ABSTRACT
In the last twenty-five years, an enormous amount of material has appeared on the origins of the Second World War. Much of it has focused on the events of the mid and late 1930s, though in recent years there has been an upsurge of interest in the years immediately following the Paris peace conference of 1919, and in the mid 1920s. It is no easy task for students to pick their way through this daunting mass of material and to arrive at a clear view of the central issues involved in the outbreak of war in 1939. Not only are there hundreds of volumes of official papers and documents issued by various governments covering the period, but it is also the subject of some fierce controversies and historical debates. To be in a position to form a balanced historical judgement on the origins of the war, students need some knowledge of the different interpretations which have been advanced and of the nature of the controversies to which they have given rise.
