A very important cause of World War Two was Germany's treatment after World War One. The victorious allies imposed a humiliating peace on the German people including huge reparations that they were unable to pay and which crippled the German economy. Moreover, Germany's army was limited to one hundred thousand men who were denied any sort of offensive weaponry including tanks and planes. The injustice of the peace treaty inspired in the Germans a desire for revenge that was later exploited by Hitler and the Nazis.

The economic depression of the 1930s was a further factor in the advent of war as it created a situation in Germany where political extremism could take root. The German economy was devastated by the Wall Street Crash because the German government had borrowed heavily during the 1920s to finance national development. Once the money from overseas dried up the economy suffered and many millions were thrown out of work. This dire situation made the aggressive ultra nationalistic message of the Nazis very attractive to those suffering privation and want. When Hitler finally became Chancellor in 1933 Europe's fate was sealed and a second world conflict became virtually inevitable.

Yet another cause of World War Two was the failure of the western democracies to intervene in German affairs and depose Hitler. Both Britain and France had suffered huge casualties during World War One and they preferred to appease the Nazi dictator rather than risk a confrontation with him. The French and British could have destroyed the Nazi regime in 1935 when Hitler invaded the Rhineland, but failed to act. America had become isolationist during the inter war period and was not prepared to intervene in European affairs either.The League of Nations, set up after World War One to preserve world peace, was also impotent and could only condemn fascist aggression. By the time Britain and France acted over Poland in 1939 it was too late because Germany had rearmed and was once again the foremost military power in the world. The failure to put the brakes on Hitler in the 1930s resulted in a second bloody world conflict that cost millions of lives.

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