Causes of the Second World War

Fundamental / Underlying Causes

1) The Treaty of Versailles

War Guilt Clause & reparation payments made Germany bitter and want to seek revenge

2) The Great Depression Economic crisis put countries in

chaos – Hitler and Mussolini used this to their advantage

Fundamental / Underlying Causes – cont’

3) The Rise of Fascism, Extreme Nationalism, & Imperial Aggressiveness

Hitler & Mussolini – powerful leaders who were: Nationalistic, militaristic, imperialistic Promise to lead people out of difficult times

Japan – invaded Manchuria (in China) -1931 Italy – invaded Ethiopia – 1935 Germany – reoccupied Rhineland (1936),

annexed Austria (1938), and seized Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia

Fundamental / Underlying Causes –

cont’4) The Failure of the

League of Nations Lacked key members

(USA and USSR at first)

Inability to enforce decisions left it restricted in effectiveness

Nations lost confidence in “collective security”

Hitler pulled out of League

Fundamental / Underlying Causes –

cont’5) Policy of

Appeasement – (see Immediate Causes)

Gave in to Germany’s demands in hopes to avoid conflict

British PM Neville Chamberlain argued appeasement policy preferable to war

Fundamental / Underlying Causes –

cont’6) Lack of Sympathy for

Jewish People Failure of Britain and

France to help out German Jews or to recognize that the treatment they were receiving was more than a domestic problem

Most nations of the world (including Canada) were unsympathetic to Jewish People SS St. Louis Incident - 1939

Immediate Causes

Appeasement – policy whereby when a country becomes aggressive, other countries give the aggressor what it wants just to prevent another war

Britain and France – practiced appeasement with Hitler until 1939

British PM Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler - 1938

1) Appeasement Crises – 1936-1939

Appeasement Crises – cont’

Treaty of Versailles – forced Germany to remove all military presence from Rhineland (which borders France)

March 1936 – Hitler sent troops into Rhineland, but Britain

and France did nothing

a) Re-militarization of the Rhineland

Appeasement Crises – cont’

Annexation – to make something a part of a greater whole

March, 1938 – German troops moved into Austria and made it part of Germany

b) Annexation of Austria

• In direct violation of Treaty of Versailles

• Democracies did nothing

Appeasement Crises – cont’

When Czechoslovakia was created – over 3 million Germans were included in its boundaries in area called Sudetenland

Hitler wanted these Germans “reunified” with Germany

September, 1938 - Crisis came to a head

c) Appeasement in Czechoslovakia

Appeasement Crises – cont’

After making demands regarding the Sudetenland, Hitler threatened invasion on October 1st

Britain and France panicked because this could lead to war

Called Conference in Munich, Germany

c) Czechoslovakia – cont’

Leaders at Munich Conference

Munich Conference – cont’ Appeasers gave Hitler Sudetenland in exchange for not

invading the rest of Czechoslovakia

Wishes of Czechs completely ignored

Appeasement Crises – cont’c) Czechoslovakia – cont’ –

The famous photo from the Munich Conference 1938 is that of Neville Chamberlain holding up a scrap of paper and claiming to have secured "peace in our time".

• Benes, Czech PM, not even allowed at Conference

• British PM Chamberlain returned to England proclaiming a great victory

Appeasement Crises – cont’

March 15th, 1939 - Appeasement Policy came crashing down when Germany invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia

Another European war was now unavoidable

c) Czechoslovakia – cont’ –

German Troops enter Prague March 15, 1939

2) NAZI-Soviet Pact and WWII

Prior to WWII – Britain and France unwilling to cooperate with communist Stalin to try to “scare” Hitler

Stalin tried to convince Britain and France to “scare” Hitler into stopping – they turned him down

Hitler – goal was to eradicate communism, so Stalin’s fears justified

2) NAZI-Soviet Pact and WWII – cont’

Non-Aggression Pact – Aug 1939

Agreement to not attack each other, and to divide Poland between them

Both sides knew they were lying about the non-aggression part of pact, but they signed it to gain time: Hitler wanted to avoid a 2-

Front war when he attacked Poland

Stalin wanted to buy time to prepare for war

Essentially: this pact cleared the way for Hitler to start WWII

The Last Straw: Germany’s

Invasion of Poland - 1939

September 1, 1939 – WWII began with German invasion of Poland

NAZIs used the “blitzkrieg” (“lightning warfare”) method Airplanes led attack to knock

out key enemy positions Immediately followed by tank

& motorized infantry attacks Attacking forces swept past

enemy, then close in behind, thereby trapping them

NAZIs swept through Poland, encountering little resistance

Appeasement No Longer:

Declarations of War1) France & Britain

immediately declared war on Germany

2) Canada declared war one week later (September 10th) Parliament voted and

decided to join war NOT automatic like in WWI Leaders in Quebec

supported Canada’s entry into war based on PM King’s promise that conscription (compulsory military service) would never be required