World War II

Outline
• Introduction
• Background
• Key Players
• Major Events of War
• Main causes of the Second World War
• Effects of Second World War
• Conclusion
 Introduction
• World War II(1939 - 1945), One of the most
gruesome Wars of all time,
• World War 2 is best known for the bombing of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States
and
• The Holocaust―the genocide of six million
European Jews by Nazi Germany.
• However, there do exist several facts about it
which continue to elude most of the people.
 Introduction
• The war began on September 1, 1939,
• When the German forces invaded Poland, and
• In retaliation, France and other European
nations attacked Germany.
• It went on for six years before culminating
with a victory for the Allies on September 2,
1945.
 Introduction
• By then though, the damage was already done
and the effects of this six-year-long conflict
had become more than obvious.
• It took a long time for the affected countries to
recover.
 Background
• Treaty of Versailles (1919) –
• Harsh treatment of Germany:
• land losses, reparations,
• military reductions, and
• war guilt
 Background
• League of Nations (1920) –
• International organization charged with
preventing future wars.
• United States senate refused to allow the
United States of America to become a member.
• The League had neither the will nor the power
to check the rising totalitarian governments.
 Background
• Washington Conference (1922) – Italy, Japan,
the United States of America, France, and
Britain agree to not build up their navies for
ten years
• Mussolini takes over Italy (1922)
• Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) – sixty-two
nations agree to solve problems diplomatically
• Japan invades Manchuria (1931)
• Hitler comes to power (1933)
 Key Players
Axis Powers
• Adolf Hitler
• Benito Mussolini
• Hideki Tojo
 Key Players
Allied Powers
• Neville Chamberlain
• Winston Churchill
• Charles De Gaulle
• Franklin Roosevelt
• Harry Truman
• Joseph Stalin
 Major Events of the War II-
The Onset of War
• Hitler reoccupies the Rhineland
• 1938 – Hitler unites Austria with Germany
• 1938 – Signed Munich Pact to Gain control of
Sudetenland (In Czechoslovakia)
• 1939 – Hitler and USSR sign nonaggression
pact (Agreed to divide Poland
• September 1, 1939 – World War II official start
 Major Events of World War II-
The War
• 1940 – Germany invades Norway and
Denmark
• 1940 – France Falls
• Summer 1940 – Britain withstands the German
onslaught
• 1941- Germany broke pact with USSR
– German setbacks-the harsh winters in Soviet
Union; Bitter defeat in Stalingrad
 Major Events of World War II -
American Involvement
• Lend-Lease Program to aid Allies
• Attack on Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941- A
Day that will live in infamy
• US enters World War II
• 1942 – War turned in favor of the Allies
 Major Event of World War II –
Allied Conferences
• Tehran (1943)
• Yalta (1945)
• Potsdam (1945) - After Victory in Europe
– United States, Britain, and Soviet Union
participated
 Major Events in World War II –
The End of the War
• December 1944- Hitler lost the battle of the
Bulge
• Germany surrendered in May 1945
• Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in August of 1945
• Japan Surrendered in September 1945
 Short Term Causes
• Italian, Japanese, and German aggression not
stopped by League of Nations.
• Appeasement – Britain and France wanted to
avoid war and therefore gave in to Hitler’s
demands
 Short Term Causes
• Western democracies would not act
aggressively
– Britain – Sympathetic towards Germany –
knew Versailles Treaty too harsh, wanted to
avoid war
– France – Would not do anything without
Britain
– United States of America – Isolation from
Europe
Main causes of the Second World War
• World War Two began in September 1939 when
Britain and France declared war on Germany after
Germany’s invasion of Poland.
• However, the causes of the war are more
complex:
• The Treaty of Versailles: Germany was not happy
with the terms of the Treaty (war guilt cause,
reparations, disarmament and territorial clauses)
but Germans had no choice but to sign it.
Main causes of the Second World War
• German people were very unhappy about the
treaty and believed it was unfair.
• Germany could not pay the reparations and
economic situation was very bad.
• People were dissatisfied with the government
and voted Hitler, a man who promised to rip
up the Treaty of Versailles.
Main causes of the Second World War
• The Great Depression: Germany suffered a lot
the economic crisis of 1929. Unemployment
increased and Hitler promised work and the
creation of a powerful Germany.
• Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany:
Mussolini in Italy and Hitler in Germany, once
in power, began to apply an aggressive
international policy.
Main causes of the Second World War
• They wanted to create big empires;
• Mussolini wanted to reborn the Ancient
Roman Empire and
• Hitler wanted “lebensraum”, so they increased
the size of their armies.
• Hitler created a German air force (Luftwaffe)
and began building warships.
• He wanted to get revenge on the Treaty of
Versailles (revanchism).
Main causes of the Second World War
• On the other hand, Italy wanted the territories
that had been promised during the WW1
(irredentism).
• Weakness of democracies: Britain and France
wanted to avoid a war (regarding they were not
ready to go to war again, the weak financial
situation and the bloodbath in the WW1).
Main causes of the Second World War
• Democracies led a policy of appeasement (it
means giving in to someone provided their
demands are seen as reasonable).
• As Treaty of Versailles was unfair, Hitler’s
actions were seen as understandable and
justifiable by some politicians in Britain and
France.
Main causes of the Second World War
• Inefficacity of the League of Nations:
• The League f Nations was an international
organization to help keep world peace.
• In theory, it was a good idea, but ultimately it
was a failure.
• Not all countries joined the League and it had
not power, not army and was unable to act
quickly to stop an aggression.
Main causes of the Second World War

