Mention any four causes of the Second World War.

(1) The harsh TREATY OF VERSAILLES, which Germans regarded as a dictated peace — the War Guilt Clause, crushing reparations, loss of territory and forced disarmament created a bitterness that Hitler used to come to power promising to undo it. (2) The RISE OF DICTATORSHIPS in Italy, Germany and Japan, whose aggressive and expansionist policies — Japan in Manchuria, Italy in Ethiopia, Germany in Austria and Czechoslovakia — destroyed the peace of the world. (3) The FAILURE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, which had no army of its own, lacked the great powers, and could not punish aggression — so dictators learned that aggression carried no penalty. (4) The POLICY OF APPEASEMENT followed by Britain and France, which let Hitler rearm, remilitarise the Rhineland and take Austria and Czechoslovakia unopposed; the IMMEDIATE cause was his invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939, after which Britain and France declared war.

Four marks, four causes, one mark each — and the four above form a chain, which is worth pointing out: Versailles created the grievance, dictators exploited it, the League failed to check them, and appeasement encouraged them further. Keep the IMMEDIATE cause (the invasion of Poland) clearly labelled as such, so it is not confused with the underlying causes. Each cause gains from a concrete example — Manchuria, Ethiopia, the Rhineland.