The Causes of World War II

by Dowswell, Paul

• ISBN13: 9781403401496
• ISBN10: 1403401497
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-09-01
• Publisher: Heinemann/Raintree

Summary

This book examines the main causes of the greatest war of the 20th century and the events that led to its beginning. Readers will learn: why World War II started so soon after World War I had ended; and how Adolf Hitler gained power and led Germany into war; why and how the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Primary source materials are included.

Table of Contents

World War II Begins	4	(2)
THE POST WAR SETTLEMENT
What Were the Causes of World War II?	6	(2)
The Treaty of Versailles	8	(2)
Shifting Powers	10	(2)
DEPRESSION
Germany in the 1920s	12	(2)
The Effects of the Great Depression	14	(2)
THE RISE OF THE DICTATORS
Mussolini and Fascist Italy	16	(2)
Japan After World War I	18	(2)
The Rise of Hitler	20	(2)
Hitler's Germany	22	(2)
The Soviet Union Between the Wars	24	(2)
Franco and Spain	26	(2)
THE ROAD TO WAR
Japan's Ambitions for an Empire	28	(2)
Italy's New Roman Empire	30	(2)
Hitler Tests the Water	32	(2)
Appeasement and Munich	34	(2)
The Nazi-Soviet Pact	36	(2)
THE SECOND WORLD WAR
War Breaks Out	38	(2)
From European War to World War	40	(2)
Learning the Lessons	42	(2)
Timeline	44	(1)
Further Reading	45	(1)
Glossary	46	(2)
Index	48