Causes of WWII

Causes of WWII

1. Expansion

   • Colonies
     • Pacific War
   • Aggressive foreign policy
   • Failure of collective security

2. Aggressive Nationalism

   • Italy
     • The Spanish Civil War led to a closer relationship between the German and Italian dictators
   • Germany
   • Japan

3. Rise of Fascism/Militarism

   • Japan
     • Militarism refers to the accepting belief in which military (army or navy) should get full power of the country.
     • Hideki Tojo – General that controlled all aspects of Japans society
   • Italy
     • Mussolini seized power, taking advantage of high unemployment, inflation and a middle-class fear of Communism
   • Germany
     • Calling himself “Der Fuhrer” (the leader) he promised to return Germany to its old glory
   • Failure of appeasement

4. Economic Instability

   • The Great Depression 1929
   • Dawes Plan
     • Turns into political crisis
   • War Debts
   • Umemployment
   • People moved to more rightist idelolgies

5. Ideology

   • Germany
     • Idea of living space
       • Hitler believed that for Germany to thrive it needed more land at the expense of her neighbors

6. Failure of League of Nations

   • Failure of collective security
   • Manchurian Crisis
     • Reveals league's weakness
   • Abyssinian Crisis
   • Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

7. Appeasement - meeting a dictator’s demands in order to avoid another major war.

   • Munich Conference
     • Munch Agreement Sept. 1938
       • turned over the Sudetenland to Germany

8. The Non-agression Pact

   • Signed August 1939
   • Agreement between Hitler and Stalin
   • Nonaggression Pact- stated that if either country became involved in war, the other would remain neutral.