Causes of the Second World War. Fundamental / Underlying Causes 1)The Treaty of Versailles War Guilt...
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Transcript of Causes of the Second World War. Fundamental / Underlying Causes 1)The Treaty of Versailles War Guilt...
Causes of the Second World War
Fundamental / Underlying Causes
1) The Treaty of Versailles
War Guilt Clause & reparation payments made Germany bitter and want to seek revenge
2) The Great Depression Economic crisis put countries in
chaos – Hitler and Mussolini used this to their advantage
Fundamental / Underlying Causes – cont’
3) The Rise of Fascism, Extreme Nationalism, & Imperial Aggressiveness
Hitler & Mussolini – powerful leaders who were: Nationalistic, militaristic, imperialistic Promise to lead people out of difficult times
Japan – invaded Manchuria (in China) -1931 Italy – invaded Ethiopia – 1935 Germany – reoccupied Rhineland (1936),
annexed Austria (1938), and seized Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
Fundamental / Underlying Causes –
cont’4) The Failure of the
League of Nations Lacked key members
(USA and USSR at first)
Inability to enforce decisions left it restricted in effectiveness
Nations lost confidence in “collective security”
Hitler pulled out of League
Fundamental / Underlying Causes –
cont’5) Policy of
Appeasement – (see Immediate Causes)
Gave in to Germany’s demands in hopes to avoid conflict
British PM Neville Chamberlain argued appeasement policy preferable to war
Fundamental / Underlying Causes –
cont’6) Lack of Sympathy for
Jewish People Failure of Britain and
France to help out German Jews or to recognize that the treatment they were receiving was more than a domestic problem
Most nations of the world (including Canada) were unsympathetic to Jewish People SS St. Louis Incident - 1939
Immediate Causes
Appeasement – policy whereby when a country becomes aggressive, other countries give the aggressor what it wants just to prevent another war
Britain and France – practiced appeasement with Hitler until 1939
British PM Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler - 1938
1) Appeasement Crises – 1936-1939
Appeasement Crises – cont’
Treaty of Versailles – forced Germany to remove all military presence from Rhineland (which borders France)
March 1936 – Hitler sent troops into Rhineland, but Britain
and France did nothing
a) Re-militarization of the Rhineland
Appeasement Crises – cont’
Annexation – to make something a part of a greater whole
March, 1938 – German troops moved into Austria and made it part of Germany
b) Annexation of Austria
• In direct violation of Treaty of Versailles
• Democracies did nothing
Appeasement Crises – cont’
When Czechoslovakia was created – over 3 million Germans were included in its boundaries in area called Sudetenland
Hitler wanted these Germans “reunified” with Germany
September, 1938 - Crisis came to a head
c) Appeasement in Czechoslovakia
Appeasement Crises – cont’
After making demands regarding the Sudetenland, Hitler threatened invasion on October 1st
Britain and France panicked because this could lead to war
Called Conference in Munich, Germany
c) Czechoslovakia – cont’
Leaders at Munich Conference
Munich Conference – cont’ Appeasers gave Hitler Sudetenland in exchange for not
invading the rest of Czechoslovakia
Wishes of Czechs completely ignored
Appeasement Crises – cont’c) Czechoslovakia – cont’ –
The famous photo from the Munich Conference 1938 is that of Neville Chamberlain holding up a scrap of paper and claiming to have secured "peace in our time".
• Benes, Czech PM, not even allowed at Conference
• British PM Chamberlain returned to England proclaiming a great victory
Appeasement Crises – cont’
March 15th, 1939 - Appeasement Policy came crashing down when Germany invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia
Another European war was now unavoidable
c) Czechoslovakia – cont’ –
German Troops enter Prague March 15, 1939
2) NAZI-Soviet Pact and WWII
Prior to WWII – Britain and France unwilling to cooperate with communist Stalin to try to “scare” Hitler
Stalin tried to convince Britain and France to “scare” Hitler into stopping – they turned him down
Hitler – goal was to eradicate communism, so Stalin’s fears justified
2) NAZI-Soviet Pact and WWII – cont’
Non-Aggression Pact – Aug 1939
Agreement to not attack each other, and to divide Poland between them
Both sides knew they were lying about the non-aggression part of pact, but they signed it to gain time: Hitler wanted to avoid a 2-
Front war when he attacked Poland
Stalin wanted to buy time to prepare for war
Essentially: this pact cleared the way for Hitler to start WWII
The Last Straw: Germany’s
Invasion of Poland - 1939
September 1, 1939 – WWII began with German invasion of Poland
NAZIs used the “blitzkrieg” (“lightning warfare”) method Airplanes led attack to knock
out key enemy positions Immediately followed by tank
& motorized infantry attacks Attacking forces swept past
enemy, then close in behind, thereby trapping them
NAZIs swept through Poland, encountering little resistance
Appeasement No Longer:
Declarations of War1) France & Britain
immediately declared war on Germany
2) Canada declared war one week later (September 10th) Parliament voted and
decided to join war NOT automatic like in WWI Leaders in Quebec
supported Canada’s entry into war based on PM King’s promise that conscription (compulsory military service) would never be required