On September 3, 1939, Great Britain declared war on Germany. Two days earlier, on the 1st of the same month, Germany had invaded Poland, after being explicitly warned not to do so. Was this the only factor that led to World War II? Or was there a series of events, unfolding in canon, waiting to be triggered by this final act? – Was this just the straw that broke the camel’s back? In this essay, I will explain the four main causes of the war before analyzing them and identifying their order of importance in answering these intriguing questions. One of the factors that contributed to the outbreak of war in 1939 was the Treaty of Versailles. It declared that Germany must cede large areas of territory, such as Alsace-Lorraine, to neighboring countries and pay huge sums of money to the allies (mainly France) in reparations for the First World War. He also ensured that they took full responsibility for starting the First World War and imposed limits on the maximum size of their army and their possible military actions - which was intended to abolish any chance that a “Weakened” Germany comes to power and starts another war. . As great as the attempt was, it failed radically, provoking a new war on this then very unstable continent. This treaty upset and angered German citizens, harming them and their families. Germany had been in a great depression since the end of the war, and the money it had to pay to France was hampering its chances of ever recovering. There was hunger and starvation in the streets, people were poor and needed a great leader to guide them. When Adolph Hitler rose to power in 1933, it was because of his strong desire to overturn the treaty and make Germany “great” again. The Treaty of Versailles did a good job of casting a shadow of vengeance on...... middle of paper ...... due to this intimidation and fear, and distrust of Britain and France, he therefore signed the “Nazi-Soviet” agreement. pact” with Hitler – the last major reason why World War II broke out. Furthermore, as the Allies began to realize the extent of the wrongs Hitler was committing, after allowing them to grow, they could not simply stop him in his tracks as was possible if they did not didn't calm him down, he was too strong, and they let him gain strength. Appeasement meant that attacking with force would result in a full-scale war – with two strong sides. The Nazi-Soviet pact meant he had an ally. Thanks to the Nazi-Soviet pact, Germany not only had an ally, but also had the ability to invade Poland without fear of attack from Russia. Hitler saw his chance and invaded Poland because of his – and without the Nazi-Soviet pact, he might not have taken this step and the war might never have started..