Issue 4

The Nature of World War IIEUROPE

What Was WWII

• Largest War in human history• Involved countries, colonies and territories

around the world• By the end over 70 Million were dead• It lasted from 1939- 1945

What were the causes of WW II

W WWI and the Treaty of Versailles

A ppeasement

R ise of Totalitarianism

(The main causes of War)

WWI and the Treaty

• Germany Lost land to surrounding nations• War Reparations: - Allies collect $ to pay back US for war debts- Germany pays $57 Trillion (today's equivalent) - Germans are bankrupt, embarrassed, guilt

ridden and angry• In desperate times, desperate people turn to

desperate leaders.

Appeasement • Definition: giving someone something to make them happy,

so they will leave you alone. • Hitler demanded land that wasn’t Germany’s and people

just gave it to him• Nations (Britain and France) were trying to prevent war.

They also believed that Germany had been unfairly treated at the treaty of Versailles and Hitler was only claiming what technically was Germany’s.

• The Appeasement showed Hitler that he could do whatever he wanted.

Appeasement

Rise of Totalitarianism • A system in which the State and its Leader

have nearly TOTAL control • Individual rights are not viewed as important

as the needs of the nation- No right to vote- No freedom of speech- Government controlled economy- Often a Police State

Totalitarianism

Germany & Italy

Fascists Dictatorship

UUSR

Communists Dictatorship

Japan

MilitaryDictatorship

• Hitler

•Mussolini

•Stalin

•Tojo

What is Fascism?• Political belief that the individual is less important than the

nation• Glorifies violence, believes it is needed to prove Strength of

the people• Uses nationalism and Racism• Dictatorships• Germany, Italy became fascists

What's the difference between Totalitarianism and Fascism? Fascism is an ideologyTotalitarianism is a way to Rule

What did Hitler want?• Militarism: soon after becoming chancellor he

began to re-arm Germany and broke the treaty of Versatile

• Moved the troops into the Rhineland gaining Territory again and breaking the treaty

• Lebensraum: “Living Space”• Austria peacefully annexed in 1938• Then onto Czechoslovakia and PolandWhat were Hitler’s aims

How did WWII Start?• Germany Invaded Poland• Allies declared war on Germany• Germany then invades France, Belgium• Then Hitler invades Russia• German’s used ‘Blitzkrieg’ to overwhelm other

armies. (Blitzkrieg means ‘Lighting War’ – means surround everything with tanks and troops in trucks ect)

Who was on each side?

Axis Powers

• Germany • Italy• Japan

Allied Powers

•Great Britain•Soviet Union•United States•France (although it surrendered to Germany in 1940 after 6 weeks)

The Story

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lm5SxG68KSM

Eight Steps to WarThe story of WWIIBritain in WWII

CharacteristicsWhy was this war fought on such a large scale?

• Advances in technology• The Loss of human life was huge• A total War

Advances in Technology

• Technology advances since previous wars meant that fighting caused far more serious suffering, loss of property and human life.

• With Developments in air technology, the war was carried far beyond the front lines and into the civilian areas.

• This was a very mobile war, involving wide scale use of tanks, personnel carriers and mobile artillery units.

The Loss of Human Life

• This was Huge!• The soviet Union alone lost 20 million people• Dreadful crimes were committed against

humanity in death and slave camps.• In this war ‘unofficial’ fighting groups were

formed. (Partisan Groups)

Losses from WWIIGermany-4.5 Million Military-2 Million CivilianJapan-2 million Military-350,000 CiviliansItaly400,000 Military100,000 civilian China2.5 Million Military7.4 Million Civilians

USSR-10 Million Military-10 Million Civilians Great Britain-300,000 Military-50,000 CiviliansFrance-250,000 Military-350,000 CiviliansUnited States -274,000 Military

Total War

• WWII was classified as total war as little distinction was made between soldiers and civilians

• Destruction of cities resulted in the spread of disease, high unemployment, destruction of personal property and starvation. Many people suffered despair.

Aspects of WWII• Deaths• Atrocities• Destruction of property• War against Civilians• Economy• Partisan Groups • Camps• Sophisticated Weaponry(Aspects of war)

Why Did Germany Fail?The Germans Lost the War because:• They had failed to win the key battles against Britain and

Russia (Battle of Britain & Barbarossa)• They had overstretched their resources by fighting on too

many fronts• The Italians, their allies had proven more of a hindrance than

a help (Hitler’s forces had to rescue them in south eastern Europe)

• Their navy had failed to block supplies coming in from overseas

• They had lost air control after the Battle of Britain

• The USA had joined the European War• Hitler’s megalomaniac policies did not match

Churchill’s inspiration and Roosevelt’s Persistence

• Leaders such as Churchill and Roosevelt had cooperated with each other and presented a united purpose which Hitler and Mussolini could not match.