ww2 leq

intro

after ww2

• Countries wanted to avoid another major war

  • Their actions failed to keep peace

treaty of versailles

punished germany

punished germany

• Taking land

• Reducing its military

• Forcing it to pay money to other countries

forcing it to pay money to other countries

• Worsened Germany’s economy

• Made people angry

the great depression

Made the world economy weak → people struggled

Leaders → Hitler, mussolini, japanese gov

Took aggressive actions to gain more power

Britain and france

• Tried to avoid war → allowed them to expand

  • Made things worse

thesis

ww2 caused by

• Harsh terms of treaty of versailles

• Econ struggles of the great depression

• Policy of appeasement

these events allowed

• Leaders to take power

• Expand their control

• Make war unavoidable

bp1

treaty of versailles

•  one of biggest causes of WW2

forced germany

• take the blame of WW1

• Give up land

• Pay large amounts of money to other countries

Caused germany’s econ to collapse → affected lives of many people

• Hyperinflation → basic goods too expensive

• Unemployment → millions of germans w out jobs

this econ crisis

fueled resentment toward brit and france

germans felt humiliated and unfairly punished

Many people supported hitler → promised to restore Germany’s strength and undo the harsh terms

hitler in power

• rebuilt germany’s military

• Took back land → directly violating the treaty

taking land —> violating treaty

Caused tension in europe → affected international relations

Brit and france did little to stop hitler

feared another war

Hitler sent troops into the rhineland

Take back a region germany had lost after ww1

• no action was taken

persuaded hitler to jeep expanding

Lead to annexation of austria + invasion of poland

Treaty of versailles → meant to prevent future conflicts

Caused deep resentment + econ struggles

Affected germany’s political landscape

led directly to ww2

bp2

Before ww2 → brit and france followed a policy of appeasement

Allowed hitler to break the rules + take land to avoid war

Allowed hitler to break the rules + take land to avoid war

Compares and contrasts to alliance system before ww1

alliance systerm (before ww1)

Euro nations formed military agreements promising to protect each other

Alliances led to countries entering ww1 quickly → appeasement had opposite effect

• Delayed action against germany → allowed hitler to grow stronger

Significant example of appeasement → munich conference

Brit and france allowed hitler to take a part of czechoslovakia in exchange for a promise not to take more land

Allowed hitler to believe he could keep expanding w out consequences

Caused him to invade poland

In contrast, before ww1

Euro nations had been quick to react to conflicts

to be specific alliance commitments

led to immediate war

whereas appeasement

delayed war

in both cases

decisions made by euro powers contribued to global conflict

bp3

after ww1

us followed isolationism

Avoided involvement in foreign conflicts

stayed the same over time

us passed neutrality acts

Prevent being drawn into another euro war

changed over time

• germany, italy + japan became bigger threats

Us first helped brit + france

sent supplies thru lend-lease act

lend-lease act

allowed us to support allies w out directly entering the war

biggest change

after attack on pearl harbor

Japan’s surprise attack on us’s naval base in hawaii → massive destruction

killed over 2k americans

caused us public opinion to shift

affected gov’s decision to join the war

us gov decision

• Congress quickly declared war on japan

• Germany + italy declared war on the us

us isolationsim

stayed the same for many years

as global threats grew

changed over time

• leading us to take an active role in ww2