World War I

Introduction
 The first world war fought on world wide scale and it affected almost all the countries
in the world
 new methods of destruction and defence were used
 Because of its extent of spread, impact, damage and its nature, it is known as First
World War
 The First World War - July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918; Europe, Germany and its
neighboring Countries

Causes of the First World War

1. Nationalism and Imperialism
• Nationalism refers to the sense of unity felt by the people who share a common
history, language and culture. Sense of unity turned to extreme pride and people
started feeling their country is superior which led to aggressive nationalism in Europe
• Aggressive nationalism – Love for one’s own country and hatred of other countries;
France wanted to get back its provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from Germany; Italy
wanted to get back the territory of Trentino Trieste from Australia; Aggressive
nationalism led to Imperialism
• Imperialism – It’s the State policy/ Practice by which a powerful nation establishes its
control over another country either by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining
political and economic control; Colony – The acquired country is known as a colony;
The Imperial nation is administrated the colony by its representatives or by a puppet
govt.; They exploited the resources of colonies – they were a source of raw material,
cheap labour, agricultural land and trading ports. England and France built up huge
colonies in Asia and Africa

2. Race for Armaments

• The mad race for armaments was a major reason which led to the first world war.
Every country was stockpiling armaments in the name of self defence and protecting
peace. One country was forced to increase its armaments if other countries did that.
• Germany built a powerful navy to protect her colonies and to come at par with
Britain. But by 1914, left behind Britain and France in manufacturing iron and steel.
Imperator was largest ship in the world. • Germans also dug Kiel canal deeper so that
battleships could enter its waters.
• England and France were concerned with Germany’s growing military strength. This
led to fierce race of armaments.

3. Division of Europe into 2 Hostile Groups

There were two kind of States in Europe in 20th century:
1. SINGLE NATION STATES: France, Holland and Germany
2. IMPERIAL STATES: Austria-Hungarian Empire & Russian Empire.
• Germany entered into alliance with Austria & Hungary and Italy formed Triple
Alliance.
• Similarly, France, England and Russia formed Triple Entente; Japan also later joined
triple entente.
• Thus, Europe was divided into two hostile (unfriendly/opposing) groups: Triple
Alliance and Triple Entente. Rivalries between nations started not only for colonies
but for colonial trade and trade routes too. These rivalries created suspicion, tension
and war which culminated into First World War

4. Sarajevo Crisis (Immediate cause)

• Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary was
assassinated at Sarajevo capital of Bosnia on June 28, 1914. It was done by secret
society called as Black Hand/ Union of Death who wanted to unite all Serbians into a
single Serbian State.
• Austria served an ultimatum on Serbia on July 23 making 11 demands. Serbia
accepted all except that of losing her sovereignty. Austria declared war on Serbia on
July 28, 1914.
• Sequence – Austria v/s Serbia, Russia supported Serbia; Germany v/s Russia and
France, Germany entered Belgium to press on to France, on the same day Britain
declared war on Germany; Japan declared war on Germany to acquire German
colonies, Turkey and Bulgaria joined Germany; Italy remained neutral for some time
but joined against Germany in breaking the triple alliance
• Britain, France, Russia and their allies were called the Allied powers; Germany,
Austria and their allies were called the Central Powers; War was fought in different
areas called Fronts
• Western front between Germany and Northern France; Eastern Front between
Germany and Russia; Fight happened at Sea and Middle East where Allied powers
attacked the Ottoman Empire
End of the World War
• Britain, France and the USA launched a military offensive; Germany and her allies
began to collapse
• Political discontent started in Austria – Hungary and Germany
• Bulgaria withdrew from the war; Turkey surrendered; Austrian emperor surrendered
• Revolution broke out in Germany; Germany became republic
 • 53 to 70 million people fought in the war; 9 million were died; economy were
shattered; serious social problems arose

