Causes of World War II
Two major causes:
 World-wide depression
 The rise of totalitarianism and fascism
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Adolf Hitler—Germany
Benito Mussolini—Italy
Joseph Stalin—Soviet Union
Tojo Hideki—Japan
Francisco Franco—Spain
World-Wide Economic Depression
 United States of
America

“The Great
Depression”
 World-Wide food
shortages.
 Small group discussion:

What does food
shortages cause
people to do?
Totalitarianism
 Totalitarianism—relating to or operating a
centralized government system in which a
single party without opposition rules over
political, economic, social, and cultural life.
Fascism
 Fascism—any movement, ideology, or
attitude that favors dictatorial government,
centralized control of private enterprise,
repression of all opposition, and extreme
nationalism.
Totalitarianism and Fascism
 The rise of totalitarianism and fascism is one
of the most important events in the 20th
century.
 Totalitarianism and fascism gain momentum
at the same time as communism.
 Small group discussion:


Why was this movement so important?
Why did these two separate movements
happen at the same time?
Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party
 Ideology:
 Anti-Semitic
 Economically,
culturally, religiously,
biologically.
 Give the message the
public wants to hear.
 Why is everything
going so badly?
 Used social-darwinism.
 Anti-communist
 Against the Treaty of
Versailles.
Adolf Hitler
 Rise to power:
 He did not “take-over”
 Democratically gained
control.
 He wanted a big
military take-over.
 Tried in 1923 in the
“Beer Haul Putsch”
 Fuhrer Cult
 Women adored him
 Very hygienic
How Hitler got Germany out of
economic depression:
 Re-armament—against Treaty of Versailles
 Deficit Spending—like FDR in America
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Autobahns
 Got the support of the German people.
 Started to take aggressive actions
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Ex. Czechoslovakia