Interwal Year

Causes of World War II

1. Treaty of Versailles (1919):

  • Blamed Germany (War Guilt Clause)

  • Germany had to pay reparations and lost territory

  • Caused anger and economic hardship in Germany

2. Rise of Dictators:

  • Germany: Hitler (Nazi Party), promised to restore power

  • Italy: Mussolini (Fascist), wanted to rebuild Roman Empire

  • Japan: Military leaders, wanted expansion in Asia

3. Expansionism:

  • Germany: Took over Austria (Anschluss), Czechoslovakia

  • Italy: Invaded Ethiopia (1935)

  • Japan: Invaded Manchuria (1931), China (1937)

4. Appeasement:

  • Britain and France gave in to Hitler’s demands to avoid war (e.g., Munich Agreement, 1938)

  • Did not stop Hitler—he became more aggressive

5. Failure of League of Nations:

  • Weak, no army, couldn’t stop aggressors

World War II Begins

- 1939: Germany invades Poland

- Britain and France declare war on Germany

- WWII begins (Sept 1, 1939)

Major Theaters & Events

Europe:

  • Battle of Britain (1940): German air attacks on Britain; Britain resists

  • Invasion of Soviet Union (1941): Germany breaks pact, attacks USSR (Operation Barbarossa)

  • D-Day (1944): Allies land in Normandy, France—turning point in Western Europe

  • Fall of Berlin (1945): War ends in Europe, Hitler commits suicide

Pacific:

  • Pearl Harbor (Dec 7, 1941): Japan attacks US; US enters war

  • Island Hopping: US strategy to recapture islands from Japan

  • Atomic Bombs (1945): US drops bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Japan surrenders

Key Leaders

  • Germany: Adolf Hitler

  • Italy: Benito Mussolini

  • Japan: Emperor Hirohito, General Tojo

  • USA: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman

  • Britain: Winston Churchill

  • Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin

Ideologies

  • Fascism: Dictatorship, nationalism, suppression of opposition (Italy, Germany)

  • Militarism: Glorifying military (Japan, Germany)

  • Totalitarianism: Total control by the state (Nazi Germany, USSR)

  • Nazism: German fascism + racism/anti-Semitism

The Holocaust

  • Genocide of 6 million Jews by Nazi Germany

  • Used concentration and extermination camps (e.g., Auschwitz)

  • Other victims: Roma, disabled, Poles, LGBTQ+, others

  • Nuremberg Laws: Took away Jewish rights

  • Final Solution: Nazi plan to exterminate Jews

Technology & Warfare

  • New weapons: Tanks, aircraft, radar, atomic bombs

  • Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”): Fast attacks using tanks and planes

  • Total War: Whole nations involved—civilians & economies targeted

End of War

  • Germany surrenders: May 1945 (V-E Day)

  • Japan surrenders: August 1945 (V-J Day) after atomic bombs

  • United Nations formed in 1945 to keep peace