Results of the World War

1. The Treaty of Versailles:
• The victorious allies met at a conference at Versailles and Paris. 27 countries were
present. However, President of US, PM of England and France mainly decided the
terms of peace treaties. (Woodrow Wilson-Lioyd George-Georges Clemenceau)
• Defeated countries and Russia weren’t a part of the conference. As a result of Paris
Conference, ‘The Treaty of Versailles’ was signed & the war ended. US President
Wilson’s 14 points negotiations were the basis of the treaty. It was done in order to
prevent Germany from going to war again.
Terms of the Treaty
1. It declared Germany guilty of aggression.
2. Germany was asked to pay for the loss to the Allies. 33 billion dollars was the amount
decided, Germany was asked to give all her merchant ships to Allies and was asked to
supply coal to France, Belgium and Italy for 10 years. (Coal to FBI)
3. Demilitarise Rhine Valley & area in west of Rhine to be occupied by Allied Troops for
15 years.
4. Germany lost a) Alsace Lorraine to France, b) Eupen-et-Malmedy to Belgium and
Schleswig to Denmark; Danzig became a Free Port in the Polish Territory.
5. Germany ceded parts of pre-war territories to Denmark, Belgium, Poland,
Czechoslovakia and France
6. German Coal mines called as Saar were given to France for 15 years and area would
be controlled by the League of Nations.
7. Germany lost all her colonies to Britain, Belgium, South Africa and Portugal.
8. German colonies in Pacific and China were given to Japan and not to China.
9. German army was restricted to a force of 1,00,000 soldiers and the Navy was limited
to 15000 men and 24 ships. Air force and Submarine was banned
10.The treaty affirmed complete Independence to Belgium, Poland, Czechoslovakia and
Yugoslavia.
11.The Covenant (Contract) of the League of Nations was added to the Treaty of
Versailles.

2. Territorial Rearrangements
 After the war European Supremacy was seen in the world. USA surpassed Europe
economically and militarily. Treaties signed after war changed the map of the world
especially Europe.
 Three Dynasties were destroyed - Romanov in Russia; Hohenzollern in
Germany; Hapsburg in Austria-Hungary.
 Austria & Hungary became separate Independent States. Continued.
 Czechoslovakia & Yugoslavia emerged as Independent States.
 Finland, Estonia, Latvia etc. emerged with different cultures; Democracy
replaced Monarchy in Europe.
3. Formation of League of Nations
Destruction caused by War had convinced the leaders of the world that they must
prevent War and promote international cooperation. This thought inspired them to set-
up league of Nations. It was made a part of all important peace treaties. In 1920, league
of nations was created as a world organisation of all Independent States.
Aims and Objectives of the League of Nations
 All States were prohibited from signing any secret treaties and alliances.
 Members cannot maintain huge Armies, Warships and destructive Armaments.
 All should respect each other’s Independence.
 Members should settle their disputes through League of Nations.
 Members would take action against any State which causes danger to World peace.
 League of Nation should promote Cultural, Social and Economic cooperation among
the members.
 Two countries – Germany and Soviet Union were not allowed to become the
members for many years.
 The rise in dictatorship in Italy and Germany led to the weakening of the League of
Nations and it failed in its basic objective of maintaining peace in the world
 League came to an end with Hitler’s aggression on Poland which began in World War
II
 Rise of Dictatorship
After the First World War (1919-1929) Democracy made remarkable progress over the
world. But it didn’t go for long and gave way to Totalitarian Dictatorships under different
names and forms in Russia, Italy, Germany and Spain. They refused to work with League of
Nations except on their own terms. They sacrificed the individuals for the sake of state.
There motto was “Everything for the State, Everything within the State and nothing outside
the State.”
Fascism (Italy – Benito Mussolini)
• The Word Fascism derived from the Italian word Fascio – means union or league
• It refers to the Ancient Roman symbol of Power; the fasces were a bundle of sticks
bound to an axe that symbolized civic unity and the authority of Roman officials to
punish wrongdoers
• Fascism means autocracy or dictatorship where the power of the State in vested in
one man only and it is obligatory for all others to obey his orders.
Causes for the rise of fascism
1. Discontentment after the Treaty of Versailles: Italy had joined Allied Powers to get
territories of Turkey and Germany. But after Treaty of Versailles, it got only few
territories. So Italy was dissatisfied after the Treaty of Versailles.
2. Economic Crisis: Italy suffered heavy losses (life & property) during First World War.
Many soldiers were unemployed after war. Trade & Commerce were ruined leading to
large- scale unemployment. There was also shortage of food, all these factors led to
Economic Crisis.
3. Political Instability: In 1919, Democracy was introduced in Italy for the first time. No
single party got a clear majority after elections. From 1919 to 1922, six Coalition
Governments were formed in Italy. Problem of unemployment, riots & strikes got
severe in 1921- 22. Fascists exploited this situation and leader named Benito
Mussolini gave people an idea of providing a strong national government.
4. Class Conflicts: During the War, common man was promised that after War his
economic needs would be given special attention. However, after War, all these
promises were broken. The question was: Who Should Control Government? – Upper
classes Or Less Privileged Majorities? This started class conflicts in various parts of
Europe.
 5. Threat of Socialism or Communism: Socialists and Communal leaders created
conditions favoring growth of fascism. Peasants took away the lands from land
owners; Strikes and riots were common. So, industrialists funded Fascism to control
the growing strength of unions.
6. Failure of League of Nations: After First World War, to avoid wars and to maintain
world peace League of Nations was established. LN proved to be weak and failed to
achieve its aims. LN couldn’t control Rise of Dictatorships. If LN would have acted well
in time, plans of Mussolini and Hitler would have failed.
7. Leadership of Mussolini: Mussolini played an important role in the history of Italy. He
had an influential personality and his speeches won faith of his countrymen. He was
called as ‘Duce’ means Leader.

