how did ww2 start?
TRANSCRIPT
It’s all about being friends with each other!
• Some countries were friends with certain countries and not others!
• France and Britain were friendly with each other.
• Germany and Italy were friendly with each other.
How did the war start?
• To find out how the Second World War started we have to look back at the First World War.
• This map of Europe shows some of the countries involved.
How, and why did World War I start?• World War I began in 1914 and
lasted until 1918. It was supposed to be ‘The war to end all wars’.
• Countries had formed friendships or alliances with each other.
• Different countries began to build up their armies and build bigger, more powerful ships.
What was the main cause?
• Germany, Austria and Italy were allies.
• France, Britain and Russia were allies.
• A Serbian man called Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo.
What happened next?
• Gavrilo Princip was from Serbia, so Austria wanted them to apologise and pay compensation. Serbia refused, so Austria declared war.
• Russia was Serbia’s ally, so they declared war on Austria.
• Germany declared war on Russia and Serbia.
• France declared war on Austria and Germany. Italy declared war on France and Russia.
• Germany invaded Belgium, so Britain declared war.
How long did the war last?
• The war that was supposed to end by Christmas 1914 only ended on November 11th 1918.
• During the war millions of people were killed or injured.
How did World War I end?
• By September 1918 the German High Command realised that the war was lost.
• The Armistice was signed at 11 a.m. on November 11th 1918.
• In 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was signed.
What did the treaty do?
• Many people were determined to stop war happening again.
• A League of Nations was established to enable countries to keep peace.
• Germany was made to take the blame.
What happened after the war?• Germany was
made to pay out huge sums of money in compensation.
• They were also made to give up some land.
• Germany was also forced to reduce the size of her armies and to sink her ships.
• As a result the country became bankrupt.
What happened next?
• The country had no money, people had no jobs and were starving.
• Some people resented the status and money that others, such as Jews had. Jews were persecuted and made to give up their jobs and money
• Adolf Hitler rose to power with promises to help the German people.
• He set up youth groups and spoke at rallies.
The situation got worse!
• All over Europe, people began to suffer as jobs disappeared.
• Germany began to re-build her ships and build up her armies.
What did we do?
• The British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain believed that he could negotiate with Adolf Hitler.
• He met Herr Hitler at Munich in 1938 and declared the meeting was successful, ‘Peace in our time’ he said.
Was it ‘Peace in our time’?
• Unfortunately not!• Germany, with the
support of her allies, continued to invade other countries.
• In September 1939 Britain issued an ultimatum, after Germany invaded Poland. It was ignored, so war was declared.