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Introduction to World War II for Cumberland 7th Graders by Joe Waite, rough draft 2013 Chapter I: Causes There are many historians and others who argue that World War I and World War II were one and the same events...that is that World War I never really ended and just continued on because none of the problems that causes by World War I were ever solved. After Germany sued for peace, France felt that Germany should be punished because they felt that Germany not only caused the Great War but that since all of the fighting was in France and Belgium, Germany should be forced to pay money and land to France. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles (because it happened at our old friend Louis’ XIV’s palace of Versailles) said that Germany would have to give up 13% of it’s land to France, Belgium, Poland, and Czechoslovakia and pay $440 billion in today’s money, mostly to France. This crippled Germany. Because Germany had to pay these huge fines, Germany unemployment, homelessness, and other bad things that happen to a country because they have no money all happened by 1920. A country that is in economic hard times is said to be in a Depression. Anyway, Germany was being kept afloat by American banks for the time being but times were still awful for the German citizen in the mid 1920’s. In 1921, a young war veteran named Adolf Hitler was invited to join what would become the National Socialist Party, the Nazi Party, and by 1923, he became one of their biggest leaders. Hitler tried to take over power in the German city of Munich in 1923 but he was arrested. He and his men were thought of as thugs by most Germans. Though sentenced to jail for eight years, he served only nine months. During this time he wrote a book called Mein Kampf, which means My Struggle in English. A lot o Germans would be forced to read this book for the next 22 years. Sadly, life in Germany for most Germans continued to stink. As their lives got worse, more and more Germans started turning to radical political parties, like the Nazis. In 1929, the American banks had collapsed and not only was there widespread poverty in America caused by this Great Depression, it affected the entire world. Remember that American banks had helped keep Germany afloat. Now that those banks had no money, the German economy completely fell apart. Hitler blamed Germany’s problems on the Treaty of Versailles, communists, like those in the Soviet Union, trade unions, and Jews. Germany had suffered a 41% drop in production from her factories and her unemployment rate had increased 230%. Times were no truly terrible for most Germans and many of them started listening to Hitler’s radical ideas on how to fix Germany’s economic problems. Hitler had been raised a racist. He believed that the Jewish people were corrupt and stole from Germany. Most people who started listening to Hitler ignored what he said about the Jews because they liked some of the other things he was saying. He said that Germany should stop paying France the money they owed because of the Treaty of Versailles, that Germany should rearm and begin a new militaristic movement, that German nationalism should be reborn. By 1932, the Nazi Party had become the second largest party in Germany. The communists were third. In 1933, the Chancellor of Germany made Hitler President. left: The Treaty of Versailles did many things and punished Germany in many ways. By 1934, Hitler and the Nazis had complete control of Germany and banned free elections. Under Hitler, Germany did indeed have an economic recovery. As Hitler secretly rebuilt his army, navy, and air force, many jobs were created because he needed factory workers to build tanks, trucks, ships, and planes. Many more young Germans joined the army, navy, and luftwaffe, the German air force. France and Britain wanted to avoid war at all costs, so when Hitler started invading territories and countries around Germany, they sat put. had to stop. Hitler first took back the Rhineland, an area of Germany that had belonged to France because of the Treaty of Versailles. He then took back Alsace and Lorraine, two French provinces that Germany had to give up after World War I. He then sent troops into Austria an took over that country in a single day. He, an Austrian himself, said that Austria had invited Germany to invade and that he was just helping out. After he took over an area of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland, Britain and France finally told him he The Prime Minister of Britain, Chamberlain, met with Hitler. Hitler promised Chamberlain that he would take no more land if he could just have the rest of Czechoslovakia. Chamberlain believed this lie and even said, “I have secured peace for our time.” As it became more obvious that Germany was preparing to invade Poland, the English and French had finally had enough. But it was too late. By this time, Germany had conquered huge chunks of land without firing a shot. This entire episode is called appeasement, which more or less means to give in to somebody’s demands. Germany attacked Poland on September 1st, 1939. Britain and France declared war on Germany shortly after that. World War II in Europe had begun. What were the causes of World War II? The Treaty of Versailles put such huge penalties on Germany that the German economy suffered. German resentment toward this and losing the Great War caused the rise of Adolf Hitler, who said Germany could only be great again increasing German militarism and industrialization. He blamed communists and Jews for ruining Germany from within. He promoted German nationalism. As he delivered on his promises of rebuilding Germany, most Germans turned a blind eye to the increasing persecution of Jews. Little did they know at the time that he would lead their country to complete destruction. Germany lost all her colonies, 1919. Given to Denmark, 1919 Given to Belgium, 1919 Poland was given a corridor to the Baltic Sea, cutting Germany in two. French controlled. Posen--rich farmland given to Pol. Saar: Rich in coal, given to France for 15 years. Given to France, 1919 Germany forbidden to unite Austria. Chapter I Review 1. ______________________ What treaty ended World War I and punished Germany? 2. ______________________ What was the short name of the German National Socialist Party? 3. ______________________ When a country suffers an economic downturn, what is that called? 4. ______________________ Hitler was arrested in this German city after trying to take over power. What city was it? 5. ______________________ While in prison, he wrote a book. What was it called? 6. ______________________ In what year did Hitler take over the Presidency of Germany? 7. ______________________ What ethnic group did Hitler blame for Germany’s problems? 8. ______________________ What political party did Hitler blame for Germany’s problems? 9. ______________________ Hitler made Germans feel good about being German again. What term describes this? 10. _____________________ Hitler rebuilt his army, navy, and air force. What term describes this? 11. _____________________ What term describes the giving away of countries in the return for a promise for peace from Hitler? 12. _____________________ On the map above, trace Germany’s 1914 border with a sharpie or something.