Four Main Causes to WW2

Treaty of Versailles: Allies Attitudes David Lloyd George (left) of Great Britain had two views on how Germany should be treated. Publicly: "Hang the Kaiser" and "Make Germany Pay“ Privately: believed that the spread of communism posed a far greater threat to the world than a defeated Germany. He did not want the people of Germany to become so disillusioned with their government that they turned to communism. Georges Clemenceau (middle) of France had one very simple belief Germany should be brought to its knees so that she could never start a war again. Woodrow Wilson (right) of America desire America to concentrate on itself and He believed that Germany should be punished but in a way that would lead to European reconciliation as opposed to revenge.

Treaty of Versailles General Clauses Establishment of the League of Nations War Guilt clause - Germany to accept blame Financial Clauses /Reparations - Germany was to pay for the damage caused by the war. A figure of almost a trillion dollars (in nowadays money) was set some time after the signing of the treaty. Military Clauses: Army - was to be reduced to 100,000 men and no tanks were allowed Navy - only allowed 6 ships and no submarines Air Force: None Rhineland - The Rhineland area was to be kept free of German military personnel and weapons Territorial Clauses -- Germany lost land to a number of other countries, including France, Belgium and Denmark. Land was also taken from Germany and given to Czechoslovakia and Poland. The League of Nations took control of Germany's colonies. Germany was not allowed to unite with Austria

Hitler’s Actions Hitler officially became Chancellor in 1933 In 1936, he ordered troops into the Rhineland, and made alliances with Japan and Italy. 1938, Austria “voted” to be taken back by Germany. Six months later, Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia be handed over to Germany. In 1939, Hitler broke the Munich Agreement and invaded Czechoslovakia. German troops invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 (the official start of WW2).

Failure of Appeasement Appeasement means giving in to someone provided their demands are seen as reasonable. Many politicians agreed that the demands of the Treaty of Versailles were too harsh and unreasonable. Many believed that Germany had the right to protect herself, and that a stronger Germany might prevent the spread of Communism. Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Britain, believed that giving in to Hitler's demands would prevent another war. The most notable example of appeasement was the Munich Agreement of September 1938, which Hitler broke within a year.

Failure of the League of Nations Set up in 1919 to help keep world peace Countries would settle by negotiation rather than force (don’t trade with countries who violate). The Depression caused some countries to want to expand to get resources, but other countries didn’t’ want to stop trade because their economy was already bad. Countries asked the League of Nations for help; it didn’t/couldn’t respond. The four major failures: Not all countries joined It had no power It had no army Unable to respond quickly

Use What You’ve Learned Take everything you’ve learned about the events leading up to WW2 and the Four Causes of WW2 to answer the following question: If you were and allied leader in the 1930s, what would you have done differently in order to prevent Hitler and Germany from starting WW2? Use at least two of the four causes that we learned about today to support your argument.