ORIGINS OF WORLD WAR 2

A Balance of Power

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POLICYOF

APPEASEMENT

JAPANESEAGGRESSION

ITALIANAGGRESSION

RISEOF

HITLER

GERMANAGGRESSION

FAILURE OF

LEAGUEOF

NATIONS

TREATYOF

VERSAILLES

CAUSESOF

WW2

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Treaty of Versailles – end of WWI• The main points of the Treaty [BRAT]  • 1.   Germany had to accept the Blame for

starting the war • 2.     Germany paid Reparations for the

damage done during the war. • 3.     Germany was forbidden to have

submarines or an air force.   She could have a navy of only six battleships, and an Army of just 100,000 men.  

• 4.     Germany lost Territory (land) in Europe (see map). Germany’s colonies were given to Britain and France.

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Land and Resources lost

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Failure of the League of Nations

• Not all countries joined

• The League had no power, but relied on member nations refusal to trade

• The League had no army

• It only met 4 times a year and was unable to act quickly

• The League of Nations was the brainchild of Woodrow Wilson. However there had been a change of Government in America and they had chosen to follow an isolationist policy

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How did WW1 HELP CAUSE WW2?

• Economy was bad in Europe• WWI killed a lot of workers and

customers• After years of humiliation and

starvation, Germans looked for a strong leader.

• Nazis promised to build up their army and get revenge for the WWI

• Germany escaped the Depression by militarizing.

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The Rise of Adolph Hitler-One People, One Nation, One Leader

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Why did German people support Hitler?

•   Farmers Higher prices for their produce - making up for all their losses during the Depression.

•  Unemployed workers Jobs building public works such as roads and stadiums.

•  Middle Class To restore the profits of small business and the value of savings.  To end the Communist threat.

• Hitler used the Jews and other sections of society as scapegoats, blaming all the problems on them

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Nuremburg Rally 1938

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Hitler’s Foreign Policy

• Hitler sought to unite the German people• “protecting the 10 million Germans living outside the

Reich”

• In 1935, Hitler declared that Germany was no longer bound by the Versailles treaty and began to rearm, and used the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39 as a training ground for the new troops. • Germany and Italy supplied Franco and the Soviet

Union supplied the Spanish republic

• In 1936, Hitler reoccupied the Rhineland, taking away the buffer zone between Germany and France.

• In 1938 he annexed Austria bringing about Anschluss or union.

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Ethnic Unity or European domination?

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Hitler announces the peaceful takeover of Austria

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Italian Aggression

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Fascist Imperialism

• Ø      Italy had a small number of overseas colonies (3) and wanted more

• Ø      Mussolini declared the Mediterranean Sea as “Mare Nostrum” Our Sea

• Ø      This would obviously threaten Britain and France’s trade routes

• Ø      To show his newly found power, Mussolini decides to invade Ethiopia in 1935

• Ø      Emperor Selassie appeals to the League of Nations but gets little support – the economic sanctions did not affect Italy

• Ø      It takes the Italian army of mechanized equipment 3 weeks to defeat the Ethiopian army of horseback and turn of the century rifles and swords

• Ø      The British and French decide to appease Mussolini through the Hoare-Laval Plan

• Ø      This meant “Take half, leave half

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Deconstruct this cartoon. What is its meaning?

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Identify individual aggressors, countries, trampled on. Note the significance of size in satirical cartoons

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Where were the Allied Powers?

• The U.S. had rejected the Peace of Paris and was caught up in the Depression; Russia was consolidating its revolution; Britain was caught up in the Depression; France alone was left to hold Germany down.

• Also, Nazi propaganda in the U.S. and Britain portrayed Hitler as the best check on Communist Russia.

• The British and French feared a new war and went to great lengths to avoid confrontation. France built immense fortifications, called the Maginot Line, but lacked the mobile strike force necessary to counter an aggressive Germany.

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Appeasement

• As a result, Britain came up with the policy of appeasement:• Giving in to Germany in the

hope that a satisfied Hitler would not drag Europe through another world war.

• They thought Hitler simply wanted a peaceful revision of the Versailles Treaty and that he could be contained through concessions.

• Czechoslovakia• A little over 3 million ethnic

Germans lived in the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia.

• British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain agreed to meet with Hitler to discuss the matter.

Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of England

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WHY APPEASEMENT (6 reasons)?

• Chamberlain feared another war. People wanted peace so....   • Chamberlain would not have had enough public support to go to

war. • Belief in the League of Nations to solve problems so...   • they did not threaten Hitler with war. • Britain too weak for war in 1938, needed time to re-arm so... • appeasement bought Britain a year to re-arm. • Treaty of Versailles was considered unfair so...   • many British people sympathised with Hitler's demands. • Chamberlain misjudged Hitler so... • he trusted Hitler's promises that Sudetenland was the last thing

he wanted • Fear of Communism so... • people let Hitler grow strong because they thought a strong

Germany could stop Russia.

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Deconstructing cartoonsMeaning, usefulness and

reliability?

Which countries are represented by the

bayonets?

What is the significance of the appeasement peg?

Identify the politician on the tightrope?

What does the tightrope represent?

Why are the words “ British prestige” written on the rope?

Who is represented by the knife carrier?

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What is represented by the small man, the serpents and the lollipops?

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Speaking too soon!

• "My good friends, for the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany bringing peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time...Go home and get a nice quiet sleep.”

Neville Chamberlain speaking after the Munich Conference

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Chamberlain and Hitler at the Munich Conference

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CZECHOSLOVAKIA: BEFORE AND AFTER MUNICH

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Czechoslovakia; Flashpoint!

• At the Munich Conference of 1938, Britain and France (not Czechoslovakia) agreed to the German occupation of the Sudetenland.• Deprived of the Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia could

not defend against a German attack. Hitler took Czechoslovakia in March 1939.

• The take-over of Czechoslovakia was different than the other conquests. This was not about German self-determination it was about hegemony or control of Europe.

• With the end of Czech independence, Hitler’s intent to dominate Europe was apparent.

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Aggression in Europe

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Choosing Sides in 1939Name the Allied and Axis Powers

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Poland ; The Final crises

• Hitler next turned his attention to Poland. He demanded the return of the city of Danzig and use of the Polish corridor. Poland refused and France and Great Britain warned that they would support Poland if attacked.

• On May 22, 1939, Hitler and Mussolini entered into a pact, promising mutual aid in the event of war.

• On August 23, 1939, Germany and Russia signed a nonaggression pact, giving Hitler the green-light to invade Poland.

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Aggression by Japan

• Japan is expanding in the Pacific in search of raw materials.

• Problems:• U.S. insisted of Japan’s withdrawal from China

• Japan’s alliance with Germany and Italy (Tripartite Pact)

• Negotiations over commercial treaty

• U.S. had broken Japanese diplomatic codes• Japan wanted Indochina

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Solution to Depression; Acquire an Empire

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The Pacific theatre

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Nationalism, Imperialism, Totalitarianism, Communism

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Allied and Axis military strengths

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Army Aircraft Ships Subs

France

Germany

USA

USSR

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• Most devastating war in human history• 55 million dead

• 1 trillion dollars

• Began in 1939 as strictly a European Conflict• Widened to include most of the world