Causes of World War II

Though years apart, World War I was at least partially responsible for World War II. When the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919 to end the first world war, Germany was characterized as the loser of the war. Years later, in the 1930s, German pride was busting at the seams to have what they considered a misrepresentation of their role in World War I corrected. In their view, the Germans did not want to be termed the "losers" of the war since they did not surrender. The Germans were not signatories of the treaty and refused to acknowledge the veracity of the agreement.

By the mid-30s, Adolph Hitler had captured the rapt attention of the Germans who were suffering from the worldwide economic strife that had begun with the Great Depression. He told them he had the key to the economic woes of...