ww2 causes & key events

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long term causes, short term causes, key events

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38 Terms

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The Year Treaty of Versailles was Signed

signed in June 1919, formally ending World War I

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Who’s excluded in TOV

Germany and its allies were excluded from the Treaty of Versailles negotiations, facing significant reparations and territorial losses.
& Soviet Union & Japan

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War Guilt Clause

The clause in the Treaty of Versailles that assigned full blame for World War I to Germany, leading to heavy reparations and territorial concessions.

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Germany’s punishments

The severe consequences includes reparations (132m gold marks), territorial losses (13% of territory), and military restrictions, and Rhineland demilitarised & occupied for 15 years as defined by the Treaty of Versailles.

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Impact of TOV

  • significant political, economic, and social repercussions for Germany and other nations

  • contributing to the rise of extremism

  • Humiliation and resentment in Germany skyrocketed and fuelled nationalist movements (Hitler), creating fertile ground for radical politics (Nazism)

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Policy of Appeasement

A diplomatic strategy aimed at avoiding conflict by making concessions to an aggressive power, specifically associated with Britain and France toward Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

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Key event during the Policy of Appeasement

Munich Agreement of 1938 → Chamberlain allowed Hitler to take Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) without Czech consent, in exchange for promise of no war (which he broke later on).

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Reasons for the Policy of Appeasement

  • to prevent another large-scale war

  • to buy time for Britain’s military rearmament

  • to maintain peace in Europe

  • Hitler’s TOV complaints seemed fair

  • Strong Germany could act as a barrier against communism

  • economic hardship post-depression

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Results of the Policy of Appeasement

  • both sides gained a year for rearmament & Hitler got stronger

  • Czechoslovakia weakened (lost land)

  • Hitler saw Britain & France as weak

  • USSR lost faith in Britain & France → later signed Nazi-Soviet Pact

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Year of The Great Depression

1929 onwards

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Impacts of the Great Depression

  • Reparations & Depression crippled Germany’s economy

  • Hyperinflation (1923) destroyed savings & stock market crash

  • Unemployment skyrocketed

  • Radical right-wing groups (Nazi Party) gained support by promising to overturn TOV and restore power (people lost faith in the Weimar Government)

    • Hitler used the crisis to gain power and promised: to end the TOV, rebuild Germany & restore national pride

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Year of the Remilitarisation of Rhineland

1936

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Features of the Rise of Fascism in Germany

  • Dictatorship under a central leader

  • Extreme nationalism

  • Total government control

  • Focus on military strength

  • Hitler promised to restore Germany’s power and pride

  • Suppressed opposition (silenced/eliminated anyone who disagreed) to maintain national “brotherhood” — unity

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Nazi Ideology

  • survival of the strongest

  • anti-communism (linked to his hatred towards Jews)

  • aryan racial superiority

  • gain Lebensraum → expand into non-Aryan lands

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Rise of the Nazi Party

  • 1923 – Munich Putsch; Hitler jailed, writes Mein Kampf

  • 1933 – Hitler becomes Chancellor → Fuhrer (1934)

  • 1936 – Remilitarisation of Rhineland

  • 1938 – Anschluss with Austria; Sudetenland annexed

  • 1939 – Invasion of Czechoslovakia

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List all the Long Term Causes

  • Treaty of Versailles

  • The Great Depression

  • Policy of Appeasement

  • The Rise of Fascism in Germany

  • Rise of the Nazi Party

  • Expansionism (Japanese & Germany)

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Expansionism of Japan

  • Empire building (Manchuria, Taiwan, Korea)

  • 1931 – Invaded Manchuria

  • 1937 – War with China

  • 1941 – Attacked Pearl Harbor → Pacific War

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Expansionism in Germany

  • Lebensraum policy (eastern territorial expansion for more space and resources)

  • destroy TOV, unite all Germans

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List of all the Short-Term Causes

  • Hitler’s Foreign Policy Goals (undo TOV, unite Germans, expand east, destroy communism)

  • Rearmament

  • Lebensraum

  • Invasion of Poland (1939)

  • Japanese Invasion of Manchuria (1931 & 1937)

  • Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) (1939)

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Hitler’s Foreign Policy Goals

  • destroy TOV

  • unite German-speaking people

  • expand east (Lebensraum)

  • destroy communism

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Rearmament of Germany

began secretly after 1933; openly in 1935

  • army went over 500,000

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Lebensraum

Justification for eastern expansion; land taken from non-Aryans

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Invasion of Poland

by Germany, 1 Sept 1939

Triggered Britain & France to declare war 2 days later (final straw)

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Japanese Invasion of Manchuria (1931-32 & 1937)

1931: railway sabotage excuse → japanese takeover

1932: attacked Shanghai; league of nations orders withdrawal but Japan leaves League

1937: Japan invades China fully

shows the League failed and is too weak to enforce its rules → encourages other aggressive powers (Italy & Germany)

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Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact (Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact)

1939

  • Germany & USSR (Soviet union) not to attack each other for 10 years

  • Secret protocol to divide Poland between them

  • The USSR would also take Estonia, Latvia, and Bessarabia

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Operation Barbarossa — Invasion of Russia

