Mostly limited in scope to Europe, with some fighting in North Africa
No clear reason for individual countries to be fighting
Causes of World War I (MAIN)
Militarism
Alliance systems
Imperialism
Industrialization
Nationalism
Tensions that still existed or were created after World War I included the collapse of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires, leading to issues in the Middle East, and independence movements in colonial states
The Great Depression led to extreme responses from states, including fascism, communism, and the New Deal in the United States
Major players in World War II
Allies: Britain, France, United States, Soviet Union
Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan
World War II
More clear-cut in terms of good vs. evil, with Hitler and Mussolini as clear antagonists
Allies also included Stalin, who committed atrocities
Causes of World War II
Aggression by Germany and Japan
Appeasement by other states
After World War II, the only two major powers left standing were the UnitedStates and the SovietUnion, setting the stage for the ColdWar conflicts of the second half of the 20th century
Total War
War that requires each country involved to mobilise its entire population to win
World War I (1914-1918)
Began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian nationalist
Involved industrialized militarism and new weapons & technology
Had global dimensions
Outcomes of World War I
Authority of governments increased
Propaganda used
Strikes suspended
Women's suffrage movement suspended
Disillusion in intellectuals
Treaty of Versailles
1919 treaty that ended World War I and imposed penalties on Germany
Treaty of Versailles was seen as too harsh and a cause of World War II
Women were encouraged to leave work after World War I
Social and cultural changes after World War I
American consumerism
Women's right to vote
Class shift
Collapse of many European empires and emergence of new states after World War I
National self-determination and the Ottoman genocide of Armenians were outcomes of World War I
The collapse of the Ottoman Empire led to the creation of new Middle Eastern states
World War I increased the power of the United States and led to the creation of the League of Nations
Bolsheviks
Socialist party that gained control of Russia and led to the Russian Revolution and Soviet Communism
The Russian Revolution was catalysed by World War I
Tsar Nicholas II abdicated during the Russian Revolution
The Bolshevik communist party emerged as a totalitarian regime in Russia
Collectivization of agriculture in Russia led to famine, with the kulaks (richer peasants) being targeted
The Great Purges in the Soviet Union involved the arrest and execution or imprisonment of prominent communists
The Great Depression
Global economic disaster starting with a stock market crash in the US in 1929
The Great Depression led to the rise of authoritarian alternatives to democracy, such as fascism
Import substitution
Replacing foreign imports and exports with domestic production
The Great Depression challenged the democratic socialist model and strengthened the role of the state
The New Deal programs in the US included public spending, social security, minimum wage, and support for labor unions
Axis Powers
Alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan
Fascism
Conflict is the driving force of history
Intense nationalism
Condemned other ideologies
Benito Mussolini
Leader of the Italian Fascist party
Italy and Germany lacked a long-term democratic tradition
Mussolini made agreements with the Catholic Church, known as the Lateran Accords, to establish a new Roman Empire
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis
Resented the Treaty of Versailles and gained popular support during the Great Depression by helping Germany recover