What Could Have Stopped World War II From Happening?

There are several ideological causes which resulted in the outbreak of World War II in the year 1939. If these ideological causes had not taken place, World War II would not have occurred. The war lasted for a duration of six years, that is World War II ended in the year 1945.

The war began with the Germans fearing a communist insurrection taking place in Germany, like it had in Russia during the Russian Revolution. The rise of expansionism, which is defined as the doctrine of expanding the territorial base or the economic influence of a country, was possible because many European countries used their military aggression to exert their influence over the rest of the world.

If countries like Italy and Germany did not follow the fascist model of government and dictators like Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler did not try to control the society and economies of their respective countries by imposing stringent laws, the war would never have taken place.

There are a number of things that the West could have done in order to have potentially prevented the Second World War. Perhaps the single most important mistake on the part of Western countries occured at the end of World War I, when Germany was forced to pay massive reparations and endure a range of punitive measures thanks to the Treaty of Versailles (1919). The treaty was formulated in part out of revenge and a desire to ensure that Germany would never be powerful enough to start a Second World War. France was the most supportive of the harsh conditions contained in the treaty, while Britain and the US were somewhat more skeptical. Nevertheless, the treaty crippled Germany's economy, turned it into a pariah state in Europe during the 1920s, led to the development of the "stab in the back theory" among Germans and helped Hitler rise to power in 1933.

The policy of appeasement on the part of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain also helped Hitler ignite World War II, as Germany slowly strengthened its grip on East/Central Europe. A firmer approach on the part of the West may have either delayed, or perhaps even helped to prevent World War II. The West should also have stood up to protect Czechoslovakia from territorial dismemberment at the hands of an increasingly aggressive Hitler in 1938/39. Additionally, the 1938 Anschluss with Austria should not have been permitted. A firmer approach on the part of western leaders in 1938-1939 might have sent Hitler a message that his belligerent tactics would not be so easily tolerated.