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

2. 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

3. 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

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

5. 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

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

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

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

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

10. 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

11. 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

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

13. 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?

14. 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)

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

16. Main AXIS Powers?

17. GERMANY, ITALY, JAPAN

18. Main Allies?

19. 1939: BRITAIN, FRANCE
1941: SOVIET UNION
Dec. 7, 1941: AMERICA