  • June 1941

  • Location: USSR — Eastern Front

  • Cause: Hitler aimed to destroy communism, gain Lebensraum, and secure resources (oil, grain)

  • Significance: Initially successful, but the German advance stalled due to harsh winter and Soviet resistance

  • Germany now faced a two-front war (against the USSR in the east and the Allies in the west

    • weakened Germany’s position & a major shift in momentum

  • failed

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Seige of Tobruk

  • April-Dec 1941

  • Location: Tobruk, Libya (North Africa)

  • Cause: Strategic port needed to control supply routes in North Africa

    • Holding Tobruk allowed the Allies to have access to food, weapons, fuel, and equipment to keep fighting, while denying them to the Axis

  • Significance: “Rats of Tobruk” (Australian troops) held out against German/Italian forces; delayed Axis advance in North Africa.

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Attack on Pearl Harbour

  • Dec 1941

  • Location: Pearl Harbour, Hawaii (US Naval Base)

  • Cause: Japan sought to wipeout US Pacific Fleet to prevent interference with its planned expansion in Asia

  • Significance: Destroyed/damaged US fleet, brought the US into WW2, including the Pacific War

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Kokoda Campaign

  • July-Nov 1942

  • Location: Kokoda Track, Papua New Guinea

  • Cause: Japan sought to capture Port Moresby to threaten Australia and control supply lines in the Pacific

  • Significance: harsh jungle fighting; Australian victory stopped Japanese southward advance; boosted national morale

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Bombing of Darwin (Attacks on Australia)

  • Feb 1942 + raids till 1943

  • Location: Darwin & Northern Australia

  • Cause: Japan aimed to disrupt Allied supply lines & weaken northern defences

  • Significance: Largest attack on Australia; caused fear of invasion; strengthened defence measures and military presence

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Dropping of the Atomic Bomb of Japan

  • Date: Hiroshima (6 Aug 1945); Nagasaki (9 Aug 1945)

  • Location: Japan

  • Cause: US sought to force Japan’s unconditional surrender and avoid costly land invasion

  • Significance: Immediate devastation & massive casualties; Japan surrendered 15 Aug 1945; beginning of nuclear era

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Pacific Theatre of War

  • 1941-45

  • Location: Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, North Australia

  • Cause: Japanese expansion across the Pacific; Allied counter-offensive (including USA, Australia, Britain, etc) who fought back

  • Significance:

    • Major campaigns (Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal, Kokoda): Key battles where the Allies slowed or defeated Japan.

    • Island-hopping strategy: Instead of attacking every Japanese-held island, the Allies targeted strategic islands, skipping others, to get closer to Japan efficiently.

  • Japan defeated.

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Impacts of War on the Australian Homefront

  • Cause: Total war effort required mobilisation of all sectors of society

  • Government introduced conscription, censorship, rationing & manpower regulations

    • Conscription – compulsory military or war work.

    • Censorship – controlled news to protect morale.

    • Rationing – limited goods for civilians.

    • Manpower regulations – redirected workers to war industries.

  • Civilians faced shortages; increased war production

  • Women entered the workforce & auxiliary services in large numbers

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Roles in Women in Australia

  • Location: Australia and overseas in military and support roles.

  • Cause: With many men enlisted, there were labour shortages, and the war required support from all sectors of society.

  • Significance:

    • Joined AWAS, WRANS, WAAAF and other services.

    • Took on industrial, agricultural, and clerical jobs.

    • Shifted perceptions of women’s capabilities (challenged traditional gender roles), though many many women left these roles as men returned from military service.

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Role of Indigenous Australians in War

Location: Served within Australia, across the Pacific, and in overseas services

Cause: Volunteered despite discrimination; some conscripted in certain roles

Significance: Contribute in

  • Infantry → fought alongside other Australian soldiers in frontline roles

  • labour units → Worked in essential construction, logistics, and supply roles.

  • coastwatchers → Watched enemy movements and providing vital intelligence.

  • contributions often unrecognised, limited post-war benefits compared to non-Indigenous veterans

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Propaganda

public advertisements or information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.

  • Crucial to Hitler’s rise to and cementing of power in 1930s​

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Common objectives of Propaganda

  1. Unify the people of a country to support a war – eliminate any opposition​

  2. Convince people to save resources like food, oil, steel – necessary to fight a war​

  3. Recruit soldiers ​

  4. To persuade people to participate in home-front organizations to support the war effort​

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Persuasive Techniques used in Propagandas

  • Demonisation: convinces people to hate the enemy by depicting them as evil

  • Name Calling: uses loaded labels to encourage hatred of the enemy (e.g. Japs, Huns to reinforce stereotypes)

  • Patriotic Symbols: used to promote nationalism within a country

    • E.g. French (tricolor hat); Americans (statue of liberty/an eagle); Britain (Union Jack/Bulldog); Germany (moustaches, spiked helmet, grey uniform)

  • Catchy Slogan: uses memorable phrases to encourage support for the war

  • Appeal to Fear: builds support by creating fear in population