Causes of World War II
(WWII)
Social Studies 10
Ms. Rebecca
Summary
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After WWI, continued nationalism,
imperialism, and an arms race made
peace difficult. Germany and other nations
were angry about The Treaty of Versailles
and Germany, Italy and Japan formed a new
alliance called the Axis. The League of
Nations couldn’t stop their aggression
Objectives
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-Identify key factors that led to WWII.
Assess reasons why appeasement failed to
stop Hitler’s aggression.
Explain why the U.S. favored neutrality after
WWI.
Last time….
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We talked about how
dictators came to
power in the 1930s.
What conditions made
it possible for dictators
to take over?
images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/a3/2e/52057220eca01125e0ab8010.L._SL500_AA215_
Causes of WWII similar to causes of WWI
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1. Nationalism: German Hitler and Italian
Mussolini loved their countries and wanted to
make them more powerful. They didn’t care
how much money it cots or who they hurt in
the process.
Causes of WWII similar to causes of WWI
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2.Arms Race: Just like
before WWI, there was
a rush to build up the
military, especially in
Germany, Italy, and
Japan.
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In 1940 all three of
these nations joined an
alliance called the
Axis Powers.
http://img.timeinc.net/time/daily/2007/0703/chinese_military0305.jpg
Causes of WWII similar to causes of WWI
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3. Imperialism: Before WWI, nations fought
to gain new land (colonies). This continued
in the 1930s.
Example: Italy took an African colony:
Ethiopia and Japan took over land in China
and Manchuria. Hitler took over land in
Europe.
Now,

fill in the graphic organizer in the section for
same causes.
Different Causes of WWII
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1. Treaty of Versailles
The treaty made Germans take all the blame
for WWI AND pay all of the war damages.
Italians were also upset by the treaty
because they thought they deserved more
land.
Gemany: Harsh Treaty of Versailles
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After WWI, the Treaty
of Versailles tried to
make conditions that
would prevent future
war. But the treaty was
very mean to Germany.
It created more anger
than peace.
http://symonsez.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/versailles.jpg
Different Causes of WWII
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2. The Great Depression hurt other
countries besides America.
Millions didn’t have jobs. Many people were
poor and unhappy. They were willing to
listen to anyone who offered a solution to
these problems.
Made it easy for dictators to take power.
Different Causes of WWII
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3. Aggression by the dictators
The dictators of Italy, Germany and Japan
started taking land when they wanted it. The
League of Nations didn’t try to stop them.
Continued….
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Hitler didn’t follow the Treaty of Versailles.
Sent an army to the Rhineland: a
demilitarized zone (land where no armies
could be sent)
He also took over Austria against the treaty.
Different Causes of WWII
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4. The Failure of Appeasement
Hitler continued to try to take land even
though it was against the Treaty of
Versailles.
He wanted part of a country called
Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia was willing
to fight Hitler.
Continued…
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Great Britain wanted to avoid any fighting.
So Prime Minister (leader of Great Britain)
Neville Chamberlain wanted to make a deal
with Germany.
He would GIVE Germany PART of
Czechoslovakia id Hither promised to STOP
taking over other land.
This plan was called appeasement.
Why did appeasement fail?
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Chamberlain thought
that he had made
peace and avoided war
but he was wrong.
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Hitler took MORE land
in Czechoslovakia in
1939. He had lied to
Chamberlain.
http://extremecatholic.blogspot.com/images/chamberlain-hitler.jpg
American Isolation
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-Just like during WWI,
America tried to stay
neutral when WWII
started.
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They didn’t want to be
involved in another war
in Europe. (far away)
http://amhist.ist.unomaha.edu/module_files/American%20Isolation.jpg
But President Roosevelt knew that the
U.S. would probably get involved later to
help those who were being attacked.
“ Innocent people are being casually
sacrificed to a greed for power. Let no
one imagine that America will escape.
There is no escape through mere isolation
of neutrality. War is like a disease, and like
a disease, war is spreading.
Why do you think Roosevelt compares
war to a disease?
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What do diseases and
war have in common?
http://crosshatch.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/tomneelyyourdiseasecover.gif