Transcript Causes of WWII

Causes of WWII
The world at war…again
Main Causes of WWII
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Treaty of Versailles
Great Depression
Totalitarianism
Policy of Appeasement
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
Treaty of Versailles
 Allied powers met in early 1919 (at the end of
WWI) to discuss Germany’s fate
 Purpose-prevent another world war
 Harsh on Germany
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Germany had to admit they started the war
Pay reparations $33 billion
Limited army to 100,000
Germany lost territory and colonies
Germany and the Great Depression
 Germany’s econ went down the tubes
 To pay for the war the govt. printed
TONS of money in the 20’s lowering the
value of German $$
 The world depression in the late 1920’s &
30’s made it worse for Germany
 They were unable to make the payments
back from the war
Totalitarianism
 Totalitarian dictatorship: A dictatorship in which the
government uses intimidation, violence, and
propaganda to rule all aspects of social and political
life of its citizens.
 Modern weapons made it possible for dictators to
control the populations
 Germany and Italy were fascist (militarism and
extreme nationalism) totalitarian regimes: The
government controlled econ and resources
 One leader has all power
Hitler
 In the 20s Nazi’s gained support by criticizing the
democratic government in Germany and the Treaty of
Versailles
 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany
 He banned all political parties other than Nazis
 Used Gestapo (secret police) to enforce rules
 Defied terms of the treaty by using money to build up his
military
Stalin’s Communist Soviet Union
 1924 Stalin became the leader
 5 year plans to industrialize the country & give the
government control of the economy
 Seized privately owned land & controlled media
 Strict censorship & travel restrictions
 Arrested anyone who was a threat
 The great purge of the 30s: Stalin eliminated anyone who
opposed communism-many executed
 Many died of starvation
 COMMUNISM
Mussolini’s Italy
 After WWI, Italy struggled economically
& politically
 Mussolini established the fascist party
challenging democracy.
 Created “black shirt” gang who attacked
communists and socialists in the streets
 1922 March of Rome: 26,000 black shirts &
demanded government be turned over to him
 After taking over Italy he brought all
communications under fascist control
Appeasement
 Appeasement: policy of satisfying or giving into
demands. When a country becomes aggressive,
other countries give the aggressor what it wants
to prevent war.
 The treaty of Versailles forced Germany to give
up Rhineland
 March 1936 Hitler violated it and sent troops to
Rhineland
 1938 troops moved into Austria and made it apart
of Germany
 GB & France did nothing
Appeasing Hitler cont.
 1938 Hitler threatens to invade Sudetenland (W. part
of Czech., bordering Germany)
 GB & France panic & call a conference in Munich,
Germany
 They tried to negotiate with Hitler to try to avoid
war
 Hitler wanted Sudetenland so they gave it to him if
he promised not invade the rest of Czech.
 …That promise didn’t last long. He invaded in
March 1939
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
 Soviets played no role in appeasement
 Because Soviet Union was communist GB & Fr. Wanted
nothing to do with them
 Stalin tried to form a pact with them to instill fear in
Hitler
 His proposal was rejected
 Stalin feared Nazi Germany because Hitler declared he
would take them down
Non-Aggression Pact
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Hitler approached Stalin about pact
Agreed that neither would attack the other 1939
Hitler was trying to avoid two-front war
Split Poland between the two countries
Both sides knew the other was lying and would
not keep pact
 Signing the pact cleared the way for Hitler to
invade Poland
 September 1, 1939 Hitler invades Poland and
WWII begins
Alliances
 Axis-Germany, Italy and Japan
 Allies-Great Britain, France,
Russia and US
How does Japan fit into this?
 Japan was severely affected by the Great
Depression
 Japan needed more land and resources for its
expanding population
 Japanese military leaders thought territorial
expansion was the best solution
 By 1931 Japanese forces invaded Chinese region
of Manchuria
 By 1937 Japan and China at war
 1940 Japan signed an alliance with Germany and
Italy entering WWII
Why the Jews?
 The Jews were the ‘scapegoat.’ The Nazis said
the Jews were responsible for them losing the
war and the economic crisis.
 All problems caused by the Jews
 Hitler believed in the the superiority of the
German or Aryan race.
 Wanted racial “purity”
 Hitler had been open about his views of Jews
since 1925 when he wrote Mein Kampf
 When he came to power he spread these beliefs
and acted upon them
Propaganda in the War
 Propaganda: information of a biased or misleading
nature, used to promote or publicize a political cause
or point of view
 Purpose: 1) To demonize the enemy
2) Encourage viewers to buy war bonds
3) Help rally people behind the war
4) Help to relieve the tension from the war
What message is
this poster trying to
send?
How does it portray
the enemy?
Who is the message
intended for?
What message is it
trying to send?
How does it portray
the enemy?
Who is the
message intended
for?
What message
is it trying to
send?
Who is the
message
intended for?
Propaganda Video
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHL-sPV01q4
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What did you see in the video?
How did they portray the Nazis and Germany?
What was the message of the video?
Why would they use propaganda in kid cartoons?
Do you think it was effective?
German Aggression
 Hitler uses blitzkrieg: means “lightening war”
take by surprise and with speed.
 Hitler invades Poland, Denmark, Norway,
Belgium, The Netherlands and France and took
all very quickly
 Attacked Britain from the air- was never able to
overcome GB air force
 Unsuccessfully invaded the Soviets. Had to
retreat. This was the downfall of Germany’s war
effort. Didn’t learn from Napoleon.
Italy
 Italy invaded Greece and North Africa.
 The Greek campaign was a failure
 Allies win victory in N. Africa
Japan
 Leader Tojo expanding empire
 Organized attack on Pearl Harbor which officially
brought the US into the war
 US eventually used the atomic bomb on Japan and
they surrendered in 1945
Normandy (D-Day)
 June 6, 1944 “D-Day”
 Landing of Allied forces on the coast of France
which lead to a German retreat
 France was liberated and Allied troops push
eastward into Germany that leads to German
surrender in 1945
End of the War
 1945 Allies close in on Berlin
 Hitler commits suicide, Germans surrender
 Yalta Conference between Churchill, Stalin, and
FDR in Feb. 1945 planned to create the United
Nations as a peacekeeping body
 Potsdam Conference between Stalin, Churchill
and Truman outlined hopes for justice against
war criminals from the Nazi regime
 Germany got split into four sections-Berlin wall
 Nuremberg Trials-trail of Nazis for their war
crimes some to prison and some death