What Were The Underlying Causes of World War I: Chain Reaction of Events

Abstract 

In this essay, I will discuss what were the underlying causes of World War I. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was just one of the sparks that ignited the war, but the underlying causes were the different alliances between Austria-Hungary and Germany, and Serbia and Russia, which led to a chain reaction of declarations of war. These alliances, along with nationalism, protectionism, and the harsh terms imposed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I, contributed to the rise of the Nazi party and ultimately to the outbreak of World War II. The Great Depression and the resulting global trade reduction also led to the rise of fascist leaders and the use of nationalism to overcome self-interest, leading to the start of the war. The consequences of World War II were devastating, with millions of deaths, including six million Jews who were exterminated, and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Understanding the underlying causes of these wars is essential in preventing them from happening again.

Introduction

World War I started because of the assassination of Franz Ferdinand. Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and was killed by a Serbian secret society. These two countries had different alliances by the time. Austro-Hungary had an alliance with Germany. On the other hand, Serbia had an alliance with Russia. Russia had a treaty with Britain that stated support between one and another. Britain also had an alliance with France and Belgium, so when the Germans entered Belgium to get to the fastest route to get to Paris.

I believe the article Mapping the causes of World War I, states important facts about what happened in WWI but the main statement to this is the creation of a system which could help human evaluation. It focuses on what happened during WWI so that it can be a tool for future world leaders. By understanding of how it all started and some of the after consequences it gives us a perfect view so that we don’t engage in something like that again. As said by Korzybski “Each generation is able to benefit from the experience of the previous generations” (Mapping the causes of World War I to avoid Armageddon today).

The Great War had many consequences and actions many veterans took. It is seemed as “the end of the war” war but in reality in gave a lot more damage not only economically but physically for many people. Many demobilized soldiers manifested with social and political opposition and dislike.

Deaths totaled twenty-two to twenty-five million because of World War II. Poland lost more than 16 percent of its population and the Soviet Union lost approximately 14 percent. 11% of the population of Greece was killed as well. Other countries that lost at least 10% of their populations were Lithuania and Latvia.

Six million Jews were murdered between 1939 and 1945. This includes three million Polish Jews and nearly one million Ukrainian Jews. In terms of percentages, 90% of the Jews in Poland, the Baltic countries, and Germany were killed. More than 80% of Czechoslovak Jews were murdered. More than 70% of Hungarian, Dutch, and Greek Jews were exterminated. Approximately 60% of Yugoslav and Belgian Jews were killed. More than 40% of Norwegian Jews were exterminated. More than 20% of French, Bulgarian, and Italian Jews were murdered. (North 'The Causes and Consequences of World War II' 2019)

There were four major causes of World War II:

The biggest cause was World War I and its aftereffect. The Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh terms on Germany. The German government printed money to meet its high reparation payments and created hyperinflation. As Germans lost buying power, they looked for a solution. Adolf Hitler was a veteran. He blamed Jews for Germany's defeat. Germans welcomed his promise of a return to power.

A second major cause was the Great Depression. It reduced global trade by 25 percent. In Germany, unemployment reached 30 percent. Communism looked attractive. To block this threat from the east, the German government supported the Nazis. But Hitler betrayed them and assumed total power as a dictator.

The third cause was nationalism in Italy, Germany, and Japan. The harsh economic conditions made people turn to fascist leaders. They used nationalism to override individuals' self-interest to achieve their country's return to former glory. They advocated militarism to overcome other nations and take their natural resources.

Protectionism was a fourth major cause. Japan, an island nation, required oil and food imports to feed its growing population. The 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariff and other forms of protectionism forced Japan to consider military expansion. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria to acquire the land and other resources it needed. In 1937, it invaded China and attacked a U.S. gunboat in the process. The U.S. oil embargo in July 1941 led to the Pearl Harbor attack.

The war's early successes raised the Nazis' popularity with the German people. The war also distracted them from the Nazi extermination of Jews in Poland and other conquered regions. According to the Nazis, the war was being fought against Communists and Jews who were one and the same.

Around 80 percent of the Jews in German-occupied Europe were killed. Of the 6 million Jews, 2.7 million were Polish, and 700,000 were Soviets. The rest came from Hungary, Romania, Germany, Lithuania, Netherlands, Czechoslovakia, France, Latvia, Slovakia, Greece, Yugoslavia, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Estonia, Luxembourg, Norway, and Denmark.

Nuclear War

President Harry Truman ordered bombs to be dropped on Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. Around a third to two-thirds of the 330,000 Hiroshima residents and 80,000 of the 250,000 Nagasaki residents died by December 1945. There were 3,000 U.S. citizens in Hiroshima on that day. Deaths occurred from brute force, burns, radiation sickness, and cancer. In 2007, at least 226,000 survivors of the bombing were still alive in Japan. Most of these 'Hibakusha' suffer from radiation-related illnesses.

Truman thought the atomic bomb was necessary to force Japan's surrender. He wanted to avoid U.S. losses. The Air Force had bombed Tokyo and most other major industrial cities. The Navy had blockaded Japan's imports of oil and other important materials. Japan was concerned about fighting the Soviet Union. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945, and the war officially ended on September 2, 1945.

Allied forces controlled the countries and territories of the Axis powers. Millions of Germans and Japanese were forced out of the territories they lived in and sent back 'home.' The victors dismantled their former enemies' ability to make war by dismantling factories.

East and West Germany were divided, as was Berlin. The U.N. Partition Plan for Palestine led to Israel's independence in 1948. President Truman said it was a matter of justice for the Jewish people.