Nazism (Germany – Adolf Hitler)

After the defeat in WW I, Germans revolted against their King. Free and fair elections were
held to a new Parliament; Democracy was established in 1919.
Read: [Adolf Hitler - An Austrian by birth; Fought in German Army during WW I; Joined a
small political group called “The German workers Party”; he became the leader and
changed the name to National Socialist party or Nazi Party. Nazi Party - It had its own army;
Divided into 2 groups – 1. Brown shirts: to save party members and break opposition
meetings. 2. Black shirts: save party leaders. Nazi party could not win the majority in the
Parliament; Hence, Hitler assumed the Dictatorial powers. After the King’s death, he
became the President and Chancellor and adopted the designation “Fuhrer” (the leader).
He abolished the constitution and made the dictator of Germany. Fall of Hitler – In WW II,
Germany was totally defeated by Allied powers; He died in 1945 and Nazism came to an
end]

Causes for the rise of Nazism

1. Humiliating Treaty of Versailles: Treaty of Versailles humiliated Germans. Germany
was forced to give away her territories to France Belgium Poland and Denmark.
Germany had to pay heavy compensation. Hitler asked Germans to scrap the terms of
Treaty and rebuild the empire of Germany.
2. Growing Fear of Communism: The power of Communists was increasing in Germany.
Communists had a connection with Russians. Hitler warned Germans not to support
the Communists as they were servants of their Russians masters. He convinced
people Nazism was a solution to save themselves from the communists.
3. Economic Crisis: Due to Treaty of Versailles Germany had to suffer in agriculture,
colonies, foreign investment, trade and commerce etc. Unemployment increased.
Nazis exploited the situation and assured Germans to get back the glory of Germany.
 4. Resurgence of Militant Nationalism: Nazis preferred Prestige and Glory against
Liberty and Freedom offered by Democracy. They believed that only one strong
leader can bring back the past glory and stop Communists. Hitler promised the
Germans to bring back the glory and Germans welcomed him.
5. Anti-Semitic Propaganda: Hitler said that Jews had conspired with Allies during the
War and can again plan something against Germany; He called them traitors. He
made Germans realise that their hardship was due to Jews. This anti- Semitic policy
made him more popular.
6. Absence of Strong Opposition: There was no strong party to oppose Nazi party. As a
result, its popularity increased as it had no resistance or hindrances. Nazi party’s
popularity reached great heights.
7. Establishment of Volunteer Corps: Under Treaty of Versailles, Germany’s Military
power was reduced. Many soldiers were unemployed. Hitler invited all these soldiers
and made them Volunteer Corps serving as his party’s army. All these volunteer corps
started working to strengthen Nazi party
8. Magnetic Personality of Hitler: Hitler had a charismatic personality. He had all the
qualities to be a popular leader. He was a very good orator, politician and brave
soldier. He had made Germans aware about the betrayal of Germany in the form of
the Treaty and warned about the intentions of Jews and Communists. He promised to
bring back glory and prestige of Germany. This made all support him and his Nazi
party.

