Class notes
Origins of the Second World War
- Course
- World War 2 (HIST430)
- Institution
- University Of The Fraser Valley (UFV)
The introduction to the Second World War and its beginnings
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Origins of the Second World War in EuropeThis is not a Lecture Course…
● Hist 420 is not a lecture driven course. Your readings and the discussions and
assignments that flow from these readings are what should guide and define the course
● However, I will provide power point presentations, with some audio overlays, each week
to offer some thoughts about the content
● READ!
Narratives, Questions and Constructed Answers
● The “story” of the past is constructed
● We try to reconstruct the past but we make decisions about what to include
● Let’s see what decisions we might make about this very familiar subject…
● Historians are making choices which are decisions they are making, making history
dynamic and constantly allowing for more stories to be told.
● History is not a static narrative
● Interested in the origins of wars because of the horrific outcomes
● Youtube Video: The Fallen of World War 2
When?
● In what year did the Second World War begin?
● Go on, have a guess…
● Many choose 1939 (European), more broadly 1931 or 1937 (Japan or China)
● 1936: Spanish Civil War
● 1940: Norway, Belgium and North Africa
● 1941: Outbreak of war in the East against Russia (Great Patriotic War: 1941-1945)
● United States involved in the war by sending materials but formally involved in Dec 7,
1941 (Attack on Pearl Harbor) but waited until Dec 11, 1941 when Russia declared war
● Longer term origins: 1918- end of World War 1
● War might be linked to the creation of Germany in 1871
● History is an alive process and where you start your narratives demonstrates that
Origins
● Early dates puts the Second World War into a broader narrative
● In Europe this was a context of instability and revisionism not just in Germany but around
the continent
● Is war what Europeans did (do)?
● In Japan it was also about growth and challenging the status quo
● The war was built into the diplomatic systems and could be linked to World War 1 and it’s
end
● Are large continental wars simply what Europeans do to each other? There seems to be
a cycle of large wars roughly every 50 years
● Or more linked to Germany, created in 1871 as a nation state, a late comer to the power
club and pushed international relations and other powers trying to attain what countries
like Britain and France had.
Causes
, ● More recent dates imply shorter-term causes, individual decisions, and war escalation
local, to regional, to global
● Smaller conflicts can easily escalate
● No distinct set of origins but rather an accumulation of smaller conflicts resulting in a
larger war
● Caused the death of so many people that there feels to be a need to see a clear cause
The European War
● So… Hitler did it… right?
● When we look at the start of the war Hitler is not as in control as it seems.
● When Hitler invaded Poland on Sept 1, 1939, France and Britain declared war it showed
that there was other powers
● Revisions to the Treaty of Versaille of 1919 Britain was active and France was passive
but allowed for the change to happen that was suppose to control Germany
● League of Nations, a failed institution, allows for war to occur?
● America not choose to interfere in the global system?
● Asking does not mean we diminish the role Hitler had in the origins of the Second World
War
Revisionist History
● A.J.P. Taylor, The Origins of the Second World War (1961)
● Germany at fault but they were part of strong forces of continuity in European history to
which the French acquiesced and the British contributed: Chamberlain also a significant
actor.
● So… context and individuals (and institutions) interact in the past to build our story
● He put emphasis on context and European diplomacy. Hitler was less special and more
reactive to circumstance
● Neville Chamberlain and saw the international system as fundamentally flawed
● Europe was entering another one of those wars (30 years war)
● Few were happy with the 1919 treaties
● Lacked the clear cut villains
● Systems were more important to Taylor
● His work was not as sound as subsequent historians would find but forces us to question
the interaction between individuals and systems
Narratives, Long and Short Term Perspectives
● Germany and Japan in context: seeking power in a changing global environment
Post-Great War Germany
● Germany came into existence in 1871
● Empire was the definition of power
● Germany had a young population and was rapidly industrializing
● First establishing its security in Europe and then building itself an empire would be
challenging in Europe
● Germany’s role in the origins in World War 1 and the origins in the Second World War
are linked
● Hitler’s agenda was not that much different that other institutions in the state since the
time of it conception
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