Origins of WW2 for ASHS History students
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Name of Event: General overview of event Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding: Significance for New Zealanders: Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
Contents
First attempt at Anschluss
General overview of event
Anschluss means the linking of Germany and Austria. This was forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles, as the League of Nations feared that together the two countries would be too strong. The people of Austria disliked their Chancellor, Dollfuss and in July 1934 they assassinated Dollfuss, calling on Hitler to take over. This created a storm of international protest and Mussolini, leader of Italy, responded with force, sending troops to the Austrian border. Hitler, seeing these troops, immediately backed down.
Image of event
Significance for New Zealand
Not really any.
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
While it didn't exclusively start WW2, it shows how the war could have been avoided if only more countries had called Germany's bluff and responded with force.
The Spanish Civil War
General overview of event
Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding:
Significance for New Zealand:
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
The Manchurian Incident
General overview of event
The event was the annexation of Manchuria by Japan in 1931. Japan had set up a puppet state in the mineral rich area. After the depression, Japan was really poor, this was the first step taken to extend the Japanese empire.
Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding:
Significance for New Zealand:
It happened in the pacific.
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
A historian would argue that this event started WW2 because it showed that the league of nations would not follow up on their proposed sanctions. This meant that nations lost faith in the league and this caused there to be a disruption in peace at this time. This meant that war was to break out.
The Treaty of Versailles
General overview of event
One of the peace treaties at the end of World War 1. Signed on the 28 June 1919. It took six months of negotiations at the Paris peace conference. Negotiations between the Allied powers started on 18 January in the Salle de l'Horloge at the French Foreign Ministry, on the Quai d'Orsay in Paris. Initially, 70 delegates of 27 nations participated in the negotiations. Germany, Austria, and Hungary were not= allowed to go. The treaty was very harsh. German was so weak they had to pay, only a small percentage was paid in hard currency.
Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding:
Significance for New Zealand:
Started WW2 and NZ joined it. They liked the treaty and sss
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
The fourteen points for peace were tied in with the league of nations and the treaty of Versailles. The fourteen points of peace were not applied to Germany, and that was unfair. The Germans resented this, and they started to invade and break the treaty,initially starting the war.
Abyssinian Crisis
General overview of event
In an effort to deflect Italian attention from the Great Depression their leader Mussolini started a triumphant war against Abyssinia, a weak African country (now known as Ethiopia). Mussolini used the excuse that a border clash was the reason that the war had to be started without a formal declaration, a bluff that worked very successfully for Italy. The Emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie spread the news of the Italian invasion to popular European and American press so that Italy's aggression could not be ignored by the League of Nations.
It was Britain and France's job to protect Abyssinia in times like these, but unfortunately for Selassie Britain and France did not want to offend Mussolini because they did not want Italy to rebel and become an alliance for the lurking threat of Hitler and Germany. Only New Zealand and the USSR offered to help Abyssinia in their time of need.
Britain and France believed it was their duty to make a deal to stop the fighting, the Hoare-Laval Plan, granting Italy and Mussolini most of Abyssinia for nothing. The public was outraged at the failure of the League of Nations by their strongest members. Popular opinion forced them to offend Mussolini by applying limited sanctions. He now believed his only alternative ally was Hitler.
The one thing protecting the rest of Europe from Hitler was gone and the League of Nations had openly failed to protect a country from aggression.
Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding:
Significance for New Zealanders:
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
Dawes Plan
General overview of event
The Dawes Plan, put into effect in 1924, was an attempt to create peace and stability through European countries by allowing USA to loan money to Germany, which Germany then used to pay Britain and France as war debts, Britain and France in turn used it to pay war debts to USA.
Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding:
Significance for New Zealanders:
New Zealand was effected because the Dawes plan created economic stability in Europe which then in turn purchased goods and services from New Zealand.
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
A historian might argue that because most European countries were relying on USA economy that when the stock markets crashed it created massive economic weakness allowing Germany to gain power over Britain and France.
League of Nations
General overview of event
The League of nations was an inter-governmental organisation founded after the Paris peace conference
Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding:
Significance for New Zealanders:
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
Because the league of nations was supposed to help when countries went to war but failed to help the league also failed when they put the treaty of Versailles in place
Reoccupation of the Rhineland.
General overview of event
In 1936, Hitler’s bluff was unrecognized, meaning, he had broken both treaties restricting him to build and develop German facilities on the Rhineland, he did so, and made war in the West more
practical for Germany. Although France could have destroyed any presence of force in the Rhineland at this time, they did not, Hitler told his
followers to run at the sight of any French, no running was needed, and the Rhineland was re-occupied by the Germans.
Image (map, photo, cartoon) to support our understanding:
Significance for New Zealanders:
Rhineland was a catalyst of WW2, and although New Zealand did not have a direct influence or involvement with the reoccupation, they were however involved with the war, and if Britain and France imposed their sanctions they would have a chance of stopping the reoccupation, thus making war incovienient for Germany in the West, and WW2 may not have come into fruition.
Why might an Historian argue that this event started WW2? Explain in detail.
Germany reoccupied the Rhineland to make war more convienient for themselves in the west, to invade France and all that.
