Causes of WWII Unit Objective Understanding the causes of WWII including the role of the Treaty of Versailles, European Appeasement, and American Isolationism

World War I European economies were ruined by WWI (Germany in particular) Demands of the Treaty of Versailles on Germany: THEY WERE SO HARSH THEY MADE THE GERMANS BITTER AND MORE LIKELY TO FOLLOW HITLER

Rise of Fascism and Nazism Totalitarian nationalistic state-run dictatorship that suppressed all opposition; The state came before the individual Benito Mussolini (This is an ID): TOOK CONTROL OF ITALY BY FORCE (FIXED ELECTIONS); PROMISED ECONOMIC RECOVERY & RETURN TO GLORY; BUILT UP ITALIAN MILITARY

Adolf Hitler (ID) BECAME CHANCELLOR AND THEN DICTATOR OF GERMANY Nazism: Extreme form of Fascism that included extreme racism against the Jews

Militarism in Japan Japan was an island nation that was industrializing much like Britain did 100 years before—Japan needed a colonial empire to get natural resources from for industry Military became a way of life in the mid to late 1800s Japan had several disputes with the West but was never taken over

Emperor Hirohito OFFICIAL LEADER OF JAPAN SEEN AS A GOD BY HIS PEOPLE

Hideki Tojo: Highest ranking general, had almost as much power as Hirohito Isoroku Yamamoto: Planned the attack on Pearl Harbor VIDEO CLIP

Appeasement and Isolationism This is an ID What does it mean to appease someone?

Appeasement: GIVING IN TO AN AGGRESSIVE POWER TO AVOID A CONFLICT (EUROPE)

Munich Pact Best example of appeasement Britain and France decided to meet with Hitler because he kept taking over neighboring countries, but they were not ready for war Hitler was allowed to keep everything he had already taken in return for his promise to take no more—stalling? Some German generals were ready to oust Hitler if anyone stood up to him—no one did

Isolationism: AMERICAN POLICY OF NOT GETTING INVOLVED IN WORLD AFFAIRS UNLESS THEY HAD A VERY DIRECT IMPACT ON THE U.S. (RESULT OF WWI) Some in Japan confused that with “Pacifism” and thought American might not go to war after Pearl Harbor

End result: No one stood up to the dictators as they rose to power VIDEO CLIP

Non-Aggression Pact 1939: Hitler and Stalin signed an agreement that they would not go to war with each other Shocking because Germany and the Soviet Union had always been enemies (Hitler even blamed the Communists for burning down the Reichstag) Disturbing because Britain and France had been counting on help from the Soviet Union if war broke out So why did Stalin agree to it?

Secret part of the deal: STALIN AND HITLER AGREED TO DIVIDE POLAND BETWEEN THEM (POLAND HAD BEEN CREATED AFTER WWI FROM GERMAN AND RUSSIAN LAND)

Why did the agreement finally end? HITLER INVADED THE SOVIET UNION IN 1941

Main AXIS Powers?

GERMANY, ITALY, JAPAN

Main Allies?

1939: BRITAIN, FRANCE 1941: SOVIET UNION Dec. 7, 1941: AMERICA