Section 3 Wall Street Crash Manchurian Crisis-1931 Abyssinian Crisis '37 Germany and the Treaty of Versailles Hitler's foreign policy 1933-'36 Hitler's foreign policy 1936-'39 (Appeasement) Hitler's foreign policy 1936-'39 (The Sudeten Crisis 1938) Hitler' actions 1938-'39

FASCISM= the rise of dictators as a result of the Wall Street Crash People often turn to extremes when times get tough – some countries moved to Fascist dictators

1929 CRASH and the LON By 1929, memories of the First World War were fading and the League of Nations had helped improve relations between nations of the world. However, tensions grew again as an Economic depression hit the world in The League proved powerless in the face of aggression from Japan, Italy and especially Germany. The main impact of this on the rest of the world (Great Depression) – was a decline in international trade, the ending of US loans, unemployment, the collapse of the international cooperation of 1920s, and political extremism. Dictators (absolute rulers) seized power in Italy, Germany, Japan, Soviet Union after World War I The MAJOR Dictators were Benito Mussolini in Italy; Adolf Hitler in Germany; Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union

The Second World War was caused by: a. Hitler’s Aims 1.To unite German speaking people (using NSD which had been denied at the Treaty of Versailles. 2.He wanted lebensraum (living space) in order to gain self-sufficiency (autarky) 3.He wanted to dominate Europe and the World To achieve any of these aims would involve breaking the Treaty of Versailles (28/6/1919), and this could lead to war. b. The aggression of Hitler’s Allies 1.Italy – Mussolini wanted a Fascist-Roman empire in the Mediterranean and Africa (e.g. Abyssinian invasion in 1935.) 2.Japan – Japan wanted a Nipponese empire in the Pacific, extending into China and Australia (e.g. Manchurian invasion in 1931) Germany, Italy and Japan were hostile to Communism (USSR), and this way a cause of war and vice versa. c. Democratic powers were passive 1.USA – Isolated 2.France – France was unlikely, and reluctant, to intervene against Germany, because she could not rely on Britain’s and America’s support. 3.Britain – Between 1934 and 1937, Britain was sympathetic to German recovery. Between May 1937 and March 1939, Britain appeased Germany. These powers could have stopped Fascist aggression earlier than d. The League of Nations failed to keep peace See other notes. Conclusion War was caused by a combination of ‘a’ to ‘d’, but Hitler’s aims and actions were the main cause of war.