Name: Kedy Yorro Class: 10A Date: 22/05/19

WebQuest: Causes of World War II

1. Please go to the following website:
http://questgarden.com/63/29/3/080328182742/index.htm

2. Read the Introduction

3. Go to Task
Read it then use the DOCUMENT: WebQuest Guide: (attached below) This is
where you will record your answers.

4. Go to Process. Use the links provided to answer the questions below.

5. You will also not be completing the Evaluation part of the WebQuest.

This WebQuest was created by a teacher at Grafton High School in Virginia, USA.

Directions for the WebQuest Guide: The following guide lines up directly with the
website for the WebQuest. As you follow through the Process part of the WebQuest,
use the guide to summarize information from the websites, typing your answers directly
into the guide.

Part I: Causes, People, Events

Main Causes of WWII

1. Treaty of Versailles
a. Complete the acronym: UBRAT
b. Explain what each letter stands for (include more than just the word!!)
i. U: When the Germans heard about the Treaty of Versailles,
they felt ‘pain and anger’. They felt it was unfair.
ii. B: they said they were not to blame for the war.
iii. R: The Germans hated reparations
iv. A: The Germans hated their tiny army
v. T: The Germans also hated the loss of territory.
2. Worldwide Depression
a. List all six points related to the Depression that led to war. Briefly
explain each one (include more than just the title phrase – what do
each of those phrases mean?)
 Unemployment: Mass unemployment and caused great anger =
people put in power/accept right-wing, dictatorial governments
who told them their country was superior and it was OK for them
to take what they wanted by force.
 America: America called in her loans to Germany. This caused
the collapse of Germany industry = led directly to Hitler’s rise to
power.
 Politics: Many leaders know that, when things get bad at home,
one way to stay in power is to turn people’s attention to foreign
affairs/ direct people’s hatred against other countries/ to have a
 few successes in foreign policy = more aggressive, nationalistic
foreign policy.
 Empire-building: In the atmosphere of cut-throat economic
trade, the answer of countries like Japan & Italy was to build an
empire – this would secure their supplies of raw materials and
natural resources.
 Self Interest: Countries who were prepared to be philanthropic
during the 1920s, could not afford to give way during the 1930s =
countries left the League instead. Self-interest destroyed the
international co-operation ideal of League of Nations.
 Britain and France: were suffering too – that was one reason
why they did not send an army to Manchuria or impose sanctions
on Italy over Abyssinia (could not afford). Again, that was a
reason they did not begin to rearm against Hitler in the 1930s =
appeasement/ failure of League of Nations.
3. Totalitarian government
a. Germany
i. What were Hitler’s three main aims?
 To abolish the Treaty of Versailles
 To expand German territory
 To defeat Communism
ii. How did each aim lead to war? BE SPECIFIC.
1. To abolish the Treaty of Versailles: The Treaty was a
constant reminder to the Germans of their humiliation in
World War.
2. To expand German territory: The German population was
growing. Hitler said that the German nation needed more
Lebensraum. He was determined to get Lebensraum by
conquering land in eastern Europe.
3. To defeat Communism: Hitler blamed the Communists
for Germany's defeat in World War One, and he feared
that the Communists were trying to take over Germany.

b. Japan (use this link)

i. Why did Japan invade Manchuria? Name 4 reasons.
1. Japan was becoming increasingly crowded due to its
limited size as a nation and its rapidly increasing
population.
2. Manchuria offered nearly 200,000 square kilometres
which, as part of a Japanese empire, would easily
accommodate any over-spilling population.
3. The Japanese people had a very low opinion of the
Chinese – a Japanese form of “untermenschen” – and,
therefore, would have given no thought to the Manchurian
people whatsoever.
4. It was also believed in Japan that Manchuria was rich in
minerals, forestry and rich agricultural land.
ii. How did the League respond? Why were they limited in how
they could respond? Just one week before Japan invaded
Manchuria, Viscount Cecil, Britain’s chief representative at the
 League of Nations, said in a speech to the League: “I do not think
there is the slightest prospect of any war.” Japan, the League’s
strongest member in the Far East, proved him wrong.

