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World War II
By
Tiffany Buttler,
Jason Drury, &
Min Kim
First, a Look at the Outcome of WWI
Treaty of Versailles
¤  The treaty was registered by the Secretariat of the League of Nations
on 21 October 1919, and was printed in The League of Nations Treaty
Series
¤  The French and others wanted revenge and reparations. They
wanted to make it so that Germany could never initiate such a war
again - they wanted a Germany stripped of its wealth and armed
forces
¤  They wanted a League of Nations to protect all countries from
aggression
¤  The League only lasted for 27 years with the onset of WWII as a sign of
failure. It was replaced by the United Nations after WWI
¤  Ferdinand Foch said, “This is not peace. It is an armistice for twenty
years”
Timeline
¤  Officially September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945
¤  Allies - U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil,
Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia
¤  Axis - Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria
¤  Severity of war is measured by the total number of battle
connected deaths suffered by all participants in the war
combined: Approximately 72 million
¤  It was the bloodiest, deadliest war the world had ever seen.
More than 50 nations took part in the war, and it was the most
destructive war in history. Fighting raged in many parts of the
world
¤  Estimated economic effect- $1 trillion in 1945
Statistics
Dozens of cities laid were largely reduced
to rubble after the dust settled from WWII
- London, Liverpool and Stalingrad,
Salzburg, Hiroshima and Nagasaki to
name only a few.
Outcomes
¤ Two WWII Allies became two new superpowers - The
United States of America and the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics - which led to a bipolar world
and the rise of the Cold War
¤ The League of Nations had failed and gave way to
the Allie created United Nations
¤ The goal of the United Nations was to promote
international cooperation
¤ The War also increased the rate of decolonization
¤ Due to the post WWII bipolar nature of the new
world, there was a creation of “Third World
Countries” who did not want to engage in either
side of the Cold War
Marxist Liberal Theory of War
¤ It is widely held that WWI was caused by imperialist
rivalry of foreign territory
¤ Wealth and power depended on Colonial
possessions
¤ Germany, a late comer to imperialistic conquests,
was beginning to test its strength in the balance of
power
¤ Militarization of nations picked up with imperialist
nations trying to stay ahead of one another.
¤ Alliances were made with Germany, Austria/
Hungary and Italy, and others made alliances like
Russia and France and later with Great Britain
¤ Austria declared war against Serbia and the allies
all started folding in
Nationalism
¤ Nationalism had heightened tensions between
nations during WWI which worked on the patriotic
passions within each nation
¤ The previous arms race had nations equating their
preservation to its military strength which made it
seem that war was inevitable
¤ National desires to gain control of the world’s
resources
¤ Germany’s resources were being stripped through
reparations.
¤ What could bring about a renewal of Nationalism
and pride within Germany?
Scapegoat Theory
¤  $32 billion in reparations from Germany as the sole
responsibility for causing the WWI ($393 billion today)
¤  Economy was in a depression in the 1920’s following the
war
¤  Reparations took the form of coal, steel and agricultural
products
¤  Germany also lost much of its territory and surrendered
control of colonies
¤  Jews blamed as selling Germany out to the allies
¤  Rise of Nazi party and Adolf Hitler
¤  Adolf Hitler through the Nazi Party used the unrest and
discontent of the people to use the Communists, Jews
and Democratic Politicians as scapegoats for Germany's
troubles
Psychohistorical
¤  Hitler:
¤  In 1933, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany
¤  He quickly worked with the Nazi party to limit civil liberties,
deny rights to minorities, and make the Nazi party the sole party
¤  Night of the Long Knives and Hindenburg’s death
¤  Killed millions of Jews, Gypsies, and political enemies in the
concentration camps
¤  Stalin:
¤  After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin was able to maneuver his way
to the role of leader of the Soviet Union, usually through murder
¤  Imprisoned millions in labor camps, killing many of his own
people
¤  Initially was allied with Germany, and only switched to the
Allied side after Germany attacked Russia
¤  Both leaders were psychotic and power hungry people who
killed millions of people, not only through war, but through
death camps as well
Ideology
¤  After Hitler and the Nazi party came to power, they
quickly made their Ideology the only one
¤  Gleichschaltung – removal of all known oppenents of
the Nazi party (March 1933)
¤  The Nazi party publicly burned “Un-German” books (May
1933)
¤  In the election at the end of 1933, the Nazi party won
92% of the votes, showing that their “campaign” had
worked
Appeasement/Munich Analogy
¤  Hitler believed that Germany required living space
(‘Lebensraum’) in order to survive
¤  Austria:
¤  Hitler annexed Austria in March of 1938.
