Wars - The Results Lead to Further Conflicts :: World History

Wars - The Results Lead to Further Conflicts During the twentieth century, conclusions of wars created the conditions for subsequent wars. Whether it was the conquered or the conqueror, few ever remain content past an initial truce. Two examples of this can be found in the events that lead up to WWII and the constant conflict in the Middle East. The conclusion and consequences of World War I created many issues, which helped intensify World War II. The Treaty of Versailles, which outlined the restitutions Germany was to pay, was a major upset for the German people. Even though Germany lost the war, the German people's sense of nationalism was still alive and sections of the Treaty, such as Article 231 (the War Guilt Clause), fueled German anger. German economy was destroyed due to heavy reparations payments. The onslaught of the American Stock Market Crash caused a German depression. German resentment over the Treaty of Versailles stayed with the people for years until Adolf Hitler played upon the people's anger. Hitler's machinations eventually lead into WWII. Another outcome of WWI was the creation of The League of Nations. The victors of WWI wanted to implement a system of collective security, designed to resolve future conflicts using peaceful methods. Unfortunately, the League proved ineffective, which prompted leaders such as Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler to take aggressive action against their enemies. In 1936, civil unrest in Spain erupted into a war that further encouraged the beginning of WWII. Countries such as Germany, Italy and USSR lent their support without hesitation, whereas Britain, France and the US did not. This gave Germany and the USSR the impression that Britain and France were weak militarily and could be easily subdued. To many, this war was considered a training ground for Germany to test military tactics that would be used in WWII. During WWII, the US and USSR were forced to band together to defeat their common enemy, Hitler. This alliance foreshadowed post-war tensions, as there were disagreements over wartime strategy. Issues such as the Polish Question, spheres of influence, the Berlin Blockade/Airlift, NATO and the Marshall Plan, which were ultimately about communism vs. democracy, lead to military conflicts such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the Middle East, tensions between Jews and Arabs have been present since biblical times. When the Jewish state of Israel was created in 1948 in the Arab homeland of Palestine, severe unrest emerged between the two groups and the Palestinian War began.