Causes and Impacts of World War II

Treaty of Versailles

Described as a "very bad treaty" and "one of the worst lopsided treaties in the history of mankind."
A major weakness was the way it treated Germany.
Germany couldn't afford reparations due to a lack of resources, relying on loans from the United States.

The Soviet Union was initially part of World War I.
Lost territory after Lenin signed a peace treaty with Germany when they dropped out of the war.
Territory was not recovered under the Treaty of Versailles; it was given to Poland.
Russia had the highest number of casualties in World War I; historically known for high casualty rates.

In Europe, the Austro-Hungarian Empire's people were given the opportunity to create their own countries (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia).
Outside of Europe, colonies in Africa and the Middle East from the Ottoman Empire were not given the same opportunity.
The League of Nations mandated France and England to take over these colonies, known as the mandate system.
Self-determination: the right to create one's own country or remain with a mother country.
After World War II, the Allies agreed to give self-determination to those liberated from Nazi control.
The mandate system specifically applies to colonies in the Middle East (Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan) given to France and England.

Failed because it couldn't enforce its peace treaties.
Example: Japan's invasion of Manchuria. The League of Nations' tariffs and embargo threats were ignored, and Japan quit the League to continue its actions.
The League of Nations lacked the military power to stop Japan.

New European countries (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Bulgaria) were weak because they were not used to self-governance, having been under monarchies.
Healthy democracies should have four or five political groups (conservative, moderate conservative, moderate liberal, liberal, extremist).
These new countries had many political parties (50-70), making it difficult to reach a consensus or make decisions.
Weak governments lead to weak economies, and vice versa.
Their economies were bad, especially because they needed to mint new money that wasn't worth much.

Began after World War I and following 1929, unlike after World War II.
Total war: countries' economies shifted to war mode, overproducing goods.
After the war, overproduction caused problems.
The US economy had ramped up production, with farmers growing excess food bought by the government.
After the war, the government stopped buying, leading to surpluses.
Farmers had excess wheat, but the government no longer needed it.
Farmers tried to sell wheat, but prices dropped due to widespread surpluses, sometimes selling for half the production cost.
Farmers had little money left, affecting their ability to buy manufactured goods like tractors.
Factories also faced surpluses because farmers couldn't afford their products, leading to layoffs and unemployment.
The world depended on the US economy, with European countries borrowing from US banks.
Economic collapse in the US in 1929 due to surpluses.
People who lost their jobs went to withdraw their money from banks, but the banks had lent that money to Europe and had no money.
Banks closed, causing people to lose their savings and unemployment to rise sharply.
Some wealthy individuals went bankrupt, leading to suicides.

European countries, especially Germany, were hit hard.
Hyperinflation: the value of money decreases, and commodity prices increase.
Germany printed more currency to compensate, devaluing the currency.
Needed a wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread.
Factories paid workers twice a day due to rapid inflation.
Germany borrowed money but couldn't repay, leading to bank closures. Everyone was miserable.

Scarcity of food, expensive prices, and scarce jobs led to political unrest in European countries.
People weren't used to self-governance.
Political parties with talented leaders (demagogues) gained popularity.
Demagogues promised to solve problems, restore national pride, and punish those responsible for the hard times.
People lost faith in the government and followed these leaders.
These parties gained more power, leading to dictatorships and fascism.
Fascism: one political party with a single ruler.
Benito Mussolini was the originator of fascism. Dictators promised to punish those responsible, revive the economy, and restore national pride.

Footage from World War I shown in colorized form.
Depicted the trenches, rats, and damages from artillery shells.
Trenches were characterized by constant shelling, shrapnel, and disfigurement.
Men suffered from shell shock, fits of terror, trembling, GPS paralysis.
The front lines remained stagnant, with Germans occupying Belgium and French provinces.
Soldiers had poor hygiene and faced diseases.
Describes the psychological effects.

Footage describing why US Soldiers fought:
The soldiers were shown a series of films to explain who and why they were fighting
These films displayed the atrocities that soldiers had to witness and deal with.
Discussed the loss of innocence of the soliders going to war.
Footage showed the soldiers in Japan, Nazis, and Italy.

Germany had programs where young men and women had children who belonged to the government.
These children were trained to be soldiers.
The goal was to create a master race and establish a thousand-year rule of the emperor, symbolized by the phrase "Bonsai."

Each system was alike, and the consitutional lawmaking bodies gave up thei power.
The idea was that everything works one way.
Individuality comproised the place of government, and the right of the nation.
Because of this rights, labor unions was abolished.
Everything you do, you fo for mother Russia or your do it for the mother land.

Hitler's ambition was to control all elements turning them into cold hard reality.