PPT going over the causes of WWII and Canada's role

1. Introduction to
World War II
Europe in 1939

2. Long Term Causes
► Treaty
of Versailles
► Failure of the League of Nations
► Failure of Appeasement
► Economic Conditions/Great Depression
► Political Instability in Germany/Hitler‟s Actions

3. 1) Treaty of Versailles
► German
people were
left humiliated, angry
and seeking revenge
after the signing of the
treaty.
 Germany to take full
blame for WWI
 Severe limits to
German military
 Germany forced to pay
huge reparations (led to
debt)
► Some
countries felt
guilty for the harsh
provisions of the
Treaty.
The disgraceful Treaty is
being signed today.
Don’t forget it!
We will never stop until we
win back what we
deserve.
From Deutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper,
28 June 1919.

4. 2) Failure of the
League of Nations
► League
proved to be an ineffective force
 Countries ignored the League‟s request
 Not all countries were members
 League had no power – could only ask members to stop
trading with an aggressive country – could still trade
with non-members
 League had no army – countries were to provide their
own troops but did not want to get pulled into war
 Unable to act quickly – League met four times a year
and all members had to agree on decisions
► Unable
to force Germany to follow the provisions
of the Treaty of Versailles

5. 3) Appeasement
► Appeasement:
To accept the conditions of
someone provided their demands are reasonable.
To avoid conflict by accepting demands of an
aggressor.
► Politicians felt the Treaty of Versailles was too
harsh, therefore, believed Hitler‟s actions were
understandable.
 1934 Hitler rearming – felt Germany had right to protect
herself; prevent spread of communism
 1936 German Troops in Rhineland – acceptable for
protection, Germans lived in this area
► Give
into Hitler‟s demands/actions to prevent war.

6. This drawing by the British Cartoonist David Low (20 March 1935) is titled 'Cause comes before
effect'. The cartoon shows Hitler's armies marching past him - but at the front are politicians such as
Chamberlain, Clemenceau, Laval and Mussolini, and they are saluting Hitler too. They have rolled up
the Versailles Treaty and carry a flag saying '17 years of lost opportunity'. The message of the
cartoon is that Hitler may be bringing war, but it is the politicians of France, Britain and Italy who are
to blame - for letting him.
http://www.johndclare.net/RoadtoWWII7a.htm

7. 4) Hitler‟s Actions
► Many
historians still think that the Second World
War was Hitler's personal war
 That he always intended to fight another war
►a
re-run of the First World War he did not believe that Germany
had lost.

8. Steps to War
►
►
►
►
►
►
►
1936 Hitler re-occupies the
Rhineland
1938 Hitler „takes over‟ Austria
1938 Hitler „takes over‟
Czechoslovakia
1939 Hitler signs a “nonaggression” agreement with
Stalin (USSR)
1939 Hitler invades Poland
1939 September 3 Britain and
France Declare War
A Week Later, September 10
1939, Canada Declares War.
Cartoon by British cartoonist, David Low
portraying Hitler as Santa Claus bringing
little ones into his bag. The trick is that the
countries are listed on the headboard:
Austria, Czechoslovakia (with German
speakers...) but then it continues through
Poland, Hungary, Yugoslavia etc.
http://www.educationdesign.com.ar/Resources/germany1918_1945/001.htm

10. The Face of Europe in 1939

11. The Axis and the Allies
What do you notice about the lists?
ALLIES
AXIS
► Britain
► Germany
► France
► Italy
► Canada
► Japan
► US
► USSR
(1941)
► Australia
► Poland
► Belgium
(1940)
► Romania
► Bulgaria
► Hungary

12. Canada‟s Declaration of War

13. Why is it significant that Canada
declared War on Germany
separate from Britain?
(Think back to what you know about WWI)

14. The Changing Face of Europe
1941

15. The Changing Face of Europe
1943

16. HOW COULD THE FACE
OF EUROPE CHANGE SO
DRASTICALLY AND SO
QUICKLY?

17. The BlitzkrieG ~ “Lightening War”
What type of Warfare was used in WWI?
Blitzkrieg
► based on speed and surprise
► needed a military force to be based around light tank units
supported by planes and infantry (foot soldiers)
► first Dive Bombers were sent to „soften‟ up the enemy,
destroy all rail lines, communication centres and major rail
links
► Simultaneously, tanks were approaching and the planes
withdrew only at the last minute so that the enemy did not
have time to recover their senses when the tanks attacked
supported by infantry occurred
What was different in WWII?
Britain and France still had a World War One mentality
► Allied tactics were poor along with poor tanks compared
with German Panzers
► Gave Germany the advantage and lead to the conquering

18. First-Hand Account of Blitzkrieg
The battlefront disappeared, and with it the illusion that
there had ever been a battlefront. For this was no war of
occupation, but a war of quick penetration and
obliteration—Blitzkrieg, lightning war. Swift columns of
tanks and armored trucks had plunged through Poland
while bombs raining from the sky heralded their coming.
They had sawed off communications, destroyed stores,
scattered civilians, spread terror. Working sometimes 30
miles (50 km) ahead of infantry and artillery, they had
broken down the Polish defenses before they had time to
organize. Then, while the infantry mopped up, they had
moved on, to strike again far behind what had been
called the front.
TIME Vol. XXXIV No. 13, 25 September 1939

19. The Canadian Military Contribution
► By
June of 1940 (After
France had fallen)
Canada was Britain‟s
main Ally
 until 1941 when both
the US and the USSR
joined the Allied effort
► Battle
of Britain
► Dieppe
► D-Day
► Liberation of Holland

20. YOUR TASK
► First
Task:
 Using the provided handout of mixed up events,
create a timeline for the events that lead to
World War Two
► Second
Task:
 Using the provided handout, identify the terms
which contributed to the outbreak of war.
Create a diagram of the causes of World War II.

21. Causes of WWII
1919
Treaty of Versailles
League of Nations
Inflation
Manchurian Crisis
Political Instability
Depression
Article X
Unemployment
HITLER
1933
Lebensraum
Isolationalism
Abyssinia
Fascism
Anschluss
Formation of Axis Powers
Anti-Semitism
Appease-
Nazi-Soviet
Spanish Civil War
Invasion of Poland (Sept 1, 1939)

22. Sources
►
►
http://www.johndclare.net/RoadtoWWII7a.htm
www.historyonthenet.com
http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/newspapers/intro_e.html
►
World War II: Europe. US Military Academy. West Point, New
►
York. 13 Feb. 2005
►
►
►
<http://www.dean.usma.edu/history/web03/atlases/ww2%20europe/ww
2%20europe%20
war%20index.htm>
(History 66: Introduction to Modern Europe: European Maps. 2003.
Temple University. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 13 Feb 2005.
<http://astro.temple.edu/~barbday/Europe66/resources/maps.html>)
History 66: Introduction to Modern Europe: European Maps. 2003.
Temple University. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 13 Feb 2005.
<http://astro.temple.edu/~barbday/Europe66/resources/maps.html>)
History 66: Introduction to Modern Europe: European Maps. 2003.
Temple University. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 13 Feb 2005.
<http://astro.temple.edu/~barbday/Europe66/resources/maps.html>)