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Causes of WWII - Coggle Diagram
Causes of WWII
Hitler's Foreign Policy
Hitler's reintroduction of conscription to German military kept other countries such as Britain and France on high alert however they did not do anything in particular to stop it. Britain only justified Germany's rearmament due to fear of communism.
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Appeasement
During the 1930s, politicians in Britain and France began to believe that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to Germany and that Hitler’s actions were understandable and justifiable. It allowed Germany to break the TOV and grow stronger which threatened the peace in Europe again.
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Great Depression 1929
All the countries affected by the Depression were in an economic crisis, especially since after WWI, it was still a time of recovery. Therefore, some invaded other countries for resources to revive their own economies.
Mukden Railway Incident, Manchuria 1931
Japan was hit hard by the Depression. The government did little to help the economy and was seen as weak and powerless hence, the people favoured the army. The army saw Manchuria as a solution to all their problems as it was vast and not thinly populated.
During a depression, people look for a strong political leader to resolve their problems. In 1933, Hitler became the leader of Germany by promising to restore German wealth and power.
Peace treaties 1919-1923
The treaties, especially the TOV was highly condemned in Germany and never gained wide acceptance. Even many in Britain had felt the TOV was unfair and was unwilling to enforce it when Germany broke its terms.
Disarmament; reparations; loss of all colonies; significant territorial losses (i.e Polish Corridor, and territory ceded to Poland; Danzig); War Guilt Clause; Diktat
The massive unpopularity of the TOV was a critical reason for Hitler's rise to power in Germany and soon after taking power, he proceeded to deliberately expand German power, violating the terms of the TOV. Hitler getting away with this further emboldened him and Nazi expansion (foreign policy) because it made the western powers look weak.
Failures of LON 1930s
There were a variety of reasons for this failure, many connected to general weaknesses within the organization, such as voting structure that made ratifying resolutions difficult and incomplete representation among world nations. Additionally, the power of the League was limited by the USA’s refusal to join. The victors such as Britain and France prioritised themselves over the League and did not really care much about the League but was more of taking advantage of it.
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Nazi-Soviet Pact 1939
The Non-Aggression Pact between Germany and the Soviet Union was a win-win situation for both countries.
The pact ended any chance of the USSR siding with the British and French in 1939. This was a major success for Hitler and it allowed him to begin the attack on Poland. It also allowed the USSR the time to build up their military strength.It gave Hitler a free hand to invade Poland and go to war against its Western allies without intervention by the Soviet Union.
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