2. • Treaty of Versailles
• Policy of Appeasement
• Totalitarianism
• Nazi-Soviet Non-
Aggression Pact
• Great Depression
• Japan became aggressive
Main causes of WWII
3. • Allied powers, U.S., Canada, Britain and France met at Paris
Peace Conference in early 1919 (After WWI) to discuss
what was going to happen to defeated Germany and Austria-
Hungary
• Purpose of this treaty was to prevent another war
Treaty of Versailles
4. • Germany was crippled
because of the Treaty of
Versailles
• Hitler determined to make
Germany powerful again
• He used this Treaty to appeal
to the German people and to
help him over throw the new
democratic German gov’t
Treaty of Versailles
cont’d
6. • Germany suffered
significantly from the
effects of the Depression
• The “War Guilt” clause of
the Treaty put a great strain
on German economy
• To meet the payments, the
gov’t printed large amounts
of money in the 1920s
which lowered the value of
the German currency
Germany and The Great Depression
7. • Britain, France, and the U.S. agreed to amend terms
Germany’s reparation payments
• Germany made a modest recovery
• When stock market crashed in 1929, Germany’s
economy was weakened and was more affected than
most countries
• Germany’s inability to make the reparation payments
affected the economies of other countries
Germany and the Great
Depression Cont’d
8. • Totalitarian dictatorship: A dictatorship in which the gov`t uses
intimidation, violence and propaganda to rule all aspects of
social and political life if its citizens
• ``Total`` manner in which dictators controlled citizens was
something that was new
• Modern technology allowed dictators to control populations
because of the weapons that were available
• Germany and Italy were fascist totalitarian regimes: the gov`t
controlled economy and all resources
• One leader has absolute power
Totalitarianism
10. • Throughout the 20`s, Nazis gained support by criticizing the
democratic gov`t in Germany (Weimer Republic) and the
humiliating terms of the treaty of Versailles
• 1933 Hitler became Chancellor of Germany and ruled through
intimidation and fear
• Banned all political parties other than Nazis
• Used Gestapo (secret police) to enforce his rule
• Defied terms of the treaty and used the money to build his
military
Totalitarianism: Hitler’s
Germany
11. • 1924 Stalin became leader of
Soviet Union
• 1928 Stalin had total control
of Soviet Union
• Implemented series of 5 year
plans to industrialize country
and give gov`t total control of
the economy
• Stalin seized all privately
owned land and controlled all
media
• Imposed strict censorship and
travel restrictions on everyone
Joseph Stalin`s communist Soviet
Union
12. • Arrested anyone who was a
``threat``
• The great purge of the 30`s:
Stalin eliminated anyone who
was opposed to communism;
millions of people were
convicted of crimes against the
state and many were executed
• Many died of starvation
Stalin`s Soviet Union
14. • After WWII, Italy struggled economically and politically
• Mussolini established the fascist party and challenged democracy
• Created ``black shirts`` gang who attacked communists and
socialists in the streets
• 1922 March of Rome: gathered 26,000 black shirts and
demanded the gov`t be turned over to him
• After taking over Italy, he brought all communications
(ie., industry, agriculture, labour) under fascist control
Fascist Italy
15. • Appeasement: the policy of satisfying or
giving into demands. When a country
becomes aggressive, other countries give
the aggressor what it wants to prevent war
The Policy of Appeasement
17. • Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to give up
Rhineland
• March of 1936 Hitler violated the Treaty and sent
troops to Rhineland
• Hitler became more aggressive
• Britain and France did nothing
Appeasing Hitler cont`d
18. • March 1938 Hitler`s troops
moved into Austria and
made it a part of Germany
• Another violation of the
treaty
• Still, Britain and France did
nothing
Appeasing Hitler cont`d
19. • 1938 Hitler threatens to invade Sudetenland (Western region of
Czechoslovakia, bordering Germany)
• Britain and France panicked and a conference was called in
Munich, Germany
• Appeasers asked Hitler what he wanted in exchange for not
going to war
• Hitler wanted Sudetenland-it was given to him and he promised
not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia
• He broke his promise and invaded Czechoslovakia on March 15th
of 1939
Appeasing Hitler cont`d
21. • Soviet Union played no role in appeasement
• Since it was a communist state, Britain and France wanted nothing
to do with Soviet Union
• Stalin tried to convince Britain and France to form a pact with
Soviet Union to instill some fear into Hitler
• His proposal was rejected
• Stalin feared Nazi German as Hitler had long declared that he
would take down communism in the Soviet Union
Non-Aggression Pact
22. • Hitler approached Stalin to
make a non-aggression pact
• Agreement was that neither
country would attack the
other
• Poland was divided
between the two countries
• Both Stalin and Hitler knew
the other was lying about
the non-aggression pact
Non-Aggression Pact cont`d
23. • Hitler wanted to avoid a
two front war when he
invaded Poland
• Stalin wanted to buy time
for the inevitable war
against Germany
• Signing the pact cleared
the way for Hitler to
invade Poland
• September 1st 1939 Hitler
invades Poland and WWII
begins
…and the war begins
24. Discussion Questions:
• What lessons were or were not learned from WWI?
• What were the four main causes of WWI and how did
they contribute to the causes of WWII?
• Could WWII have been avoided?
Homework
Editor's Notes
Can anyone tell me how the causes of WWI can also explain the causes of WWIICauses of WWI (Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism) also played a role in WWIIMilitarism: Hitler built a strong military that helped him take over several regions of EuropeAlliances: Countries agreed to support one another if there was an attackImperialism: Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia all had colonies in Asia and Africa and each of these countries wanted raw materials from these coloniesNationalism: Pride and devotion to one’s country. Hitler wanted Germany to be a powerful nation again
Germany was forced to accept sole responsibility for WWIGermany was forced to give up control of their colonies and the territory was reducedHad to pay $30 billion in war reparationsGerman army was restricted to 100,000 menNot allowed to have an air forceAustria and Germany were forbidden to unite
Engagement: What do you think happens to people when they are completely stripped of their rights? When nothing becomes theirs anymore and everything is taken away from them, what do you think they are going to do? When a person in power is shamed and weakened by other people in power, what is that person capable of doing? They are going to revolt and that is exactly what Hitler did. He revolted. Do you think the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles were predictable?
Germany and the Great Depression
German money became worth less and less, price of basic goods continued to increase
After this slide, read “With Germany Unemployed,” by Heinrich Hauser (Conflict and Cooperation)
Go over the handout on Totalitarianism
1920 Hitler joined the Nazis (translated in English: National Socialist German Worker`s Party) and by 1921 he was the leader
This is a picture of Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler shaking hands after the deal was made for Germany to take over Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia
3 million Germans lived in Sudetenland and Hitler wanted these people to be part of Germany
This is an image of children sitting in rubble after the Blitzkrieg attacks
