The Second World War: An Examination of Failed Peace

The Second World War is a conflict that will be debated for as long as there are historians lurking about in the dark corners of research libraries across the globe. The war itself was brought about as result of numerous events spanning across the early years of the 20th Century. There is no single event that can be pointed to as the one spark that lit the fires of the European war machine. The true key to understanding why the continent went to war is the societal situations that were present in Europe after the First World War.

At it's end, the First World War the victorious allies took it upon themselves to punish Germany for causing the conflict. The war had devastated Europeans across the continent, and to validate their efforts the allies drafted the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty imposed harsh penalties upon Germany by requiring that they take sole responsibility for the war and to make reparations. Additionally, Germany lost its colonial empire and heavy restrictions were placed on their army, limiting the number of troops and equipment that could be present.

The treaty itself was designed in a collaborative effort between England, France, and the United States, whom were the chief powers on the allied side of the war. Each country had their own unique perspective of the war, and as such each desired to achieve different things through the treaty. Because of the varied degrees to which each country felt Germany should be punished, a compromise was reached; leaving neither of the three completely happy with the terms.

France lobbied for the strongest penalties. The bulk of the fighting had occurred in France, and as would be expected, it had caused an almost immeasurable amount of damage to French properties. The French wanted to be repaid for these damages as much as they wanted revenge. They feared that if left unchecked Germany would rise again and potentially dislodge France from its place as the largest power on the continent. Similarly, England also desired to impose harsh penalties as an act of revenge for the war which had cost them far too many young lads. There was not, however, the same will to cripple the German state.

The English wanted to preserve a strong and productive economy in Germany as a way to maintain a balance of power on the continent. England, which for a time had been the leading world power wished to maintain their position as top dog in Europe. If France were left unchecked they might rise above England; an unacceptable outcome for the British Empire.

The United States, under the leadership of President Woodrow Wilson, pursued a 14 point policy for a post war Europe. These points were designed to promote a lasting peace in Europe. They put forth defined guidelines for redistribution of territory and disarmament, but the crown jewel was the that the final point called for the formation of an international body for "affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike." Ironically, the United States would never join the League of Nations created by the treaty; Wilson could not convince congress to ratify the treaty. With the war over, and Wilson's dreams crushed, the United States went into a state of isolationism. The idea was to separate themselves from European affairs so as to not be dragged into another war in Europe if there was to ever be one.

In each of these cases you have countries where the population has tired of war. There has been a general out cry for by the world's population to never let this happen again. Yet, if an eye is turned to the negotiation table in 1919 Paris, Wilson is the only person actually trying to make it happen. The Allies, victorious in battle, had failed to realize the full extent to which the world had been changed by the First World War. Instead of acting for the greater good and working for world peace, England and France pushed hard to maintain their own assets, empires, and positions as the most dominate countries on the globe.

This attitude effectively dooms Europe to further conflict, because the crippling of the German economy and industrial sector can only lead to an economic depression in the years to come. The system of loans that development during the war only intensifies the problem by making sure that if one member hits a tough spot, the ripples would be fast and large.

As the great depression began attempts we made to alter terms of the treaty in order to regain some stability. Some attempts, like the Dawes plan, were mildly successful at returning Germany to a state of brief stability. However, once the depression hit its stride in the United States all bets were off. The United States, which had become a the largest creditor during the first world war, called in its loans, and Europe was put into an even great state of disarray; giving rise to nationalism and fascism across Europe.

The rise of conservative powers in depression era Europe is another large piece of the Second World War puzzle. The movement toward fascism between in Italy with Mussolini, specifically the beginning is attributed as March 23, 1919 a date on which Mussolini spoke in Milan. The Success of the movement in Italy inspired similar events across Europe, including the rise of Nazism in Germany. Fascism had its roots in nationalism and took heavy cues from the manifesto of futurism in that within the fascist doctrine war and violence was emphasized greatly.

