Name_______________________________________ Date____________________________ DBQ 21: Causes of World War II (Adapted from Document-Based Assessment for Global History, Walch Education) Historical Context: Even though the 1920’s began with a favorable outlook for peace, toward the end of the decade and throughout the 1930’s the clouds of war were forming. Dictators arose in countries that were dissatisfied with the results of World War I. Germany, Italy and Japan took aggressive actions, and neither the League of Nations nor the democratic countries were able or willing to stop them. British Prime Minister Chamberlain suggested the best way to deal with Hitler was a policy of appeasement. Actions were taken that moved Europe toward war. The debate over the causes of World War II provides different perspectives. • Directions: The following question is based on the accompanying documents in Part A. As you analyze the documents, take into account both the source of the document and the author’s point of view. Be sure to: 1. Carefully read the document-based question. Consider what you already know about this topic. How would you answer the question if you had no documents to examine? 2. Now, read each document carefully, underlining key phrases and words that address the document-based question. You may also wish to use the margin to make brief notes. Answer the questions which follow each document. 3. Based on your own knowledge and on the information found in the documents, formulate a thesis that directly answers the question. 4. Organize supportive and relevant information into a brief outline. 5. Write a well-organized essay proving your thesis. The essay should be logically presented and should include information both from the documents and from your own knowledge outside of the documents. Question: Why was the world plunged into World War II in 1939? What is the most effective response to aggression—appeasement or collective security? • Part A: The following documents provide information about the steps leading to World War II. Examine the documents carefully, and answer the questions that follow. Document 1 In this excerpt from Mein Kampf, Adolph Hitler explains some of his ideas. One blood demands one Reich. Never will the German nation have the moral right to enter into colonial politics until, at least, it includes its own sons within a single state. . . . Oppressed territories are led back to the bosom of a common Reich, not by flaming protests, but by a mighty sword. What does Hitler suggest is needed for Germany? How would that lead to war?_____________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ (continued)115 Name___________________________________________ Date________________________ DBQ 21: World War II: The Road to War (continued) Document 2 After Italy attacked Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, emperor of Ethiopia, asked the League of Nations for help in stopping the invasion. He asked for military sanctions but the League of Nations’ response was ineffective. Haile Selassie used these words to the League of Nations: God and history will remember your judgment. . . . It is us today. It will be you tomorrow. According to Haile Selassie, who should stop the aggressors?___________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ What will happen if the aggressors are not sopped?____________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ Document 3 Hitler promised to tear up the Versailles Treaty. Specifically, the treaty forbade German troops from entering the Rhineland, a buffer zone between Germany and France. The texts of two headlines and articles from The New York Times of March 8, 1936, explain this issue from the German and the French points of view. HITLER SENDS GERMAN TROOPS INTO RHINELAND Berlin, March 7—Germany today cast off the last shackles fastened upon her by the Treaty of Versailles when Adolf Hitler, as commander-in-chief of the Reich defense forces, sent his new battalions into the Rhineland’s demilitarized zone. . . . “After three years of ceaseless battle,” Hitler concluded, “I look upon this day as marking the close of the struggle for German equality status and with that re-won equality the path is now clear for Germany’s return to European collective cooperation.” PARIS APPEALS TO LEAGUE Paris, March 7—France has laid Germany’s latest treaty violation before the Council of the League of Nations. At the same time the French government made it quite clear that there could be no negotiation with Germany . . . as long as a single German soldier remained in the Rhineland in contravention ([violation] of Germany’s signed undertakings [agreements]. . . . What is essential, in the French view, is that the German government must be compelled by diplomatic pressure first and by stronger pressure if need be, to withdraw from the Rhineland. What action did Hitler take in defiance of the Versailles Treaty? How does he explain his action? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ What was the reaction in France? How might this have led to war?_______________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ (continued)116 Name______________________________________________ Date_____________________________ DBQ 21: World War II: The Road to War (continued) Document 4 As German aggression continued in 1938, Britain, France, and Italy met with Hitler to discuss his demands for the Sudetenland, a section of Czechoslovakia. This radio broadcast by William Shirer describes what happened at this meeting. William Shirer: It took the Big Four just five hours and twenty-five minutes here in Munich today to dispel the clouds of war and come to an agreement over the partition of Czechoslovakia. There is to be no European war . . . the price of that peace is . . . the