Similarity between the causes of fascism and of nazism

1. Discontent after treaty of Versailles.
2. Economic Crisis – Unemployment and decline in production, agriculture and trade
3. Hatred for Democracy principles and preference to one party rule
4. Fear of spread of Communism
5. Political instability and Class conflicts between aristocrats and common people
6. Failure of league of Nations
7. Strong Leadership: Mussolini & Hitler
Similarity between the Ideologies of fascism and of nazism
1. Faith in Dictatorship
2. Opposition to Democracy
3. Consideration of State as supreme than Individual
4. One Party One leader policy
5. Aggressive nationalism
6. Use War for furthering national interest
7. To uphold intensely nationalistic, anti-communist, anti-democratic rule

World War II
It was not a continuation of the WW I. Damage caused by the WW II was too severe and
caused complete destruction. September 1,1939 – September 2, 1945

Causes of World War II

1. Dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles
After WW I, instead of solving the problem, Treaty of Versailles created more
problems. The Treaty demanded annexation of German Territories. All colonies were
taken away and Germany was divided into two parts for the benefits of Poland. Her
military powers reduced; suffered with huge war indemnity. This humiliation gave rise
to spirit of revenge. Germany was looking for an opportunity to get rid of this Treaty
and this was not possible without aggressive foreign policy. So, the war was
inevitable.
2. Rise of Fascism and Nazism
Italy wanted to revive the glory of the Roman Empire; Germany wanted to re-
establish the lost prestige. Rise of Dictatorship in Italy and Germany was another
important cause which led to WWII. Mussolini opposed Treaty of Versailles and
followed aggressive foreign policy. LN couldn’t stop Italy and its Dictator- Mussolini.
Similarly in Germany, Hitler opposed Treaty of Versailles and even he followed
rearmament and aggressive foreign policy and had started acquiring new territories.
Hitler and Mussolini took the countries of the world towards another World War.
3. Policy of Appeasement
Policy of Appeasement means accepting the hostile demands of an aggressive nation
to gain peace. England & France believed that Germany & Italy had reason to fight
and so followed appeasement policy towards both - with the hope that would stop
them from going to war again. They also didn’t want Germany & Italy to join Russian
Communists. So, they allowed Germany to get its territories back. If England and
France would not have followed this policy, Fascism and Nazism would not have taken
other countries of the world towards War.
4. Japanese invasion of China
Japan’s ambitions rose after WW I. LN opposed Japan not to enter Manchuria; Still
Japan attacked Manchuria. In 1931, Japan invaded China; China asked LN to help; But
 France & England did not pay any attention to it. Japan joined Berlin & Rome and
formed Berlin-Rome-Tokyo Axis. Japan left LN and started acquiring British and
American properties in China. England & France followed Policy of Appeasement and
allowed Japan to weaken China. Thus, the war was inevitable.
5. Failure of the League of Nations
LN was formed to avoid Wars. USA didn’t join LN. Even the members who had joined
LN weren't following the principles of LN. LN could stop small nations; But bigger
nations didn’t pay attention to LN. Countries like Italy & Germany weren't even
considering LN’s existence. LN failed to maintain world peace. LN members
themselves entered into military alliances and took the countries of the world
towards the war.
6. Hitler’s invasion of Poland (Immediate Cause)
Hitler invaded Poland on 1st September 1939 for the following reasons:
 Treaty of Versailles had divided Germany into two parts in order to give land route
to Poland up to the sea. Port of Danzing was also given to Poland.
 Through Danzing, Germany could get connected with East Prussia.
 Germany had accused Poland for being unjust with the Germans staying there.
Germany had signed non-aggression pact with Russia in August 1939. And
attacked Poland in September.
Axis Powers -Germany, Italy and Japan made an alliance and were called Axis Powers
Allied Powers – Their opponents – Britain, France, U S A came to known as Allied Powers
Neutral Countries – Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Turkey

