Western Civilization pp. 783-790

Causes of World War II 

I. General Causes 
   A. Aggressive Foreign Policies of German, Italy, Japan 
   B. League of Nations and its failures
   C. Internal Weakness of Britain and France 
        1.    Passivity and Aggression in the West, through 1936
        2.  An Appeasement History
        3.  Britain and France: A Deadly Appeasement
   D. Isolationism of the U.S. 
        1.    The United States, Depression, and Neutrality

II. Events leading to the War 
   A. Manchurian Crisis, 1931
        1. Japan against China, to 1940
   B.   Italy Abyssinia (Ethiopia) War 1935-1936
   C. Violation of Versailles 
         1.  German Secret Rearmament, 1934-5
   D. Remilitarization of the Rhineland, 1936 
        1. The Rhineland Crisis, French response
        2.The Rhineland Crisis , British response
   E. Spanish Civil War   1936-1939
   F. Anschluss/annexation of Austria
 G. Annexation of Czechoslovakia 
        1. The Munich Agreement, 1938
         2. March 1939 remainder of Czechoslovakia taken 
   H. Polish Crisis
    I. Non-Aggression Pact, Aug. 1939 /Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty
   J. Invasion of Poland, Sept. 1939 World War II Begins

Links

A.J.P.Taylor thesis Origins of the Second World War

Crisis and War in Europe, 1937-40

League of Nations.    brief