causes of ww2

Question 1

what is treaty of versailles and when was it signed

Answer 1

• was signed on 28th June 1919
  
  • referred to peace with germany
  • germany opposed many terms, but if they didn’t sign, allies would invade

Question 2

terms of the treaty of versailles

Answer 2

• article no. 80 - forbidden to unite w Austria
• article no.87 - lands in eastern Germany, Posen, Polish corridor and east prussia is given to poland
• article no. 160 - army restricted to 100,000
• article no. 181 - navy restricted to 6 battleships and no submarines
• article no. 198 - not allowed to have airforce
• article no. 231- responsible for causing all the loss and damage caused by war WAR GUILT CLAUSE
• article no. 232 - have to pay reparations of 132 billion gold marks (aud 386 billion today)

Question 3

impact of the treaty of Versailles on Germany

Answer 3

• most of germany’s farming and production was given to other countries
• would be in **debt for generations **after war - no way to pay reparations
• felt that they couldn’t defend themselves militarily
• had no political voice on an international level
• in the pacific, german colonies above equator was given to japan and below was given to aus and nz

Question 4

purpose and aims of league of nations

Answer 4

• formed on 10 january 1920
• The League of Nations was the forerunner to the present United Nations.
• the League of Nations was established to prevent future wars by encouraging nations to negotiate rather than engage in military conflicts.
• The League oversaw the Permanent Court of Justice,
• aims of the league of nations is to solve disputes through negotiation and diplomacy to prevent wars
• the purpose was to also prevent countries from taking over other countries

Question 5

why did the league of nations fail

Answer 5

• lack of ability to enforce directives on aggressor nations
• when japan conquered manchuria, the League objected, but could do nothing
• when the league supported china japan left
• not enough countries joined
• hitler announced germany was leaving the league in 1933
• USA never joined due to threat to their independence
  - member nations disobeyed league directives
  
  • Italy invaded Abyssinia in 1935
  • although league condemned italians, france and britain were caught making secret agreements to give Abyssinia to italy
  • britain and france consistently broke league rules

Question 6

what occurred during the roaring twenties

Answer 6

• cultural changes and technological advancements
  
  • a time of prosperity and change
  • new tech: automobiles, refrigerators, aeroplanes, heaters, telophones
• saw the emergence of the jazz age and the rise of consumeristic society and increase in mass production
• prohibition - ban on alcohol consumption in US
  
  • led to development of secret speakeasies
  • increased profile of criminal organisations who controlled the flow of illegal alcohol

Question 7

causes of the great depression

Answer 7

• was caused by overlending and borrowing
  
  • companies overproduced goods (thought they’d sell a lot)
  • overinvestment in share (inflated their value)
  • banks overextended themselves (lent too much money to businesses and consumers)
• when there wasn’t enough money to support and underwrite the loans
  
  • shares were sold
  • companies collapsed
  • banks could not pay back loans
• so the financial system of US collapsed and the NYSE - NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE collapsed in oct 1929
• market lost 47% of its value in 20 days

Question 8

impact of great depression

Answer 8

• initially only affected US, but as the world became globalised, it affected other parts of the world
• banks collapsed and unemployment rose in US and other countries
• in aus, foreign investments dried up
• by 1932, unemployment was at 29%
• it resulted in a precarious financial situation for japan - led to social + political changes
• germany was already in a precarious financial situation due to war debt and reparations
  
  • so government printed lots of money - led to hyperinflation
  • 40% of german were unemployed
  • germany announced it would be unable to pay war debt

Question 9

explain the rise of extreme ideologies such as nazism and fascism

Answer 9

• as a result of war loss, crippling financial burdens, terrible living and working conditions, germans became increasingly angry w current system of govvernment
• government was unable to manage and solve these crises
  
  • to germans, this government had failed in all areas – the war, employment, financial crisis, living costs and conditions, etc.
  • german, angry and desperate, started looking to other places
  • led to the rise of extreme ideologies like fascism and nazism

