Canadian History 1201

World War II

Canadian Involvement

Germany Post WWI

Post WWI Germany was a country in turmoil.

Conditions in Germany between 1918 and 1932 were

very difficult . To understand why WWII broke out

we must analyze these conditions and consider the

following questions:

Why did the German people turn to the Nazi leader

Adolf Hitler?

Why were the Jewish people so harshly treated?

Key problems in Germany

1. Economic Problems – Inflation

To finance the cost of WWI the German

government had borrowed money. At the end of the

war they had the added debt of reparation

payments. To solve the problem the German

government simply printed more paper money.

Because the German economy was not

expanding the money – marks – were basically

valueless. The led to inflation – prices for goods

and services rose astronomically.

Examples

1922 - 300 marks = $1 US

1923 - 50 000 marks = $1 US

It cost Germans millions of marks to buy a

postage stamp

Wages had to be carried home in

wheelbarrows

It took a shopping bag of mark to pay bus fare

2. Political Instability

After WWI Germany had over 12 political

parties. No one party was strong enough to

take power and rebuild the war-torn country

The political parties fell into three general

groups….

3. The Treaty of Versailles

The German people were humiliated by the

harsh terms of the Treaty. They considered

the terms unjust.

The War Guilt Clause was seen as a stain

on the honour of all Germans.

4. Depression and Unemployment

The Depression that started in the US

became a worldwide depression. The

Germans had no one to trade with and

American banks could no longer lend money

to Germany.

Many businesses went bankrupt

Thousands lost their jobs

Wages were lowered

Hitler Comes to Power

With all the problems of inflation and depression Hitler saw his chance to seize power.

He was able to convince Germans who were bitter about all the problems that the Nazi party could provide a solution

“Believe me, our misery will increase! The government itself

is the biggest swindler and crook. People are starving on millions of marks! We will no longer submit! We want a dictatorship!”

Hitler Comes to Power

Hitler joined the Nazi party in 1919 and soon became leader

He promised the German people he would get back the land lost in WWI

To restore Germany to world leadership

He claimed that Aryans (white people not of Jewish descent and particularily those of pure German descent) to be the “master race”

He said Aryans should rule the world

He blamed the Jewish people for Germany’s defeat in WWI and their current economic hardships

His hatred of Jews (anti-Semitism) was expressed in his book Mein Kampf

HITLER WAS ABLE TO CONVINCE MILLIONS OF GERMANS THAT IF THEY FOLLOWED HIM THEIR PROBLEMS WOULD BE SOLVED

How did he gain power?

Hitler’s Nazi party was voted into power in 1933

He ended democracy, became a dictator and banned

all other political parties

Germans pledged absolute obedience to their leader –

der Fuhrer

Any one opposing Hitler was rounded up by the

secret police – the Stormtroopers – SA. They broke

up political meetings, opponents were thrown in

prison or concentration camps

Newspapers and radio were controlled by the Nazi party – censorship

The German people only heard what the leaders approved of – propaganda

Books were burned

Teachers had to be members of the Nazi party

Students were recruited to join the Hitler youth to learn Nazi ideas

Protesting priests and clergy were thrown in prison

NAZI GERMANY BECAME A TOTALITARIAN STATE IN WHICH EVERYTHING WAS CONTROLLED BY THE GOVERNMENT.

Khan Academy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCkn5bu8GgM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtoydboI9G4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qWI2pEv0wg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtZnPoYbRyA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uNYe9UB3K4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoRpWU6hHJ8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT6tFia8eaY

Another Underlying Cause of the

War

The Failure of the League of Nations

The League of Nations was formed in 1919

It had been the idea of American President Woodrow Wilson

Its main aim was to bring about permanent world peace

Peace would be maintained through

“ collective security”

Collective Security

If one member of the League of Nations was threatened by armed conflict, the other members were committed to come to their aid

Discussion and diplomacy was preferred over armed conflict

Disputes were referred to the International Court of Justice for arbitration

Article XVI stated that if war broke out between member countries the other countries would refuse to trade – hurting the country’s economy

Weaknesses of the League

It had no power of its own

The US – the most powerful nation – never

joined the League leaving it without real

power

Britain and France gave little support to the

League

Canada was an independent member but its

support was weak

The Problem with Article X

Bound League members “ to respect and preserve as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing political independence of all members”

This meant that all members were bound to become involved in other nation’s wars.

Canada had opposed Article X at the Paris Peace Talks and attempted to amend the article allowing nations to choose to go to war. The League compromised to consider “ “geographical position” and “national interest”….