¤  France and England chose not to do anything as they were
not prepared for war
¤  Czechoslovakia:
¤  After Austria, Hitler turned to the northern area of
Czechoslovakia in Sept. 1938, which housed mostly German
people
¤  This is when the Munich Conference was held, where France
and England again did nothing to stop Hitler
¤  Poland:
¤  In Sept. of 1939, Hitler moved to take over Poland.
¤  Due to a treaty with Poland, the British and French finally
declared war on Germany
Territory/Expansionism
¤  Expanding the territorial base or economic influence of a
country, usually be means of military aggression
¤  Germany and Italy began before any military hostilities
¤  Examples) Czechoslovakia, Austria
¤  Creation of Poland- never accepted by Germans but
wanted to expand to to Baltic Seat and border with Russia
¤  Italy’s expansion led by Mussolini, wanted to create New
Roman Empire
¤  Examples) moving against Abyssinia on the border of
Italian Somaliland and Ethiopia
¤  Japan’s aggression in Asia- need for raw materials
¤  Examples) first invasion of Manchuria securing oil and iron
Balance of Power
¤  Posture and policy of a nation or group of nations
protecting itself against another nation or group of nations
by matching its power against the power of the other side
¤  2 ways: increasing their own power, adding to their own
power that of other states
¤  Formed single balance of power system from WWI
¤  Continued in WWII- Fascism(Germany, Japan, Italy)
opposed Global Alliances (US, UK, SU, China)
¤  Shifted from Western and Central Europe to US & Soviet
Union
¤  Result- bipolar balance of power across half of the globe,
free-market democracies
¤  Example) US & Western Europe in NATO military alliance
(April 1949) vs. SU & Eastern Europe in Warsaw Pact(May
1955)
Theory to explain US decision to enter
WWII
¤  First American Volunteer group in China to assist
Chinese war effort- Chennault’s Flying Tigers
¤  Franklin Roosevelt cut exports of oil and scrap iron to
Japan in 1941
¤  Japan planned attacking Pearl Harbor on December
7 ,1941
¤  Severely damaged U.S Navy and remains the largest
military attack on U.S soil
¤  Hitler declared war on US on Dec 11, 1941- hoping
Japan would attack Soviet Union (didn’t happen)
¤  Turning point of war in Europe- formation of grand
alliances of powerful nations (US, UK, SU)
Fear
¤  Pearl Harbor attack launched fear of national
security in West Coast
¤  Feb 1942, President Roosevelt relocating all persons
of Japanese ancestry (citizens, aliens) outside of
military zone
¤  Objectives- prevent espionage and to protect
persons of Japanese descent from harm (antiJapanese attitudes)
¤  117,000 people (2/3 native born US citizens)
affected and sent to permanent relocation centers
(camps) outside the restricted military zones
¤  Eating in common facilities, having limited
opportunities interrupted social and cultural pattern
Fear- continued
¤ August 6 & 9, 1945- 2 bombing in Hiroshima &
Nagasaki, fist time to use nuclear weapon in war
¤ 90,000-166,000 killed in Hiroshima & 60,000-80,000
killed in Nagasaki= 150,000-246,000
¤ About half of the deaths happened on the first day
of bombing
¤ Japan surrendered to Allies on August 15
¤ Signed instrument of surrender
and ended World War II
on September 2
Questions
¤  Why do some scholars believe that the Treaty of Versailles
contained in itself the seed of WWII?
¤  What caused the Ruhr Crisis and how did this crisis influence the
political climate in Germany? Explain.
¤  What was the purpose of establishing the NATO? When did it
happen.
¤  How many Japanese people were killed through the effects of radiation, as a consequence of nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki?
¤  What would you say is the main cause of war for WWII specifically?
Explain.
¤  Any other questions?