IB History Review Guide/The Second World War

World War Two

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The Second World War, 1939 to 1945: causes, course and consequences

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From the Syllabus

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  • international diplomacy in the inter-war years
  • appeasement, collapse of the league of nations
  • aggressive policies of Hitler and Mussolini
  • total war and its effects
  • war in the air, at sea, on land, the home front
  • political, social and economic consequences of the war

Glossary of Terms

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Events leading to World War Two

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The Anschluss

  • January 1938: Hitler strengthens his position by removing non-Nazis from key positions.
  • February 12th 1938: Hitler threatens the Austrian Chancellor Schluschnigg in order for him to remove anti-Nazi measures and allow Austrian Nazis to enter the government.
  • March 9th 1938: Schuschnigg declares that he will hold a referendum concerning Hitler's measures.
  • March 11th 1938: Schuschnigg orders the Austrian army not to fire on German troops. Hitler hears that Mussolini would not oppose a German move on Austria.
  • March 12th 1938: German troops enter Austria.
  • March 13th 1938: Hitler annexes Austria.

Takeover of Sudetenland

  • March 1938: Hitler meets with Sudeten-Nazi leader, Konrad Henlein, and tells him to make unacceptable demands for autonomy so Hitler could intervene.
  • April 1938: British and French urge Czechoslovakia to make the maximum number of concessions.
  • May 20th 1938: Czechoslovakian president orders partial mobilization. France warns Hitler against any invasion.
  • May 30th 1938: Hitler orders generals to prepare for an invasion by September if the issue isn't resolved.
  • September 7th 1938: Article in The Times suggests that Czechoslovakia should hand over the Sudetenland to Germany.
  • September 12th 1938: In a party speech, Hitler verbally attacks the Czechs.
  • September 13th 1938: Chamberlain suggests a meeting with Hitler.
  • September 15th 1938: Chamberlain goes to Berchtesgaden. Hitler agrees to wait for a peaceful settlement, but orders his generals to carry out the invasion anyway.
  • September 19th 1938: Chamberlain-Hitler meeting at Bad Godesberg. Hitler wants the entire Sudetenland. Chamberlain refuses.
  • September 24th 1938: Czech mobilization completed. The French call up the reserves.
  • September 28th 1938: British navy prepare for war.
  • September 29th-30th 1938: Munich Conference. Hitler is appeased and given the Sudetenland. Chamberlain foolishly declares that he has secured "Peace in our time".
  • March 1939: What is left of Czechoslovakia falls under German influence.

The Invasion of Poland

  • October 1938: Ribbentrop asks for the return of Danzig. Poland refuses.
  • January 5th 1939: Hitler offers the Ukraine (then Soviet territory) in return for Danzig and the Polish corridor.
  • March 1939: Britain offers to guarantee Polish territory.
  • April 3rd 1939: Hitler orders the army to prepare for plans to attack Poland.
  • April 28th 1939: Hitler denounces the non-aggression pact made with Poland in 1934.
  • May 22nd 1939: Pact of Steel between Germany and Italy. USSR makes an offer to ally with France and Britain, but negotiations are so slow that the USSR becomes suspicious of their motives.
  • August 24th 1939: Non-aggression pact between Russia and Germany. Contains a 'Secret Protocol' which agrees to divide Poland. England and France horrified at this alliance.
  • September 1st 1939: German troops invade Poland.
  • September 3rd 1939: Great Britain and France declare war on Germany.

Causes of World War Two

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Unopposed Aggression by Japan, Italy, and Germany

Japanese Aggression

  • September 1931: Japan attacks China.
  • Chinese appeal to the League of Nations. Council of the League asks both parties to withdraw their forces.
  • Japanese complete their conquest of Manchuria.
  • Lord Lytton Report condemns Japanese action and dubbed Manchukuo a puppet creation.
  • March 1933: Japan withdraws from the league of Nations.
  • The United States and the League of Nations take no action.
  • July 1937: Marco Polo Bridge incident.

Italian Aggresion

  • December 1934: Clash between Italian troops and an Abyssinian escort at Walwal. Abyssinia appeals to the league.
  • May 1935: Abysinnia appeals again to the league.
  • October 3rd 1935: Mussolini launches his attack on Abysinnia. League declares Italy to be an aggresor and imposes some limited economic sanctions.
  • Britain and France propose an unacceptable deal which secures Abysinnian territory for Italy.
  • May 1936: Italians capture capital of Addis Ababa.
  • Sanctions eventurally dropped.

German Aggresion

  • March 7th 1936: Hitler sends troops into the demilitarized Rhineland in opposition to the Versailles and Locarno treaties. Note: Officers carried notes to withdraw in the event of French resistance.

Consequences of World War Two

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-Germany split up

-Superpower, middle power, little power

-COLD WAR

-1945- UN charter (this time America does join)

-Europe further split up SUCCESSOR STATES