c. Italy
i. Why did Italy want the territory of Abyssinia? Name 2
reasons.
1. The desire to show the world how powerful Italy was
became the prime motivation of Mussolini.
2. This defeat had an enormous impact on Italian pride
ii. Why couldn’t the Abyssinians fight back? they were equipped
with pre-World War One rifles and little else
iii. Was the League’s response to the incident successful? Why or
why not? it condemned the attack all League members were
ordered to impose economic sanctions on Italy. Three League
members did not carry out the sanctions.
iv. What three things did the League of Nations involvement in
the conflict show? It showed nations that its sanctions were half-
hearted even when they were enforced and that member states
were prepared to negotiate with aggressor nations to the extent of
effectively giving in to them. Also, actions by the League – even
if they were a failure – lead to Italy looking away from the
League – an organization it did belong to.
d. Soviet Union
i. Why did Anglo-Soviet talks fail? List each piece of SCAB and
briefly explain (again, more than just the one word!)
1. Suspicion: Chamberlain did not trust Stalin, who was a
Communist and a dictator. He would not ever have allowed
Russia to control Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
2. Choice: Britain could not send troops to fight in Poland, so if
Stalin supportedBritain, he would end up fighting a war in Poland
on Britain’s behal
3. Appeasement: After Munich, Stalin was convinced that Britain
would break its promise to Poland. He was convinced that
Britain would leave Russia fighting Hitler alone.
4. Britain delayed: At first, Lord Halifax refused Stalin’s offer of a
meeting.
ii. Why did the Nazi-Soviet Pact happen? List each piece of THUG
and briefly explain.
1. Time to prepare for war: Stalin said: ‘We got peace for
our country for 18 months, which let us make military
preparations’.
2. Hope to gain: Stalin was sure that Russia could only gain
from a long war in which Britain, France and Germany
exhausted themselves.
3. Unhappy with Britain: Stalin was insulted by Britain’s
slowness to negotiate, and did not trust Britain. When the
Anglo-Soviet alliance failed [SCAB], he turned to
Germany.
4. Germany: Hitler wanted the alliance because only Russia
could keep Britain’s promise to defend Poland. He
believed that, if he got a promise of peace with Russia,
 Britain would be forced to back down over Poland and
Danzig.

4. Expansionist policies
a. What were the three ways militarism contributed to war? Give a
specific example for EACH ONE.
i. Buildup of armed forces: Between 1932 and 1939 Germany
increased the navy from 30 to 95 warships, the air force from 36
to 8250 planes, and the army from 100,000 to almost a million
soldiers.
ii. Control of the government by the military: In Germany, Hitler
gave a key role to the army, and openly said that he was going to
go to war to gain lebensraum in the east.
iii. Aggressive foreign policy: Germany marched into the
Rhineland (1936), Austria and the Sudetenland (1938) and
Czechoslovakia and Poland (1939)
5. Policy of appeasement
a. Define appeasement (look it up in an online dictionary). To bring to a
state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe: to
appease an angry king
b. What were the five most important reasons why Britain appeased
Hitler?
 Some British people approved of Hitler's policies.
 The British people hoped that a strong Germany would stop the
growth of Communist Russia.
 Many people felt that events in Europe were not Britain's
business.
 Many British people wanted peace.
 Many British people agreed with Hitler that the Treaty of
Versailles was unfair.
c. Who opposed Chamberlain in his policy of appeasement? Give
thanks to your God. Your children are safe. Peace is a victory for all
mankind. If we must have a victor, let us choose Mr. Chamberlain.
d. What were the eight results of appeasement?
 let Hitler grow stronger.
 gave Britain time to re-arm.
 humiliated Britain – no country in central Europe ever trusted
Britain again.
 abandoned millions of people to the Nazis.
 caused the war, by encouraging Hitler to think he could do
anything.
 gave Britain the morale high ground – when war came, Britons
knew they had done everything possible to keep the peace.
 would never have stopped Hitler, who was determined to go to
war.
 was a fine attempt to prevent the deaths of millions of people in a
war.
6. Continued German aggression
a. Breaking the Treaty of Versailles
 i. List the three ways Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles. Explain
each one and provide at least one detail for each point.
1. The first way Hitler broke the Treaty was over Germany’s
armed forces. In 1934, he destroyed the League of
Nations Disarmament Conference by demanding equality
of arms with France and Britain – this broke the Treaty
because it had set up the League with the stated aim of
achieving disarmament.
2. The second way Hitler broke the Treaty was over the
Rhineland (declared a demilitarized zone). In 1936, Hitler
moved his troops into the zone, claiming that the recent
treaty between France and Russia threatened Germany’s
safety.
3. The third way Hitler broke the Treaty of Versailles
occurred in 1938. The Treaty forbade Anschluss between
Germany and Austria. An attempted Nazi putsch in
Austria failed in 1934, but in 1938 Hitler tried again.
b. Threatening the peace of Europe
i. What actions did Hitler take to disrupt peace in Europe? Name at
least 5 actions.
1. Hitler threatened the peace of Europe by rearming.
2. He wrecked the League of Nations Disarmament
Conference
3. Hitler reintroduced conscription.
4. Poured money into Germany’s armed forces.
5. Hitler even war-tested his armed forces in the Spanish
Civil War
ii. What did Europe do to allow Hitler to disrupt peace? Name at
least 2 actions.
1. Hitler made the Axis alliance with Italy
2. Expanded it with Italy and Japan into the Anti-Comintern
Pact – an alliance against communism.
Leaders of WWII (use this link and type in the name of the leader in “Title
Search”)
Complete all elements of the chart for each of the 10 leaders. The category and birth to
death can be word-for-word, but all other parts must be in your own words.

