Issue 4 The Nature of World War II EUROPE

What Was WWII Largest War in human history Involved countries, colonies and territories around the world By the end over 70 Million were dead It lasted from 1939- 1945

What were the causes of WW II W WWI and the Treaty of Versailles A ppeasement R ise of Totalitarianism (The main causes of War)

WWI and the Treaty Germany Lost land to surrounding nations War Reparations: Allies collect $ to pay back US for war debts Germany pays $57 Trillion (today's equivalent) Germans are bankrupt, embarrassed, guilt ridden and angry In desperate times, desperate people turn to desperate leaders.

Appeasement Definition: giving someone something to make them happy, so they will leave you alone. Hitler demanded land that wasn’t Germany’s and people just gave it to him Nations (Britain and France) were trying to prevent war. They also believed that Germany had been unfairly treated at the treaty of Versailles and Hitler was only claiming what technically was Germany’s. The Appeasement showed Hitler that he could do whatever he wanted. Appeasement

Rise of Totalitarianism A system in which the State and its Leader have nearly TOTAL control Individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of the nation No right to vote No freedom of speech Government controlled economy Often a Police State

Totalitarianism UUSR Communists Dictatorship Germany & Italy Fascists Dictatorship Japan Military Dictatorship

Hitler Stalin Mussolini Tojo

What is Fascism? Political belief that the individual is less important than the nation Glorifies violence, believes it is needed to prove Strength of the people Uses nationalism and Racism Dictatorships Germany, Italy became fascists What's the difference between Totalitarianism and Fascism? Fascism is an ideology Totalitarianism is a way to Rule

What did Hitler want? Militarism: soon after becoming chancellor he began to re-arm Germany and broke the treaty of Versatile Moved the troops into the Rhineland gaining Territory again and breaking the treaty Lebensraum: “Living Space” Austria peacefully annexed in 1938 Then onto Czechoslovakia and Poland What were Hitler’s aims

How did WWII Start? Germany Invaded Poland Allies declared war on Germany Germany then invades France, Belgium Then Hitler invades Russia German’s used ‘Blitzkrieg’ to overwhelm other armies. (Blitzkrieg means ‘Lighting War’ – means surround everything with tanks and troops in trucks ect)

Who was on each side? Axis Powers Allied Powers Great Britain Germany Italy Japan Allied Powers Great Britain Soviet Union United States France (although it surrendered to Germany in 1940 after 6 weeks)

The Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm5SxG68KSM Eight Steps to War The story of WWII Britain in WWII

Characteristics Why was this war fought on such a large scale? Advances in technology The Loss of human life was huge A total War

Advances in Technology Technology advances since previous wars meant that fighting caused far more serious suffering, loss of property and human life. With Developments in air technology, the war was carried far beyond the front lines and into the civilian areas. This was a very mobile war, involving wide scale use of tanks, personnel carriers and mobile artillery units.

The Loss of Human Life This was Huge! The soviet Union alone lost 20 million people Dreadful crimes were committed against humanity in death and slave camps. In this war ‘unofficial’ fighting groups were formed. (Partisan Groups)

Losses from WWII Germany -4.5 Million Military -2 Million Civilian Japan -2 million Military -350,000 Civilians Italy 400,000 Military 100,000 civilian China 2.5 Million Military 7.4 Million Civilians USSR 10 Million Military 10 Million Civilians Great Britain -300,000 Military -50,000 Civilians France -250,000 Military -350,000 Civilians United States -274,000 Military

Total War WWII was classified as total war as little distinction was made between soldiers and civilians Destruction of cities resulted in the spread of disease, high unemployment, destruction of personal property and starvation. Many people suffered despair.

Aspects of WWII Deaths Atrocities Destruction of property War against Civilians Economy Partisan Groups Camps Sophisticated Weaponry (Aspects of war)

Why Did Germany Fail? The Germans Lost the War because: They had failed to win the key battles against Britain and Russia (Battle of Britain & Barbarossa) They had overstretched their resources by fighting on too many fronts The Italians, their allies had proven more of a hindrance than a help (Hitler’s forces had to rescue them in south eastern Europe) Their navy had failed to block supplies coming in from overseas They had lost air control after the Battle of Britain

The USA had joined the European War Hitler’s megalomaniac policies did not match Churchill’s inspiration and Roosevelt’s Persistence Leaders such as Churchill and Roosevelt had cooperated with each other and presented a united purpose which Hitler and Mussolini could not match.