Causes+of+WWII


 * Claire Cameron EDIT **
 * Causes of WWII **




 * The Treaty of Versailles **

Signed on June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles opened the gates for all kinds of chaos. The overly accusatory clauses of the treaty created more harm than good – it evoked a fire within Germany. The point that struck them the hardest was Article 231, otherwise known as the War Guilt Clause. This demanded that Germany take full responsibility for the starting of the First World War, which seems vastly unreasonable. They were also forced to deal with major reparations, loss of territory and demilitarization, which the citizens of Germany blamed on the government, as it was their “fault” for signing the Treaty. Hitler took this opportunity to rally the people of Germany against the Weimar Republic while simultaneously gaining their trust and loyalty. Germans were used to being strong and proud, making them the perfectly vulnerable culprits that Hitler desired.

After the First World War, many countries, especially Britain and France lived in fear of another war. They took various precautions to prevent further fighting, one of which was the policy of appeasement (to appease someone is to give it to their demands, in this case to prevent war).
 * Appeasement **

Once Hitler came into power, Britain and France made sure to keep a close watch over him. Hitler claimed that he needed "Lebensraum", meaning living space for his Germans. They gave into his demands because they didn’t want to start another war, and they were less scared of him than they were about the spread of communism. They overlooked the fact that he remilitarized the Rhineland in March, 1936, though France did made small objections that were basically ignored. After that came the annexation of Austria. This violated the forbidding of Anschluss with Austria, which had been clearly stated in the Treaty of Versailles.

The longer this went on, the more Hitler learned that he could get away with. He became more aggressive and bold in his requests. He demanded the Sudetenland land, located in Czechoslovakia which contained most of their industry. In September 1938, leaders from Britain, France, Italy, and Germany met to decide the fate of the region at the Munich Conference. The Czechoslovakian leader was not invited. This was blatantly disrespectful and arrogant towards Czechoslovakia. The present countries decided that Hitler could take the area as long as he promised that he would not continue with his aggressive expansion.

Not yet satisfied, of course, Hitler broke his promise in March 1939, when he invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Since the other European powers did not have a connection towards Czechoslovakia, they continued to let him get away with it. .

Germany was hit hard by the Great Depression which led to radical political solutions. In Germany the Depression was extremely tough on its citizens. Their reparation payments teamed with the terrible economy led to the brutal situation of hyperinflation. This caused them to turn to extremists for results, leading to rise of parties like the National Socialists (aka. Hitler's Nazis). Japan discovered that the best way to get out of the depression was to spend money on munitions and armaments and go back to war. They then began their attempted takeover of China by invading Manchuria in 1931. The League of Nations basically ignored this crisis.
 * The Depression **

When the League of Nations were notified of Japan's activities regarding Manchuria they condemned their actions, however, Japan simply withdrew from the League and the matter was ignored. In 1940 Japan announced the formation of the “Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere”, their excuse for invading countries in Asia (similar philosophy to German Lebensraum). They used euphony to make the name sound like they were doing pleasant things, rather than the brutal actions they were imposing on other countries. Their actions did not produce a response from European powers. They were being openly hostile, aggressive and imperialistic, and were getting stronger because they faced little opposition.
 * Japan **** 's Actions Disregarded **

Hitler watched how the League responded to Japanese attacks and threats and took note on how complacent they were. Germany saw that the League was weak and ineffective. The leaders simply watched as Italy and Japan easily got away with their imperialist invasions.
 * League of Nations **** is a Failure **


 * US Isolationism **

The United States, a major power, did not get involved and try to help keep the peace in Europe. They did not enter the war until the attack on Pearl Harbour, a direct threat to their homeland.

All of the buildup finally came to a head. Germany invaded Poland 1 September, 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September, 1939. The war had officially begun.
 * The "Real" Cause **

**References** History 12 Student Workbook- Jerry Falk Ms. Martin and her notes + power points