CAUSES (Long Term)

•WWI (the harsh conditions of the Treaty of Versailles)

•Dictators come to power in Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Soviet Union

•Severe economic problems exist in Europe and Asia.

•Italy, Germany, and Japan expand their territory.

•The policy of appeasement fails.

Causes (Immediate)

•Germany invades Poland.

•Japanese attack the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor

Causes of World War II

WWI (the harsh conditions of the Treaty of Versailles)

After Germany lost World War I,The winning nations drafted the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty forced Germany to

• Accept full guilt• Pay millions in reparations to Great Britain and France• Reduce its military forces• Give up colonies and

territories (Left to right) The “Big Four”: David Lloyd George of Britain, Vittorio Orlando of Italy, Georges Clemenceau of France, and Woodrow Wilson of the United States, the principal architects of the Treaty of Versailles.

Rise of Dictators

Adolph Hitler Der Fuhrer

Germany

Benito Mussolini Il Duce

Italy

Joseph Stalin“Man of Steel”

Soviet Union

Hideki Tojo“The Razor”

Japan

Axis Axis Allies Axis

Worldwide Economic Depression

• After WWI, many European economies were unstable.

• The 1929 stock market crash in the U.S. and the resulting Great Depression spread throughout the world. U.S. restrictive tariff policies worsened the depression.

• As economies plummeted and unemployment rose, many people turned to powerful leaders and governments who promised success through military buildup and the conquest of territory.

After the end of WWII the German Economy was in shambles. The extreme shortage of food lead to bread lines such as this.

Italy, Germany, and Japan expand their territory

Mussolini wanted to build aNew Roman Empire in Africa.In 1935, the Italian Army Invaded Ethiopia, then knownAs Abyssinia.

In 1931, the Japanese armyinvaded resource rich Manchuria. When the Japanese prime minister protested, he was assassinatedby military officials. From that point forward, the military controlled the country.

In March of 1938, after the annexation of Austria by Germany (known as the Anschluss), German officers marched into Austria. This change, which was more of an absorbing of Austria into Germany than an equal unification, lasted until the end of the war.

Italian Expansion German Expansion Japanese Expansion

The Policy of Appeasement Fails

• Appeasement is the act of giving into an enemy’s demands in hopes of avoiding further conflict.

• In 1938, Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia cede the Sudetenland to Germany. He claimed that the German population living there was being mistreated.

• At the Munich Conference, Sep. 1938, Britain and France agreed to Hitler’s demands, a policy that came to be known as appeasement. In other words, they made concessions in exchange for peace.

Immediate Cause: Germany invades Poland• On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Poland bravely resisted Germany’s onslaught, but its army was outdated. The Polish army rode horses and carried lances against the German tanks.

• The Germans used a new type of warfare called blitzkrieg or “lightning war.” Blitzkrieg combined several technologies- aircraft, tanks, parachutes, and radios- to produce a highly mobile, fast moving army that could coordinate multiple attacks, break through lines, and rapidly encircle enemy positions.

• Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. World War II had officially begun!

The classic characteristic of what is commonly known as "blitzkrieg" is a highly mobile form of infantry and armor working in combined arms teams.

Immediate Cause: Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor

• On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked the U.S. Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

• The result was 8 battle- ships sunk or damaged, 188 aircraft destroyed, and 2403 Americans dead.

• The next day, President Franklin Roosevelt asked for and received a declaration of war from congress against Japan.