Name: ___________________________ Period: _____ Date: _____
WebQuest: Causes of World War II
Directions for the WebQuest Guide:​ The following guidelines up directly with the website for
the WebQuest. As you follow through the Process part of the WebQuest, use the guide to
summarize information from the websites, typing your answers directly into the guide.
IMPORTANT NOTE:​ As a rule, do ​NOT​ simply copy and paste the information from the
websites into the WebQuest. This is PLAGIARISM – you will not be given credit for your work.
At certain points throughout the guide, you will be allowed to have word-for-word answers, but
these are indicated as you proceed through. They are CLEARLY marked and you should first
assume that you are NOT allowed to give word-for-word answers unless otherwise indicated.
You are also required to work on this task alone!
Part I: Causes, People, Events
Main Causes of WWII
1. Treaty of Versailles
1. Complete the acronym: ​UBRAT
2. Explain​ what each letter stands for (include more than just the word!!)
i. Unfair- ​ were not apart of talks
ii. Blame- blamed germany for everything
iii. Reparation- ​taxed germany for eveything
iv.
Army- minimized
v. Territory- taken away
1. Worldwide Depression
1. List all six points related to the Depression that led to war. Briefly explain each
one (include more than just the title phrase – what do each of those phrases
mean​?)
i. Unemployment
1. Mass unemployment allows right wing people to gain power
ii. America
1. Collapsed german industry allowed Hitler to rise
iii. Politics
1. Direct anger for problems towards other countries = nationalism
iv. Empire building
1. Secured resources and raw materials
v. Self interest
1. Destroyed league of nations
vi. Britain and France
1. Caused failure of league of nations
2. Totalitarian government
1. Germany
i. What were Hitler’s three main aims?
1. Abolish treaty of versailles
2. Expand german territory
3. Defeat communism
Abolish treaty of versailles
ii. How did each aim lead to war? BE SPECIFIC.
1. Built up army above limit
2. he destroyed the League of Nations Disarmament Conference by demanding
equality of arms with France and Britain
3. Moved his troops into a demilitarized zone
1. Japan
i. Why did Japan invade Manchuria? Name 4 reasons.
1. To build an empire
2. Overcome economic depression
3. Gain resources
4. Control part of china
ii. How did the League respond? Why were they limited in how they could
respond?
1. Sent officials to study the problem and asked them to leave.
2. Many countries had ties to japan
1. Italy
i. Why did Italy want the territory of Abyssinia? Name 2 reasons.
1. Resources
2. So Mussolini could show his new army
ii. Why couldn’t the Abyssinians fight back?
1. Had pre ww1 weapons
iii. Was the League’s response to the incident successful? Why or why not?
1. The response was not successful because italy controlled the
region still
iv. What three things did the League of Nations involvement in the conflict
show?
1. Weak powers
2. America was not involved
3. World depression caused nations to be less helpful
4. No organizational skills
1. Soviet Union
i. Why did Anglo-Soviet talks fail? List each piece of SCAB and briefly
explain (again, more than just the one word!)
1. Chamberlain did not trust Stalin
2. Britain could not send troops to fight in Poland
3. Stalin believed that Britain would fall through for Poland.
ii. Why did the Nazi-Soviet Pact happen? List each piece of THUG and
briefly explain.
1. Time to prepare for war
a. Stalin used peacetime with germany to prepare for war
2. Hope to gain
a. Russia felt they could only gain from germany Britain and
france fighting each other
3. Unhappy with Britain
a. After there pact failed he went to germany
4. Germany
a. Used russia as a pawn for poland
1. Expansionist policies
1. What were the three ways militarism contributed to war? Give a specific example
for EACH ONE.
i. Build up armed forces
1. Germany built up it navy airforce and army
ii. Control of the government by the military
1. Mussolini wanted to rebuild the roman empire
iii. Aggressive foreign policy
1. Japan invaded manchuria
2. Policy of appeasement
1. Define appeasement (look it up in an online dictionary).
i. the action or process of appeasing.
2. What were the five most important reasons why Britain appeased Hitler?
i. Some approved of his policies
ii. Hoped strong germany would stop communist russia
iii. Many ppl felt events in europe was not britains business
iv. Agreed that the trey of versailles was unfair
3. Who opposed Chamberlain in his policy of appeasement?
i. Churchill
4. What were the eight results of appeasement?
i. let Hitler grow stronger.
ii. gave Britain time to re-arm.
iii. humiliated Britain – no country in central Europe ever trusted Britain
again.
iv. abandoned millions of people to the Nazis.
v. caused the war, by encouraging Hitler to think he could do anything.
vi. gave Britain the moral high ground – when war came, Britons knew they
had done everything possible to keep the peace.
vii. would never have stopped Hitler, who was determined to go to war.
viii.
was a fine attempt to prevent the deaths of millions of people in a war.
3. Continued German aggression
1. Breaking the Treaty of Versailles
i. List the three ways Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles. Explain each one
and provide at least ​one detail​ for each point.
