UNIT: 5 CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR (1939–1945)
Key unit competence: To be able to explain the causes and effectsof the Second World War.
Introductory Activity 5.1
Based on the causes and effects of the First World War, make
a research on the internet or in the library about the causesand the effects of the Second World War.
Introduction
The Second Great War, also known as Second World War, took place
from 1939 up to 1945 and many countries of the World participated.
The two sides that fought were the Allied Powers including Britain,
France, USA and later Russia, against the Axis Powers including
Germany, Italy, and Russia.
This Second World War period witnessed intensification of military
conflicts all over the World. It also witnessed the use of dangerous
weapons and ended with weapons of mass destruction such as
atomic bombs. Modern technology was applied during the war and
it was also during this war that the World experienced the untold
catastrophe of Genocide which claimed the lives of about 6 million
Jews under the so-called “Final Solution” of the Nazis under AdolfHitler of Germany.
5.1. Causes of the Second World WarLearning Activity 5.1
1. Identify the causes of the Second World War.
2. How was the First World War is different from the SecondWorld War? Present the results findings to the class.
The Second World War was caused by a combination of the
following factors:
• The weaknesses of the Versailles Peace Treaty: The peacemakers
at Versailles were unrealistic and instead of creating peace they
prepared the ground for outbreak of the Second World War as
already explained.
• The Alliance System or military alliances: These were the three
Axis Powers (Italy, Germany and Japan) and Allied Democratic
Powers formed by Britain, France, USA and later Russia among
others. The Alliance System divided the World into two hostile
camps which created enmity, fear, mistrust, and suspicionleading to the war.
•The appeasement policy: This was adopted by France and Britain
in order to appease Hitler when he occupied the Rhineland
and Czechoslovakia. This encouraged Hitler to invade Poland
and when he refused to withdraw as demanded by Britain andFrance war broke out.
The weaknesses of the League of Nations: It failed to effect
peace since its formation. It failed to put an economic embargo
on the countries which violated peace. It also failed to condemn and
react against the aggressors of the time, hence resulting in war.
•The effects of the World economic depression of 1929–1933:
The dictators became aggressive by attacking other countries
partly as a solution to the economic depression. For instance,
the invasion of Poland by Germany.
•The rise of the dictators: The period between wars saw the
rise of dictators such as Mussolini in Italy, Hitler in Germany,
Franco in Spain and Hirohito in Japan. The dictators formedthe Axis Alliance and started an aggressive foreign policy
•The Spanish war of 1931–1939: This was a civil war between
the members of the Republican Government supported by
Britain, Russia and France and General Franco supported by
Italy and Germany. After his victory, Franco established a fascist
regime in Spain. The war created enmity between Allied and
Axis powers, increased prestige for Italy and Germany and gaveconfidence to Hitler to attack Poland.
•Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1st, 1939: After
the invasion, Britain and France gave Germany an ultimatum
of 48 hours to withdraw from Poland Hitler neglected theultimatum, leading to the outbreak of the war.
Responsibility for the outbreak of World War II
The blame for the outbreak of the Second World War can be
apportioned to Germany, USA, Italy, Poland and the Versailles PeaceTreaty.
Germany’s responsibility
• Germany started the arms race in order to challenge the
disarmament policy of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which created
hostility, fear and mistrust.
•Hitler created the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis to oppose and
destroy the influence of Western powers, which also created the
opposing Democratic Alliance.
•Germany under Hitler withdrew from the League of Nations.
This weakened the League of Nations, making it fail to preventthe Second World War.
•Hitler misinterpreted the appeasement policy as a sign of
weakness of the Allied powers and became aggressive. He
invaded Poland which was the immediate cause of the World
war.
• Germany rejected the ultimatum of 48 hours to withdraw fromPoland and the Allied powers intervened.
Responsibility of Britain
• The British appeasement policy towards Germany was a great
mistake. Hitler regarded it as a sign of weakness which made
him aggressive.
•Britain was a champion of the Allied powers which conflicted
with the Axis powers in the Spanish war.
•Britain was behind the unfair settlement of Versailles that forced
Hitler to become so aggressive and finally invading Poland.
•Britain was also involved in arms manufacture. This encouragedHitler to also join the arms race, creating a war atmosphere.
Responsibility of France
•France supported Neville Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement
that encouraged Hitler’s aggressive policy.
• France, under George Clemenceau, played a big role in the
designing of the unfair Versailles Peace Treaty which was one of
causes of the Second World War.
•France was involved in the arms race and the military alliance
system.
• France collaborated with Britain to declare war on Germany onSeptember 3rd, 1939.
