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Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of WWI. It ended the state of war between Germany and the allied powers. It was signed exactly 5 years after the assaination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. -
Rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party
In the early 1930s, the mood in Germany was grim. The worldwide economic depression had hit the country especially hard, and millions of people were out of work. Still fresh in the minds of many was Germany's humiliating defeat fifteen years earlier during World War I, and Germans lacked confidence in their weak government, known as the Weimar Republic. These conditions provided the chance for the rise of a new leader, Adolf Hitler, and the nazi party. -
Militarism
Militaristic societies have existed throughout human history. An important aspect of militarism is that the glorification of war is incorporated into all levels of society. That includes the education of the nations youth. The glorification of war is when a nation strengthens its military and stockpiles weapons to prepare for war. -
Rise of Italian Fascism
Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922. He helped found the political ideology of fascism. He also sided with the axis powers in 1940. Fascism is a totalitarian form of government. It glorifies the state, has one leader and one party, has no opposition or protests are tolerated. All aspects of society are controlled by the government. Propaganda and censorship is practiced. -
Great Depression
After WWI, many European economies were unstable. THe boom helped sustain worldwide trade. The stock market crash in 1929 and the results of the Great Depression spread throughout the world. The US restricted tariff parties worsened the depression. Many people turned to powerful leaders and governments, who promised success through military build up and the conquest of territory. -
Anti-communism
The 1930s saw the rise of many totalitarian regimes. Most people chose fascism over communism. Hitler exploited people’s fear of a communist takeover in Germany to rise to power in 1933. Under communism, all means of production are controlled by the government, as are property, the media, and all other aspects of society. -
Japanese expansionism
Japan invaded Manchuria for raw materials in1931. Japan began to attack China with full-scale war breaking out in 1937. In 1938, war broek out between Japan and the Soviet Union. This was known as the Soveit-Japanese border wars. -
Nationalism
Nationalism can lead to major conflicts between nations. Hitler, Mussolini, and Japan's Tojo touted their nation's ability to dominate all others leading up to WWII. Nationalism is the belief in the superiority of one's own nation over all others. -
U.S. Isolationism
The failure of peace efforts disillsioned many Americans about international involvment in the 1930s. The US was in a major depression throughout the 1930s and was mostly concern about its own problems. The US tried to remain neutral during the conflict with Europe. The policy weakend the Eauropean democracies. -
Appeasement
Appeasement is the act of giving in to an enemy’s demands in hopes of avoiding further conflict. Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia cede the Sudetenland to Germany in 1938. He also claimed that the German population living there was being mistreated. The British and French prime ministers agreed to Hitler’s demands without consulting Czechoslovakian leaders. They hoped that they could avoid a war in Europe. -
Beginning of WWII
The Marco Polo Bridge Incident led to a prolonged war between Japan and China, and September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, which led Britain and France to declare war on Hitler's Nazi state in retaliation.