Leader Birth-Death Main Role in WWII

accomplishments
Franklin D. Roosevelt Birth: 1/30/1882 Roosevelt was President Franklin Roosevelt was in the
Death: 4/12/45 elected President in 1st year of an unprecedented third term as
1932, during the President. President Roosevelt met with
Great Depression British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin at
Teheran and Yalta.
Harry Truman 5/8/1884-12/26/1972 Assumed the U.S. Made the decision to drop two atomic
Presidency on the bombs on Japan, resulting in the end of
death of Franklin D. World War II.
Roosevelt in April
of 1945
 Dwight D. Eisenhower 10/14/1890- 3/28/1969 34th U.S. President At the outbreak of World War II,
from 1953-1961 Eisenhower was named Chief of Staff to
George C. Marshall.
Douglas MacArthur 1/26/1880- 4/5/64 Brilliant American He was the architect of their
general who metamorphosis into a democratic nation,
commanded Allied and helped them on the road to becoming
troops in the Pacific a world economic power
during World War
II
Winston Churchill 11/30/1874-1/24/65 British Prime Churchill and Roosevelt developed much
Minister during of the strategy for the allies during the
World War II. war
Joseph Stalin 12/21/1879-3/5/53 Russian dictator He was infamous for his brutality before,
during World War during and after the War
II.
Adolf Hitler 4/20/1889- Adolf Hitler would He established the SS, the Gestapo, and
4/30/45 rise to become the Concentration Camps, where Jews and
leader of Germany those opposed to Hitler were sent.
Hirohito 4/29/1901- 1/7/1989 Japanese Emperor he persuaded the military to surrender to
during World war II save his nation further destruction
George Catlett Marshall, December 31, 1880- General and He enrolled in the Army Cavalry
Jr. October 16, 1959 Politician
Hideki Tojo 12/30/1884- 12/23/48 was Prime Minister became Minister of War in 1940, then
of Japan during Prime Minister in 1941. The Japanese
World War II successes in the Pacific early in the war
made him extremely popular.

Key Events Leading Up to WWII

After the colon following each event, record the main website’s brief description of the
event.

1. Saar plebiscite: On 13 January 1935, the plebiscite was held, overseen by two
judges from Italy and Holland, and a US History Professor, Sarah Wambaugh –
they declared that the election had been fair, and that the result was genuine.
The result was overwhelming: 90.3% of the voters voted to return to Germany.
2. Conscription and re-armament:
3. Rhineland: Ley became someone who followed and accepted every word Hitler
said. He became highly anti-Semitic and felt no qualms about venting his beliefs
in the Nazi newspaper ‘Westdeutsche Beobachter’, which he was appointed to
edit. Ley was also appointed the Nazi Party’s Gauleiter in the Southern
Rhineland in 1925.
4. Austria: Hitler also endangered the peace of Europe by inciting Nazis in other
countries. In 1938 he got Austrian Nazis to demand Anschluss – then he
invaded Austria and declared Anschluss. This, too broke the Treaty of
Versailles, but it also destroyed the reputation of France and Britain.
5. Munich: At Munich in 1938, Chamberlain had appeased Hitler by giving him
the Sudetenland areas of Czechoslovakia, but in March 1939, Chamberlain
promised to defend Poland if the Nazis invaded.
6. Czechoslovakia: At Munich in 1938, Chamberlain had appeased Hitler by
giving him the Sudetenland areas of Czechoslovakia, but in March 1939,
Chamberlain promised to defend Poland if the Nazis invaded. The main reason
for this was because on 15 March 1939, Hitler had invaded Czechoslovakia – a
 non-German country. People realized that appeasement had failed. They realized
that Hitler wanted to rule the world, and would only be stopped by war.
7. USSR/Nazi Pact: On 23 August, 1939, the world was shocked when, suddenly,
Russia and Germany signed a 'Non-aggression Pact'. People would have been
even more shocked if they had known at the time that, in addition, the two
countries had made several a 'secret protocol' agreeing 'spheres of influence' in
Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Poland. It amounted to an
agreement to invade and divide the countries of eastern Europe between them ...
with Poland first on the list.
8. Poland: To give Germans lebensraum in Eastern Europe. Because he thought
Chamberlain would not dare stop him. To defend the Germans in Poland. To
overturn the Treaty of Versailles. To oppose Communism/conquer Russia. To
teach Chamberlain a lesson. To prevent an anti-German alliance. The Nazi-
Soviet Pact