Geography in Europe and the Causes of WWII

 Recap of WWI and the boundary lines.

 Germany occupied the black and grey areas.  Under the rule of Hitler their power continued to grow.

 Ultimately the league failed because of four reasons the reasons. 1. The first reason was that not all countries joined the league. 2. The second reason was that the league had no power. ▪ Their main weapon was to ask countries to stop trading with the aggressive countries. 3. The third reason was that the league had no army. 4. The league was unable to act quickly because it was difficult to get all the nations together to make a decision.

 What was it ?  The legacy of the Treaty of Versailles was difficult to erase.  They were blamed for the war  Deprived of its overseas colonies  Forbidden to maintain any military forces in its western Rhineland.  Had to pay reparations, which was not good for the economy  Great Depression  Paper money became worthless and inflation was the new enemy.

The policy of agreeing to the demands of another to avoid conflict or hostility. The flaw of this policy was that Hitler saw it as a sign of weakness. Even though Britain and France agreed to his early demands, he continued to make more.

 The Depression  social, economic, and political problems.  Hitler promised better things for his people.  Germany believed their problems were somebody else’s fault. ▪ foreigners, communists, democrats, Jews.  This led to the rise of fascism.  Mussolini, Hitler, Franco, and Stalin

 A totalitarian system of government that involves state control of a society, glorification of war, persecution of certain groups, and ruthless suppression of any dissent.  one leader or one party that controls everything.  It relies on propaganda, secret police and individual rights disappear.  A form of dictatorship based on nationalistic and racist theories.

Benito Mussolini formed the Fascist party to fight communism and socialism. Fascists wore “black shirts” Broke up trade unions and communist rallies The conducted a campaign of terror. They went to Rome and formed a new government. Mussolini became dictator of Italy. (only party permitted) - the Black Shirts silenced all criticism.

 The media was censored and personal rights crushed.  He wanted to combine politics with the economy by creating the corporate state.  He organized industrial units called “corporations.”  Owners and the fascist party members were to decide together what products factories would manufacture and what profits would be made. Unions were not allowed.

 Joseph Stalin: was a ruthless, dedicated communist dictator.  Emphasis on industry  Those who refused to work were tortured, imprisoned or sent to force-labor camps  Had loyal supporters  When criticized he put them on trial and had them shot.

 1936, led a revolt against the government of Spain.  Franco disliked communism  Supported by the army, landowners, factory owners, the Church and the Falange (the Spanish Fascists).  Franco became dictator in1938

 The Nationalist Socialist Party formed (Nazi)  uniformed and disciplined party.  Adolf Hitler was the leader.  He wrote a book called Mein Kampf (My Struggle) while in prison.  The book expressed some of his ideas:  Passionate German Nationalism  His hatred for Jews  His ideas about a super race of people. swastika as the emblem of racial purity red background was for the workers

 As dictator the Nazi party became the only legal party in Germany.  Storm Troopers or Brown Shirts destroyed anyone who opposed them.  Books disagreeing with Nazi ideas were burned  Textbooks were rewritten and teachers were told what to teach.  Hitler relied on propaganda.  Used the Gestapo, to enforce the party’s ideas.

1933: Hitler gains power in Germany. Begins to rearm in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. 1935: German Air Force (Luftwaffe) now has more airplanes than the Royal Air Force. 1936: German troops re-occupy the Rhineland in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. The British government states that Hitler has the right to do this; it states he is “going into his own backyard.”

1938: (March) Hitler annexes of the Treaty of Versailles. (October) Hitler demands and gets permission of both France and Britain to occupy the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia. (known as the Munich Agreement) 1939: (March) Hitler takes over the remainder of Czechoslovakia. Britain and France offer guarantees of assistance to Poland in the event of German aggression

1939 (summer): Hitler demands the return of the “Polish Corridor” and the city of Danzig to Germany. Poland refuses. Britain and France prepare for war (Sept) Hitler attacks Poland. The British and French declare war on Germany. 1 Week later, Canada declares war on Germany