1. Armed forces
a. Strengthened his navy
2. Broke treaty
a. rhineland(demilitarized zone)
3. Nazis organised riots
a. Hitler pressurised the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg to
declare Anschluss
1. Threatening the peace of Europe
i. What actions did Hitler take to disrupt peace in Europe? Name at least 5
actions.
1. wrecked the League of Nations Disarmament Conference
2. Hitler moved his troops into the Rhineland demilitarised zone
3. Hitler made the Axis alliance with Italy
4. Hitler also endangered the peace of Europe by hyping Nazis in
other countries.
5. Hitler threatened war
ii. What did Europe do to allow Hitler to disrupt peace? Name at least 2
actions.
1. Britain made a naval agreement with Germany
2. Anti-Comintern Pact
Leaders of WWII
Complete all elements of the chart for each of the 10 leaders. Remember, do not copy/paste!
The category and birth to death can be word-for-word, but all other parts must be in your ​own
words​.
Leader
Category
Birth-Death
Main
accomplishments
Role in WWII
Franklin D.
Roosevelt
​US President
​1882 – 1945
Gave supplies to
britain
Declared war
on japan
Harry Truman
​US President
​1884 – 1972
Dwight D.
Eisenhower
​ eneral US
G
Army
​1890 – 1969
Led d-day invasion
Supreme
allied
commander
Douglas
MacArthur
General US
Army
1880- 1964
Winston
Churchill
​Prime Minister
​1874 – 1965)
Saved britain from
crisis
Boosted
morale
Joseph Stalin
d​ ictator of the
Soviet Union
​1879 – 1953
Won the battle of
attrition against
germany
Advanced
towards berlin
Adolf Hitler
​ ictator of
D
Nazi Germany
​1889 – 1945
Created many new
technologies
To conquer
the world
Hirohito
​ ead of State
H
of Japan
​1901 – 1989
Over saw japan's
militarization
Conquer china
Hideki Tojo
g​ eneral of the
Imperial
Japanese Army
​1884 – 1948
Executed for war
crimes
Ordered attack
on pearl
harbour
Key Events Leading Up to WWII
After the colon following each event, record the main website’s brief description of the event
(again, in your own words). The particular questions that follow each event refer to the website
specific to that event (i.e., the link you get to by clicking on the name of the event).
1. Saar plebiscite:
1. Who controlled the Saar region after World War II?
i. League of nations
2. How did Nazi Germany influence the vote for control?
i. He built up his army
3. Three effects of the vote
2. Conscription and rearmament:
1. How did Hitler see Nazi Germany?
i. strong
2. What was going on behind the scenes in Nazi Germany?
3. How did Europe respond to Hitler?
i. They did nothing
4. Why did Britain allow Germany to break the terms of the treaty?
i. No one wanted to go to war with him
5. What did Britain hope to accomplish by doing this?
i. That they wouldn't attack britain
3. Rhineland:
1. What huge gamble did Hitler take?
i. They had a small army and bluffed
2. Why didn’t the Allies do anything about it? Name 3 reasons
i. No one wanted to start world war 2
3. How did the Rhineland affect France?
i. Rhineland was the barrier for france
4. What did Hitler conclude about the British point of view?
i. He didn't agree with their terms
4. Austria:
1. What party change occurred in Austria that allowed Hitler to implement his plan
for Anschluss?
i. Demanded union
2. According to ​The Manchester Guardian​, what did the Federal Government of
Austria decide?
3. That austria was a state of the german reich
4. What did Hitler say the people of Austria met him with when he crossed into their
land?
5. How does he characterize himself? (Hint: not as a ____, but as a _____)
6. Not as a tyrant, but as liberators
5. Munich:
1. What party began to influence Czechoslovakia in 1935? How? Who supported
this party?
i. The sudeten party & germany supported them
2. What two things did Hitler know about France and Britain that made him bold
enough to suggest a conference about Czechoslovakia?
i. France and britain were easy to appease
ii. Wanted to not have war
3. Where did the meeting take place? Who attended? What were the terms of the
agreement?
i. Sudetenland
ii. Chamberlain hitler mussolini
6. Czechoslovakia:
1. What did Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia help the British government
realize? Name two things.
i. That hitler can not be trusted
2. What leader suggested that Britain should be preparing for war?
i. churchill
3. What event made the British people side with this leader? Why?
i. Kristallnacht showed the british people what germany was capable of
4. What change in Britain’s military made war possible?
i. There advancement in navy and airforce
7. USSR/Nazi Pact:
1. Why did Stalin initially want to ally with Britain?
i. Take over poland
2. Why didn’t Stalin trust the British?
i. Took to long to talk
3. What were Stalin’s two choices?
4. Ally with britain
5. Ally with germany
6. Why did he make the choice he did?
8. Poland:
List the eight reasons Hitler invaded Poland. Briefly explain how each reason aimed the world
toward war.