■Essential Question:
–What factors led to the outbreak
of World War II in 1939?
■Warm-Up Question:
–Considering the short comings
of the Treaty of Versailles, what
do you think will cause the
Second World War?
The Causes of World War II
■WWI was not the “war to end all
wars” as a series of problems from
1919 to 1939 led to World War II
–Resentment in Germany over
the Treaty of Versailles
–The failure of the League of
Nations to maintain world peace
–A global depression & intense
nationalism led to the rise of
dangerous, aggressive dictators
Cause of World War II
Huge reparations slowed Germany’s
ability to rebuild after the war
The punishing terms of the Treaty of
Versailles (war guilt & demilitarization)
led to anger & resentment in Germany
Causes
of World
Warwere
II leaders
Britain
& France
of the League of Nations, but
war debts & post-war
rebuilding meant that they
could not afford another war
European
were
dependent
U.S.
Thenations
Causes
of World
Warupon
I
Germany
investment to help rebuild, …butInthe
Great
inflation was
Depression led to a world-wide depression
in
so bad, that
the 1930s, especially in Europe
money
became
worthless;
Here German
children use
stacks of
German
money as
play toys
The Rise of Totalitarianism
■These desperate conditions led to
the rise of totalitarianism in Europe
–Dictators seized total control over
the gov’t & the lives of citizens
–Promoted nationalism to win
support & promised a return of
jobs, national pride, & “empire”
–Used propaganda, police terror,
& persecution to maintain power
Totalitarian Regimes in Europe & Asia
Mussolini
& Hitler
both believed
in fascism—
Totalitarian
Regimes
in Europe
& Asia
the idea that nations need strong dictators,
total authority by one political party, but that
Communists
people canlike
keep their private property
Lenin & Stalin in
the Soviet Union
believed that the
gov’t should
control all property
& business
In the 1920s &
1930s, Japan
was the & Asia
Totalitarian
Regimes
in Europe
strongest & wealthiest nation in Asia;
Prime Minister Hideki Tojo created a
military dictatorship in Japan
Causes of World War II
■In the 1930s, territorial expansion in
Europe & Asia contributed to WWII
In the 1930s,
Mussolini directed
the Italian military to
seize Libya & Ethiopia
in Africa, then
Albania in Europe
In the 1930s, Japan
began to build a
large Asian empire
to provide resources
for their industry &
military; Japanese
forces attacked
Manchuria, northern
China, & East Indies
To fulfill Hitler’s dream of Lebensraum
(living space); Germany annexed
Austria & Czechoslovakia in the 1930s
Failure of the League of Nations
■This expansion threatened world
peace, but the League of Nations
failed to intervene effectively:
–Britain & France relied on
appeasement (giving in to an
aggressor to avoid war)
–The League condemned Japan,
Italy, & Germany but resisted more
severe actions to halt expansion
The Outbreak of World War II
■In 1939, German expansion led to
the outbreak of World War II:
–Hitler negotiated the Nazi-Soviet
Nonaggression Pact allowing
Germany to seize half of Poland
–World leaders were shocked by
the agreement & horrified by
German military expansion
England & France could not use
On September
1, 1939
appeasement
any longer &
Germany
invaded
declared
warPoland
on Germany
In 1940, Germany, Italy, & Japan signed the
Tripartite Pact ( “Axis Coalition”) to protect
each other in case any nation was attacked
Expansion in Europe & Asia
■Once WWII began, the Axis Powers
used modern militaries to seize
large territories in Europe & Asia:
–The Germans used blitzkrieg
tactics to take most of Europe
–Italian forces seized north Africa
–Japanese military gained an
empire in Southeast Asia
Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”) tactics used air raids
followed by infantry & tanks invasions
By 1941, the AxisInPowers
controlledbegan
1940, Germany
almost all of Europebombing
& northern
Africa
Britain,
the
strongest Allied nation
1940, France
In 1941,InGermany
broke the
fell to&the
Nazisthe USSR
Nazi-Soviet Pact
invaded
Japan took full advantage
of the
Meanwhile…in
the Pacific
European war to expand in Asia
Conclusions
■By the end of 1941, the Axis
Powers appeared close to victory:
–Germany & Italy were in control
of Europe with Britain & USSR
as the only opposition to victory
–Japan seemed to go unnoticed
in their conquest of Asia
■From 1939 to 1941, the USA
remained neutral, but not isolated,
from the global conflict
Closure Activity
■On your map, label the following:
–The 3 main Axis Powers
–The territories under the control of
the Axis Powers by 1942
■On your timeline, identify the 5 most
important events that contributed to
World War 2; For each event, provide
a brief summary & an image