1. Outbreak of WWII
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How did unresolved issues from WWI lead to the outbreak of WWII?

2. TEKS and Objectives
We will…
I will…
(1F) identify causes/effects of world wars and their impact on political, economic, and social systems… (12B) explain roles of various world leaders prior to/during World War II (12C) explain major causes/events of World War II (28C) explain effects of major new military technologies on World War II…
Summarize the causes of WWII

3. Germany in Crisis Weimar Republic Collapses Nazi Party
Great Depression spread to Germany
Leaders could not agree on how to deal with economy
Communist and Nazi Parties offered radical solutions
Nazi Party
Led by Adolf Hitler
Fanatic loyalty to “Führer” (father)

4. Hitler’s Vision for Germany
Condemnation of the Weimar Republic
blamed for Treaty of Versailles
Urged Germans to replace democracy with strong leader
Aryans as Superior Race
Believed Germans (Aryans) should rule the world
Planned to wipe out Slavic peoples (Poles) to make room for Germans in Eastern Europe

5. Hitler’s Vision for Germany
Anti-Semitism
Called Jews an “evil race”
Blamed them for Germany’s defeat in WWI
Mein Kampf
“My Struggle”
Spelled out Hitler’s radical ideas

6. Hitler’s Rise to Power “Brown Shirts” Nazi Supporters
Private army of former soldiers and unemployed workers
Beat up political opponents/Jews
Staged rallies/parades
Nazi Supporters
Elected Nazis to legislature
Used violence and murder to created chaos and fear
Appointed Hitler as chancellor of Germany (head of state)

7. Nazi Germany Human Rights Violations Economic Prosperity
People arrested/executed without trial
Press censored
Unions and rival political parties outlawed
Economic Prosperity
Stimulated economy with public works projects (building highways, military)
Secured full employment

8. Nazi Germany Persecution of Jews Rule through Terror
Fired from government jobs
Citizenship revoked
Forced to wear yellow star
Barred from marrying Germans
Shops/synagogues vandalized and burned
Rule through Terror
Gestapo (secret police) arrested suspected opponents
People mistreated, tortured, and killed in concentration camps
Rule through Propaganda
Newspapers, radios, and films glorified Nazism
“Hitler Youths” indoctrinated children

9. Main Causes of WWII

10. ANGER over Treaty of Versailles
Problems with the Treaty
Dictated peace
Not based on Wilson’s Fourteen Points
War Guilt Clause unjustified
Loss of territory and population
High reparations

11. European AGGRESSION Italy Expands Spain Falls to Fascism
Mussolini invades Ethiopia
Spain Falls to Fascism
Francisco Franco becomes Spanish dictator with Hitler’s help
Germany Expands
Wanted to unite all German-speaking peoples
Hitler annexed (took over) Austria
Claimed part of Czechoslovakia

12. Appeasement Fails Appeasement Munich Conference (1938)
Giving in to aggression in order to avoid war
Munich Conference (1938)
European leaders met with Hitler
Appeased Hitler with western Czechoslovakia

14. Munich Conference
Appeasement Fails!

16. Non-Aggression Pact USSR and Germany
Secret treaty to invade/divide Poland
Promise not to attack each other
Hitler Invades Poland (September 1939)
Launches blitzkrieg (lightning war)
Poland quickly falls
Britain and France declare war on Germany

17. Main Countries at War Allied Powers (BARF) Axis Powers (JIG) Britain
America (U.S. after Dec 1941))
Russia (USSR)
France
Japan
Italy
Germany

18. The War in Europe Hitler’s Early Success
Conquer Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, and much of North Africa
March into Paris, France in June 1940
Hitler’s next target was Britain

19. Hitler in France

20. Battle of Britain (July 1940)
Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister
Rallied British resistance
Inspired people with public broadcasts
Hitler Fails to Defeat British
Island location helped defend from air attacks
Used radar to detect enemy aircraft

21. Scenes from “The Battle of Britain” Germany’s massive bombardment of Britain

23. Operation Barbarossa (1941)
Hitler Invades Soviet Union
One of the coldest winters on record
German troops not prepared
Stalin used scorched-policy (destroyed all resources as they retreated)
Battle of Stalingrad
Turning point of WWII
Soviets defeated Germany