Chapter 12 - World War II

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Chapter 12 - World War II

• 1 Totalitarianism The Outbreak of WWII

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• Essential Question
• What factors led to the outbreak of World War II
  in 1939?
• Warm-Up Question
• Considering the short comings of the Treaty of
  Versailles, what do you think will cause the
  Second World War?

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The Causes of World War II

• WWI was not the war to end all wars as a series
  of problems from 1919 to 1939 led to World War II
• Resentment in Germany over the Treaty of
  Versailles
• The failure of the League of Nations to maintain
  world peace
• A global depression intense nationalism led to
  the rise of dangerous, aggressive dictators

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Cause of World War II
Huge reparations slowed Germanys ability to
rebuild after the war
The punishing terms of the Treaty of Versailles
(war guilt demilitarization) led to anger
resentment in Germany
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Causes of World War II
Britain France were leaders of the League of
Nations, but war debts post-war rebuilding
meant that they could not afford another war
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The Causes of World War I
European nations were dependent upon U.S.
investment to help rebuild, but the Great
Depression led to a world-wide depression in the
1930s, especially in Europe
In Germany inflation was so bad, that money
became worthless Here German children use
stacks of German money as play toys
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The Rise of Totalitarianism

• These desperate conditions led to the rise of
  totalitarianism in Europe
• Dictators seized total control over the govt
  the lives of citizens
• Promoted nationalism to win support promised a
  return of jobs, national pride, empire
• Used propaganda, police terror, persecution to
  maintain power

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Totalitarian Regimes in Europe Asia
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Totalitarian Regimes in Europe Asia
Mussolini Hitler both believed in fascismthe
idea that nations need strong dictators, total
authority by one political party, but that people
can keep their private property
Communists like Lenin Stalin in the Soviet
Union believed that the govt should control all
property business
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Totalitarian Regimes in Europe Asia
In the 1920s 1930s, Japan was the strongest
wealthiest nation in Asia Prime Minister Hideki
Tojo created a military dictatorship in Japan
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Causes of World War II

• In the 1930s, territorial expansion in Europe
  Asia contributed to WWII

In the 1930s, Japan began to build a large Asian
empire to provide resources for their industry
military Japanese forces attacked Manchuria,
northern China, East Indies
In the 1930s, Mussolini directed the Italian
military to seize Libya Ethiopia in Africa,
then Albania in Europe
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To fulfill Hitlers dream of Lebensraum (living
space) Germany annexed Austria Czechoslovakia
in the 1930s
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Failure of the League of Nations

• This expansion threatened world peace, but the
  League of Nations failed to intervene
  effectively
• Britain France relied on appeasement (giving in
  to an aggressor to avoid war)
• The League condemned Japan, Italy, Germany but
  resisted more severe actions to halt expansion

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The Outbreak of World War II

• In 1939, German expansion led to the outbreak of
  World War II
• Hitler negotiated the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression
  Pact allowing Germany to seize half of Poland
• World leaders were shocked by the agreement
  horrified by German military expansion

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England France could not use appeasement any
longer declared war on Germany
On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland
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• In 1940, Germany, Italy, Japan signed the
  Tripartite Pact ( Axis Coalition) to protect
  each other in case any nation was attacked

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Expansion in Europe Asia

• Once WWII began, the Axis Powers used modern
  militaries to seize large territories in Europe
  Asia
• The Germans used blitzkrieg tactics to take most
  of Europe
• Italian forces seized north Africa
• Japanese military gained an empire in Southeast
  Asia

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Blitzkrieg (lightning war) tactics used air
raids followed by infantry tanks invasions
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In 1940, Germany began bombing Britain, the
strongest Allied nation
By 1941, the Axis Powers controlled almost all of
Europe northern Africa
In 1940, France fell to the Nazis
In 1941, Germany broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact
invaded the USSR
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Meanwhilein the Pacific
Japan took full advantage of the European war to
expand in Asia
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Conclusions

• By the end of 1941, the Axis Powers appeared
  close to victory
• Germany Italy were in control of Europe with
  Britain USSR as the only opposition to victory
• Japan seemed to go unnoticed in their conquest of
  Asia
• From 1939 to 1941, the USA remained neutral, but
  not isolated, from the global conflict

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Closure Activity

• On your map, label the following
• The 3 main Axis Powers
• The territories under the control of the Axis
  Powers by 1942
• On your timeline, identify the 5 most important
  events that contributed to World War 2 For each
  event, provide a brief summary an image