Responsibility of USA
• USA refused to be a member of the League of Nations, although
the idea of forming this was initiated by US President Woodrow
Wilson. This contributed much to the weakness of the League.
• USA’s policy of isolation and protectionism caused the World
Economic Depression which caused enmity, fear and suspicion
among countries. This led to the rise of dictators who causedthe war.
• USA was involved in the arms race, and manufactured weapons
like atomic bombs that were finally used to defeat Japan during
Second World War.
Responsibility of the Versailles Peace Treaty
• It was signed in the Hall of Mirrors where the German Empire
had been proclaimed in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War.
This was a humiliation to Germany.
• It was signed in a vengeful mood on the part of the Allied powers
against Germany, and it was unfair to Germany.
• It was a dictated treaty on Germany which had no chance to
negotiate.
•It entirely blamed Germany for causing the First World War.
• It only disarmed Germany and not the Allies.
•It imposed unfair penalties on Germany in the reparations.
• It denied Germany her territories in Europe and in Africa, which
caused economic hardships in Germany.
• It created weak states around Germany that became vulnerable
to German aggression.
• It gave rise at a weak League of Nations which could not keep
world peace.
• It neglected the neutral and other small states like Armeniawhich were left to the mercy of Turkey.
Application Activity 5.1
1. Explain three causes of the Second World War
2. Summarise the responsibility of each country involved
in the Second World War. Then, name the first country to
cause the Second World War. Present your result to theclass.
5.2. Consequences of World War II
Learning Activity 5.2
Do the following activities:
• Compare the consequences of the First World War
with those of the Second World War.
•Make research on the best way to prevent war and human
suffering. Thereafter, present your findings to class.
•Loss of lives. It was estimated that 62 million to 76 million
people died, 45 million people were wounded and about 21
million people were displaced from their homes
• Massive destruction of infrastructure, especially in France and in
Japan due to heavy bombing of major cities
•Influx of homeless refugees. Most refugees were in camps of
Western Europe. Many of them were the Jews who were running
away from Adolf Hitler
• Formation of the United Nations Organisation in 1945 to replace
the League of Nations
•The production of nuclear weapons which up to the present day
have disorganised World politics
•The defeat and downfall of dictators in Europe like Adolf Hitler
who committed suicide on April 30th, 1945 and Benito Mussolini
who was killed by his own forces on April 28th, 1945
•Balance of power in the World changed because of the rise of
new super powers, USA and USSR
•The rise and growth of nationalism in the Middle East and in
Africa leading to the decolonisation process
• It led to the partition of Germany into two zones till 1989;
East Germany, known as Democratic Republic of Germany was
controlled by Russia; and West Germany, known as Federal
Republic of Germany, controlled by USA, Britain and France.
•Outbreak of the “Cold War” which was a non-violent
confrontation between the western capitalists led by USA andeastern communists led by USSR.
Role of Africans in the Second World War
• During the Second World War some 375,000 men and
women from African countries served in the Allied forces. They
took part in campaigns in the Middle East, North Africa, East
Africa, Italy and the Far East. In Asia, they fought in the Burma
Campaign, in the Pacific theatre against Japanese forces, in
the East African Campaign against Italy, and in the Battle of
Madagascar against the French Vichy Government soldiers.
•The Burma Campaign was the longest land campaign fought
by the British in the war. The British lost Rangoon (current day
Yangon) in March 1942 to the advancing Japanese forces. They
were forced to retreat and regroup. The fighting ensued, and
Japan eventually surrendered in 1945, but their surrender would
not have happened without reinforcements from the British
Commonwealth, largely comprised of Indians and the African
soldiers. The British did not have the numbers to go at it
alone, and the outcome of many war theaters would have been
different in the absence of African soldiers.
•In the British army, Africans made up about 100,000 of the
conscripted soldiers in the Burma Campaign alone. Most of
them were from Nigeria and Ghana, but some were also from
Sierra Leone, Gambia and other British controlled African lands.
• The British conscripted African soldiers from different parts
of Africa for the East Africa Campaign against Italy and the
German Motorised Company in the horn of Africa, and againstthe French Vichy in the Battle of Madagascar.
• British West African forces played a major role in the East African
Campaign: It was the motorized. Nigerian brigade of 11th African
Division that captured and occupied Mogadishu, the capital of
Italian Somaliland. Mussolini’s Italian forces had no defense,
as they had previously suffered heavy blows from South African
forces. The Nigerian forces easily defeated the Italians.
•While the British did most of the conscripting of African
soldiers during the Second World War, they were not alone.
Italy conscripted Africans too. Collectively, there were more
Ethiopians, Somalis, and Eritreans. The French also conscripted
soldiers from their African colonies.
