Transcript Causes of the war

Steps to war
The League of Nations
 Purpose
to make the First World War
truly the “War to End All Wars”
 Inability to prevent another war can
be traced to the failure of the League
 Idea to maintain collective security
through discussion and diplomacy
 No chance of success: US refused to
join and other nations gave little
support
The Manchurian Crisis - 1931
 Japan
invaded the Chinese province
of Manchuria
 China appealed to the League for
help – no one was prepared to act
 Most nations firmly in grip of Great
Depression
Invasion of Abyssinia - 1935
 Mussolini
of Italy had noted the
League’s unwillingness to act
 War involved Italian tanks against
Abyssinian spears
 World-wide public outrage, but no
intervention
 Boycott on some goods, not oil
Formation of the Axis Powers 1937
 For
protection against Soviet forces
in Manchuria, Japan signed the antiComintern (world-wide Communist
movement lead by the USSR) Pact
with Germany
 In 1937, Italy joined creating the
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
Lebensraum
 Living
space for the German people
 Hitler demanded Anschluss
(unification of Austria and other
German speaking territories with
Germany)
 Occupation of the Saar Valley,
Remilitarization of the Rhineland,
annexation of Austria
 Neither of the Allies responded
Munich Pact and Appeasement 1938
Appeasement – policy of satisfying Hitler’s
demands
 Favoured by British prime minister Neville
Chamberlain and Canadian prime minister
King
 At the Munich Conference, Chamberlain
agreed to German occupation of the
Sudetenland if Hitler promised to leave
the rest of Czechoslovakia

Neville Chamberlain
 “I
Believe it is Peace for Our Time”
William Lyon Mackenzie King

"He smiled very pleasantly, and indeed
had a sort of appealing and affectionate
look in his eyes. My sizing up of the man
as I sat and talked with him was that he is
really one who truly loves his fellow man
and his country ... his eyes impressed me
most of all. There was a liquid quality
about them which indicated keen
perception and profound sympathy (calm,
composed) - and one could see how
particularly humble folk would come to
have a profound love for the man."
Munich Pact and Appeasement
1938
 Chamberlain
was later strongly
criticized as being weak
 Optimism was short lived
 Hitler invaded the rest of
Czechoslovakia by March 1939
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
1939
 Removed
the threat of war for
Germany in the East
 Included an agreement to partition
(split-up) Poland
 Allowed Hitler to fight in the West
without having to worry about an
Eastern Front
Four General Causes of the War
1.
2.
3.
The Treaty of Versailles
The Great Depression
Appeasement: The failure of the League
of Nations to Act
4.
Adolf Hitler’s racial theories and
territorial ambitions