Revision

Causes of WW2

“The Big Picture”The steps to war, 1919-1939

Versailles&

In 1933 Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. Between 1933 and 1939 he made moves which made war more likely.

Versailles&

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WAR

Causes which built up over time…Causes which built up over time…

Long term

• Hitler’s leadership and aims

• The failure of the League of Nations

• The Treaty of Versailles

• The isolation of the USA

• British Appeasement

• The failure to achieve disarmament

So what did Hitler want?

I had 4 major

foreign policy aims.

To reverse theTreaty of

Versailles bytaking back

the landGermany lost.

To reverse theTreaty of

Versailles bytaking back

the landGermany lost.

To re-armGermany by

increasing theGermany armyand building an airforce.

To re-armGermany by

increasing theGermany armyand building an airforce.

To unite German

speaking peopleby uniting with

Austria.

To unite German

speaking peopleby uniting with

Austria.

To achieveLebensraum(living space)for the German

people by expandingeastwards.

To achieveLebensraum(living space)for the German

people by expandingeastwards.

How did the Treaty of Versailles help cause WW2?• It created bitterness in Germany.• It helped Hitler come to power

because he promised the German people that he would reverse it.

• It gave Hitler his foreign policy aims.

How did the failure of the League of Nations help cause WW2?• It failed to keep peace.• It failed miserably in Manchuria and

Abyssinia and so set an example to Hitler.

• It showed that Britain and France would do almost anything to prevent war.

• Hitler learnt many lessons from all this.

What was Hitler’s attitude to the Treaty of Versailles? [4]• unfair – it took away land, reduced the

military and blamed Germany for causing the war which led to reparations;

• humiliated Germany because of French desire for revenge;

• it needed to be reversed to restore pride in Germany

Missing words

• economic depression• Manchuria• weak/useless/slow• Mussolini• Abyssinia• remilitarised the Rhineland• Stresa• Britain, France, Italy• Hitler and Mussolini

Chronology• The Treaty of Versailles 1919• Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1931• Hitler comes to power 1933• Hitler begins to re-arm Germany 1934• The remilitarisation of the Rhineland 1936• The Rome-Berlin Axis 1936• Neville Chamberlain – appeasement 1937• The Austrian Anschluss 1938• The Munich Conference Sept 1938• Hitler gains the Sudetenland Sept 1938• The invasion of Czechoslovakia March 1939• The Nazi-Soviet Pact August 1939• The invasion of Poland Sept 1939

Event – Versailles treaty

• Helped Hitler come to power because it gave him his foreign policy aims – he could set about reversing it which helped cause the war because it led to Appeasement.

Event – Appeasement

• Helped cause war because it made Hitler more confident. By letting him take various lands, he became convinced that Britain and France would not stop him.

Event – Manchuria

• With Abyssinia, it showed Hitler how powerless the League of Nations was. Therefore he had nothing to worry about. He could do what he wanted.

Event – The Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Helped cause war because the agreement sealed the fate of Poland. By making a deal with the Soviets, Hitler avoided a war on two fronts.

Event – invasion of Poland

• Started the war because Hitler had gone too far for Britain and France. They stood up to him finally.

Appeasement - FOR

• gave Britain time to re-arm

• a strong Germany was a barrier to Communism

• British people did not want war

• Hitler’s first demands were not unreasonable.

Appeasement - AGAINST

• naïve – Hitler had always made his aims clear

• It put war off, it did not prevent it.

• It encouraged Hitler to be more aggressive.

• It made Germany stronger.

Anyone got any good ideas about

where we should take over now?

Which country should

be most worried now?

I want the pink land!

Sudetenland(part of

Czechoslovakia)

‘Why?’,you ask!

Most of Czechoslovakia’s industryCzechoslovakia’s

main defences

3 million German speakers

Why did Hitler’s demands make a war in Europe more likely?

• He was not just reversing the Treaty of Versailles.

• He was aggressively threatening another country.

• This was new; he had become more confident.

Neville Chamberlainflew over

to GermanyTo meet Hitler

Then Chamberlain met Hitler again.

Hitler stepped up his demands and the Czechs refused to

agree

It looked like war!

So Mussolini called an emergency meeting at Munich in October 1938

Chamberlain

Daladier(France)

Mussolini

Hitler

The Czech leaderwas not invited

Neither was Stalin (leader of Russia)

THE MUNICH CONFERENCE

Poor old Benes hadto sit outside

What do you think wasagreed at Munich?

You can have the Sudetenland, old

chap!

So long as that’s it, you rascal!

Cheers, Nev.I promise that

Britain and Germany will never go to

war!!

The Munich Agreement

• Hitler could take the Sudetenland

• Britain and Germany would never go to war.

Neville Chamberlain returned home

to a hero’s welcome!!

A popular song from 1938:

‘God bless you Mr Chamberlain

We’re all mighty proud of you,

You look so swell holding your umbrella,

All the world loves a wonderful fella

So carry on Mr Chamberlain,

You know we’re all with you,

And when we shout, ‘God Bless You Mr Chamberlain’,

Our hats go off to you!’

The Invasion of Poland

Step 9

On 1st September 1939, Germany invaded Poland.

Hitler used Blitzkreig tactics

Blitzkreig = lightning war

using combined forces of air bombing, troops and tanks

The Nazis invadedfrom the west.

The Nazis invadedfrom the west. The Russians invaded

from the east.The Russians invaded

from the east.

Remember, Hitler had made a deal to split Poland with Russia.

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

Poland

Timeline of events 1939

• August – Nazi-Soviet Pact signed

• 1st September – Hitler invaded Poland

• 2nd September – British ultimatum sent

• 3rd September – Britain declared war

Why did Hitler invade Poland?

The Polish Corridorwas taken away from Germany at

Versailles.

To get more living space

(Lebensraum)

There were German speaking people in Poland.

I thought I could get away with it. I

had before!

Why did Hitler invade Poland?

Reverse the Treaty of Versailles

Living Space (Lebensraum)

German people in Poland

Appeasement

Why did the Nazi-Soviet Pact make war inevitable?

1. It stopped Hitler having to fight a war on two fronts if Britain attacked in the west.

2. It allowed Hitler to take most of Poland with little effort.

Neville Chamberlain

• Chamberlain sent the Nazis an ultimatum (warning with a threat).

• Hitler ignored it.

• Chamberlain declared war on Germany.

• France followed.

Exam Technique Practice – What is the message of this cartoon?

Mars the God of War

Hitler, scared, much smaller.

Hitler did not expecta big war. He has gambled

too much.

The message of the cartoon is…

I know this because in the cartoon…

My own knowledge tellsme that…

Explain why Germany invaded Poland in 1939? (9)

You need to explain at least two reasons

in detail. Try to explain three to be on the safe side.

Don’t just identify the reasons, explain

them!

A writing frame to help

There were several reasons why Hitler invaded Poland.

Firstly, Hitler intended to break the Treaty of Versailles…..

Another reason was…

Finally, Hitler invaded Poland because…