Questions and Answers Essay on World War 2

Explain how World War II erupted.

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World War II began through a series of attacks by different countries, but the most pronounced war started with the prolonged conflict between Japanese and Chinese soldiers at Marco Polo Bridge in July 1937. According to Perry (2013), it was later fueled by Hitler's attack on Poland on September 1, 1939, that made Britain and France to declare war on Germany on September 3, 1939 (798).

What were Hitler's foreign policy aims?

Hitler had three main foreign policy aims that included destroying the Versailles treaty, dominating and exploit racial inferiors, and conquer and colonize Eastern Europe (Perry 792).

Why did the peace break down?

Peace broke down because many countries did not respect the peace agreements by the League of Nations and other treaties. For example, Germany destroyed both the Locarno Pact and the Versailles treaty (Perry 793). According to Perry (2013), the Versailles treaty limited the size of the German army to only 100, 000 volunteers, restricted the size of navy, disbanded the general staff, and forbade massive production of heavy artillery, military aircraft, and tanks (793). Germany considered this treaty as limiting the living space for the Germans, and restricting the realization of his foreign policy aims, so he sought to liberate Germany from such restrictions. Apart from that, the Japanese invasion of the Chinese mineral-rich province of Manchuria and Italian invasion of Ethiopia, among others all justified that these countries were not ready to respect the peace agreements laid down by the League of Nations (Perry 793).

What was the significance of events in Czechoslovakia?

According to Perry (2013), Czechoslovakia's agreements with both France and Russia for mutual assistance in the event of attack deprived Germany of the freelance attacks on Czechoslovakia (797). German generals believed that waging a direct attack on Czechoslovakia could trigger reactive attacks by France and Russia on Germany.

Why did war on a massive scale finally emerge as a result of the Poland invasion?

Poland invasion gave Hitler an idea that he could progress to conquer a more extensive section of Europe due to the slowness of reaction displayed by Britain and France to stop the attack even after declaring war on Germany. According to Perry (2013), Britain and France declared war on Germany yet none of them was ready to take up the direct military attack against it giving Germany a window of opportunity to expand its territory (799). Besides, the Nazi-Soviet Pact facilitated the division of Poland between the two countries, a kind of move that no nation expected before. The additional attack on Poland by the Soviet Union brought confusion on Poland and its allies giving them no opportunity to react. The defeat of Poland with limited reaction from both Britain and France motivated Hitler to proceed with his plans to wage war against Austria, Norway, Denmark, Luxembourg, Yugoslavia, and France all of which turned successful (Perry 799). Perry (2013) notes that consistent success boosted Hitler's morale to continue fighting even Britain and the Soviet Union (799).

Work Cited

Perry, Marvin. Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society. Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.