Transcript Treaty of Versailles Violated

World War II
Causes of World War II
1. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles fail
2. Dictators take control of Europe and
Asia
3. The appeasement of Germany fails
4. Pearl Harbor attacked by Japan
Treaty of Versailles Violated
• Germany was upset by the terms of the
treaty (especially the “war guilt” clause)
and it rearmed
• Many of the war-torn nations in Europe
looked to dictators to rule, rather than
starting democracies (totalitarian
governments)
American Neutrality
•
American chose to stay out of the European
conflict for the following three reasons:
1. The devastation of WWI
2. Isolationism
3. Concerns about the Great Depression
•
Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935
prohibiting the sell of weapons to warring
nations
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German Aggression
Hitler moved
troops into the
Rhineland in
1936
Fearing another
war, Britain and
France did
nothing
Hitler then annexed Austria to Germany (he
also wanted to annex the Sudetenland &
Czechoslovakia)
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Munich Pact
Even though Italy & Germany displayed
aggression in Europe, France & Britain chose
to follow a policy of appeasement
Appeasement is a policy in which it is
believed that by giving in to an aggressor’s
demands, the aggressor will be satisfied and
future conflicts can be avoided
They solidified this policy in the Munich Pact
This pact allowed Hitler to take of the
Sudetenland, if he would claim no other land
German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact
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Hitler set his sights on the
Soviet Union, but signed a
non-aggression pact with
Stalin promising not to
invade
Hitler wanted to invade
France first so he wouldn’t
have to fight on two fronts
Meanwhile, Stalin started
getting prepared for war
with Germany
Alliances
• Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria)
• Allies (U.S., Britain, France, USSR,
Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China,
Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa,
Yugoslavia).
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Germany invades Poland
Hitler invaded Poland
and conducted a type of
warfare called blitzkrieg,
which means “lightning
war.”
Germany used air power
and tanks to strike hard
and fast, moving rapidly
into Poland
•
Poland fell within a month
•
Britain & France declared war
on Germany
The Lend Lease Act
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Roosevelt knew neutrality
would not last and
proclaimed “If Great
Britain goes down, all of us
in the Americas would be
living at the point of a
gun… We must be the great
arsenal of democracy.”
In 1941, Congress passed
the Lend Lease Act which
sent aid to any nation
whose defense was
considered vital to U. S.
national security
The Atlantic Charter
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Roosevelt met with Churchill in 1941 to create the
Atlantic Charter
They agreed on
common principles
aimed a guaranteeing
the freedom and
welfare of countries
after the war
This document
eventually served as
the basis for the
founding the United Nations
Four Freedoms
As the U.S. became involved in the war,
Roosevelt declared the “Four
Freedoms” he believed we were
fighting for
Freedom of
speech &
expression
Freedom of
every person
to worship
God in his
own way
Freedom
from want
(not having
physical
needs)
Freedom
from fear
Casablanca Conference
• During the fighting in North Africa, Churchill &
Roosevelt met in Casablanca, Morocco
•
They agreed on the following
1. Italy should be invaded next;
2. It was time to launch an offensive
against Japan; and
3. They would only accept an
unconditional surrender (the
victors set all the conditions of
surrender with the losers having
no say) from the enemy
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Tehran Conference
Roosevelt, Churchill,
and Stalin met in
Tehran, Iran in
December 1943
Stalin wanted the Allies
to invade France to
create a second front
against Hitler
Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was named commander of
Operation Overlord, the invasion of France
The Allies began by bombing French railroads to cut
off German supply lines
Yalta Conference
• Expecting
German defeat,
the Big Three
(Roosevelt,
Stalin &
Churchill) met
in Feb. 1945 in
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Yalta
They discussed military
strategies and postwar
policies