📍Topic 7.6 Causes of World War II

📖 AMSCO p.503 - p.507

Main Idea

Key Timeline

Image Courtesy of Julia

Things to Know

Aftermath of World War I

• Following World War I, European countries experienced economic instability and civil unrest.
• Due to poor economic conditions, Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party took control of Italy in 1922
• Germany adopted Italian fascism and militarism, as World War I peace left Germany with a poor economy and a lack of resources.

The Weimar Republic

• After the defeat of Germany in 1918, the Weimar Republic was democratically elected, replacing the monarchical rule.
• The effects of the Treaty of Versailles and World War I created a sense of bitterness among the Germans due to:
  • Germany being required to pay billions in war reparations and being required to disarm their military. 💰
  • Unemployment rates rising due to the weak economy.
• The Germans began blaming the Weimar Republic for being too weak to handle Germany’s problems and looked at right-wing politicians who promised solutions.

The Rise of Hitler and the Nazis

• The National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazis) came to power in 1932 after the parliamentary elections.
• In 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg allowed Adolf Hitler to create a government as the chancellor. When Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler declared himself president.
• The Nazis employed fear tactics to convince the Germans they were in a state of emergency.
  • For instance, the Nazis orchestrated the burning of the German Parliament building, and the Reichstag, and blamed radical extremists for the act.
• Hitler then outlawed all other political parties and any forms of resistance to his rule. 🚫

Scapegoating of the Jews and other Minorities

• Hitler promoted ultranationalism and scientific racism, creating anti-Semitic sentiments against German Jews.
• Hitler claimed that Jews and other minorities were responsible for Germany’s problems, therefore Germans needed to purge the “outsiders” to preserve the “pure Aryan race.”
  • These “outsiders” include Jews, Slavs, communists, gay people, and the Roma people.
• Hitler passed the Nuremberg Laws in 1935, a series of laws to discriminate against the Jews. 📜
  • The laws forbid marriage between Jewish people and non-Jewish people.
  • The laws stripped Jewish people of citizenship and pushed them outside of German society.
  • Other Eastern European countries, such as Romania and Bulgaria, followed in Germany’s footsteps and began passing laws discriminating against Jewish people.
• Kristallnacht, or the “Night of Broken “Glass”
  • In November of 1938, after a Jewish teenager assassinated a German Diplomat, began a night of anti-Jewish riots.
  • The Nazis orchestrated the night which resulted in the death of over 90 German Jews, the destruction of almost every single synagogue in Germany, and the destruction of about 7,000 Jewish shops.
  • Over 30,000 Jews were also arrested and sent to concentration camps on this night.
    • At this time, prisoners were released and ordered to leave Germany, which would not be an option for concentration camp prisoners later on.

Nazi’s Aggressive Militarism

• The Axis Powers 🤝
  • Hitler began searching for allies to aid him in growing the German empire. 🔍
  • Rome-Berlin Axis was a military pact formed with Italy in 1936 based on their shared political ideology and economic interest.
  • Anti-Comintern Pact was ****Germany created a military pact with Japan, against communists.
  • These three nations formed the Axis Powers.
• Expansion of Germany in the Rhineland
  • The ****Treaty of Versailles demilitarized the German military, so in March of 1935, Hitler violated treaty agreements by announcing the creation of an air force and a policy of conscription to increase the size of the army.
  • The Treaty set up a 31-mile buffer zone between Germany and France, called the Rhineland, where Germany would not be able to station troops. In March of 1936, Hitler broke this agreement as well by settling troops in the area. ❌
  • Britain was keeping a policy of appeasement, hoping that giving in to Germany’s demands would keep peace.
• Germany’s military expansion and support of the fascist Spanish National government during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) signified Hitler’s growing power.
• Annexation of Austria
  • With new alliances and an improved army, Hitler created a new German empire, the Third Reich.
  • Hitler wanted Austria under German rule, so he threatened an invasion to get the Austrian chancellor to give more power to the Austrian Nazi Party.
  • The Austrian Nazi Party would allow German troops to occupy with no resistance.
  • Austria became part of the Third Reich in March 1938, after the Anschluss (political union).
• Czechoslovakia
  • In 1938, Hitler wanted control of the border territory of Czechoslovakia, Sudetenland. He believed since most people there spoke German, so they were part of the Aryan empire.
  • Hitler met with the leaders of Britain, France, and Italy in Munich to discuss this demand.
    • Neville Chamberlain, the British prime minister, pursued the policy of appeasement believing it would end Hitler’s demands for land and keep peace.
    • The Munich Agreement promised Hitler ****Sudetenland as long as he stopped demanding more territory. ☮️
  • However, the appeasement emboldened Hitler who with an armed invasion took all of Czechoslovakia in 1939.
• Poland
  • Next, Hitler wanted control of the Polish port of Danzig. This time, Britain ended its policy of appeasement promising to protect Poland.
  • Britain and France wanted to create an alliance against Germany with the Soviet Union. However, Germany was already in negotiations with the Soviet Union.
  • German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact 🤝: In 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union pledged not to attack each other. Hitler also offered Stalin control of eastern Poland and the Baltic States if Stalin helped with the German invasion of western Poland.
  • Germany invaded Poland a month later, claiming Poland attacked first. Britain and France declared war on Germany to protect Poland, which started World War II in Europe.

World War II in Asia

• Japan
  • In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and after a few months successfully created Manchukuo, a state under Japan’s control.
  • In 1937, a small incident between Japanese and Chinese troops escalated which caused Japan to launch a full-scale invasion of China. This was the beginning of World War II in Asia.
  • By 1939, Japan had already been invading Korean and Chinese territory for 50 years.

Summary of the Causes

• Diplomatic
  • Unfairness of the Treaty of Versailles
  • Continuation of appeasement
  • Failed from the League of Nations
• Economic
  • Global Depression
  • Treaty of Versailles
• Political
  • The rise of Hitler and German militarism
  • The Rise of Japan Militarism

Terms to Remember