The Origins of World War II

THE ORIGINS OF WWII

The rise of totalitarian governments in Germany, Italy, and Japan

What set the stage for the rise of totalitarian governments and dictators after World War I?

To begin, the “war to end all wars” did not really set the stage for future international peace. While some of the Allied countries benefitted from the conflict, the Treaty of Versailles left the world divided into two major groups: "the satisfied and the unsatisfied”. The punishment given to Germany was extremely harsh, with forced disarmament, huge reparations, a loss of territory, and a war guilt clause. These terms led to great feelings of resentment in Germany, especially against the new Weimar Republic government that signed the treaty. In addition, the Soviet Union lost land along the Baltic, and will look to expand in the future. Even victorious Italy was upset, as the country gained land, but not as much as desired. Many of the new nations that were created weren’t exactly ready for self-rule, either.

The League of Nations never really succeeded, since the US did not support it. England and France, the two dominant powers in the League, each had different ideas about what the organization should do. Britain wanted reconciliation with Germany and have them as part of the League, while France wanted the League to prevent further German aggression.

An attempt to end all future wars was made with the Kellogg Briand Pact of 1928. The US, and France (later joined by 62 other nations) agreed that that only defensive wars were legal internationally and pushed nations to settle their disputes by peaceful means. The problem? There was no organization to enforce such a law, and any country could argue that an aggressive move was simply in “self defense”. Other international treaties failed, and nations were allowed to build up arms and, in the case of Japan, fight a war of aggression.

Compounding the problems of international instability was the onset of a global economic depression. The terms of the Treaty of Versailles made an unbalance in Europe’s economy by making Germany very poor and England and France rich due to war reparations. This, along with such factors as over speculation, shaky banks, lack of regulation, and fraud, brought about the Great Depression. This caused a very large number of the Western population to become jobless and driven into poverty. The large numbers of unemployed people brought about discontentment, making persuasive leaders much more appealing than they could otherwise be.

Use the materials around the room and the links and videos online to add to your notes on how dictators rose in each country. Make sure you have some details!

To understand the path of war in Europe, watch the voicethread on AHR! and complete the timeline on the reverse. In addition, label the map in three colors – Axis, Allies, and neutral nations. Come up with some questions!

The Road to War in Europe

Germany begins ______in 1935

Germany takes the ______in 1936

Germany and Italy form the ______

Germany and Italy support ______revolution in ______

Italy invades ______, later takes Albania

Germany annexes ______(the ______)

Germany occupies the ______

The ______is signed in 1938, in which ______- Churchill called it ______- Germany later occupies the rest of ______

The Soviet-German ______Pact of 1939 is signed

M Germany invades ______, using ______, or lightning war

·  The Soviet Union acquires part of ______and ports in the ______states

·  ______and ______declare war on Germany - WWII has officially begun

Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the ______

France and Britain prepare for war, but nothing immediately happens – called the ______

______, ______, and ______join the Axis

In the spring of 1940, Germany invaded and controls European countries -______, ______, ______, ______and ______.

Germany marches on ______, takes over ______- Southern France becomes known as ______France – collaborating with the Germans

Germany attacks ______using its air force (called the ______) – the Battle of Britain is devastating, but the British hold their country

Germany invades ______and ______

Germany invades the ______, and the Soviet Union allies with ______and ______-