What were some events leading to World War II?

There were several events leading to the start of World War II. One event was the aggressive actions of Germany, Japan, and Italy in the 1930s. A second event was the response of the Allies to these invasions.  In the 1930s, Japan invaded Manchuria and China. Very little was done about these invasions. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia. There was no significant Allied response. Germany moved its military into the Rhineland in 1936 after rebuilding its military, which was in violation of the Versailles Treaty. There was no response from the Allies. In 1938, Germany took Austria. Again, there was silence from the Allied nations. When Hitler announced he wanted to annex the Sudetenland, a region in Czechoslovakia where many Germans lived, the leaders of Great Britain and France met with Hitler. They agreed to give him this land in return for a promise to take no more land.

Eventually, the Allies responded to other aggressive actions. Hitler broke the agreement, known as the Munich Pact, by taking the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939. After this occurred, the Allies told Germany if they took any more land, it would lead to war. When Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany, starting World War II.

Other factors were involved that led to the start of World War II. The people of Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, wanted revenge for the harsh terms of the Versailles Treaty. This treaty really punished Germany. Hitler played upon German nationalism, saying nobody should treat the German people badly, and he vowed revenge for the harsh terms of the treaty. Italy did the same thing. They felt they should have received more land from the Versailles Treaty. Benito Mussolini vowed to restore Italian pride, similar to the pride that existed during the days of the Roman Empire. Germany, Italy, and Japan also desired more land and resources. This was also a factor that led to the start of the war.

The Great Depression was also a factor in the start of World War II. Because of the terrible economic conditions in Germany in the 1920s, the people eventual turned to a totalitarian form of government to try to help them improve their conditions. When the Great Depression struck France, Great Britain, and the United States, the leaders of these governments had to concentrate on dealing with ending the Great Depression. They didn’t have much time to worry about what Germany, Japan, and Italy were doing. The average person in these countries was interested in surviving. They also weren’t very interested in what Germany, Japan, and Italy were doing in other areas of the world. These leaders of these countries weren’t in a position to do much about the actions of Germany, Japan, and Italy.

There were many factors that led to the start of World War II.