The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
Japanese steps
towards WWII
German steps
towards WWII
Democratic countries’ reaction
The spark that
triggered the war
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1929 Enconomic crisis• End of international harmony• Economic crisis increased international tension
Germany, Italy and Japan• Discontented powers• Set up the Axis, military bloc
Democratic countries• Weak international policy• «Appeasement policy» led by British PM Chamberlain
Soviet Union• Stalin’s «great purges»• After failing a possible alliance with the democratic countries Pact with
Hitler
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
«Appeasement policy»• Unwillingness of the British,
French and American population to fight again a war
• British thought that the Treaty of Versailles had unfair clauses
• Chamberlain believed that Hitler could be appeased by giving in to certain Hitler’s claims
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
JAPANESE STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR
1931 Invasion of Manchuria• Inukai Tsuyoshi’s ultranationalist
government
1937 Invasion of China• For some historians, the Sinojapanese
war meant the beginning of WWII
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
Manchuria’s invasion 1931
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
Manchuria’s invasion 1931
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
Inukai Shiyosi and the Emperor
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
JAPANESE STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR
1931 Invasion of Manchuria• Inukai Tsuyoshi’s ultranationalist
government
1937 Invasion of China• For some historians, the Sinojapanese
war meant the beginning of WWII
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1937 Nanjing’s massacre
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1937 Japanese invasion of China
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
GERMAN AND ITALIAN STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR (1)
1933 Germany left the League of Nations
1935 Compulsory military service
1935-36Italy invades Ethiopia
1936 Remilitarisation of Rhineland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1933 Hitler, chancellor of Germany
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1933 Germany leaves the League of Nations
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
GERMAN AND ITALIAN STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR (1)
1933 Germany left the League of Nations
1935 Compulsory military service
1935-36Italy invades Ethiopia
1936 Remilitarisation of Rhineland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1935 Germany: compulsory military service
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
GERMAN AND ITALIAN STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR (1)
1933 Germany left the League of Nations
1935 Compulsory military service
1935-36Italy invades Ethiopia
1936 Remilitarisation of Rhineland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1935-1936 Italian invasion of Ethiopia
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1935-1936 Italian invasion of Ethiopia
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
GERMAN AND ITALIAN STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR (1)
1933 Germany left the League of Nations
1935 Compulsory military service
1935-36Italy invades Ethiopia
1936 Remilitarisation of Rhineland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1936 Remilitarisation of Rhineland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
GERMAN AND ITALIAN STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR (2)
1936German and Italian intervention in Spain
1936 Rome-Berlin Axis
1936 Antikomintern Pact (Germany and Japan)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1936 German-Italian intervention in Spain
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
GERMAN AND ITALIAN STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR (2)
1936German and Italian intervention in Spain
1936 Rome-Berlin Axis
1936 Antikomintern Pact (Germany and Japan)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1936 Rome Berlin Axis
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
GERMAN AND ITALIAN STEPS TOWARDS THE WAR (2)
1936German and Italian intervention in Spain
1936 Rome-Berlin Axis
1936 Antikomintern Pact (Germany and Japan)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1936 Antikomintern Pact
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1936 Antikomintern Pact
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
HOW DID THE DEMOCRATIC POWERS REACT TO HITLER’S DEMANDS
Failure of the «Appeasement policy»
March 1938 German annexation of Austria (Anschluss)
September 1938 Munich Pact (Hitler obtained Sudetenland)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1931 Lack of reaction to Japan’s attack on Manchuria
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1935 Lack of reaction to Italy’s attack on Abyssinia
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1936 Lack of reaction to Germany’s remilitarisation of Rhineland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1938 Chamberlain and Von Ribbentrop
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
HOW DID THE DEMOCRATIC POWERS REACT TO HITLER’S DEMANDS
Failure of the «Appeasement policy»
March 1938 German annexation of Austria (Anschluss)
September 1938 Munich Pact (Hitler obtained Sudetenland)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1938 German annexation of Austria
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1938 German annexation of Austria
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
HOW DID THE DEMOCRATIC POWERS REACT TO HITLER’S DEMANDS
Failure of the «Appeasement policy»
March 1938 German annexation of Austria (Anschluss)
September 1938 Munich Pact (Hitler obtained Sudetenland)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1938 Munich Agreement
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1938 Munich Agreement
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1938 Munich Agreement
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
WHAT WAS THE LAST SPARK THAT TRIGGERED THE WAR?
March 1939 Germany invades Czechosovakia. The end of appeasment.
August 1939Nazi-Soviet Non Agression Treaty
September 1939 Invasion of Poland GB and France declared war on Germany
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia
First German poster in Prague, 15 March 1939. "Notice to the Population. By order of the Fuhrer and Supreme Commander of the German Wehrmacht. I have taken over, as of today, the executive power in the Land of Bohemia. Headquarters, Prague, 15 March 1939. Commander, 3rd Army, Blaskowitz, General of Infantry."
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
WHAT WAS THE LAST SPARK THAT TRIGGERED THE WAR?
March 1939 Germany invades Czechosovakia
August 1939Nazi-Soviet Non Agression Treaty
September 1939 Invasion of Poland GB and France declared war on Germany
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi-Soviet non agression pact
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi-Soviet non agression pact
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi-Soviet non agression pact
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi-Soviet carved up Poland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
WHAT WAS THE LAST SPARK THAT TRIGGERED THE WAR?
March 1939 Germany invades Czechosovakia
August 1939Nazi-Soviet Non Agression Treaty
September 1939 Invasion of Poland GB and France declared war on Germany
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi invasion of Poland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi invasion of Poland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1939 Nazi invasion of Poland
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
Expansionist steps by
Japan
Expansionist steps
by Germany and Italy
Weak reaction
of the democratic powers
Final crisis:
Invasion of Poland1-9-1939
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1931 Invasion of Manchuria
1933Germany left the L. of Nations
1935 Compusory Military Service in Germany
1936 Spanish Civil WarRome-Berlin AxisAntikomintern Pact
1935-36Italian invasion of Ethiopia (Abbysinia)
The path to the Second World War (1931-1939)
1937 Sinojapanese war
1938AnschlussMunich Agreement
1939Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia
1939 German-Soviet non agression pact
1939 German invasion of Poland
War breaks out