Introduction to
WWII
Adapted from McIntyre at http://worldhistory.pppst.com
Key Concept: What were the four main causes of WWII?
Give an example of each.
1. Failure of the Treaty of Versailles
Germany’s borders were changed, and
its economy was bankrupted by
reparations payments.
•Treaty
•of
•Versailles
2. Economic Factors:
All countries suffered
the effects of the Great
Depression, and people
blamed their
governments and sought
change.
2
4. Appeasement and
Isolationism:
England and France were still
recovering from WWI and
unsuccessfully tried to use
diplomacy to stop Hitler. Some
countries, such as the United States,
isolated themselves to try to avoid
being drawn into other nations’
wars.
3. Nationalism:
Extreme nationalism gave rise to
Fascism in Italy and Nazism in
Germany and caused Japan to colonize
Asia.
Quick Facts
A. War Costs
1. US Debt 1940 - $9 billion
US Debt 1945 - $98 billion
•
3
The war cost $330 billion -- 10 times the cost of WWI &
as much as all previous federal spending since 1776
Quick Facts:
B. Human Costs
1. 50 million people died (compared to 15 million in
WWI)
• 21.3 million Russians (7.7 million civilians)
• 11 million died as a result of the HOLOCAUST
(6 million Jews + 5 million others)
4
When?
•1939-1945
•US involvement 1941-1945
1939
Sept.1 Germany
invades Poland
(official start to
the war)
5
1941
1945
Sept. 3 -
Dec. 7 – Japan
May -
Sept. - Atomic
Britain &
France declare
war on
Germany
bombs Pearl
Harbor; US enters
the War
Germans
Surrender
Bombing of
Hiroshima &
Nagasaki,
Japanese
Surrender
Who?
Allies
(major powers)
(major powers)
Great Britain
Germany
Russia
Italy
United States
Japan
France
(note: France surrendered to Germany
in 1940 (after 6 weeks of fighting)
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Axis
Major Leaders
Adolf Hitler
Nazi Germany
Benito Mussolini
Italy
7
Major Leaders
Hideki Tojo
Japanese Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
8
British Prime Minister
Major Leaders
Joseph Stalin
Russian Leader
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
9
US President
Why? (underlying causes of WWII)
1. Failure of Treaty of Versailles
A. Germany lost land to surrounding
nations and wanted them back.
B. War Guilt Clause
Germany forced pay $57 trillion
(modern equivalent). These
payments bankrupted the
German economy and left
hopeless and
embarrassed.
Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson during negotiations
for the Treaty of Versailles
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C. The U.S. Congress rejected the treaty.
embarrassed Germans
1)
them
Why?
2. Economic Factors
A. The Depression made Germany’s
even worse.
1923 - Wallpapering with
German Deutschmarks
B. Desperate people turn to leaders
who
make them feel better about
themselves and put
the blame on
others. In this case, Hitler
blamed the former government, Jews,
foreigners, communists, Roma
(Gypsies), the mentally ill, and
homosexuals.
C. Similar situations existed in other
such as Italy.
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debt
countries
1938- Evidence of Kristallnacht, or the Night of
the Broken Glass
Why?
3. Nationalism
A. Extreme nationalism gave rise to
Fascism
in Italy and Nazism in Germany and caused Japan to
colonize Asia.
B. It is an extreme form of having
pride in
one’s country. It creates
a situation in which
people think,
“My country and people are the
best, we deserve the best, and
we’re
going to take it from you.”
C. To support nationalism, countries
increase
their military strength to
get what they want.
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Why?
4. Appeasement and Isolationism
A. Why was the U.S. isolationist?
1. The Great Depression
caused economic problems
in the U.S.
2. Perceptions of WWI:
a. WWI did not seem to
solve much and cost too
much in money and
lives.
3. People thought that the U.S.
got into WWI for the wrong
reasons (greedy
businessmen!).
B. This led to “Appeasement.”
1. Appeasement: give dictators
what they want and hope
that they won’t want
anything else.
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2. Appeasements included
allowing the Japanese
invasion of Manchuria, the
Italian invasion of Ethiopia,
and Germany’s invasion of
taking of part of
Czechoslovakia called the
Sudetenland.
Rise of Totalitarian Regimes
In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of
the nation. The government controls every aspect of public and private life.
Communist Dictatorship
(USSR)
Fascist Dictatorship
(Germany, Italy)
Totalitarianism
Military Dictatorship
(Japan)
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Fascism: military government
with based on racism &
nationalism with strong support
from the business community
•
What else did Hitler get?
Hitler peacefully
annexed (took over)
in 1938.
•
Hitler signed a
nonaggression pact
USSR.
Austria
with the
• They agreed not to
fight each other and split
Poland
between them
• Hitler would later break
the pact and attack the USSR.
Hitler's triumphal entry into Danzig, Poland 1939
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• The USSR then
became
one of the
Allies fighting
Germany.
How Did Hitler Make War?
Blitzkrieg = “Lightning War”
In the next year, Hitler
invades:
• Denmark
• Norway
• The Netherlands
• France
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Hitler in Paris
US Assistance
Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies:
Lend-Lease - 1939
• US “lent” war materials
to cash-strapped Great
Britain
Atlantic Charter
• US secretly meets with
England to commit to
defeating Germany
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London Firefighter Tackles an Air Raid Blaze
Meanwhile … in the Pacific
Pearl Harbor: “a date which will live in infamy”
What?
• Surprise attack by the Japanese on
American forces in Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii
Effect?
• US declares war on Japan & other Axis
powers
USS Arizona sinking in Pearl Harbor
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Key Concept: What were the four long-term effects of WWII? Give
an example of each.
Effect
Examples
Power Shifts
U.S. and U.S.S.R become world powers,
replacing England and Germany.
Tensions
Rise
Arms Race and Cold War begin.
Communism U.S.S.R. sets up satellite nations in Eastern
Europe.
Spreads
Hope
Survives
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United Nations and Marshall Plan implemented.