HISTORY 12 UNIT THREE
The Great Depression, Failure of Appeasement & WORLD WAR II
Overarching Question:
What were the main economic, social and political challenges & developments between
1933 and 1945 and how did governments and individuals respond to them?
ECONOMIC & POLITICAL CHALLENGES:

THE GREAT DEPRESSION which was brought on by the American stock market and economy after the
CRASH OF 1929 posed a fundamental challenge to the global economic system. In the United States,
democratic values were preserved by FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT who aggressively and
constructively dealt with the Depression. But the American economy remained in dire straits for the
1930s until World War II.

In General, all western economies faltered except for some bright spots like Sweden. Western
democracies responded to the depression by implementing tariffs that deepened the crisis and they
also failed to form strong, effective governments that could forge an effective consensus on what to do.

In Germany, of course, economic crisis combined with simmering resentment led to the rise of ANTIDEMOCRATIC forces in the form of the NAZIS and the COMMUNISTS. Hitler’s NAZI party used vicious,
aggressive and racist tactics to seize political power by 1933.

In Russia, Stalin’s economic and social policies during this same period turned Russia into an industrial
power, but at tremendous human cost and only by devastating the agricultural sector of the economy.

In Japan, the economic crisis led to the Japan’s aggressive foreign policy of conquering Asia: including
the invasion of Manchuria in 1937. Having been shut out of the treaties at the end of World War I,
they wanted to negotiate from a position of power at the end of World War II.
SOCIAL CHALLENGES

Individuals suffered in the west as well, as unemployment and economic privatization gave way to
military conflict with the outbreak of World War II in SEPTEMBER 1939. Other states (through the
League of Nations) weren’t able to control Japanese, Italian and German AGGRESSION that led directly
to a catastrophic war that culminated in concerted efforts to destroy racial “enemies” and attack
civilian populations.

While in the end, the AXIS powers were defeated, an estimated one hundred million died along the
way and in many ways the events of these years must be counted among the darkest in history.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
You must demonstrate that you know something about every learning outcome:
PART A: THE STUDY OF HISTORY:
Totally
Somewhat
Not at
all
I can easily talk about & explain:

the reliability of different primary and secondary sources

point of view of a variety of documents

context of a historical document(s) (e.g., information on the author,
audience, situation, date)
the use of language to persuade (e.g., use of “emotional rhetoric”)




Formulate and respond to questions about the major players & issues
involved in World War II
The significance of key military battles/campaigns, the strategy of “total
war”, and new technology
Present a logical argument using annotated primary and secondary sources
to supports a thesis regarding the Great Depression, Appeasement, or World
War II
PART B: TURMOIL & TRAGEDY
SECTION ONE: RESPONSES TO THE GREAT DEPRESSION
I can easily talk about and explain:


Japan’s response to the Great Depression
Germany’s response to the Great Depression
SECTION TWO: LONG TERM CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II
 Explain how the failure to achieve COLLECTIVE SECURITY was a major factor
that led to World War II. Address the significance of the following
events/agreements in your answer:
o Locarno Pact
o Kellogg-Briand Pact
o Stresa Front
o Rome-Berlin Axis
o Anglo-German Naval Agreement
o Italian Invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

Why was the APPEASEMENT PERIOD significant to history and what impact
did the following events have on this time period:
o German rearmament and remilitarization of the Rhineland
o The Spanish Civil War
o ANSCHLUSS
o THE Munich Crisis
o The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
o The Invasion of Poland

Explain the growth of Japanese Imperialism in the Asia-Pacific Region
including:
o The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
o Increasing tension between US and Japan:
 oil embargo and freezing of assets
SECTION TWO: WORLD WAR II
I can easily talk about & explain:
1. THE SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS IN WORLD WAR II

What was the significance of the following military events:
o Dunkirk
o Fall of France (1940)
o Battle of Britain
o Battle of the Atlantic
o El Alamein
o Barbarossa
o Stalingrad
o Normandy Landings
o Invasion of mainland China
o Pearl Harbour
o Battle of Midway
o Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

What was TOTAL WAR and what was it’s impact on:
o China – the rape of Nanking
o The Blitz in London
o Bombing of Dresden
o Bombing of Tokyo

What was the significance of the Holocaust?:
o How did Nazis systematically implement their anit-semitic policies?
 Nuremburg Laws
 Kristallnacht
 Ghettos
 Concentration camps
 Wannsee Conference and Final Solution
 Death Camps
o How were other groups targeted:
 Political opponents
 The Romany
 Homosexuals
 Intellectual/mental/or physical challenged