<P> Some long - term causes of World War II appear in the conditions preceding World War I - historians may see these as common causes for both World Wars . Supporters of this view paraphrase Carl von Clausewitz, seeing World War II as a continuation of World War I by the same means . In fact, World Wars had been expected before Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler came to power and Japan invaded China . </P> <P> Precursor events leading up to World War II included: </P> <Ul> <Li> the rise of Italian fascism in the 1920s </Li> <Li> Japanese militarism and invasions of China in the 1930s </Li> <Li> the political takeover in 1933 of Germany by Hitler and his Nazi Party and its aggressive foreign policy starting in 1936 </Li> </Ul> <Li> the rise of Italian fascism in the 1920s </Li>

What are the causes of world war two