Transcript Cold War in Europe - Spring Branch ISD

Causes of and events of World War
II; Cold War in Europe; conflict
between US & USSR 1945-1950
Anna Cope and Stephanie Avelos
Table of Contents
Causes of World War II
• League of Nation
• Treaty of Versailles
• Appeasement
• Hitler's Actions
Cold War in Europe
• Yalta Conference
• Division of Germany
• Berlin Blockade
• Marshall Plan
Events of World War II
• Germany invades Poland
• Stalingrad
• Peral Harbor
• D-Day
Conflicts between the US &
USSR 1945 - 1950
• Turkey 1945 - 1946
• Iran 1946
• Greece
• Truman Doctrine 1947
Causes of World War II
The League of Nations
The purpose of the League of Nations was to create and keep
peace between countries and to prevent another World War.
• Why did it fail?
- Not all countries joined
- The League had no power
- The League had no army
- Unable to act quickly
Causes of World War II
The Treaty of Versaille 1919
• International agreement, signed in 1919 at the Palace of
Versailles, that concluded World War I. It was negotiated
primarily by the U.S., Britain, and France, without
participation by the war's losers
• Germany was forced to accept blame for Allied losses and
to pay major reparations. Its European territory was reduced
by about 10%, its overseas possessions were confiscated,
and its military establishment was reduced.
• Although some of the treaty's terms were eased in the
1920s, the bitterness it created helped to foster an
environment that led to the growth of fascism in Italy and the
rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.
Causes of World War II
Appeasement 1930s
• Foreign policy of pacifying an aggrieved nation through
negotiation in order to prevent war
• During the 1930s, many politicians in both Britain and
France came to see that the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
had placed restrictions on Germany that were unfair. Hitler's
actions were seen as understandable and justifiable
• He believed that the Treaty of Versailles had treated
Germany badly and that there were a number of issues
associated with the Treaty that needed to be put right. He
felt that giving in to Hitler's demands would prevent another
war.
Causes of World War II
Hitler's Actions 1930s
• At this time Hitler was rapidly gaining popularity
• His speeches of bringing back Germany's former glory were
very popular
o The German people were very offended at everything the
Treaty did to them and Hitler voiced their opinions
• In 1933, Hitler became chanceller and secretly built up
Germany's army and weapons
o In 1936, he ordered German troops to enter the
Rhindland
Events of World War II
Germany invades Poland 1939
• On September 1st, 1939, German planes opened fire on Poland
without declaration of war
• This decision was a gamble because the German army was not
a full strength and the economy was still in peacetime
production but it was part of the German expansionism that
Hitler wanted
• Hitler was confident that Britain and France would make a
peace deal rather than go to war
• Britain and France formed an alliance with Poland on 26 of
August 1939 and declare war on Germany after the attack
starting World War II in Europe.
Events of World War II
Stalingrad 1942
• On August 23rd, 1942, Germany and its allies fought for control
of Stalingrad.
• Hitler wanted Stalingrad because for one it was a major
industrial city on the vital transport route, the Volga river, and
its capture would secure German armies as they marched
towards Stalin's fuel region.
• German forces took control of over 90% of the city with intense
bombings but the last Soviet defenders were hard to take down
lasting until the harsh Russian winter came forcing the German
forces to break despite Hitler's refusal to surrender.
• It was one of the bloodiest battles in history with almost 2
million deaths with crippling losses suffered by Germany's
military making German victory in the East impossible.
Events of World War II
Pearl Harbor 1942
• Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on
December 7th, 1942 hoping to neutralize the American fleet
and destroy all their carriers and take control over their
Pacific bases like Guam.
 All American carriers were out at the time
• Japan was looking for natural resources to supply their
armies with as the US had cut off supplies with them long
ago to stop them from invading China.
• This attack took place before any official declaration of war
was issued but the result of this attack was the imergence of
America in the war
Events of World War II
D-Day 1944
• On June 6th, 1944 6:30am, 160,000 Allied troops landed
along the French coastline in order to push back Germany
from Normandy, France.
• Before June, American involvement had given the Allies the
support (troops, supplies, etc) they needed to defeat
Germany so D-Day was not a turning point in the war
• Helped open a front in the West as Soviet Russia had
slowly, covered the East front. Now, the Allies were fighting
Germany on both sides
• The war concluded within a year after
Cold War in Europe
Yalta Conference 1945
• Conference of Allied leaders at Yalta to plan Germany's
defeat in World War II
• Franklin Rosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin
discussed the postwar occupation of Germany, postwar
assistance to the German people, German disarmament,
war-crimes trials, the fate of the defeated or liberated states
of eastern Europe, voting in the future United Nations
Security Council, and German reparations.
• Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan after the
German surrender. Roosevelt died two months later, and
Stalin broke his promise to allow democratic elections in
eastern Europe
Cold War in Europe
Division of Germany
• As a consequence of the defeat of the Nazi Germany in
World War II and the onset of the Cold War, the country was
split between the two global blocs in the East and West
• There were four division zones with France, US, Britain, and
the Soviet Union each having one
• The original plan was to lower the industrial power of
Germany by at least 50%
• With the beginning of the Cold war, the U.S. policy gradually
changed as it became evident that a return to operation of
West German industry was needed not only for the
restoration of the whole European economy, but also for the
rearmament of West Germany as an ally against the Soviet
Union
Cold War in Europe
Berlin Blockade 1948-9
• International crises that arose from an attempt by the Soviet
Union to force the Allied powersto abandon their postwar
jurisdictions in West Berlin
o US, France, and Britain
• The Soviets, regarding the economic consolidation of the
three Allied occupation zones in Germany in 1948 as a
threat to the East German economy, blockaded all
transportation routes between Berlin and West Germany
• The U.S. and Britain responded by supplying the city with
food and other supplies by military air transport and airlifting
out West Berlin exports
• An Allied embargo on exports from the Eastern bloc forced
the Soviets to lift the blockade after 11 months.
Cold War in Europe
Marshall Plan 1948-51
• U.S.-sponsored program to provide economic aid to
European countries after World War II
• The idea of a European self-help plan financed by the U.S.
was proposed by George Marshall in 1947 and was
authorized by Congress as the European Recovery Program
• It provided almost $13 billion in grants and loans to 17
countries and was a key factor in reviving their economies
and stabilizing their political structures. The plan's concept
was extended to less-developed countries under the Point
Four Program.
Conflicts Between US & USSR
Turkey 1945 - 1946
Conflicts Between US & USSR
Iran 1946
Conflicts Between US & USSR
Greece
Conflicts Between US & USSR
Truman Doctrine 1947
• Pronouncement by Harry Truman, on March 12, 1947, he
called for immediate economic and military aid to Greece,
which was threatened by a communist insurrection, and to
Turkey, which was under pressure from Soviet expansion in
the Mediterranean
• Engaged in the Cold War with the Soviet Union, the U.S.
sought to protect those countries from falling under Soviet
influence after Britain announced that it could no longer give
them aid.
• In response to Truman's message, Congress appropriated
$400 million in aid.
Why, in spite of early successes, did
the League of Nations fail to prevent
the outbreak of the Second World
War?
Anna Cope and Stephanie Avelos
Introduction
• Thesis- The League of Nations was originally formed to
promote world peace, but was a failure and one of the
causes of WW2 because the league did not have any
power, not all countries had joined, and was unable to
act quickly
Body 1
• Despite having early successes, the League of Nations did
not have any real power
o Previous successes came from countries that were of
low economic standard anyway
 Greece/Bulgaria
o The main weapon of the League was to ask member
countries to stop trading with an aggressive country.
However, this did not work because countries could still
trade with non-member countries. When the world was hit
by depression in the late 1920s countries were reluctant
to lose trading partners to other non-member countries.
o Did not stand up for all the weaker countries
Body 2
• The League of Nations could not of worked unless all
countries were present
o US was a major economic power and never joined. This
took away from the power of the league
o As a punishment for having started World War One,
Germany was not allowed to join and Russia was also
excluded due to a growing fear of Communism. Other
countries decided not to join and some joined but later
left.
o Without all the countries, countries would act for their
own benefit not for the benift of the other countries
Body 3
• The League of Nations was proven to act slowly, unable to
make quick decisions
o The Council of the League of Nations only met four times
a year and decisions had to be agreed by all nations
o When countries called for the League to intervene, the
League had to set up an emergency meeting, hold
discussions and gain the agreement of all members. This
process meant that the League could not act quickly to
stop an act of aggression such as WW2
o This showed dictators like Hitler and Mussolini that
they could do what they wanted to and get away with
it as they took a long time to make a decision about
Mussolini's Abyssinian invasion
Conclusion
• The League of Nations failed to prevent the outbreak of war
desipite having early successes because of their weak
power. This weak power came from not having all the
countries as members, not making decisions quick enough,
and having successes in only weaker countries