• The Alliances:
• Hitler made two important alliances during
1936.
• The first one was called the Rome- Berlin Axis
Pact and allied Germany with Italy.
• The second was called the Anti- Comitern Pact
and allied Germany and Japan.
Main causes of the Second World War

• World War 2 was fought between two military

alliances:
• The Allies, which comprised the Soviet Union,
United States of America, United Kingdom,
and other nations, and
• The Axis, made up of Germany, Japan, Italy,
etc.
Main causes of the Second World War

• Britain and France, believing that Poland

would be Hitler’s next target, promised that
they would take military action against Hitler
if he invaded Poland.
• In August 1939, Germany and Stalin’s Soviet
Union signed the Non-Aggression Treaty.
• German troops invaded Poland in September
1939. Second World War had started.
 Effects of Second World War
• Unparalleled Casualties:
• Somewhere between 22 - 25 million soldiers
and 38 - 55 million civilians lost their lives.
• Additionally, many more were left homeless.
• It is estimated that around 6 million Jews were
killed in the Holocaust, the systemic state-
sponsored genocide orchestrated by Adolf
Hitler.
 Effects of Second World War
• Other than Jews, non-Jewish Poles and Slavs
and Romanian gypsies, were killed in large
numbers in this genocide only because they
were considered inferior.
 Effects of Second World War
• Borders Were Redrawn:
• Several European and Asian countries had to bear
the brunt of this war.
• The territorial borders of European countries were
redrawn.
• The biggest beneficiary in terms of territorial
expansion was the Soviet Union, which annexed
parts of Finland, Poland, Japan, Germany, and
some independent states to its territories.
 Effects of Second World War
• The worst affected nation was Germany, which
was divided into four parts; one each was held
by France, United States, Soviet Union, and
Great Britain.
• The initial plans put forth by the United States
for Germany were very harsh. They were only
relaxed after they realized that the revival of
Europe was not possible without the revival of
German industrial base.
 Effects of Second World War
• United Nations:
• Post World War 2, the Allied Forces came
together to form the United Nations - an
organization formed to promote peace and
security in the world.
• The newly formed organization outlawed wars
of aggression to ensure that a third world war
doesn't happen.
 Effects of Second World War
• The Paris Peace Treaty was signed on
February 10, 1947, allowing countries like
Italy, Bulgaria, and Finland to resume as
sovereign states in international affairs and
become members of the United Nations.
• The Treaty also included provisions for the
payment of war reparations and post-war
territorial adjustments.
 Effects of Second World War
• End of Dictatorship: On the flip side, World War
2 marked the end of dictatorship in Europe.
• While Mussolini was captured and shot dead on
April 28, 1945, Hitler committed suicide on April
30, 1945.
• Emperor Hirohito was not prosecuted by the
Allied Powers as General Douglas MacArthur, the
Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers,
thought that his cooperation was necessary for the
administration of Japan.