Question 10

fascism and nazism beliefs

Answer 10

• Nazi party grounded some of ideals from preexisting movements,
  
  • eg. the idea of Germanic and Aryan racial superiority
  • saw white Germans as the ‘master race’ and the prime example of evolution
• created a clear vision of a national identity, which many disaffected and disillusioned Germans saw as their salvation
• Nazi party had stomping marches, iconic flags, and strong youth engagement
  
  • offered people a place to belong when they felt that their sense of identity had been lost.
• party brought together many of the nationalistic ideas that had been present in Germany for a long time.
• problematic for Jewish people
  
  • not related to Aryan races, they were seen as inferior
  • longstanding anti-Semitic ideas in Europe found a fertile ground → Antisemitism became a crucial part of Nazi ideals
  • Hitler had an audience for his antisemitic and anticommunist speeches that depicted Jews as causing the Depression
• having a group to blame for their problems brought Germans together → Hitler offered the promise of stability.

Question 11

weimar republic (communist party)

Answer 11

• a revolution occurred after the war in Germany
• after losing WWII, Germany’s then leader, Kaiser Wilhelm II, was forced to abdicate the throne on 9 November 1918
• provisional government instilled next day
• December 1918 – elections held by the government → formed a national assembly
  
  • they created a new constitution
  • aims were to safeguard basic democratic human rights – freedom of speech, religion and equality of women (right to vote in public elections)
  • national assemble met in Weimar – therefore called it the Weimar Republic
  • By August 1919 – the constitution was signed into law
• post-war period was a time of change in Germany
  
  • groups clashed due to differences in values between traditionalist and new thinkers
• as society fell apart, crime rose, with gangs roaming the streets
  
  • there were also many abandoned and traumatised WWI soldiers who were unhappy with the society they had returned to.
• all of these people looked for hope, and were susceptible to the promises of new political movements

Question 12

rise of hitler

Answer 12

Hitler’s early life:

• Corporal Adolf Hitler in WW1
• 2 Iron Crosses during service in the army in WW1
• anton drexler was angry at the deteriorating economic and social conditions into the communist parties
  
  • suffered humiliation of unemployment (common in Weimar Republic)
• formed german worker party (DAP) on 5 jan 1919
• German government considered the party a threat and appointed Hitler, young war veteran, to work as an intelligence agent
• Hitler was interested in their emphasis on nationalism and looked up to Drexler as a mentor
• he was skilled as a public speaker
• on 29 July 1921, he took control of the party and named it NSDAP
• they were different from other conservative parties:
  
  • had marches, stong youth engagement
• beer hall putsch (attempt to overthrow gov)
  
  • SA - stormtroopers, were military-style enforcers who used violence
  • on Nov 9 1923, nazi party disrupted meeting of three barbarian leaders
  • SA surrounded the beer hall to install a machine gun
  • the coup failed
  • hitler served 9 months prison time
• chancellor
  
  • Hitler’s popularity grew and he became chancellor on 30 Jan 1933 after several elections
  • he wasn’t immediately appointed chancellor, even after winning election
  • it took the economic and political instability to worsen (w 2 chancellors failing to stabilise the situation) to convince Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor
• fuhrer
  
  • after the death of president Hindenburg, Hitler rose to power and merged chancellor with the president to become fuhrer of Germany

Question 13

hitler’s expansionalist ideals

Answer 13

• the terms of the Treaty of Versailles led to the loss of many German territories.
• Hitler and the Nazis wanted ‘lebensraum’, or living space, for ethnic Germans.
• they turned their eyes to the resource-rich Sudetenland, which had been ceded to Czechoslovakia at the end of WWI
• claiming that ethnic Germans in this territory were being persecuted, Hitler massed German forces on the border.
• czechoslovakia did the same.
• the European leaders, concerned about the prospect of war (remembering the impacts of World War I) interceded → led to Munich Agreement

