How Did the Second World War Start? A presentation by Miss Hayton

Its all about being friends with each other! Some countries were friends with certain countries and not others! France and Britain were friendly with each other. Germany and Italy were friendly with each other.

How did the war start? To find out how the Second World War started we have to look back at the First World War. This map of Europe shows some of the countries involved.

How, and why did World War I start? World War I began in 1914 and lasted until It was supposed to be The war to end all wars. Countries had formed friendships or alliances with each other. Different countries began to build up their armies and build bigger, more powerful ships.

What was the main cause? Germany, Austria and Italy were allies. France, Britain and Russia were allies. A Serbian man called Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo.

What happened next? Gavrilo Princip was from Serbia, so Austria wanted them to apologise and pay compensation. Serbia refused, so Austria declared war. Russia was Serbias ally, so they declared war on Austria. Germany declared war on Russia and Serbia. France declared war on Austria and Germany. Italy declared war on France and Russia. Germany invaded Belgium, so Britain declared war.

How long did the war last? The war that was supposed to end by Christmas 1914 only ended on November 11 th During the war millions of people were killed or injured.

How did World War I end? By September 1918 the German High Command realised that the war was lost. The Armistice was signed at 11 a.m. on November 11 th In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed.

What did the treaty do? Many people were determined to stop war happening again. A League of Nations was established to enable countries to keep peace. Germany was made to take the blame.

What happened after the war? Germany was made to pay out huge sums of money in compensation. They were also made to give up some land. Germany was also forced to reduce the size of her armies and to sink her ships. As a result the country became bankrupt.

What happened next? The country had no money, people had no jobs and were starving. Some people resented the status and money that others, such as Jews had. Jews were persecuted and made to give up their jobs and money Adolf Hitler rose to power with promises to help the German people. He set up youth groups and spoke at rallies.

The situation got worse! All over Europe, people began to suffer as jobs disappeared. Germany began to re-build her ships and build up her armies.

What did we do? The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain believed that he could negotiate with Adolf Hitler. He met Herr Hitler at Munich in 1938 and declared the meeting was successful, Peace in our time he said.

Was it Peace in our time? Unfortunately not! Germany, with the support of her allies, continued to invade other countries. In September 1939 Britain issued an ultimatum, after Germany invaded Poland. It was ignored, so war was declared.

What happened first? War was declared on September 3 rd Air raid sirens sounded, but it was a false alarm. The evacuation of children began.