Fascism succeeded in environments of civil unrest where the population could be controlled by fear. After the First World War Nationalists in the Italian populace were upset at the lack of any significant gains made by the country for it's participation on the allied side of the war. The final terms of the Treaty of Versailles did not grant the Italy the territory it had been promised. Cities outside of Italian control were full of Italians and this drove nationalists crazy. Their anger soon boiled over into a year long occupation of the city of Fiume by lead by Gabriele d'Annunizo. This turned d'Annunizo into a living folk hero and shook already low confidence in the official government which would go through five interactions between 1919 and 1920.

Mussolini took advantage of the unrest in his country and used to gain political power for himself and his moment. The man himself was an experienced journalist and had a marked talent for propaganda. Industrialists and middle class were terrified of a worker revolt and revolution; like the one that had brought the Bolsheviks to power in Russia. Using his talents he was able exploit the fears of these Italians to gain support. Under his guidance fascists attacked and beat socialists, and even went so far as to burn their head quarters to the ground. Fascists would march the streets singing songs of Italian pride to demonstrate their strength in numbers. The movement was given the appearance of being young and full of energy, and willing to do what was necessary to make things happen. Eventually the strength of fascism came to a point where groups of fascists seized cities in Italy, leading to Mussolini being asked to, as leader of the fascists, create his own government. Thus the first fascist government came to power legally, creating a government with a strong desire to bring about war in central Europe.

Nothing was done to stop Mussolini's ascension to power, despite one of the corner stones of fascist doctrine being that perpetual conflict is a necessity. The established powers of Europe believe that Mussolini had saved Italy from civil war, and were relieved that Mussolini was devoutly anti-communist. Fascist had temporarily brought peace, and the communists, it was thought, were the real threat to be concerned with. Soon though, the dynamism of the fascist movement would prove itself in conflict. Italy participating in fighting in Albania, aided in the Spanish Civil War, attacked and desired to occupy the Greek island of Corfu, over the death of an Italian national. However, most significantly they made war in Abyssinia, in direct opposition of the League of Nations. The fascists proved they're might to their people, and proved the inability of the league to perform its purpose.

The hostile acts performed by Italy span over the 10 years between 1923 and 1935. How was another great war to be avoided when Europe would not contain hostilities? The world failed itself, and at the same time set poor precedent which would be carefully observed by another fascist movement on the rise in central Europe.

Adolph Hitler came to power in the same way that Mussolini had; legally. As leader of the Nazi party he used German resentment of the Versailles treaty, and the dismal economic situation to paint a portrait of a Nazi party ready to change Germany for the better, fill the country with a youthful vigor and return it to a past glory that was not so distant. The Nazis to show strength behind there words would beat socialists in the street. Likening them to communists they used propaganda to make the middle class become fearful of a workers revolt. These were the same tactics that Mussolini had used years earlier, and as demonstrated in Allen's investigations; it worked perfectly.

Once in power, Hitler was able to time after time defy the restrictions placed on his country after the allied victory in the First World War. He rebuilt the army and began rebuilding the state as a perfect image of what could be achieved by Germans doing their best. Railroads and highways were built, as was a German air force which was once referred to by American aviator Charles Lindberg as "superior to all others."

Gradually, the fascist doctrines of war and violence began to manifest. Hitler marched his army into the Rhineland, and annexed Austria. Soon he demanded other territories and was given them in an effort to appease him. At any point the allies could have intervened and stopped Nazi aggression, but instead the major powers in Europe just allowed Germany to expand, hoping that eventually quell her appetite for territory. This method was implemented purely for self interest. As long as Hitler could be kept happy, a major conflict that would drain the interests of France and England could be averted. This inability to work outside their own interests once again worked against them, contributing direct to a full scale world war.

After the first world war there was a general consensus that it had been the war to end all wars. All sides had faced terrible horrors, suffered massive losses of life, and bankrupted themselves by participating in the conflict. After the war they declared, "Never again." Yet, selfishness on behalf of the victors lead to an inability to do the right thing and act for the greater good. There will always different opinions, but even at the core of the other arguments the mistakes of the allies linger and cast doubt.