Download Major Leaders of World War II – Axis Powers

World War II
Causes of WWII
1. Problems from the Treaty of Versailles
 Germany’s resentment from the Treaty
o High reparations
 $33 billion ($402 billion today)
o Forbidden to have a military
o Lost territories
 Japan felt excluded from the treaty negotiations and wanted to prove their power.
2. World Wide Depression
 Germany’s economy never recovered after WWI
 US Depression had global impacts
o High tariffs limited trade
 Massive unemployment
 Germany began printing more money, so the value of money went down (this is called
inflation)
3. Rise of Fascism a political philosophy in which total power is given to a dictator
 Germany
 Italy
 Japan
 Dictators of these countries became known as the Axis Powers
FASCISM
4. Appeasement = giving in to Hitler’s actions to avoid war
 The United States and other European countries did not want to get involved in other
government’s disputes because of the Great Depression and the legacy of WWI
Major Leaders of World War II – Allied Powers
Franklin D. Roosevelt (Allied Power)
 U.S. President
 Elected in 1933 during the Great Depression and leads until his death in
1945
 Enters war after attack on Pearl Harbor
 Dies three weeks before the end of the war


Harry Truman (Allied Power)
U.S. President after the death of President Roosevelt
Important at the end of the war by dropping atomic bomb and giving aid to
worn-torn countries
Winston Churchill (Allied Power)
 Prime Minister of Great Britain
 Strong stand against Hitler
 His speeches kept British morale high
Joseph Stalin (Allied Power)
 Starts as an Axis Power, then switches sides
 Soviet Union (USSR) Dictator
 Led communist party
 Ruled for 30 years by fear and terror
 Helped defeat Nazi Germany
“The Big Three”: Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill
Major Leaders of World War II – Axis Powers
Benito Mussolini (Axis Power)
 Fascist dictator of Italy
 Started as a journalist and used the media to gain control
 Wanted to establish an Italian empire
Adolf Hitler (Axis Power)
 Inspired by Mussolini
 Fascist dictator of Germany
 Leader of the Nazi Party
 Rose to power through propaganda
 Started the “Third Reich” (Reich = empire in German)
 Preached hatred of Jews
Hideki Tojo (Axis Power)
 Japanese General- leader of the military
 Ordered attack on Pearl Harbor
 Executed at the end of the war
Hirohito (Axis Power)
 Emperor of Japan
 Viewed as a divine figure (God gave him the power to rule)
 Japan’s military gained political influence during his rule