World War 1 and 2 Connections

Many in history tend to view World War I and World War II as two entirely separate events because of the two decades in between them. However, when studying Europe in the 1930s it becomes apparent that the two events are actually extremely connected and that World War II could even be described as spawning from the ruins of World War I. For example, in the aftermath of World War I heavy war debts, restrictions, and accountability were placed on the defeated counties, in particular Germany. Unreasonable solutions such as the infamous Versailles Treaty almost insured future conflict and unrest in the years to come. In addition, the ideological struggles, which had been the fueling factor of World War I, remained unresolved, and a newly popular Communist and violent Fascist ideologies emerged from the ashes. From a political standpoint there was little to no gray area for personal preference and people were often socially branded as belonging to one ideology or another. Unfortunately these ideologies were not shades of opinion, but rather served as blueprints for life. In effect, conflict resulting from rivaling groups was rampant in nearly every European country during the 1930s and served as a prelude and connecting point for the Second Great War.

Furthermore, in order to truly understand the character and content of the 1930s one must first realize it followed the hostility of World War I. Certainly it would be a grave error not to realize that after such a colossal event, the people, politics, and even culture of Europe had been reshaped in a remarkable way. As a result, many had become brutalized to a type of violence not often seen by previous generations. Some new tools associated of this violence included; rhetorical violence, which often led to actual violence as later illustrated, war time acts, such as the marshal law implemented in Austria, and the development of the Fascist and Communist parties, which further proved to complicate the political scene of...