Causes of World War II Global II

Aggression, Appeasement, and War  Allied leaders wanted to avoid war  world peace “ no more war ”  Italy, Germany, Spain, and Japan glorified war and scorned peace

Dictators Challenge World Peace  Japanese military leaders wanted an empire as powerful as the western powers.  Seized Manchuria in 1931  Withdrew from League of Nations and continued to invade China

Appeasement of Japan

Italy Busts a Move  1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia  Mussolini used modern weapons to win  Tanks, machine guns, poison gas, and airplanes  League of Nations ordered sanctions (penalties)  No power to enforce the sanctions Appeasement of Italy

Hitler Tests the Waters  Hitler built up military  Went against the Treaty of Versailles (stopped paying reparations)  Invaded the Rhineland  Appeasement-policy of giving in to demands of an aggressor to keep peace

Appeasement of Germany

Germany is on the Move  Invaded Austria to combine the two countries  Hitler scared anyone who opposed him in Austria a.k.a. “ Anchluss ” 1938  Western democracies stood down

Czech Crisis..Munich Conference 1938  Czechoslovakia was one of two democracies in Eastern Europe  Hitler wanted the 3 million Germans in western Czech to be given autonomy  Hitler made a deal with Britain and France that he would not invade anymore if they gave up the Sudetenland

Munich Agreement 1938 “ Peace in our time …” ???

Hitler violates Munich Agreement

Why Did Western Powers Back Down? 1. France was politically divided at home  needed British support 2. Britain didn ’ t want to confront Hitler 3. Thought Fascism was better than Soviet Communism 4. Great Depression hurt economies 5. Pacifism, opposition to all war Why Appeasement?

Why didn ’ t the U.S. oppose Appeasement & enter WWII earlier? : U.S. Army ranked 16 th in world behind Romania 2.May 1941: # of combat ready divisions (10-15,000 soldiers) a)US = 1 b)Germany = # of Military Aircraft in 1941 a)US = 471 b)Germany = 2,700 on Eastern Front alone 4.Tanks: a)US = 200 b)Germany = 3,500 on Eastern Front alone

Spanish Civil War  Monarchy to Republic  Catholic Church and military ran the show  Revolt by peasants that forced the king to leave the throne  Hitler bombed Spain and helped Francisco Franco become the Fascist leader of Spain

Axis Powers are formed  Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis 1936  Agreed to fight Soviet Communism  Not interfere with each other ’ s expansion

Nazi-Soviet Pact  1939, Hitler makes a pact with Stalin  Not to fight against each other, divide up Poland  Germany gets guarantee of one- front war; USSR get land and time to rebuild its military  Germany invades Poland  Britain and France declare war on Germany

Why War Began? 1. Axis Aggression 2. Need for raw materials encourages expansion 3. Western Appeasement 4. Failures of Treaty of Versailles - Revise the 1919 Peace Settlement