Notes
World War I
- Long-term causes: militarism, alliances, imperialism, nationalism (MAIN). Spark: assassination of Franz Ferdinand (June 28, 1914).
- Trench warfare, new weapons and total war caused enormous losses. The U.S. entered in 1917; an armistice came on November 11, 1918.
- The Russian Revolution (1917) ended tsarist rule; Lenin's Bolsheviks took power and created the USSR.
- The Treaty of Versailles blamed and punished Germany. The League of Nations was weak.
Between the wars
- The Great Depression and resentment of the peace helped totalitarian leaders rise: Mussolini (fascist Italy), Stalin (USSR), Hitler (Nazi Germany) and Japan's militarists.
World War II
- Aggression plus appeasement led to war when Germany invaded Poland (1939). Pearl Harbor (1941) brought in the U.S.
- Turning points: Midway, Stalingrad, D-Day. Germany surrendered in May 1945; Japan in September 1945 after the atomic bombings.
- The Holocaust murdered about 6 million Jews and millions of others. Afterward came the Nuremberg Trials, the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Topics in this unit
Each topic has its own short notes and practice.
Practice
Hitler promised to overturn the "shameful" treaty.
1917, 1919, 1933, 1938.
Both wars required massive mobilization of people and industry.
Hitler saw appeasement as weakness and continued expanding.
All three ran totalitarian states.
Allied leaders created the UN to keep peace and promote cooperation.
Free response
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Free-response question
The two world wars of the 1900s were connected by causes and consequences.
(a) Describe TWO long-term causes of World War I.
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Rival alliances, such as the Triple Entente and Triple Alliance, meant a local war could spread. Nationalism in the Balkans and great-power militarism also raised tensions.
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(b) Explain how the outcome of World War I helped cause World War II.
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The Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to accept blame, pay reparations and lose land. Combined with the Great Depression, this resentment helped Hitler win support by promising to restore German power.
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(c) Explain ONE way the world tried to prevent future wars and atrocities after World War II.
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Nations founded the United Nations in 1945 to settle disputes and protect peace. The Nuremberg Trials held leaders responsible for crimes against humanity, and the UN adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
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