Road to War - WWII Notes

Conditions in Germany after World War 1

  • Hyper-inflation: In 1918, bread cost 2 marks; by 1924, 6 million marks.
  • Hitler and the Nazis promised to fix Germany's problems.

Hitler's Ideology and Rise to Power

  • Hitler claimed Germans were a master race.
  • Elected to lead Germany in 1933, dissolved parliament, and started the Nazi Reich.

World Reactions to Hitler

  • Initial favor for economic reforms, desire to avoid war.
  • Canadian PM Mackenzie King met Hitler in 1937, initially saw him positively.
  • Appeasement: giving Hitler what he wanted to avoid war.
  • Many Jews tried escaping Germany (Nuremberg Laws, Kristallnacht).
  • Many countries were unwilling to accept Jewish refugees.
  • SS St. Louis: Many countries, including Canada, would not allow the ship into the country.
  • Anti-Semitism: prejudice against Jews

Hitler's Defiance of the Treaty of Versailles

  • Building a large military.
  • Stopping reparation payments.
  • Taking control of Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia.

The Munich Agreement

  • Hitler demanded Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia).
  • British and French leaders met with Hitler in Munich; Czechoslovakia was not invited.
  • Hitler promised not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia in exchange for the Sudetenland.
  • Chamberlain declared "peace for our time," but Hitler broke the agreement 6 months later.
  • Policy of appeasement failed.

Non-Aggression Pact

  • The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact was signed August 23, 1939.
  • Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to take no military action against each other for 10 years.

The Start of World War II

  • Hitler invaded Poland in 1939.
  • Britain, Canada, and France demanded Hitler withdraw.
  • On September 3, 1939, Britain and France declared war.

Canada's Entry into World War II

  • Canada did not automatically go to war.
  • PM Mackenzie King called Parliament, and on September 10, 1939, a declaration of war was passed.
  • Initial plan to send few soldiers; focus on food and goods.
  • Conscription was not to be used initially.
  • Volunteers joined the armed forces for various reasons.