1. World War 2

2. A Quick Review Treaty of Versailles both punished and limited Germany
Germany was forced to pay reparations to the Allied countries
Germany was also forced to limit the size of its armed forces
Germany was also not allowed to be a part of the League of Nations
This bankrupted Germany and left it at the mercy of the allies

3. A Quick Review
Treaty of Versailles led to bitterness and anger among the German people
This set the perfect stage for Adolph Hitler to rise to power
Hitler rose by promising the German people that he would revive their country through extreme nationalism
Hitler systematically eliminated all of his enemies until he had gained control of the entire government

4. Early Warning Signs
Almost immediately after taking control, Hitler began to ignore nearly every part of the Treaty of Versailles
Built up the military to a larger size than it had been in WWI
Began to build up weapons and technologies
Re-occupied territory that Germany had been forced to give up

5. A Weak League
Almost as soon as Hitler’s intentions became clear, the League of Nations predicted a second “Great War” would occur
Acted quickly to form new alliances to counter Hitler
Because of the weakness of the alliance, however, alliances were formed slowly, and only after working through the politics and red tape of the League
Further emboldening Hitler was the United States’ declaration of neutrality in 1935

6. An Unlikely Alliance
Following the Treaty of Versailles, Italy felt that it had been left out of most of the negotiations, and had been given virtually nothing it had been promised in the Treaty
This left Italy feeling angry and cheated
Italy also noticed the weakness of the League’s early response to Hitler
Desiring to be on the stronger side, and to get revenge for the broken promises, Italy and Germany formed the Rome-Berlin Axis, a treaty of alliance between the two countries

7. Hitler Pushes His Limits
In 1938, Hitler formally annexed (brought under his control) Austria for Germany
This was a clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles, and should have been a reason for the League of Nations to step in
Ultimately, the League of Nations raised no formal complaints against Hitler for this
This emboldened Hitler to continue his violations of the Treaty of Versailles, as he became convinced that the League would do nothing to stop him

8. Hitler Pushes His Limits
Later the same year, Hitler annexed parts of Czechoslovakia
This finally provoked a response from the Allies, who demanded that Hitler stop his takeover of territory
After a single meeting, the Munich Agreement was signed between the Allies and Hitler
In this agreement, Hitler agreed to stop his conquests in exchange for the Czech territories he wanted, an agreement which the British prime minister claimed meant “Peace in our time!”.

9. Hitler Ignores His Limits
Although Hitler appeared to be satisfied at first, he was furious that the Allies had forced him into an agreement that limited his takeover of the entire country of Czechoslovakia
In 1939, Hitler ordered the invasion of Czechoslovakia and took the entire country
Although angered by this action, the Allies again did virtually nothing in response to Hitler’s invasion

10. Hitler Prepares for War
Because of their attempted intervention in Czechoslovakia, Hitler began to believe that France and Britain were eventually going to go to war with Germany
In 1939, Hitler sent his foreign minister to sign a non-aggression agreement with the Soviet Union in an attempt to ensure that they stayed out of the war
With the Soviet Union firmly out of the way, Hitler set his sights on Poland