Question 14

the Munich Agreement

Answer 14

• the notorious Munich Agreement (30 Sept 1938) occurred between Germany, Great Britain, Italy and France.
• the leaders of the Czech Republic were not in attendance (not invited)
• at this meeting, the leaders of the UK (Neville Chamberlain), Italy (Benito Mussolini) and France (Eduoard Daladier) agreed to the annexation (takeover) of the Sudetenland (in Czechoslovakia) by Germany.
• Czechoslovakia was informed by Britain and France that it could resist Germany alone or submit to the annexation
  
  • without support, the Czech government chose to subm

Question 15

failure of appeasement

Answer 15

• Neville Chamberlain praised the agreement, saying it had achieved ‘Peace for our time’. Many at the time agreed with this idea.
• however, the then-opposition leader, Winston Churchill, criticised the agreement. Churchill’s criticism would prove to be founded.
• Hitler’s annexation of the Sudetenland on 1 October 1938 emboldened him, and the Germans took over more of Czechoslovakia, establishing the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia in 1939.
• Hitler had shown that his greed could not be satisfied.
• Chamberlain’s failure to stop Hitler would lead to his resignation on 10 May 1940.

Question 16

the invasion of Poland

Answer 16

• much like the Japanese in Manchuria, the Germans engineered a ‘false flag’ scenario in which Germans dressed in Polish army outfits were used to provide ‘evidence’ that Polish soldiers had attacked Germany.
• germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939.
• when Hitler refused to withdraw, Britain and France declared war on 3 September 1939.
• World War II had begun in Europe.

Question 17

the reasons for Japan’s desire to expand

Answer 17

• Japanese territory were restricted to its own islands
  
  • lacked many natural resources required for the production of these materials.
• Japan started looking to the example of the Western powers, who had colonial territories where they obtained many raw materials for their development and manufacturing.
• they started to expand into the surrounding territories: Ryukyu Islands (1879), Formosa (Taiwan, 1895), Korea (1910)
  
  • Japan established itself as a power in the East and pushed to be on equal footing with the Western powers.
• Japan’s expansionist policies were driven not only by their development needs, but also by their growing population
  
  • they struggled to produce enough food and were forced to import to keep up with their population
  • this, combined with the financial situation Japan found itself in after the Great Depression, led to changes in the traditional beliefs of the Japanese and allowed for the rise of the militarists, who believed in Japanese supremacy
  • Japan started looking towards the Chinese territory of Manchuria, which it already had considerable interests in

Question 18

bombing of Pearl Harbour

Answer 18

• On Sunday 7 December 1941 the Japanese attacked the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor.
• Australia declares war with Japan on 8
  December 1941.
• japan was aware of the military capabilities of USA, its pacific neighbours
• they launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at pearl harbour hawaii
  
  • weakening US meant precious time to secure the region + establish defences

2 years between start of WWII in Europe and in Pacific

Question 19

war in the pacific

Answer 19

• following the attack on Pearl Harbour (7 Dec 1941), Japanese forces quickly occupied Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam and Wake Island.
• singapore was first bombed in 8 Dec 1941.
• Japan wanted rubber and oil resources available on the island of Borneo (now Malaysia – Sarawak and Sabah, Indonesia – Kalimantan and Brunei)
  
  • many of these Southeast Asian islands also held strategic advantage for launching of airstrikes and as naval ports.

Question 20

places conquered by Japan

Answer 20

• Burma (Myanmar)
• French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos)
• British Malaya (Malaysia)
• The Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), before invading New Guinea (part of which was an Australian protectorate).

Question 21

french indochina

Answer 21

• Once Germany invaded in May 1940, France could no longer properly support its overseas colonies
• Japan took advantage of this to present the French Indochinese government with a number of requests.
  
