How Did the Second
World War Start?
A presentation by Miss
Hayton
It’s all about being
friends with each other!
• Some countries were friends
with certain countries and not
others!
• France and Britain were friendly
with each other.
• Germany and Italy were friendly
with each other.
How did the war start?
• To find out how
the Second
World War
started we have
to look back at
the First World
War.
• This map of
Europe shows
some of the
countries
How, and why did World
War I start?
• World War I began in 1914 and
lasted until 1918. It was
supposed to be ‘The war to end
all wars’.
• Countries had formed
friendships or alliances with
each other.
• Different countries began to
build up their armies and build
bigger, more powerful ships.
What was the main
cause?
• Germany, Austria
and Italy were
allies.
• France, Britain and
Russia were allies.
• A Serbian man
called Gavrilo
Princip
assassinated the
Archduke Franz
Ferdinand and his
wife in Sarajevo.
What happened next?
• Gavrilo Princip was
from Serbia, so
Austria wanted
them to apologise
and pay
compensation.
Serbia refused, so
Austria declared
war.
• Russia was
Serbia’s ally, so
they declared war
on Austria.
• Germany declared
war on Russia and
Serbia.
• France declared
war on Austria and
Germany. Italy
declared war on
France and Russia.
• Germany invaded
Belgium, so Britain
declared war.
How long did the war
last?
• The war that was supposed to
end by Christmas 1914 only
ended on November 11th 1918.
• During the war millions of
people were killed or injured.
How did World War I
end?
• By September 1918 the German
High Command realised that the
war was lost.
• The Armistice was signed at 11
a.m. on November 11th 1918.
• In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles
was signed.
What did the treaty do?
• Many people
were
determined to
stop war
happening
again.
• A League of
Nations was
established to
enable countries
to keep peace.
What happened after the
war?
• Germany was
made to pay out
huge sums of
money in
compensation.
• They were also
made to give up
some land.
• Germany was
also forced to
reduce the size
of her armies
and to sink her
ships.
• As a result the
country became
bankrupt.
What happened next?
• The country had no money, people
had no jobs and were starving.
• Some people resented the status
and money that others, such as
Jews had. Jews were persecuted
and made to give up their jobs and
money
• Adolf Hitler rose to power with
promises to help the German people.
• He set up youth groups and spoke at
rallies.
The situation got worse!
• All over Europe,
people began to
suffer as jobs
disappeared.
• Germany began
to re-build her
ships and build
up her armies.
What did we do?
• The British Prime
Minister, Neville
Chamberlain
believed that he
could negotiate
with Adolf Hitler.
• He met Herr Hitler
at Munich in 1938
and declared the
meeting was
successful, ‘Peace
in our time’ he said.
Was it ‘Peace in our
time’?
• Unfortunately not!
• Germany, with the
support of her
allies, continued to
invade other
countries.
• In September 1939
Britain issued an
ultimatum, after
Germany invaded
Poland. It was
ignored, so war
was declared.
What happened first?
• War was
declared on
September 3rd
1939.
• Air raid sirens
sounded, but it
was a false
alarm.
• The evacuation
of children
began.