The Second World War (1939-45)

Treaty of Versailles

Reason — The Treaty of Versailles imposed harsh terms on Germany, creating resentment that ultimately led to the Second World War.

Axis powers

Reason — Germany, Italy and Japan formed one bloc known as the Axis Powers, opposed to the Allies.

US did not join it

Reason — The League was weakened because major powers such as the USA stayed aloof and did not join it, leaving it without their support.

1939

Reason — Germany attacked Poland on 1 September 1939, and this invasion marked the beginning of the Second World War.

Abyssinia

Reason — Just as Japan seized Manchuria, Italy captured Abyssinia; both were acts of aggression by the aggressor powers.

Germany was not humiliated after the First World War

Reason — Germany was in fact deeply humiliated by the harsh Treaty of Versailles, so this statement is incorrect while the other three are true.

She had to pay no fine after the First World War

Reason — The Treaty of Versailles burdened Germany with a huge war-indemnity, so the claim that she paid no fine is false — the odd one out — while the others correctly describe the restrictions imposed on her.

All of the above

Reason — Hitler invaded Poland to regain lost territories, to connect Prussia with Germany through the Danzig corridor, and because Poland was accused of atrocities against Germans — so all the reasons apply.

Sarajevo crisis

Reason — The Sarajevo crisis was the immediate cause of the First World War, not the Second World War.

Invasion of Poland

Reason — Germany's attack on Poland on 1 September 1939 was the immediate cause, after which Britain and France declared war and the Second World War began.

Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbour

Reason — Japan attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbour, after which the USA entered the Second World War.

Austria and Hungary became separate states

Reason — Austria and Hungary becoming separate independent states is a consequence of the First World War.

Japan

Reason — The USA dropped atom bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki when they refused to surrender in August, 1945.

Hiroshima, Nagasaki

Reason — During World War II, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (on August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (on August 9, 1945). These two bombings were the most significant American military actions in terms of civilian impact and destruction, ultimately leading to Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II.

Japan could be used to weaken China.

Reason — Britain and France follow the policy of appeasement towards Japan because they thought that Japan could be used to weaken China.

The US and USSR were engaged in direct wars.

Reason — The Cold War was a war-like atmosphere with no actual armed conflict between the USA and the USSR, so the claim that they fought direct wars is incorrect; the other statements correctly describe it.

The democratic government of Germany could not solve many of its problems. So the Nazi Party easily progressed under the leadership of Hitler by 1934. He rejected the Treaty of Versailles and increased his military power. He fortified the Rhineland and annexed Austria, Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia, etc. into his own empire. He wanted to regain the old glory and prestige of Germany and make it a world power. In order to achieve its objectives the Nazi Party followed the path of war.

Italy joined the Allies in the First World War with high hopes but she was not satisfied with the territories she gained. Consequently, dictatorship was established there under the leadership of Mussolini. He introduced many reforms and put a new life in the people of Italy by giving military training to them. He wanted to revive the glory of the Old Roman Empire. Italy adopted an aggressive policy and captured Abyssinia and Albania. His policies gave a severe blow to the League of Nations and created an atmosphere of hostility in the world.

Italy, Germany, and Japan formed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis.

After the First World War America kept aloof from the European politics and did not join the League of Nations. As a result England all alone could not prevent France from ill-treating Germany. Germany could never forget the humiliation she had to suffer at the hands of France and plunged the whole world once again into darkness. American aloofness helped the military rulers of Germany and Italy to adopt violent and aggressive attitude and they ignored the League of Nations very easily.

Two consequences of the Second World War are:

1. United Nations Organisation (UNO) was established in 1945 to maintain peace all over the world.
2. The British Empire broke up and England lost the leadership of the world. American and Russian influence began to increase and the world was divided into two blocs —
   1. The Democratic and Capitalist Bloc under the leadership of America.
   2. The Communist Bloc under the leadership of Russia.

The two superpowers that emerged soon after the Second World War were:

1. United States of America (USA)
2. Soviet Union (USSR)

The world was divided into two blocs after the Second World War —

1. The Democratic and Capitalist Bloc under the leadership of America.
2. The Communist Bloc under the leadership of Russia.

America tried to maintain her influence by giving economic aid to different countries and on the other hand Russia also tried to influence many countries by spreading the Communist ideology. Russia had great influence in the Eastern Europe, China and South-East Asia while the democratic ideology had its influence on the Southern European countries and many Arabian and African countries.

The countries that formed the Axis Bloc during World War II were Germany, Italy, and Japan.

The two cities of Japan bombed by America in 1945 were:

1. Hiroshima
2. Nagasaki

Two reasons for the failure of League of Nations to prevent Second World War were:

1. The economic sanctions were of no use against a determined aggressor.
2. Members of the League were not interested in the principle of collective security.

(a) The Treaty of Versailles imposed on Germany was very harsh.

1. The defeated nations, especially Germany had to cede many of her territories, and all her colonies were forcibly taken away from her.
2. Germany was divided into two parts for the benefit of Poland.
3. She was burdened with huge war-indemnity which she could never pay.
4. Her military power was considerably reduced.

This harsh treaty created hatred in the minds of the Germans. It was a black spot for the Germans and they wanted to wash it away. This could never be done without armament and as such war became quite inevitable.

(b) The clash between the rising Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the existing colonial powers ultimately contributed to the outbreak of World War II.

1. In 1931, Japan attacked China and seized Manchuria. Many Chinese cities fell into the hands of the Japanese.
2. Italy captured Abyssinia and Albania.
3. Germany wanted to regain its lost territories (especially Danzig and Prussia). Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939.
4. On 10 May 1940, Germany invaded Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France. Paris was occupied on 14 June 1940.
5. By June 1941, Germany and Italy had conquered all of Europe, except Britain and the Soviet Union.
6. During the Second World War, Japan joined the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis and entered the war in 1941 to gain more territories.
7. Japan expanded in Asia while Germany and Italy expanded in Eastern Europe and Africa.

(c) League of Nations was set up to maintain peace in the world and to prevent wars. However, it couldn't check the rise of dictatorship and aggressive nationalism in Germany and Italy. When Germany, Italy, and Japan started acquiring colonies, the League of Nations could not take any action against them due to lack of military power, so the member-nations lost their faith in the League and started preparing for the war on a large scale.

The historic event depicted in the image is the Atlantic Conference of August 1941, which resulted in the signing of the Atlantic Charter. The Atlantic Charter laid out Allied goals for the post-World War II world.

(a) The Treaty of Versailles was imposed on Germany after the First World War. It was a dictated peace which Germany was forced to sign. Germany had to cede many of her territories and all her colonies were taken away from her. She was burdened with a huge war-indemnity which she could never pay and her military power was considerably reduced. The treaty was based on the spirit of revenge and created deep hatred in the minds of the Germans, which ultimately became one of the chief causes of the Second World War.

(b) After witnessing the great destruction caused by the Second World War, all the countries of the world realised the importance of peace. Encouraged by the desire of establishing peace, the United Nations Organisation (UNO) was established in 1945. Every country of the world became prepared to give every sort of help to the UNO for the establishment of peace in the world.

(c) Cold War is defined as an atmosphere of a war-like situation in which there is no actual armed struggle, but the danger of another war is always looming large. This was the situation between the USA and the Soviet Union after the Second World War, because of ideological differences between the two superpowers. The whole world remained under turmoil and the people were always afraid of another war.

(d) After the fall of Germany and Italy, the Allies asked Japan to surrender. When Japan refused, America dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945. As Japan still did not surrender, another atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. Japan surrendered unconditionally on 2 September 1945, bringing the Second World War to an end.