Post WWI Canada and the US followed a policy of isolationism – non-involvement in world affairs

Both Canada and the US distrusted European politics and diplomacy and were determined to stay out of future European wars….

Quote

“ You say that we should have confidence in

European statesmen and leaders. Perhaps we

should, but it was European statesmen,

European policies, European statesmanship

and European ambitions that drenched this

world with blood….Fifty thousand Canadian

soldiers under the soil of France and Flanders

is what Canada paid for European

statesmanship”

Failures of the League

The Manchurian Crisis

In 1931 Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria

China appealed to the League for help

The League condemned Japan and asked them to withdraw

Japan ignored the request and withdrew from the League

Most countries were too involved in their own troubles – because of the Depression – and basically did nothing

The Invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)

A crisis broke out between Abyssinian troops and

Italian troops

Mussolini – the Italian dictator – noting the League’s

weakness in China – attacked Abyssinia

The League imposed a trade boycott but again

countries were hesitant to react

Canada got involved by proposing a boycott on oil –

fuel needed to support the Italian “war machine” . It

received little support …..read your book for details

Formation of the Axis Powers

In the 1930s Japan, Italy and Germany sign

pacts to co-operate against possible attacks

from communists countries.

It was called the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis

Discussion Questions:

1. What factors might make a country turn to a new

form of government?

2. What characteristics do you think make a person a

good leader?

3. In 1937 Prime Minister Mackenzie King met Hitler

and said that he was a:``a simple sort of peasant, not

very intelligent, and no serious danger to anyone``.

Why do you think King believed this and do you

think other world leaders felt the same?

The Steps to War

Step 1: Rearmament in Germany –

Hitler had promised to return Germany to be

a world power. His 1st step was to rebuild the

army and air force.

The army’s slogan “ today Germany.

Tomorrow the world!”

Weapons of war started to pour out of

German factories

Step 2: Occupation of the Rhineland

In March 1936 German troops moved back

into the Rhineland.

The Treaty of Versailles forbade German

troops within 50 km of the Rhine River to keep

them away from France.

No one stopped the German advance

This was Hitler’s test to see if Britain and

France would react – they did not

Step 3: Take over of Austria

Hitler believed all German speaking people

should live together in one state

Hitler was an Austrian by birth and wanted to

annex Austria

Hitler’s Nazi party had gained influence in the

Austrian government and he used a threat of a

Communist attack as an excuse to march into

Vienna unopposed

Step 4: Czechoslovakia

Hitler’s next demand was the Sudetenland – an

area of Czechoslovakia with 3 million German

speaking people.

The Czechs wanted to fight Hitler but Britain

and France were not willing to help

British PM Neville Chamberlain and President

Daladier of France met with Hitler to try and

negotiate a settlement…

The Munich Pact

They tried to appease Hitler and in September

1938 gave the Sudetenland to Germany

Canadian PM Mackenzie King agreed with

Britain. He had met Hitler and believed he did

not want to start a war

The Czechs were not consulted in the Munich

Pact

Appeasement

When negotiating with Hitler, the British followed a policy of appeasement.

Appeasement means to “give in to the demands of a potential enemy”. In this case Britain and France gave in to Hitler’s demands for more territory – the Sudetenland

Britain and France wanted to avoid war at all cost and they thought they could trust that after this Hitler would not make any more demands for territory

A few months later Hitler marches into the rest of Czechoslovakia

Neville Chamberlain’s “peace in

our time speech”

Chamberlains peace in our time speech

Step 5: Poland

After the disaster of the Munich Pact, Britain and

France realized that Hitler could not be trusted. If

Hitler had any more demands they would fight.

Hitler next demands the “Polish Corridor” an area of

land given to Poland in the T of V. It separated

Germany from East Prussia ( a German province)

Hitler, in an unexpected move, negotiated a pact with

the USSR to divide Poland – the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

With no threat of war from the east (USSR) Hitler

can plan his moves on France and Britain in the west.

War!!!!

On September 1, 1939 Hitler launches an attack on

Poland

His new tactic is called “blitzkrieg” – lightening war

– surprise, force, boldness, and close co-operation

among the air force, tanks, artillery and infantry…

Britain and France realized they would have to come

to the defense of Poland

On September 3rd they declared war on Germany

WORLD WAR II HAD BEGUN

Important Terms:

Immediate Cause

Underlying Cause

League of Nations

Isolationism

Appeasement

Economic Sanction

Axis Powers

Left-wing

Right-wing

Fascism

Great Powers

Annexed

Blitzkrieg

Nationalism

Militarism

Persecution

Anti-Semitism

Third Reich

Propaganda

Totalitarian Rule