UNIT 3: WWII
1.Causes of the WWII
1.1 The causes of the war
● The Treaty of Versailles established peace with Germany. Germany lost territory and
its economy was damaged by the need to pay war reparations to the victorious
countries. This caused resentment in Germany, which later contributed to the rise of
nationalism.
● The Great Depression of 1929 caused problems such as inflation and
unemployment. It affected most European countries, especially Germany, where
Adolf Hitler imposed National Socialism.
● The weakness of democratic countries and the inability of the League of Nations to
resolve conflicts made it much easier for Germany and Italy to expand their militaries.
● The Russian Revolution, the triumph of communism and the creation of the Soviet
state were a source of hope for part of the global proletariat. However, they also
caused great concern among the liberal states because of their revolutionary and
expansionist policies.
1.2 Expansionism and collaboration with the fascists
The 1929 economic crisis fueled nationalism in Germany, Japan, and Italy, leading to
expansionist policies for territorial growth and resource security. In 1931, Japan occupied
Manchuria. In 1933, Hitler became German chancellor, promoting Pan-Germanism, rejecting
the Treaty of Versailles, and expanding militarily. He left the League of Nations, annexed
Saarland, militarized the Rhineland, and enforced conscription. Between 1935-1936, Italy
conquered Ethiopia and aligned with Nazi Germany. In 1936, Germany and Italy
strengthened ties by supporting Franco in the Spanish Civil War and forming the
Rome-Berlin Axis. That same year, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact,
later joined by Italy.
1.3 Failure of the policy of appeasement
The European powers attempted to prevent war through appeasement, but Hitler pursued
expansion. In 1938, Germany annexed Austria and then targeted Sudetenland in
Czechoslovakia, citing its German-speaking population. The Munich Agreement (1938),
signed by Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, allowed Germany to annex Sudetenland in
exchange for a promise to halt further expansion. However, Hitler violated the agreement by
invading Slovakia and the port of Memel. He also reinforced ties with Italy through the Pact
of Steel.
1.4 Invasion of Poland: the beginning of the war
Hitler reclaimed territory lost to Poland after World War I and opposed the Danzig Corridor.
Before invading Poland, key agreements were made: Poland secured independence
guarantees from France and Britain, while Germany and the USSR signed the Nazi-Soviet
Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939). This pact ensured Soviet neutrality and secretly divided
Poland and other territories between Germany and the USSR. Stalin agreed to the pact to
counter Western hostility and avoid German aggression. On September 1, 1939, Germany
invaded Poland, prompting France and Britain to declare war two days later, marking the
start of World War II.
2.The German offensive
2.1 Blitzkrieg, a new strategy
Hitler aimed for a swift war using the blitzkrieg strategy, which relied on surprise attacks with
tanks and aircraft to quickly break enemy lines. Germany conquered Poland in one month
and attacked Denmark and Norway in April 1940 to secure Norwegian steel and control the
North Sea. Germany then invaded the Netherlands and Belgium. France’s counterattack and
Britain’s efforts to block German control of the North Sea failed, allowing German troops to
advance into France. These developments also led to Winston Churchill becoming British
prime minister.
2.2 Failure of the French and the British
The Franco-British strategy failed, and after the Allies withdrew from Dunkerque, Germany
quickly conquered France. France was divided: the north and Atlantic coast were under
German occupation, while Vichy France, led by Marshal Pétain, collaborated with Nazi
Germany. Britain then faced a potential German invasion. Hitler sought air superiority to
transport troops but was defeated in the Battle of Britain (June 1940) by British fighter
planes. Unable to invade, Germany resorted to bombing cities like London and Coventry.
2.3 Italy enters the war
Italy entered the war on Germany's side in June 1940. It launched a major offensive in the
north of Africa aimed at reaching the Suez Canal and blocking communication between
Britain and its colonies. Germany had to assist Italy with Rommel's Afrika Korps and in their
subsequent invasion of Greece.
2.4 The invasion of the USSR
Hitler always considered communism his main enemy. His forces invaded the USSR in the
summer of 1941. Hitler intended to occupy the cities of Leningrad, Moscow and Kyiv before
the winter. to control the Russian production of grains and oil.
The operation was an initial success, but the onset of winter and the lack of fuel impeded the
advance and allowed the Russian army to reorganise.
