World War II In 20 Pages

Key ConceptsThis chapter covers the political, economic, and ideological causes that led to World War II (1933-1939). For exams, you must link the collapse of the post-World War I settlement to the rise of aggressive dictatorships and the sequence of events from 1933 to the outbreak of war.

You MUST know:

Breakdown of the post-WWI settlement: Versailles and the League of Nations weakened peace-building after Germany’s defeat (1919 onward).

Political causes: states rejected the system-Germany under Hitler, Italy under Mussolini, and Japan under militarists.

Economic causes: Great Depression (1929) increased unemployment, weakened democracies, and made radical parties more popular.

Ideological causes: Nazi ideology (racial “master race,” anti-communism, anti-democracy) justified expansion; fascism promised national revival through dictatorship.

Weakness of democracies: Britain and France often used appeasement, trading territory for “peace” instead of stopping aggression.

Key timeline (1933-1939):

1933: Hitler becomes Chancellor in Germany

1933-35: Nazi rearmament; Germany withdraws from the League of Nations (1933)

1935: Germany reintroduces conscription

1935-36: Italy invades Ethiopia (shows weak collective response)

1936: Remilitarisation of the Rhineland

1938: Anschluss with Austria; Munich Agreement; Kristallnacht (Nov)

1939: German invasion of Poland (1 Sept) → Britain and France declare war (3 Sept)

Before you continue: Can you explain (in 3 linked points) how Versailles + the Great Depression + appeasement made war more likely by 1939?

Key TermsAppeasement - a policy of making concessions to aggressive states to avoid war.

Versailles Treaty - 1919 treaty that imposed heavy terms on Germany, creating resentment and instability.

Rearmament - rebuilding military strength; in Nazi Germany it broke post-WWI limits.

Totalitarianism - a system where the state controls most aspects of public and private life (propaganda, censorship, repression).

Fascism - far-right ideology promoting dictatorship, extreme nationalism, and suppression of opposition (e.g., Italy under Mussolini).

Nazism - Hitler’s ideology combining dictatorship, extreme nationalism, racism, and anti-communism.

Militarism - belief that military power should guide national policy (strong in Japan’s leadership).

Active RecallWrite the definitions from memory:

Appeasement: __________

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Versailles Treaty: __________

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Rearmament: __________

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Totalitarianism: __________

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Fascism: __________

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Nazism: __________

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Militarism: __________

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Worked ExamplesExample 1: Cause-and-effect chain (straightforward)Prompt: Explain one political and one economic cause of WWII by 1939.

Political cause: The post-WWI settlement (Versailles + weak enforcement) was undermined as Hitler rejected limits and rearmed from 1933.

Effect: Britain and France often delayed firm action (appeasement), encouraging further German moves (Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia).

Economic cause: The Great Depression (from 1929) increased unemployment and instability, helping radical parties gain power in Germany.

Effect: Weak democracies had less public support to resist aggression, making escalation more likely.

Now you try: Explain one political and one ideological cause.

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Example 2: Sequence and linking events (medium)Prompt: Link appeasement to the 1938 Munich Agreement and then to war risk by 1939.

Appeasement aimed to prevent war by granting concessions to Germany.

Munich Agreement (Sept 1938) allowed Germany to take the Sudetenland.

This signalled to Hitler that further expansion might still bring concessions rather than resistance.

By 1939, Germany then moved to seize more territory (Poland), removing the “peace” space that appeasement had created.

Now you try: Link one 1936-1938 event to increased risk of war.

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