The Origins of the Second World War

Seminar Studies in History

by Richard Overy

The book explores the reasons why the Second World War broke out in September 1939 and not sooner, and why a European war expanded into world war by 1941. The war has usually been seen simply as Hitler’s war and yet the wider conflict that broke out when Germany invaded Poland was not the war that Hitler wanted. He had hoped for a short war against Poland; instead, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Richard Overy argues that any explanation of the outbreak of hostilities must therefore be multi-national and he shows how the war’s origins are to be found in the basic instability of the international system that was brought about by the decline of the old empires of Britain and France and the rise of ambitious new powers, Italy, Germany and Japan, keen to build new empires of their own.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, School, World War II, Politics, International Relations, War

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Richard James Overy is a British historian who has published extensively on the history of World War II and the Third Reich.

Educated at Caius College, Cambridge and awarded a research fellowship at Churchill College, Professor Overy taught history at Cambridge from 1972 to 1979, as a fellow of Queens' College and from 1976 as a university assistant lecturer. In 1980 he moved to King's College London, where he became professor of modern history in 1994. He was appointed to a professorship at the University of Exeter in 2004.

His work on World War II has been praised as "highly effective in the ruthless dispelling of myths" (A. J. P. Taylor), "original and important" (New York Review of Books) and "at the cutting edge" (Times Literary Supplement.)[

Reviews

[Sasha Seliutina · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's DONE!!! Thank GOD!! This book tested both my patience and will to live, but most IB books do that. Regardless, don't confuse my blatant relief for hatred!! As far as history books go, Overy's was comprehensive, sort of interesting, and well-structured. I didn't mind reading it for the most part, since it explored World War II in perspectives that I had not previously considered. Nothing quite as good as reading the work of a systemic historian before bed. Puts you right to sleep. :)

[Piker7977 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Overy's best contributions are when he cuts through the "bull" and myth leaving objective conclusions about an event shrouded in partisanship. Similar to his short book on the Battle of Britain, The Origins of the Second World War is a small book that is rich in facts. The diplomatic viewpoint used in this study challenges some sensationalized rhetoric about the rise of the "have-not" nations and the decline of the Western empires. Hitler's militarism and rearmament programme was significant but no where near the capacity that contemporary romantics give it credit. Britain and France were trying to preserved their fading empires from the economic threat of free markets and the rise of the U.S. influence just as much as they were standing up against Hitler and Hirohito. Overy's treatment of Chamberlain is refreshing since it does not portray him as a coward but as a leader who understood by placating Hitler at Munich he was buying time for Britain to be appropriately armed by the time of 1939 when war arrive. There is no foolish idealism here or naive foreign policy. This is rational diplomacy that was eclipse by the bellicose presence of Churchill.

I enjoy reading Richard Overy and look forward to more of his books. This is a wonderful that is sure to spark debate in a classroom or conference of armchair historians.

[Mark Singer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to the subject, and was written as a college textbook. There is a thorough look at both the historical, diplomatic and economic forces that were in play. Overy concludes that there was no "one" cause of the war that broke out in September 1939, but rather a combination of Hitler's belief that Britain and France would not fight for Poland; British and French fears for their status as Great Powers; and Polish firmness. I would recommend this to anyone interested in the Second World War, and the book includes a brief, but excellent, bibliography.

[Noah Kidd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has its flaws. For instance, the paragraphs are exceptionally dense and occupy entire pages, making the book unnecessarily difficult to digest. However, this book does its job of explaining the origins of WWII so well that it deserves five stars. I read this book to gain a deeper understanding of the outbreak of WWII and I got exactly what I was looking for.

The author does an excellent job of dispelling the myths surrounding the start of WWII. While keeping the outsized role of Hitler's aggression in mind, Richard Overy highlights several other major factors that are generally overlooked. Roosevelt's appeasement of isolationist forces in domestic American politics certainly facilitated the outbreak of war. Britain and France's desperation to maintain their world-power status motivated their decision to intervene on behalf on Poland to a much greater extent than anti-fascist convictions. Italy became embroiled in the conflict not only because Mussolini wanted to build an empire, but because Mussolini feared he was being overshadowed by Hitler and wanted quick conquests to establish his parity as a fascist leader. Japan, meanwhile, believed that total war in 1941 was a big risk but a risk they would have to take to make a favorable future for the Japanese possible.

This book is well worth reading. At only 107 pages, it can be read in an afternoon. Its lackluster rating (around 3.75/5) does not reflect the quality of its content and probably has more to do with the frustration that is elicited by its dense writing and clunky formatting. I would strongly recommend this book to anybody who wants to learn more about WWII or modern history in general.

[Mark McTague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intended as a companion text to university courses on the Second World War era, this slim volume provides a rather thorough overview of the economic and political factors that led to the outbreak of war in September of 1939. Even if one is generally familiar with this period of history, the author describes the interplay of the above major factors (as well as social and cultural forces) that show how one must look far beyond any simplistic view of the war (Atlantic or Pacific) as the result only of the militaristic aggression emanating from Berlin and Tokyo. In fact, as Prof. Overy has stated, "Proper sense cannot be made of the origins of the war and its course and consequences without understanding the broader historical forces that generated years of social, political and international instability worldwide from the opening decades of the 20th century, and which eventually prompted the Axis states to undertake reactionary programs of imperial territorial conquest." https://lithub.com/the-many-wars-with... Thus he describes how the British and French empires (economic as much as territorial) were involved in the lead up to the war.

That he does this in a short 100 pages is testimony to his thorough grasp of his subject. An added bonus for those more serious readers (and doubtlessly designed for university study) is a 50-page appendix of primary documents related to the war. The text also has thumbnail portraits of major figures and policies in the margins of the text, making this quite useful as a course text for undergraduates, yet the general reader will also come away with a deeper and more nuanced understanding of this cataclysmic era. Recommended.

[Bill38silver · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seminar Studies series can be relied upon to bring out the issues in a reasonable succinct way and this is no exception. At just over 100 pages including useful bibliography and extracts from contemporary documents in an Appendix, this covers all the ground in a slim easy to read volume and points in the direction of more detailed study should you wish to delve deeper. Other reviews of this book contain the nub of the origins of the war so there is no need for further revelation of these here.

I enjoyed reading this book. Inevitably, comparisons with recent events in Ukraine sprang to mind as history, to some extent, continues its habit of repeating itself and of lessons not being learnt. The role of Britain as a significant contributor to events leading to the outbreak of WW2 came as a bit of a surprise. Not so easy after reading this book of Britain sustaining the moral high ground as to its role in WW2.

[Anas Taleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

HIST 302