Question

Identify the long-term causes of the Second World War.

Correct Answers:
Incorrect Answers:

1. terms of the Treaty of Versailles
2. international guarantees for peace and security after 1918
3. economic crises
4. virulent socialism
5. unbending defense of European national borders

Answer 1

Long-term causes: 1, 3, 5
- 1. Terms of the Treaty of Versailles — correct. Harsh reparations, territorial losses and the “war guilt” clause created German resentment, revisionism and political instability that helped fuel Nazism and aggression.
- 3. Economic crises — correct. The Great Depression and global economic instability undermined democracies, boosted extremist movements (fascism, Nazism) and encouraged aggressive expansion to secure resources/markets.
- 5. Unbending defense of European national borders — correct. Rigid nationalism, revanchism and disputes over borders/minorities (refusal to accept Versailles borders, irredentist aims) produced long-term tensions and incentives for territorial revision.

Not long-term causes (as phrased): 2, 4
- 2. International guarantees for peace and security after 1918 — incorrect. The problem was the weakness/failure of international guarantees (League of Nations, collective security), not their existence; that failure was a cause.
- 4. Virulent socialism — incorrect. Socialism/communism was a factor in interwar politics, but the key long-term causes of WWII are more commonly identified as aggressive nationalism, fascism/militarism and revisionist ambitions rather than “virulent socialism.”