Answer:
Introductory: Many historians today believe that some of the causes of World War II can be traced to World War I (1914-1918). Americans had fought in that earlier war to “Make the world safe for Democracy.” Those were the words and goals of President Woodrow Wilson (President from 1913 to 1921). However, the peace treaties that ended World War I seemed only to create in many people and governments, bitterness and anger that eventually boiled over and helped in still the inevitable beginnings of World War II.
Germany and its allies had been defeated in World War I. Germany was ordered to hand over one sixth of its territory and forced to pay huge reparations (payments by a defeated country for the destruction it caused in a war). After World War I, Germany suffered from high unemployment and uncontrollable inflation which made the German money become almost worthless.
There were numerous causes to the War itself; however, the most important cause in my opinion was World War 1 in and of itself. After the First World War, the actively involved nations were divided into two groups; the Allied Powers, formed by France, British Empire, Russian Empire, United States of America etc.
What events led to World War 1?
The immediate cause of World War I that made the aforementioned items come into play (alliances, imperialism, militarism, nationalism) was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary. In June 1914, a Serbian-nationalist terrorist group called the Black Hand sent groups to assassinate the Archduke.
Historic background discussing WWII
World War II began in Europe on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany on September 3. The war between the U.S.S.R. and Germany began on June 22, 1941, with the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
Broad statement about why WWII may have been inevitable
It was avoidable if there had been a consensus between Britain & France to confront Hitler, militarily, as they became aware of the massive German re-armament program - which was clearly not intended for “defense.” But they did not do so.
Why? In Britain there was a sense of “guilt” over the harsh & destructive terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), which Hitler exploited to the full.
Conclusion Paragraph
World War Two, the second major international conflict in a matter of decades, was nothing short of a wholesale assault on the ideals of civilization. This is not an exaggeration. Let us look at some of the numbers, which reflect the devastation. Worldwide, it is estimated that 70 million people died as a result of the Second World War. In Europe, the ratio of military to civilian deaths was also lopsided. The Dutch, in resisting the Nazi advance of 1940, suffered around 15,000 deaths. All told, the Dutch lost over 100,000 civilians during the war along with another 100,000 Jews. Poland was even worse off. The Poles lost a quarter of a million soldiers in a valiant attempt to slow the Nazi Blitzkrieg, but this was nothing in relation to the nearly two and half million Polish civilian death and the three million Polish Jews who died in the Nazi ghettos and extermination camps.
Explanation: