World War II

Causes of WWII

1. Dictators– The dictators supported each other– Emperor Hirohito was the dictator of Japan– Hitler was the dictator of Germany– Mussolini was the dictator of Italy

Emperor Hirohito

Adolf Hitler

Mussolini

2. Harsh treatment of Germany after WWI

• The huge reparation payments ruined German economy

• Central Powers lost territory

3. Aggression of countries

• Countries were expanding their borders• The League of Nations was too weak to deal

with these countries

• Hitler called his new German empire the Third Reich

• Neville Chamberlain practiced a policy of appeasement with Germany.

• Appeasement – giving into Germany in the hopes that it will prevent another war

German Aggression

Neville Chamberlain

Munich Conference

• British, French and German meeting to settle German advancements into Czech Republic

Alliances

• Rome-Berlin Axis – between Germany and Itlay

• Anti-Comintern Pact – between Germany and Japan

• Non-Aggression Pact – between Germany and Russia

Final Straw!!

• Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939

• Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

Axis Powers

• Germany, Italy and Japan

Allied Powers

• Britain, France and later the United States