Storm Clouds

Why? (underlying causes of WWII)Treaty of Versailles

A. Germany lost land to surrounding nations

B. War Reparations

1) Allies collect $ to pay back war debts to U.S.

2) Germany must pay $57 trillion (modern equivalent)

3) Bankrupted the German economy & embarrassed GermansLloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson

during negotiations for the Treaty

Why? (underlying causes of WWII)

World-wide DepressionA. The Depression

made Germany’s debt even worse

B. Desperate people turn to desperate leaders

Hitler seemed to provide solutions to Germany’s problems

Wallpapering with German Deutschemarks

Why? (underlying causes of WWII)World-wide Depression

•Hitler provided scapegoats for Germany’s problems (foreigners, Jews, communists, Roma (Gypsies), mentally ill, homosexuals)

•Kristallnacht - vandalism & destruction of Jewish property & synagogues

Why?Isolationism of Major Powers

Why was the U.S. Isolationist?

1. Great Depression (problems at home)

2. Perceptions of WWIa. WWI did not seem to solve much

b. People began to think that we’d got into WWI for the wrong reasons (greedy American businessmen!)

Why?Isolationism of Major Powers

Opposition to war (Pacifism)

a. Washington Conference - Limits on size of country's navies

b. Kellogg-Briand pact - condemned war as a way to solving conflicts

c. Nye Committee Hearings

d. Neutrality Acts in the US

Why?Isolationism of Major Powers

This led to policies of “Appeasement”

1. Appeasement: give dictators what they want and hope that they won’t want anything else

2. Begins with Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and continues with Hitler . . .

The Road to World War II

Who are the other people in this picture and what does the cartoonist think of them?

March 1936: German troops marched into the Rhineland

The Rhineland was a region of Germany that was ‘demilitarised’ after the Treaty of Versailles. Germany was not allowed to have troops in the region.

Hitler’s actions showed how he was willing to directly challenge the treaty.

March 1938: Nazi Germany annexed Austria

Again, this went against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles which banned Germany from uniting with Austria.

However, the arrival of German troops was met with great enthusiasm by many Austrian people.

March 1939: Germany invaded Czechoslovakia

Hitler had ordered the occupation of a part of Czechoslovakia known as the Sudetenland (in October 1938). Many hoped that that this would be the last conquest of the Nazis.

However, in March 1939, he ordered his troops to take over the remainder of Czechoslovakia. This was the first aggressive step that suggested that a war in Europe would soon begin.

Hitler and Stalin (the Russian leader) signed a ‘non-aggression pact’.

They promised that neither country would attack the other in the event of war.

As part of the deal, Hitler promised Stalin part of Poland, which he planned to invade soon.

August 1939: Germany and Russia signed a non-aggression pact

This photo shows the Russian foreign minister signing the pact, whilst Stalin stands smiling in the background

The non-aggression pact was surprising. Hitler and Stalin were seen as natural enemies.

When Hitler talked of taking over new land for Germany, many thought that he meant Russia.

Hitler also hated Communism, the form of government in Russia

HitlerStalin

Growing Military Power

Democracy in Crisis• After World War I, Japan

had established a parliamentary government

• 1930s, many Japanese became dissatisfied with multiparty democratic government.

Rise of Nationalism• Radical groups formed in

response to the government’s perceived weaknesses.

• Demanded an end to Western-style institutions and a return to traditional ways.

The Manchurian Incident• Japan lacked the land and raw materials to

• 1932 Manchurian Incident.

• Japan set up Manchuria as a puppet state,

• The military took a much stronger hand in governing Japan, especially in the area of foreign policy.

Looking Beyond China

Greater East Asia • Co-Prosperity Sphere

extending from Manchuria to the Dutch East Indies.

• Japan began to expand into French Indonesia and the oil-rich Dutch East Indies.

Alliances and Further Expansion

• In September 1940, Japan allied itself with Germany and Italy through the Tripartite Pact.

• In April 1941, Japan signed a neutrality pact with the Soviet Union.

Japanese Aggression