Causes of World War II

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The causes of World War II have been given considerable attention by historians. The immediate precipitating event was the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939, the subsequent declarations of war on Germany made by Britain and France. The secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939 helped make the invasion of Poland possible by establishing German and Soviet spheres of influence in Eastern Europe and providing for the division of Poland; the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland on September 17. Many other prior events have been suggested as ultimate causes. Primary themes in historical analysis of the war's origins include the political takeover of Germany in 1933 by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party; Japanese militarism against China, which led to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the Second Sino-Japanese War; Italian aggression against Ethiopia, which led to the Second Italo-Ethiopian War; or military uprising in Spain, which led to the Spanish Civil...

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