Paper 2 #2

Darius Hickey

11/19/09

Period E

Failures of the League of Nations and attempts at collective security were in fact the main causes of World War II. To what extent do you agree?

The claim that the failures of the League of Nations were in some way responsible for the outbreak of WWII can be largely dismissed. Alternatively it can be asserted that both poor economic conditions and the creation and rise of Fascism were to blame for the beginning of WWII.

Germany had suffered major economic problems prior to WWII as a result of the inclusion of massive reparations in the Treaty of Versailles. Having to pay both Britain and France a combined total of 6.6 billion pounds, all while having the most economically prosperous areas of Germany under French control proved to be a strain too large for Germany to handle. Steps were taken to reduce Germany’s debt, such as the Young Plan, which  reduced the total debt from 6.6 billion, to 2 billion pounds. While the Young Plan did help quite a bit, the most important plan enacted was the Dawes Plan in 1924. The Dawes Plan aimed to remove foreign troops from the Ruhr, along with ensuring a loan of 800 million marks to Germany from the United States. 

The passing of the Dawes Plan ushered in a period of economic prosperity in Germany for 5 years, until the United States, and subsequent World stock market collapse in 1929. The collapse of the stock market caused German inflation rates to sky-rocket. Overnight many Germans lost their entire life-savings, and unemployment and food shortages were common. Hitler used the sense of desperation in people as a way to gain power and influence. 

When Fascism was created in Italy in 1922 under the regime of Benito Mussolini, it served as a combination of totalitarianism and militarism. Fascist ideas soon reached Germany, and combined with promises of a return to former German glory, soon became the fundamental ideology behind Nazism. The glorification of the military caused a rush of weapons and soldiers to be formed in both Germany and Italy. With both countries armed and willing to go to war, it can be seen that war was in fact inevitable. Regardless of any sort of international interference, either positive or negative, from the League of Nations, Germany was hellbent on war, and its subsequent territorial gain. 

Some may argue that it was the failure of the League of Nations’ attempts at keeping peace that led to the outbreak of war, however when both Italy and Germany withdrew from the League in 1933, along with countries such as the United States and Russia not even being members of the League, it can be seen that the League of Nations and its members had not either demonstrated or believed in its own peace-keeping abilities, and as such didn’t even serve as a legitimate anti-war organization.