CAUSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

ECONOMIC CAUSES

Regarding the economic context, we have to remember the crisis' impact of 1929. Facing the bussiness incompetence to resolve this situation for its own, it resorted to the intervencionist politics for driving the economy. Inspired in the economists' ideas, such as John Maynard Keynes, the state became the principal investor, the public expense increased and the economic situation started to improve gradually. Firstly, New Deal of Frankling D. Roosevelt and at the same time, the Nazi economy minister Hjalmar Schacht, that he also was a follower of these new ideas, did the typical in Germany. At the end of the 30's this public intervencionalism was multiplied, although not only in the way of services and infraestuctures (as Keynes defended) it is just that it was reorientated in another sense, towards the rearmament. The previous and simultaneous to the Second World War weapons race got to overtake definitely the crisis of the 30's and returned to the economic rise. The economy's importance to explain the beginning and the development of this war is something in which hightlight authors like Otto Bauer, Angelo Tasca or Guerin.

POLITICAL CAUSES

The hard conditions imposed to Germany in the Versailles Treaty, created the problem for the disseminations of the revanchist ideas. It was the key to understand the success of extreme right groups, like Nationalsocialists or Nazis. Although during the 20's some aspects of Versailles was softened, the general sensations among Germans was that French and English people had abused and han dealed with them unfairly. In Italy, they neither agreed with the Treaty, but for another reasons. The English and Frech people had not accomplished their promises with Italy and they had not achieved to anex the territories of Yugoslavia (the coastal region of Dalmatia). This was caused by the radical Italian groups that talked about mutilated victory and of irredentism ( incomplete Italian nation).

IDEOLOGICAL CAUSES

In both Germany and Japan nationalistic ideologies that spread, they justified the supremacy of these countries for their environment. In Germany and since the beginning of the nineteenth century there were authors who defended racial superiority and culture of the Germans as Fichte or Haushofer, is called Germanism. From this premise considered legitimate to its neighbors so it became a justification of expansionism and imperialism. Also happened in Japan, its industrial superiority used to justify ideas of racial supremacy. Its aim will create what they called "Asian co prosperity sphere" great Asian empire led by Japan without European colonial powers. These ideas of supremacy national and racial be fully assumed by the Nazis, who joined their strong Semitism, rejection of democracy and the defense of elitism and hierarchy born among men, which speaks Erich Fromm in his book "Fear to freedom. "

Racism joined pseudo science eventually leading to intellectual aberrations as "racial hygiene" or eugenics, ideological origins of the Holocaust. The importance of the ideological aspects in the rise of totalitarianism and you outbreak of the 2nd World War is something that include authors like Zeeb Sternell or George Mosse.

DEMOGRAPHIC CAUSES

The crisis of the 29 took place in a context of increasing population. During the 20's prosperity had led to a population increase, now the situation had changed and very difficult crisis to keep all this population. Neo-Malthusian authors consider that one of the reasons for the war was to restore the demographic balance.