Who Would You Vote For?

I am a womanizer, have self-interested policies, and suffer from poor health.

Contestant # 1

I have a drinking habit and a defiant tongue and attitude.

Contestant # 2

I am a war hero, do not drink, and want to create a stable economy.

Contestant # 3

Contestant # 1

Franklin D. Roosevelt President of U.S.A. during WWII

Contestant # 2

Winston Churchill Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII

Contestant # 3

Adolf HitlerChancellor of Germany during WWII

Remember the long term causes…

• The circumstances of the world after the war (Depression, resentment, etc.) helped paved the way for war

• Also, some would argue that “the man” (the charisma of different leaders) played a role in leading to war

THE OUTBREAK OF WWII

WHO WAS MOST RESPONSIBLE: THE ALLIES OR ADOLF HITLER?

How international diplomacy aims to secure world peace

• 1919 League of Nations

• -created after WWI to help keep countries accountable to others and stop aggressors

• 1930 The Appeasement System

What was Appeasement?

• the policy of making concessions to the dictatorial powers in order to avoid conflict 

Reasons for appeasement

• 1. The British people wanted peace - they would not have supported a war in 1938.

• 2. Many of Hitler's complaints appeared reasonable at the time - especially about the Treaty of Versailles.

• 3. Chamberlain wanted a strong Germany to serve as a barrier against expansion by communist Russia.

• 4. Britain's armed forces were not ready for a war, and they could not have helped Czechoslovakia anyway.

• 5. Many people admired Hitler.

• 6. Chamberlain remembered the slaughter of the First World War; he thought another war would destroy

civilisation.

The British people wanted peace

• "...the feeling in the House [of Commons] is terribly pro-German, which means afraid of war." H Nicholson, British MP.

Many of Hitler's complaints appeared reasonable at the time - especially about

the Treaty of Versailles

• ARMY OF 100,000 NOT REASONABLE• MORE THAN ONE NATION GUILTY FOR

STARTING WORLD WAR TWO• NOT ALLOWED A NAVY OR AN AIR FORCE• NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY NOT ALLOWED

FOR GERMANY BUT WAS FOR OTHER NATIONALITIES

Chamberlain wanted a strong Germany to serve as a barrier against

expansion by communist Russia.

“Our Government is much more afraid of Communism than it is of Fascism.”

• British journalist John Langdon-Davies, 1936

 Britain's armed forces were not ready for a war

• DUE TO THE DEPRESSION AND THE NEED FOR BALANCED BUDGETS BRITAIN DID NOT KEEP UP ITS EXPENDITURE

 Many people admired Hitler

• In 1938, the American magazine 'Time' declared him 'Man of the Year'

Chamberlain remembered the slaughter of the First World War; he thought another war would destroy

civilisation

Japan and Italy Test the Waters

• Japan looking to expand natural resources in order to build a modern industrial economy. Therefore, invaded resource rich Manchuria, China.

• China appealed to the League, however other countries dealing with own issues (depression).

• Italy, ran by Mussolini saw an opportunity to expand its empire without any consequence from the League.

• Mussolini was right, Italy expanded its empire by taking over Ethiopia.

• League again did nothing to help.• Prime Minister King was afraid of starting another war and also

worried about issue of conscription (French v English).

HITLER COMES TO POWER IN 1933

GOAL OF RESTORING GERMAN PRIDE

The Goal of Lebensraum: Living

space  

HITLER RE-ARMS GERMANY

Remilitarization of the Rhineland

• "...no more than the Germans walking into their own backyard." Lord Lothian

HITLER TAKES OVER AUSTRIA

MUNICH CRISIS

• 12-13 September 1938:

• Hitler encourages, leader of the Sudeten Nazis, to rebel, and demands a union with Germany. When the Czech government declares martial law, Hitler threatens war.

MUNICH CRISIS

• Chamberlain goes to see Hitler at Berchtesgaden. Without consulting Czechoslovakia, he promises to give Hitler all the areas where more than 50 per cent of the population is German. Then he persuades France to agree.

TIMELINE OF MUNICH CRISIS

• Chamberlain goes to Bad Godesberg to tell Hitler about the decision, but Hitler now demands ALL the Sudetenland. Chamberlain refuses; it looks like war. Chamberlain calls the crisis 'a quarrel in a faraway country, between people of whom we know nothing'.

MUNICH CRISIS 1938

• At Munich, France and Britain agree to give Hitler the Sudetenland. Chamberlain waves 'a piece of paper' with Hitler's statement that he does not want to go to war. German troops march into the Sudetenland

CHAMBERLAIN’S DEFENCE OF MUNICH

• How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is, that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here, because of a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing...

• However much we may sympathise with a small nation confronted by a big and powerful neighbour, we cannot in all circumstances undertake to involve the whole British Empire in war simply on her account. If we have to fight, it must be on larger issues than that. I am myself a man of peace to the depths of my soul; armed conflict between nations is a nightmare to me... War is a fearful thing, and we must be very clear before we embark on it, that it is really the great issues that are at stake.

• Neville Chamberlain

RESULTS OF APPEASEMENT

• Czechoslovakia was weakened. Poland and Hungary took other land.

• Britain gained a year to build up its armed forces, but so did Hitler.

• Hitler decided that Britain and France were afraid of him, and that they would not stop him whatever he did.

• Russia decided that Britain and France would never stand up to Hitler, and that war with Germany was inevitable.

• The people of Britain realised that they had been duped, and decided that war was inevitable.

• It improved the war morale of the British people, who knew they had done everything possible to avoid war.

 

The Road to War

• March 1939-Nazi leaders take over Czechoslovakia. It ceases to exist as a country

• Hitler demands Polish territory. Britain and France promise to go to war if Poland is attacked

The Road to War

• August, 1939-Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact—secretly agree to divide up Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe

• Sept. 1, 1939-Nazis invade Poland• Sept. 3, 1939-Britain and France declare war• Sept. 9, 1939-Canada declared war on Germany• Sept. 17, 1939-Russia invaded Poland from East

**the world is now at war again**