2.5 War in the Pacific
Japan had occupied Manchuria and Korea even before the outbreak of the Second World
War. In 1940,Japan also invaded Indochina. The USA felt that their interests in the Pacific
region were in danger and cut off trade relations with Japan. In December 1941, Japan
attacked the American military base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. As a result, the USA entered
the Second World War on the Allied side.
3.The Allied counterattack
3.1 The final Allied offensives (1944-1945)
The weakness of the German army allowed the Allies to intensify their attacks. On June 6,
1944, the Allies launched the Normandy landings, led by General Eisenhower, aiming to
establish a western front and reach Germany before the Soviets. They broke through
German defenses and liberated Paris by August. Germany’s final attack in the Battle of the
Ardennes (December 1944) failed, while Allied bombing raids on German cities, like
Dresden, caused heavy casualties. The Soviets captured Berlin in April 1945, and Hitler
committed suicide, leading to Germany’s surrender and the end of the war in Europe. The
Pacific War continued until Japan’s surrender in September 1945, after the US dropped
atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August.
4.The Holocaust
4.1 What was the Holocaust?
The Holocaust, or Shoah, was the systematic extermination of Jewish communities in
Europe, initiated after Hitler came to power in 1933 and lasting until the end of the war in
1945. The Nazis also targeted other groups, including the Romani, Ukrainian and Belarusian
minorities, Soviet prisoners of war, politicians, homosexuals, and people with disabilities.
4.2 Exclusion policy (1933-1939)
● In 1933. Jews were excluded from public life. They were fired from jobs in the civil
service, and books by Jewish authors were burned.
● In 1935, Hitler introduced the Nuremberg Laws, which deprived jews of their German
citizenship and banned marriage between Germans and Jews.
● In 1938, "Aryanisation" campaigns began. Jews were forced to sell their businesses
and properties at low prices.
● On the Night of Broken Glass (9-10th November 1938), the Nazis raided Jewish
synagogues, homes and establishments throughout Germany and Austria. Around
100 Jews were killed and nearly 30,000 were sent to concentration camps.
4.3 Ghettoes and labour exploitation
In September 1939, anti-Semitic violence escalated as Germany invaded Poland, and Nazi
authorities created ghettoes where Jewish residents were forced to live in extreme poverty
and deprivation. Major ghettoes, such as those in Warsaw, Lodz, and Krakow, were in
Poland. The German SS and industrial corporations set up thousands of labor camps in
Eastern Europe, exploiting a slave labor force. Around eight million civilians and prisoners of
war were deported to Germany, where they were used in factories or the agricultural sector.
4.4 Extermination and the Final Solution
In the summer of 1941, Nazi forces began systematically killing Jews as they advanced
eastward, with nearly 1.3 million Jewish victims in Russia by the end of 1942. In January
1942, the Wannsee Conference in Berlin formalized the “Final Solution,” which involved the
mass extermination of Jews in gas chambers and cremation ovens. Extermination camps
like Sobibor, Treblinka, Belzec, Majdanek, and Chelmno were established, and
Auschwitz-Birkenau saw the death of over a million Jews and 3,000 Romani. Horrific genetic
and medical experiments were also conducted. When the Allies liberated the camps in 1945,
they were horrified by the atrocities they uncovered.
6.The end of the war and territorial changes
6.1 The organisation of peace
In 1945, the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences brought together leaders from the USA, USSR,
and the UK to discuss lasting peace. Key decisions included dividing Germany into four
zones, each controlled by one of the Allied powers (USA, USSR, UK, and France), with
Berlin also divided into four zones. The “denazification” of Germany was approved, and Nazi
war criminals were tried at the Nuremberg trials. The amount of German war reparations
was determined, and Poland’s borders were set. Stalin promised free elections in Eastern
Europe, but these never occurred, and the USSR annexed the Baltic States and Eastern
Poland.
6.2 The creation of the United Nations
The League of Nations was deemed a failure for not preventing World War II. In June 1945,
representatives from over 50 countries met at the San Francisco Conference to establish the
United Nations (UN). The UN Charter outlined four main objectives:
● International peace and security, with countries committing to resolve disputes
peacefully and renounce the use of force.
● The right of each nation to self-determination, especially regarding colonies.
● Protection of individual rights, regardless of sex, age, race, or religion, leading to the
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
● Peaceful cooperation among nations, with specialized bodies created to aid in areas
like food and agriculture (FAO), health (WHO), education, science and culture
(UNESCO), and labor (ILO).
