Transcript Causes Of World Wa

Year Nine
nmg08
Some of the causes can said to be LONG
TERM – they help to create the situation
These might include:
Loss of
land
The Treaty of Versailles
Signed by the
Governments of
Great Britain, France,
Germany and the USA
April 1919
Armed forces
cut
War Guilt
The Great Depression
October 1929 The US Stock Exchange on Wall Street
crashes – shares worth millions are now worthless
Banks close – companies go bust and millions of
workers lose their jobs
As many countries rely on US trade it has a huge
impact on their economies too!
The country most immediately hit and with the
greatest impact is GERMANY who has been reliant
on huge American loans – now the banks want their
money back!
Germany & the Depression
As
unemployment
rises the
German people
turn to
A camp for the
homeless in Berlin
A soup kitchen supplies
food for the unemployed
I will unite the
German people
I promise to
destroy the
hated Treaty!
I will end the
weak
democracy of
the Republic
I will destroy
the Trade
Union
Movement
I promise Bread
and Work to all
Germans
The Failure of the League
Was set up to keep peace in
the World – part of the Treaty
of Versailles
Remember both Japan and Italy
were on the Security Council!
Second blow was Italian
invasion of Ethiopia
Major blow was Japanese
attack on China
Appeasement
Hitler now
began to
challenge
Versailles
Treaty
1. German troops
occupy the Rhineland
2. Union with Austria 1936
3. Hitler now
claimed the
Sudetenland
GB & France gave in to
Hitler’s demands in the
hope of avoiding war.
This policy was known
as ‘Appeasement’
Steps to War
During the Thirties
the French opted for
defence – the
Maginot Line
GB seemed
unable or
unwilling to stop
Hitler
Only Stalin’s Russia
offered any hope of
resistance!
Newsflash: August1939 + Russia signs agreement with Germany+
September 1939
Using ‘blitzkrieg’ tactics German forces invade
Poland from the West while Russian forces
invade from the East.
Britain and France call on Germany to withdraw
– war is declared