WW II when did it really start?

Question

so germany was breaking all these versailles treaty rules and such...but europe was just like oh thats ok we dont want to fight....but when did they give up and decide its time to go to war? was it when germany decided to take over poland too?

Answer 1

It's obvious that you are not a "historian" by any stretch of the imagination. To be truthful with you, WW II started on 11/11/1918. The treaty of Versailles was not inforced by the "League of Nations" as it should have been. The "Great Depression" which began in 1929 devastated the world's economy. With this having been said, Hitler was a very charasmetic person who played on the German people's fears and their anger.

Germany began by annexing Austria as well as other Germanic counties that were broken up due to the Treaty of Versailles. His emphasis of German "nationalism" united the former empire, thus creating the "Third Reich". Poland was annexed (by invasion) in September of 1939 and this was the "last straw" for England. France was invaded in 1940 and quickly fell.

There was no one left to stand against Germany (Hitler) but England. Hitler then began his "blitzkreig" against England.

The U.S. entered WW II on December 7, 1941 due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the destruction of our Pacific fleet.

I could go on and on but, I don't think that this forum could handle much more information. May I suggest that you read some books on WW I as well as WW II and you will see for yourself the political events that lead up to the beginning of WW II. And of course you will find out that most of Hitler's conquests were to gather the raw materials that would have enabled him to conquor the entire world.

"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it". This is why we (U.S.) must oppose tyrinical governments such as Iraq and the terrorism that he (and others like him) would like to inflict upon The United States of America. Read, read and read some more.

Answer 2

Yep, the military action usually signals the declaration of war, ie, the invasion of Poland. Many things led up to the war, such as the Versailles Treaty, but the official start was the Declaration of War between Germany, Britain, France and Poland....

Answer 3

The date that is considered to be the official start of World War II is September 1, 1939, when Germany began their invasion of Poland.

Of course, as you pointed out, there were many events that occured preceding that date, but the German invasion of Poland was the proverbial last straw.

One of the great "what ifs" of history is what if the Allies, primarily England and France, had taken a stronger stance against Nazi Germany earlier in the decade, and not allowed Hitler to break the Treaty of Versailles and not allowed Germany to "annex" Austria.

Answer 4

Good points. The war was long in coming.

The European war did begin with the invasion of Poland. You could say it began with the seizing of the Sudetenland. Well, it could have begun at that point, since a sovereign nation was effectively overtaken by a foreign power. Some consider this to be a litmus test - postulate that Hitler was trying to gauge European reaction to his advances. If I remember correctly, there were alarm bells sounding at this point, especially in Britain and France, although neither wanted to do much about it, especially since the previous war had been so utterly destructive.

The invasion of Poland was really a "that's it" scenario. With an ally in Italy, a commitment of non-combatance from Spain (too busy fighting itself), and a tacit approval from Stalin, there weren't a lot of powerful allies left to keep the Axis in check. I'd argue it was a world war at that point.

Besides, WWI was a world war well before the U.S. or the Ottoman Empire entered the fray.

Answer 5

World War II started because the German government decided to begin on a campaign of conquest throughout Europe to give the German people leibensrealm (sp), or a living space. The German people were very upset and bitter about the harsh treatment they received at the hands of the French, especially, during the Treaty of Versailles, which ended WWI. The German government had to pay reparations that crippled it economically and caused ridiculous inflation. The invasion of Poland was simply the last straw. Germany had already taken over Czechoslovakia and Austria and it had been told that Poland was its limit.

Answer 6

yeah, sept. 1, 1939, when germany invaded poland, that was when the allies (minus USA) went to arms, thus signifying the start of WWII.

personally, if i had to place a date on the start of WWII, it would be November 1937, when Hitler assembled the "Fuhrer Conference" because it was there that he publicly came forth with battleplans against Europe. or even 1933, when the Nazi Party came into majority power. but that's my take.

Answer 7

the war started on september 1st, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.

Answer 8

Yes, that's when it started formally, but you can make a case for it beginning back in 1936 when Hitler came into power in Germany. For the U.S., we didn't enter the war until Pearl Harbor.

Answer 9

Dec 7 1941 Japan bombed pearl harbor, the US got in the war Then it became a "world war".

Answer 10

1937 or in 1939. The most commonly accepted date is either September 1st or 3rd, 1939.