This Lesson

Lesson Goal:
To outline how World War 1 came to a close, the sanctions on
Germany in the Treaty of Versailles and how this led to the rise of
Hitler, his Nazi Party and the start of World War 2.
Last lesson

Major battle: The Battle of the Somme, one of the largest battles of
the First World War.
Fought between July 1 and November 1, 1916 near the Somme River
in France.
The British suffered more than 57,000 casualties on the first day, and
by the end of the campaign the Allies and Central Powers would lose
more than 1.5 million men.
Other major battle?
Gallipoli
The end of World War I
The Treaty of Versailles

Part 1
32 countries had come together in Paris in January 1919 to hold a
conference which would make peace after the First World War. It
would be dominated by the big three: - David Lloyd George,
representing Britain, Georges Clemeneau representing France
and Woodrow Wilson representing the USA.
Part 2
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles can be divided into three
groups:
Territorial, military, and financial & economic.
End of WWI

Treaty of Versailles:
Germany stripped of its stolen territories.
Germanys military restricted to a maximum of 100 000 men, no
air force.
Forced to accept responsibility for the war and all damages.
Faced a large economic penalty 269 billion gold Deutsche Marks
(roughly scales to $655 billion Australian in todays money.
 CAUSES OF
WORLD WAR II
What do we know?
The start of WWII
Causes of World War 2

A short clip of the causes of World War 2

Adolf Hitler coming to power

The German people felt alienated (isolated) from

the world after WWI, and the reparations put a
large strain on German economy.
Hitler came to power legitimately on the 5th March,
1933, when his nationalist Nazi Party was elected
democratically.
23 March, Hitler passed the Enabling Act 1933
which gave him the power to pass legislation (laws)
and alter the constitution.
Questions:
When was the Nazi party elected?
What did the Enabling Act 1933 allow Hitler to do?
Hitler in power the Third Reich
Once in power, he took swift actions to abolish other
parties and lay the framework for the Third Reich.
The Third Reich was new age Germany entered under
the guidance of Hitlers party, which aimed to unite all
German speaking people
The concept of the Aryan (blonde, blue eyed, tall
people) was important, Hitler believed they were a
supreme race.
The Third Reich was a quest for racial, social and
cultural purity. Jews were seen as conspirators against
the Aryans, and were targeted from the beginning.
Questions:
What was the Third Reich?
What did the Third Reich aim to do?
Highway to war
Hitler began to violate the terms of the
Treaty of Versailles. 16 March, 1935 he
reintroduced Military conscription.
He ordered his army to reoccupy
Rhineland district near the border,
where France negotiated to be a buffer
zone between the nations. No action
was taken.
This led to a policy of appeasement
(non-resistance) from 1936-1938.
Questions:
Where did Hitlers army reoccupy?
When was the policy of appeasement?
Appeasement

1938, Germany announced the absorption of

Austria to no reaction from Britain or France.
Then he seized a large region of Czechoslovakia.
The Czech army prepared 1mil soldiers to fight
Hitler, but France and Britain didnt answer their
call for help.
September 1938, leaders from Britain and France
met Hitler at the Munich Conference. They forced
the Czech government to allow him to occupy the
Czech border for the sake of peace
Questions:
What actions did the British and French take to
stop Germany?
What happened at the Munich Conference?
Tensions building

In March, 1939, Hitler took over the remainder of

Czechoslovakia, and then set his sights on Poland.
British PM Chamberlain realised Hitler couldnt be
stopped through appeasement, and declared that
he would aid Poland if they were attacked. France
followed.
Undeterred, in August 1939, Hitler signed a non-
aggression treaty with the Soviet Union (Russia).
This meant he could invade Poland without their
interference.
Questions:
How did PM Chamberlain try to stop Hitler
invading Poland?
War declared
9:00am, 3 September 1939, Sir Neville
Henderson (Britain's ambassador to Germany)
delivered an ultimatum to Hitler if hostilities
against Poland didnt stop by 11am, Britain and
Germany would be at war. Germany didnt
respond.
11:15am, PM Chamberlain interrupted radio
broadcasts to announce Britain was at war with
Germany.
9:00pm (Aus time), 3 September, 1939,
Australian PM Robert Menzies declared war on
Germany.
Questions:
What did Sir Henderson want Germany to do?
When did Australia declare war on Germany?