Causes of World War II
It is blood which moves the wheels of history.
—Benito Mussolini (1914, before he became Il Duce, the Leader)
Learning Objectives
- F: Explain the causes and consequences of World War II.
The causes of World War II lay in the unresolved issues in the aftermath of
World War I. Economic instability in the postwar economies of Europe led to civil unrest in Italy and Germany. In Italy, the rise of fascism was directly related to the downturn of the Italian economy that occurred after World War I. Benito Mussolini and his National Fascist Party came to power in 1922 because of their promises to renew the Italian economy and create another Italian empire in the Mediterranean and beyond. The peace settlement after World War I also placed unsustainable economic and political terms on Germany and instituted territorial distributions that took away resources and created resentment among the German population. Thus, the ideology associated with Italian fascism and militarism—as seen in the quotation above—spread to Germany, where Hitler and the Nazis adopted it.
Think As a Historian: THINK AS A HISTORIAN: IDENTIfY ASSUMPTIONS SHAPING POINT Of vIEW
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Reflect
REFLECT ON THE TOPIC ESSENTIAL QUESTION
1. In one to three paragraphs, explain the causes and consequences of World War II.
AP Exam Practice
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