North and South Korea were divided, which led to the Korean War. The war led to a four-year civil war in China that allowed communism to take power. The Bengal Famine led to India's uprising and independence from Great Britain. Japan's occupation of the Dutch East Indies led to the formation on an independent Indonesia. U.S. war spending helped add $236 billion to the debt. It was a 1,048 percent increase, the largest percentage increase to the debt of any president.

After war broke out in Europe, the United States encouraged a conference in Panama for all 21 American republics. One of the first important naval engagements of the War took place in the River Plate off Argentina and Uruguay (December 1939). While such a statement had no standing in international law the support from all 21 republics helped it to maintain its course. It probably reflects the concern of the various governments. The United States Navy began what was called a Neutrality Patrol. The importance of it was an example it set for the Battle of the Atlantic. The United States declared a combined air and naval to impose a security zone.

Brazil cooperated in the Battle of the Atlantic, so they sent combat troops to fight in Italy and were preparing to send some additional troops when the War ended. The major Latin American contribution was to supply food and materials to the Allies.

The Cold War in Latin America marked the United States and its anticommunist against real and perceived Soviet authorities in Cuba, Chile, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and beyond. While America’s intervention targeted its ideological opponents in the Western Hemisphere, regional anti-communist regimes encouraged by Washington employed implements of repression against subversives real and imagined: politicians, innocents, leftists, and political parties, students, and workers carried the impact of these efforts, often with devastating effects.

Germany planned to attack the Panama Canal. The plan named Operation Pelikan could have altered the course of World War II. The Panama Canal played an important role in transporting US troops and military supplies needed to participate. It was thought that the destruction of the Canal would force the US military to go around Cape Horn in South America, which would result in an additional 14 days of traveling time.

The United States State Department officials recognized the vulnerability of the Panama Canal and considered it to be a high target for espionage. They knew that the Canal was not only critical for military purposes but for commercial purposes as well. Both the US Army and US Navy partook in defending the 10 mi (16km) path of the Canal Zone.

Spies and the potential for espionage were everywhere. It was known that as far back as the 1930s, Japanese spies took undercover photos of the Canal. These photos also included pictures of military defense systems. The US government suspected that the Germans wanted to take the Panama Canal for their own military purposes. One theory was that Nazis would plan an attack on US soil. This was unlikely, however, as the Nazis had already acquired landing strips in both Costa Rica and Colombia.

The United States created many relationships during the Cold War. They supported the regime in Chile. With the Soviet Union breaking apart in 1989, that threat disappeared. As a result, many of these regimes which the United States had tolerated for years became challenges for the new single global leader to contend with.

The invasion of Panama in 1989 is an example of the transformation that occurred under President Bush. General Noriega became a new target of American aggression after the sharp turn in the American attitude toward many of its former autocratic allies. In December 1989 Noriega was brought back to the United States and imprisoned. He was a major drug trafficker and a repressive leader, making him an easy target for the US.

As a consequence, there were about 3,000 Panamanian deaths, and caused damage all over the country. In December, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ended that the invasion failed to adequately prevent civilian harm, and placed responsibility on the United States for violating the rights to life, integrity, and security of the many injured and deceased in the invasion.

The Invasion of Panama is important because it was the first major American foreign policy move after the fall of the Berlin Wall. The invasion represented a change from a foreign policy emphasizing national security related to the Soviets. Bush’s invasion of Panama started a pattern of American intervention characterized by a failed democratic system that attempted. The invasion in Panama marked a new era of foreign policy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, World War I was triggered by the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, but the underlying causes were the different alliances and nationalism among the countries. The harsh terms imposed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I contributed to the rise of the Nazi party and ultimately to the outbreak of World War II. The Great Depression, global trade reduction, and the use of protectionism also led to the rise of fascist leaders and the use of nationalism to overcome self-interest, leading to the start of the war. The consequences of World War II were devastating, with millions of deaths, including six million Jews who were exterminated, and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Understanding the underlying causes of these wars is essential in preventing them from happening again. We must learn from the past to ensure that we don't repeat the same mistakes in the future.

Sources

1. Levinson, Martin H. Apr. 2005: (Mapping the causes of World War I to avoid Armageddon to day) from page 157 to 164.
2. North, David. “The Causes and Consequences of World War II.” The Causes and Conse quences of World War II, World Socialist Web Site Wsws.org Published by the Internatio nal Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), 31 Aug. 2019, https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/08/31/caus-a31.html
3. Warner, Natalie. “The Plot to Destroy the Panama Canal During World War II.” Coronado Concierge, 11 June 2018, https://coronadoconciergepanama.com/plot-destroy-panama- canal-world-war-ii/.
4. “Children in History.” Children in History, 17 Mar. 2009, https://www.histclo.com/essay/war/ ww2/cou/reg/ww2r-la.html
5. Lockhart, James, and Roger A. Kittleson. “Latin America since the Mid-20th Century.” Ency clopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Jan. 2019, https://www.britanni ca.com/place/Latin-America/Latin-America-since-the-mid-20th-century.
6. Williams, Mark Eric. “Latin American Research Review.” Latin American Research Review, Latin American Studies Association, 12 Dec. 2017, https://larrlasa.org/articles/10.25222/ larr.229/.
7. More information about the cold war: ”Events in Latin America During the Cold War.' Study. com, 20 January 2015, study.com/academy/lesson/events-in-latin-america-during-the-cold-war.html (Events in Latin America During the Cold War)
8. Murray, Graeme. “A Look Back at the Lasting Impact of George H. W. Bush's Invasion of Panama.” MIR, 16 Jan. 2019, https://www.mironline.ca/a-look-back-at-the-lasting-impact-of-george-h-w-bushs-invasion-of-panama/.