Germany KT5 Causes of WW2

Causes:

Economic:

• Great Depression in 1930's led people to elect Hitler in Germany and other dictators who believed in taking over other countries

International:

• LON failed to create world peace
• Rise of dictatorships in Germany and Japan
• Russia becomes communist

Nazi Foreign Policy:

• Expansionism and Racial Purity- Hitler wanted to expand to other countries and create an Aryan empire

Other countries' foreign policy:

• British and French appeasement policies- Gave in to what Hitler wanted until he went to far by ivading Poland
• US, Japanese, Italian, US, Russian foreign policy

Treaty of Versailles:

• Fed German resentment
• Created unstable international situation
• Made other nations more tolerant of German expansionism- Felt guilty

Intentionalists vs Functionalists

Intentionalists: Believes Hitler was the main cause as he had always planned for war.

• Hitler's masterplan outlined in Mein Kampf
• Plan to either take over East Europe or Take over Europe, then Middle East and British colonies, then rest of the world

Functionalists/ Structuralists: Other factors influenced the start of the war over Nazi foreign policy

• Previous german rulers policies of expansionism
• Pressures in Germany affected Hitler's foreign policy- from inside the party, other social groups, external factors (world economy)
• Events in rest of…