as reparations. The so-called war guilt Article 231 stated that:
“Germany accepts the responsibility of Germany and her allies for causing all the loss and damage to which the Allied and Associated Governments and their nationals have been subjected as a consequence of the war imposed upon them by the aggression of Germany and her allies.” (Eubank, 2004)
Germany, as the defeated state was restricted in army forces, lots of territories were separated from Germany, which became the reason for the policy of appeasement in the late 30s. (Lee, 1997)
Discussion
The organization. Which was claimed to keep the world in peace – the League of Nations – failed to. It was an infant institution, which actually could not prevent the approaching war. Hitler’s ambitions towards Austrian and some Polish territories were so huge, that LN, with the USA at its head, started appeasing Germany, instead of imposing sanctions. At that time everyone realized, that this leads to war, but no one made a single step to prevent it. This can be explained by the two following assumptions: the parties either were afraid of Hitler, or they had their own plans towards his aggression. The first one seems to be incredible, the second – unbelievable. But both made the war inevitable
While the parties all believed in the necessity for war, there were no delusions about the charges in blood — at least, not originally. Even Hitler took note of the stillness of the Berlin crowds as their warriors marched to war. In Britain and France, there was definitely no celebrating when war was announced.
Participants in World War II did not have any optimistic anticipations about the consequences of this war at its eruption, in stark contrast to the prequel. Nevertheless, this war radically reduced the number of war-related victims within the states engaged. With something like 50 million dead, Europe and Asia in ruins, probably the dramatic decline in the struggle ought not to be astonishing. Human beings have some type of group memory and at the end of the war, the notion of war on this scale turned to be associated with self-obliteration. Peace was attained. And remembering the dead was a praise to the sacrifices made to attain this end. (Divine, 1969)
Conclusion
Actually, any war is started with the “honored” aims and with the promises of a better life to soldiers and their families. Hitler required the coal mines of Donbas and oil derricks of the Caucasus. Soviet Russia wished to stop the aggressor, and the Allies seemed to be afraid of rapid decisions, as the second front was opened only after Hitler’s defeat became obvious. Such an approach to the war made it inevitable.
References
Divine, Robert A., ed. Causes and Consequences of World War II. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1969.
Eubank, Keith. The Origins of World War II. 3rd ed. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 2004.
Lee, Loyd E., and Robin Higham, eds. World War II in Europe, Africa, and the Americas, with General Sources: A Handbook of Literature and Research. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997.