•The role of Africa in the Second World War was also observed
in the manufacturing of Atomic bombs used by Americans in
Japan. Most of the uranium necessary for the production of the
bomb came from the Shinkolobwe mine in region of BelgianCongo.
Consequences of the Second World War on Africa
•The Second World War helped in the rise of African nationalism
which led to the decolonization of Africa. The legacy of African
World War Veterans was evident and important in the winning
of independence in different parts of Africa.
The returning ex soldiers brought awareness and consciousness.
During the war,
Africans worked alongside the Europeans, and found them little
difference from them. They had fought and killed Europeans in
the name of freedom and democracy. They had observed poverty
in Europe and savagery in warfare. Thus, their return added moremomentum to the growth of nationalism.
• The Second World War also helped in the changing of attitudes
of Europeans themselves towards their colonies. Allied forces,
especially France, were aware of its indebtedness to Africa during
the war. In order to ensure continuing African support, European
administrators were obliged to promise the social, political and
economic reforms in their African colonies after the allied victory
in the war. At a free French conference held in Brazzaville in
1944, De Gaulle promised a new deal for the subjects of the
French African territories. Some European countries became
reluctant to implement their promises. Thus, there was rise ofintensive nationalism.
•The Second World War also contributed to the rise of African
elites who played a big role in organising and mobilising Africans
for large scale nationalism campaign. In British West Africa, the
war years saw the posting of the educated in high administrative
positions and election to local councils. British colonial
administrators began to contemplate a time in the distant future
when Africans would be allowed some degree of self-governance.
Few ex-service men played a significant role in the leadership ofthe ensuing independence movements.
• Europena nations experienced economic hardships after the war.
Most of their economies were so badly ruined that they were not
able to continue running vast overseas colonies in Africa andAsia. They began preparing them for self-determination.
•The Second World War led to intensive exploitation or large
scale colonisation of Africa. Most of the European countries
wanted to revamp their ruined economies by increasing
qualitative and quantitative production in the peripheries. For
instance, new taxes were introduced, land alienation policy
increased, forced cropping in west Africa was practised, and
“grow more” campaign in Tanganyika intensified. All these
practices of exploitation awakened the Africans to fight for theirindependence.
•During the Second World War, some African soldiers lost their
lives. For instance, out of a population of 42 million in African
colonies of the British Commonwealth, 372,000 served in the
Allied cause and 3,387 of these were killed or reported missingwhile 5,549 were wounded.
• It can be concluded that African participation in the Second
World War was very important. Africans produced vast
quantities of food and strategic materials for the Allied
war effort. The impact of the war on the lives of ordinary
people throughout the African continent was, therefore,
unquestionably profound. The uncompromising Allies’
demand for manpower and raw materials introduced new
products and methods of production, altered labour relations,
inspired anti-colonial nationalism, challenged established
gender norms, and accelerated environmental change on anunprecedented scale.
Application Activity 5.2
1. Why did Adolf Hitler attack Russia in 1941?
2. With the attack on Pearl Harbour which region didJapan manage to control?
Unit summary
The Second World War broke out only 27 years after the end of the
First World War. It opposed two blocks: Allied powers against the Axis
powers. This War was the most terrible event that humanity had
experienced because of the use of weapons of mass destruction such
as atomic bombs. It was also during this war that the Holocaust or
the Genocide against Jews was applied and claimed about 6 million
lives. The war ended on September 2nd, 1945 with 76 million peopledead.
This unit analyses the causes, the course and the responsibility of each
country in the outbreak of the Second World War. Besides, it examinesthe consequences of the Second World War.
Finally, this unit ends by exposing the role played by Africans in
the Second World War and its impact on their continent, the most
important being the rise of nationalism that led to the demand fordecolonisation and independence of their countries.
Glossary
Ambush: the act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack
someone by surprise
Appeasement: political policy of trying to pacify a hostile country,
e.g. by granting concessions
Mercy: leniency and compassion shown toward offenders by a
person or agency charged with administering justice or a disposition to
be kind and forgiving
Pledge: promise solemnly and formally or Pay (an amount of money)
as a contribution to a charity or service, especially at regular intervals
Prestige: a high standing achieved through success, influence or
wealth etc.
Raking: scratching or scraping with a long sweeping movement
Rubble: the remains of something that has been destroyed or
broken up
Straddling: sit or stand astride of or range or extend over; occupy a
certain areaTap: Strike lightly
End of Unit Assessment
1. Discuss the causes of the Second World War?
2. Explain the reasons why the Axis powers were defeated.3. Identify the consequences of the Second World War?