The Causes of World

War IIMs. Olson

USH – WWII UnitMarch 28, 2010

What are the causes of WWII?1. Treaty of Versailles2. Hitler’s Actions3. Failure of Appeasement4. Failure of the League of

Nations

Treaty of VersaillesThe four main points of the treaty were:

War Guilt Clause:Germany should accept the blame for starting World

War I Reparations:

Germany had to pay $33 billion for the damage caused by the war

Disarmament: Germany was only allowed to have a small army and

six naval ships. No tanks, no air force and no submarines were allowed. The Rhineland area was to be de-militarized.

Territorial Clauses:Land was taken away from Germany and given to

other countries. Anschluss (union with Austria) was forbidden.

Treaty of Versailles cont…The German people were very

unhappy about the treaty and thought that it was too harsh.

Germany could not afford to pay the money and during the 1920s the people in Germany were very poor.

There were not many jobs and the price of food and basic goods was high.

People were dissatisfied with the government voted into power a man who

promised to rip up the Treaty of VersaillesAdolf Hitler!

Political Cartoon showing how Germany felt about the Treaty of Versailles…

Hitler’s ActionsHitler became Chancellor of Germany

in January 1933.Immediately he began secretly

building up the army and weapons.1934

Increased size of the armyBuilt warships, created air forceCompulsory military service was

introduced

Hitler’s actions cont…1936 German troops entered the Rhineland

Their army was still weak thoughEntered into the Rome-Berlin Axis Pact

– which allied Hitler’s Germany with Mussolini’s Italy.

Entered into the Anti-Comitern Pact – which allied Hitler’s Germany with Japan.

Hitler’s actions cont…

1938Anshluss or the annexation of AustriaHitler promised this was the end of his

expansionist policies, not wanting to risk war• Austrian leader was forced to hold a vote to ask

the people if they wanted to be part of Germany, even though Germany had already invaded.• 99% - fixed voted

• Austrians asked for help, but Britain, France, and Italy did nothing, choosing to believe Hitler really was going to stop his expansionist policies.

Hitler’s Actions cont…19386 months later Hitler

demanded Sudentenland of Czechoslovakia

Munich Agreement: Hitler got Sudentenland as long as he did not invade the rest of Czechoslovakia

Did not stick to his word – invaded the remainder of Czechoslovakia in 1939

What else was Hitler up to?September 1935 –Nuremberg

LawsTook away citizenship rights of

German-JewsNovember 1938 – Kristallnacht

Looting and burning of 7,500 Jewish businesses, synagogues, and homes

Opened first concentration camp - Dachau

Failure of Appeasement1930s politicians in

Britain and France believed restrictions placed on Germany in the Treaty of Versailles were unfair:Began to see

Germany’s actions as understandable and justifiable

So, when Germany began to re-arm, they felt Hitler had the rightAlso, would help stop

the spread of communism to the west

Appeasement cont…

May 1937, Chamberlain become PM of BritainBelieved Treaty of Versailles

had been too harsh on Germany

Felt that giving into Hitler’s demands would prevent another war

Chamberlain’s = “Policy of Appeasement”

List of AppeasementsDid not stop Germany from

Re-Arming (1934)Stationing troops in German

Rhineland, on the border with France (1936)France could not fight Germany

alone, and Britain was not prepared to go to war again.

Austrian AnschlussMunich Agreement – Invasion

of Czechoslovakia

Failure of AppeasementChamberlain celebrates Munich

Agreement as a successwhen Hitler breaks the agreement

Europe realized the policy was a failure

Chamberlain still not prepared for war“a quarrel in a far-away country

between people of whom we know nothing”

Guaranteed that if Poland was invaded by Hitler, Britain would come to their aid

Failure of the League of Nations

League of Nations International organization set up in 1919 to help keep world peace.All countries would be membersDisputes would be settled by negotiation

rather than forceIf that failed, trade would stopIf blocking trade stopped, use of armies

This failure encourage Germany’s Hitler, Italy’s Mussolini, and Japan’s HirohitoWe covered what Germany did, so what

about Japan and Italy?

Failure of the League cont…Japan

1931 hit by depressionLost faith in gov’t, turned to army

Army invaded Manchuria, ChinaRich in minerals and resources

China appealed to the League of NationsOrdered Japan to leaveCalled for a stop in trade

BUT, due to the depression, many countries did not want to lose trade

Again, asked Japan to leave Japan responded by leaving the League

Failure of League cont…Italy

October 1935 invaded Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

Appealed to League of NationsLeague condemned the attackAsked member states to stop trade

Ineffective, since they could trade with non-member states (America)

Also, Britain and France afraid Italy would attack them

April 1939 – Invades Albania

Failure of the League cont…

Can be summarized into these 4 pointsNot all countries joined the League

US and RussiaThe League had no powerThe League had no army

Member countries had to provide troops, many were reluctant out of fear of direct retaliation

Unable to act quicklyOnly met 4 times a year – emergency

meetings

And the US?The US played a role as well

Did not joined League of Nationscontributed to ineffectiveness

Followed policy of isolationism, kept us out of European affairs

Depression crippled us desperate for trade

Refused to close Suez Canal (Egypt)prevent troop, ammunition, and

weapons transports from Italy to Ethiopia

So…Hitler invades PolandBritain and France declare war on

Germany September 3rd, 1939

Germany, Italy, and Japan sign Tripartite PactPledges mutual support if the U.S. entered

the war.Japan bombs Pearl Harbor in retaliation

for economic ban on trade over China (December 7th, 1941)

4 Days later Hitler declares war on the US