  • Close all supply routes to china and allow them to set up a naval base close to the Chines border
  • Allow Japanese troops to be stationed in the country, adjacent to Chinese borders
• After heavy negotiations, troops were authorised to enter the country
• To avoid bloodshed, authorities allowed more troops to be stationed in the country.

Question 22

the fall of singapore

Answer 22

• Japanese aircraft sunk both ships north of Singapore on 10 December 1941. This left the base without significant naval protection.
• On February 1942, Singapore surrendered to the Japanese, leaving no major defences between Australia and the advancing Japanese army
• A large number of soldiers became POWs.

Question 23

mukden incident

Answer 23

• This occurred on September 18, 1931.
• The Japanese forces in Manchuria (Kwantung Army) staged an incident in which they claimed that Chinese soldiers had tried to bomb a South Manchurian train.
• The army used this false incident to stage an invasion of Manchuria, despite the objections of the civilian government in Tokyo.
• Japan established a new government (essentially controlled by them) in the place it now called ‘Manchukuo’ and now began to harvest the resources from this region.
• This would be the beginning of their plan to establish a ‘new order’ in Asia.
• Many supporters of expansion saw this as an opportunity to bring together all Asians (but with the idea that the Japanese were the most racially superior).

Question 24

further expansion and new relations

Japan at war in the pacific

Answer 24

• To support its ambitions, Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany in November 1936.
• This was replaced with the Tripartite Pact with Germany and Italy, where they agreed to assist each other in conflict with other countries.
• On July 7, 1937, Japanese troops engaged Chinese troops at Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing .
• This led to war with China, and the Japanese moved swiftly through the country, taking major cities such as Nanjing (also known as Nanking, the then capital of China).

Question 25

expanding through Asia

Japan in the pacific

Answer 25

• In 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina in order to block supplies for Chinese nationalists. The USA responded by refusing to continue trading oil with Japan.
• The Japanese government, with only enough oil for 6 months of navy operations, looked to other assets in the Asia Pacific. They would go on to:
  
  • Expand into the Dutch East Indies for oil (1942)
  • Take British Malaya for rubber (1942)
  • Occupy the Philippines (1942)
  • Take the prime Western military post of Singapore (1942)

Question 26

impact of WW1 on germany

Answer 26

• Germany lost the war
  
  • Large numbers of people injured and men psychologically scarred
  • Rebuild their country
  • Restore economic, political and social stability
  • Had to take all blame for the war – they felt they were not the only ones culpable – anger an resentment grew
  • DolchstoBlegende ‘stab in the back’ myth
• Germans were shocked when the nation surrendering WW1
  
  • this caused people to believe the treaty was a failure by the new left-wing government
  • believed they were swayed by propaganda of the allies and that Germany agreed too easily
  • led germans to believe they were not defeated on the battle field but rather government were under the influence of minority groups within Germany such as Jewish peoples and socialists

Question 27

paris peace conference

Answer 27

• in January 1919, the delegates of 37 nations met in paris to decide the peace settlements to end WW1
  
  • defeated nations were not represented during the negotiations
  • they were only allowed to attend after the terms have been decided

Question 28

the big four

Answer 28

• George Clemenceau (France)
  
  • wanted to weaken Germany so it wouldn’t take up arms again
  • wanted to punish germany
• Woodrow Wilson (USA)
  
  • wanted to achieve lasting peace
  • sought to do this through an international body called the league of nations
• David Lloyd George (Britain)
  
  • wanted to rebuild Germany’s economy so Britain could trade with them
  • this meant that they were able to grow their empire
• Vittorio Emanuele orlando (Italy)
  
  • wanted territory formerly held by Austria
  • was embarrassed when the big three marginalised him at the conference
• saionji kimmochi (Japan)
  
  • wanted a racial equality clause in the treaty
  • japan was given territory held by Germany in china
  • both japan and china were insulted by the outcome

