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The second world war
its causes and main
events
Causes of the war
1 The treaty of Versailles

very harsh terms
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lopsided and biased
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Not properly negotiated
2 The failure of league of nations

had no power
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had no army of its own
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was a toy in the hands of the victorious countries
The rise of dictatorships
FASCISM-
ITALY-
NAZISM -
GERMANY –
COMMUNISM- USSRFascism
Spain
MUSSOLINI
(1922)
HITLER
(1932)
STALIN
(1928)
FRANCO
People developed faith in one man one party rule
3 The Rearmament of
Germany
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German rearmament began after Hitler left
1932-4 Geneva Disarmament Conference
stating that as the powers would not
disarm to his level, he would rearm
Germany to their level.
By 1935 rearmament was well underway. This
involved conscription and munitions factories.
First term of the treaty was broken
4 The Remilitarization of the
Rhineland (1936)
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Hitler marched 30,000 troops into Cologne
on 7th March 1936.
France, with 250,000 troops mobilised,
remained passive because Britain would
not support her.
Britain took the view that Germany was
‘marching into her own back yard.’
5 The Rome- Berlin Axis
(October 1936)
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Originally Mussolini did not want to be
Hitler’s ally
The Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936. Mussolini
and Hitler strengthened their alliance
a. The Anti-Commintern Pact (1937) with
Japan.
The Pact of Steel (May 1939).
The axis powers were formed.
6 Britain’s policy of
Appeasement (May37- March
39)
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Chamberlain became British Prime Minister
in 1937,
He followed the policy of appeasing
Germany,
believing that all Hitler wanted to do was
unite German speaking people.
Chamberlain had misinterpreted Hitler’s
aims. (We have the benefit of hindsight.)
7 Munich Agreement (29th
September, 1938)
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Hitler could take the Sudetenland
the following day without a
plebiscite
Hungary and Poland could take
border districts from Czechoslovakia
Britain and Germany would never go
to war.
HITLER GOING FOR THE
SIGNING OF MUNICH PACT
8 Hitler Gained the
Sudetenland (29th September,
1938)
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Hitler Gained the Sudetenland (29th
September, 1938)
The Sudetenland was lost by Austria in the
Treaty of St. Germain
Czechoslovakia gained 3 million German
speaking people.
The Sudeten German leader, Konrad
Henlein, demanded a union with Germany
9 The Fall of Czechoslovakia
(March 1939)
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So far Hitler had only taken German
speaking territory, so Chamberlain could
still appease Hitler.
In March 1939, Hitler threatened to bomb
Prague, so the Czechs surrendered.
Chamberlain realised appeasement had
failed, so he began to rearm Britain and
guarantee peace in Poland.
Nazi – Soviet pact August 1939

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Secret negotiations by Stalin
Hitler suddenly announced the pact
Hitler
Stalin
The non-aggression pact was surprising. Hitler and Stalin were seen
as natural enemies.
When Hitler talked of taking over new land for Germany, many
thought that he meant Russia.
Hitler also hated Communism, the form of government in Russia
German Invasion of Poland
(1st September, 1939)
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German tanks invaded West Prussia and
Posen on the 1st September 1939 using
blitzkrieg tactics.
(This is a lightning, sudden attack coordinating air, then land forces).
Poland was in a danger of being removed
from the map of europe.
German army marching into
Poland
Europe in 1938
Germany attacks Poland
Phony war
/Sitzkrieg/sitting war
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Sept 1st 1939 attack on Poland beginning
of the 2nd world war
April 9th 1940 the phony war ended when
Hitler attacked Denmark
German forces move to
Poland ,France and Austria.
By June 1940, France had
surrendered to the Germans
Battle of Britain
September 1940-May 1941: the Blitz
For the following nine months, the
German air force (Luftwaffe)
launched repeated bombing raids
on British towns and cities. This
was known as the BLITZ and was
an attempt to bomb Britain into
submission.
AMERICA’S ENTRY
DEC 7 1941 THE JAPANESE FORCES
RAIDED THE AMERICAN NAVAL BASE AT
PEARL HARBOUR
 2300 Americans died
 Dec 8 the American congress declared
war on Japan.
 BIG BLOW TO AXIS POWERS
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Battle of Stalingrad
The extent of Axis controlled
area grows
Second front opened up