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Allies and Axis
Theaters of War
Weimar Republic
Treaty of Versailles
League of Nations
The Great Depression
Anchluss
Rhineland
Re-armament
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Manchurian Incident
Anti-Comintern Pact
Appeasement
Neville Chamberlain
Winston Churchill
Nazi-Soviet Pact
Munich Pact
Sudetenland
Invasion of Poland
Allies
Great Britain
France
Canada
China
United States (from
1941)
 USSR (from 1941)
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Axis
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Germany
Austria
Japan
Italy
USSR (until 1941)
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World War II was fought in two theaters of
war, meaning that there were two wars
happening at the same time.
The main war with Germany was know as the
EUROPEAN THEATER.
The other theater was the PACIFIC
THEATER. This war was fought against
Japanese aggression in the Pacific Ocean.
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It has been said that World War II was
just a continuation of World War I, yet
there are some specific causes to the
Second World War, all of which could
not have been possible without the rise
of Hitler and his Nazis.
When WWI ended, Germany was made
into a republic. Chancellor Hindenburg
was its leader. The country had to
report regularly to the Allies.
Being “controlled” by the Allies left a
bitter taste with most Germans.
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After WWI, the Treaty of Versailles
laid almost impossible conditions
upon the German volk (people).
Reducing the army to 100 000 men
and taking land from Germany,
especially the Rhineland, greatly
reduced morale.
Forcing responsibility upon the
Germans for starting the War was
also painful.
But the most disastrous condition
was the war reparations they had to
pay—a big fine.
One positive thing came
out of Versailles. It was the
creation of an international
“government” that would
prevent wars by settling
disputes between nations
through peaceful talks.
 Unfortunately, the League
of Nations fell apart
because of a number of
problems, all of which are
another direct cause of
WWII.
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The League did not include
every nation. Nations could
choose to join or not.
2. Decisions required that all
countries agree, a rare
occurrence.
3. The League could not raise
an army to enforce its
decisions.
4. It was unable to prevent
major incidents like Japan
invading Manchuria, or Italy
from attacking Ethiopia.
1.
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Another cause to the Second
World War was the Great
Depression.
The stock-market crash of 1929
was a global event that caused
people to lose their jobs and often
commit suicide. They lost all
hope.
Governments also fell as people
chose rulers that promised hope
and prosperity—dictatorships.
Germany thus accepted Hitler
because he promised not to pay
the war fine and to create jobs.
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After Hitler became Fuhrer of Germany in
1934, he began to dismantle Versailles.
He came good on his promise and began
not paying for the war damages.
In 1936 he began to deploy 30 000
soldiers into the de-militarized zone (or
Rhineland), as well as re-arm Germany;
he started training 1 million troops.
France and Britain did nothing. They
feared another costly war.
Once Hitler had complete control of the
government, he began to control all aspects of life.
Germany became a police state.
 2 million Nazis now made up the SA, Hitler’s army
of Stormtroopers.
 He also had his SS (Schutzstaffe). These men had
sworn eternal life to Hitler as the protectors of his
Aryan race. They were trained, ruthless killers who
did whatever Hitler asked.
 Hitler used propaganda to instill fear in his people.
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Nazi Propaganda Film #1
“Cathedral of Light”
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Once he was certain he had control of the country, Hitler
began restructuring the government to prepare for his
master race.
Many institutions were created such as the National Labour
Service and Strength-Through-Joy Committee (KDF) which
guaranteed Nazi sponsored leisure activities, 3740 hours a
year.
In 1935, he created the Nuremburg Laws that denied
inferiors, specifically Jews, rights in Germany. These laws
would ultimately destroy the Jewish culture by
systematically eliminating their identity, beginning with
their history.
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The Great Depression made
many nations abandon
democracy for totalitarianism.
In the Far East, increased
population in Japan made the
need for more space for the
Japanese inviting. In 1931, their
army invades Manchuria, a
Chinese-controlled territory to
the north of Korea.
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The Chinese asked for the
League of Nations to do
something. The League told
the Army to withdraw, but it did
not.
The invasion of Manchuria
positioned the Japanese as a
major military power in SouthEast Asia.
Between 1933 and ’36, the
USSR felt threatened by the
Japanese and asked China to
support them if there were a
war (Comintern Pact).
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The Japanese respond by
signing an Anti-Comintern Pact
with Germany in 1936.
In July 1937, the Japanese
invade China and attack Beijing
with a million soldiers. They
loot, rape, torture, murder and
caused pointless destruction.
Millions of Chinese civilians
died.
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The British wanted to halt the
Japanese invasion because they
had strong trade relations with
the Chinese, as well as
controlling ports in Shanghai
and Hong Kong.
Still, the British feared war with
Japan because it would take at
least ten weeks to position the
Royal Navy in the Pacific, and
the Japanese have millions of
soldiers available.
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Though the US was concerned
about hostilities in Asia, the
Americans were following a
foreign affairs policy of
isolationism where they would
remain neutral or isolated from
international relations.
All the government did was was
to advise Americans abroad to
reduce their trade with Japan.
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In 1936, Hitler and Mussolini
became allied through the
Rome—Berlin Axis.
Hitler also wanted to reestablish the Anchluss with
Austria, but the Treaty of
Versailles forbade it. However,
because of Britain’s concern
over events in China, Hitler took
a gamble that they would do
nothing and on March 12, 1938
he began invading Austria.
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“Not a shot was fired, and
the German army entered
Austria with bands playing
and soldiers smiling.”
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Only weeks after Germany
invaded Austria, Hitler set his
sights on taking-over
Czechoslovakia.
Czechoslovakia was a country
that rose after WWI. It was
made up of various ethnic
groups including Czechs,
Slovaks and Germans, who
lived mostly in the Sudeten
province near Germany.
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The Sudetenland was an
obvious region to acquire for
the Nazis: Germans lived there,
and there was an abundance of
natural resources.
Of course, once this province
was invaded, it was only a
matter of time before Hitler
would set his sights on all of the
country.
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As mentioned, Britain was
concerned with their ports in
China.
France feared a war with
Germany.
The Soviet Union was at war
with Japan.
Once it became clear that the
League of Nations was about to
do nothing, Britain decides to
act.
British PM, Neville
Chamberlain agrees to appease
Hitler.
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Appeasement means to agree
to whichever demands seem
reasonable in order to prevent
war.
The British understood that a
war with Germany would cause
appalling damage.
Also, many believed that
Hitler’s demands were just
demands, and many Britons
believed that Versailles was too
harsh.
So off Chamberlain goes to
Munich to sign an agreement
with Hitler.
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In September, 1938, Britain,
France, Italy and Germany met
to discuss Hitler’s aims in
Munich.
Hitler said he would only take
the Sudentenland and if
Czechoslovakia falls apart, then
he would govern it. The other
three agreed to this.
Chamberlain went back to
London with “the piece of
paper, securing Peace in our
Time.”
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On August 23, 1939, Hitler and
Stalin signed the Nazi—Soviet
Pact.
Though Hitler hated
Communism, the need for his
lebrensraum made it necessary
for him to have land. He chose
Poland.
Hitler promised Stalin that if he
invaded Poland, he would
eliminate the “undesirables”
and give Stalin the eastern part
of the country. Stalin agreed,
and actually invades Poland
from the east.
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On this date, Hitler invades
Poland.
The world is shocked.
Chamberlain is appalled.
Britain and France declare war
on Germany two days later, but
do not immediately act. They
waited to see if Hitler would do
more, which he did not for 3
months
This becomes known as the
Phoney War.