Question 29

events that led to the rise of nazism

Answer 29

• Germans felt forced to sign the treaty
• Terms offended many sector of the German nations
  
  • Admitting guilt
  • Pay reparations
  • Loosing 13%of land
  • Severely restricted in rebuilding and establishing military
• Stab in the back myth
• Soldiers coming back from the war unemployed and left many starving
• Germany’s debt made it hard to recover and for new jobs to be established
• Hyperinflation
• 3 major revolution attempts and elections (10 in 14 years)
• Stock market crash – German banks collapsed and inflation rose – 6 million Germans unemployed by 1932

Question 30

where and why did australians fight in ww2

Answer 30

• as Britain was involved in the war, Australia had to join because they were part of the British empire
• Australians fought in the middle east, north Africa, Egypt, Greece, UK, Malaysia, Singapore, the dutch east indies

Question 31

kokoda trail

Answer 31

• it was a 96-kilometre track through the Owen Stanley mountain range
• an overland campaign over the mountains
• the Japanese troops wanted to capture port Moresby overland as their seaborne landing was disrupted by the battle of the coral sea
• Australian, Papuan troops and Japanese soldiers were involved
• the kokoda trail campaign is important as it was the most vicious fighting encountered by Australians, with Australians defeating the Japanese troops
• their victory ensured that allied bases in northern Australia would not be seriously affected by air attacks

Question 32

prisoners of war

Answer 32

• under geneva convention: nations were obliged to provide captured civilians and soldiers with adequatesupplies and conditions so they can return to their own country when suitable
• conditions were relatively suitable for Australians captured by germans or Italians in europe/middle east
• this contrasted to POWs taken by Japanese military
  
  • on island of borneo, prisoners were forced to march through tropical jungles with only 6 surviving
  • allies captured in Singapore: rations were scarce, hunger and disease occurred, medical treatment was non-existent
  • japan refused to acknowledge geneva convention - tortured and executed POWs
  • also used a labourers → built thai-burma railway
  • 12,00 allied POWs died during its construction

Question 33

atomic bomb

Answer 33

• in 1939, manhattan project was launched
  
  • albert einstein and leo szilard wrote to roosevelt of fears of nazi germnay developing atomic weapons
• why did they use atomic bomb
  
  • believed using it would end war in pacific, because overland invasion would lead to great loss of American soldiers
  • believed japan would not concede defeat if bombs were detonated in deserted area
  • chose hiroshima and nagasaki because they weren’t targeted for conventional bombing
• at 8:15 am on 6th august 1945, USA dropped atomic bomb, little boy, on Hiroshima (w/ no prior warning)
• 70% of city was destroyed, 30% of population was killed
• us pressured japn to accept the terms of the potsdam declaration, but no response came
• 3 days later on 9th Aug 1945, fat man bomb was dropped on nagasaki, killing 75,000 people
• aftermath:
  
  • survivors were burnt and he radiation from the explosion caused cancers and diseases
  • by 1950, around 200,000 people died from Hiroshima bombing

Question 34

end of war in europe

Answer 34

the Normandy landings

• allies waged a comprehensive deception campaign to keep Nazis guessing
• completed the largest seaborne invasion and began the liberation of France
• USSR swept across eastern Europe and invaded Germany
• Nazis surrendered on 7 May 1945

Question 35

end of war in the pacific

Answer 35

• America completed the ‘Japan campaign’ → involved a series of bombings of Japanese capital cities
• ‘island hopping’ → Americans took over islands of Japan
  
  • japan didn’t surrender
• Potsdam declaration: mid-1945 → it was apparent Japan was losing
  
  • US, great Britain and china’s leaders met and gave an ultimatum to japan that if they didn’t surrender ‘prompt and utter destruction’ will occur
• soviet union declared war on japan on 9th Aug 1945
• Emperor Hirohito unconditionally surrendered on 15 Aug 1945
  
  • feared more atomic bombs would be detonated over japan