Attack on Pearl Harbour

America followed the policy of strict neutrality. They decided to lend or lease Armaments to
Britain and China. Japan was feared of the military force of U S Pacific Fleet based at Pearl
Harbour in Hawaii.
In December 7, 1941 Japan under the Premiership of General Tojo ordered a surprise aerial
attack on the Pearl Harbour. The battleships were sunk and the important airfields were
destroyed; 3700 people were killed
The Japanese made two big mistakes in Pearl Harbour – They did not destroy the ship repair
facilities at the base; they did not destroy the US carriers. So, all the ships that were
damaged were soon came back in action
On December 8, 1941, The USA joined the war
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Americans became offensive against Japan to liberate the islands in the South West Pacific.
 • The American navy and Air Force destroyed the Japanese fleet; but Japan was
strongly established in China, Manchuria and other places
• In 1945, Japanese in Philippines formed a special force called the Kamikaze (the
suicide air corps)
• The young Japanese pilots steered an explosive laden plane into the side of an
American ship; Civilians were trained to use different weapons; This made a land
invasion in Japan costly and futile
• Long before the invasion on Japan was planned, US Scientists were working on the
most powerful weapon ever conceived – the Atomic Bomb
• The first Atomic Bomb was detonated in the desert near Alamogordo, New Mexico
• Days before the Bombing, American planes dropped leaflets warnings about the
deadly weapon to stop the war
• On August 6, 1945 the first Atomic Bomb was dropped in Hiroshima; destroyed half of
the city; killed 1000s of people; despite they refused to surrender. On August 9, 1945
another Bomb dropped in Nagasaki.
• On September 2, 1945 Japan surrendered unconditionally. After 6 long years, the
WW II was over. Over 50 million perished in the war; 22 million were soldiers and rest
were civilians; 12 million people lost the lives in concentration camps. Poland lost 6
million people; Soviet Union lost 20 million people. The nations who took part in the
War spent most of their national wealth and suffered heavy losses.
• Chief colonial powers lost their powers; India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar became
independent; other Asian and African countries liberated one by one from imperial
control
Consequences of World War II
1. Defeat of Axis Powers: Up to the middle of 1942, the Axis powers had remarkable
victory. By 1942, the tide started flowing against Axis Powers (Germany, Italy &
Japan). Allied powers (Britain, France, Soviet Union, USA) had recaptured many
territories. Hitler committed suicide after defeat on April 30, 1945. Then it was
Japan’s turn. British liberated Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and other countries.
In the Potsdam Conference (Berlin city) held in July 26, 1945, Japan was asked to
surrender but Japan didn’t do that. So had to face the consequences in the form of
bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
After war Axis Powers had to face following consequences:
1. Germany was divided into zones and each zone was under the army of Allied
Powers.
• West Germany: Federal Republic Germany (FRG) – The Capitalistic Bloc with
capitalist ideology administered by UK, France and US; Bonn was the capital
 • East Germany: German Democratic Republic (GDR) – The Communist Bloc with
communist ideologies administered by the Soviet Union; East Berlin was the
capital.
2. Japan and Italy also became very weak; Till 1952, American army controlled Japan;
Japan was forced to return all territories acquired forcefully. Emperor Hirohito
was left on the throne but Japanese Parliament retained some of the law-making
powers.

2. Formation of the UN: After two wars and failure of LN led to a meeting of the Big
Three - Roosevelt (President of USA), Churchill (PM of Britain) and Stalin (Premier of
USSR) in a meeting at Yalta in February 1945 decided to form UN. They invited all
nations at San Francisco conference and drew ‘Charter of the UN.’ On October 24,
1945 UNO was established.

3. Cold War: During WWII, USSR and USA fought together. However, towards the end
the harmony between the two decreased due to the ideologies. Both the countries
did not engage in actual fight but an extreme political tension was created between
countries and both adopted the policies to strengthen itself and weaken the other
without armed conflict, which is known as cold war.
Cold War – An atmosphere when there is no armed struggle, but the rivals continue
to maintain their peace time diplomatic relations along with their hostility. It led to
arm race – piling up of nuclear and conventional weapons; Formation of military
alliances, economic warfare, propaganda and proxy wars etc. This led to the division
of world into two power blocs:
i. Democratic and Capitalist Bloc (Western Bloc/ American Bloc) led by USA –
believed in liberal democracy based on capitalism; The bloc comprised Britain,
France, Belgium, Italy, Canada, Australia, the Netherlands, Greece, Pakistan,
Turkey etc. They considered the political and social system of USSR as
dangerous and USSR as enemy of the world peace. America tried to maintain
their influence by giving economic aids to other countries
ii. Communist Bloc (Eastern Bloc/ Soviet Bloc) led by USSR – believed in
communism based on Marxist theory; They felt western style democracy
meant for rich and upper class; So they wanted to spread communism in the
world; The Countries believed in the communist ideology - Poland, Hungary,
Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Albania.