Causes of the Second World War
Driving Question: What were the causes of the Second World War?
Why did another world war break out just two decades after the first? Unpack the complex causes behind the most destructive war in history. This is a story of failed diplomacy and strategic alliances in the face of global conflict.
Learning Objectives:
- Use the historical thinking practice of causation to analyze global factors that led to the Second World War.
- Practice quick sourcing to evaluate the similarities and differences in how global communities experienced and contributed to the Second World War.
Vocab Terms:
- embargo
- fascism
- genocide
- infrastructure
- neutrality
- regime
- total war
Historical causation is key to understanding how the past has unfolded. Read more in our causation one-pager.
How did it come to this? Again? Walk the road to a another world war as you prepare to grapple with the causes of global conflict.
Did you know? Pablo Picasso’s Guernica is MASSIVE. It’s 11 feet, 5 inches tall and 25 feet, 6 inches wide. It’s about the size of a small school bus. So, your students might see it in miniature, as it’s provided in the activity, and miss the way the figures—the screaming horse, wailing mother, broken bodies and buildings—loom over the viewer when seen in person. Picasso made the horrors of war too big to ignore. Today, the painting is held in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. When the painting was transferred there, its size and fragility meant it needed to be transported by a special vehicle, in a custom crate, using a crane designed to install the painting in its new home. For a visual and oral history of Guernica, see the museum’s “Rethinking Guernica.” Don’t miss the Gigapixel tool, which will let your students zoom in and see the painting in x-ray and ultraviolet.
The Spanish Civil War was a dress rehearsal for World War II. This video and activity use art to understand the war and consider who shares the blame.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you watch
Preview the questions below, and then review the transcript.
While you watch
Look for answers to these questions:
- What happened in Guernica on April 26, 1937?
- Why did Picasso paint Guernica, and what does the painting show?
- Why did Picasso blame a German officer in Paris for the bombing?
- Why is the Spanish Civil War called a “dress rehearsal” for World War II?
- What happened to Guernica after the war, and why?
After you watch
Respond to these questions: Do you think the Spanish Civil War could have been avoided? How?
OER Project offers several maps to help you teach the global scale of the Second World War. In addition to using our alliances and casualties map, try having students compare these two maps of the Pacific theater: Imperial Powers in 1939 and The War in the Pacific. Ask students how the two maps are related—how did imperial ambitions help spark conflict? What do these two maps tell us about the goals of the Japanese Empire?
The causes of the Second World War are many and complex. Be sure to read the Lesson Guide for sample answers that will help you guide students through this causation activity and its causal map.
World War II is often viewed as a war between good and evil—Allies and Axis—but war is more complicated and nuanced that that. Read about the causes and devastating costs of war and zoom in on one individual to assess how the choices he made reflect the nuances of war. Then, use your causation skills to create a causal map for World War II.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why is there debate about when World War II began?
- Who dominated the early years of the war in Europe?
- What led the Soviet Union to enter the war?
- Why did the United States join the war?
- What turned the tide of the war around 1942?
After you read
Respond to this question: How does weaving personal stories such as Getz’s grandfather’s experience into the broader narrative of World War II affect your understanding of the war?
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Skim the full comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who is the focus of the comic? What big questions do you have?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why did Subhas Chandra Bose become a member of the movement for Indian independence in the 1930s?
- Why did Bose flee to Nazi Germany?
- What did Bose do in Japanese-occupied Asia?
- Why is Bose’s legacy complicated?
- How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate the dual legacy of Subhas Chandra Bose?
After you read
Respond to this question: How do you think history should judge Bose? Was his anticolonial work more significant than his support of Axis powers?
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- What is a “total war economy”?
- Why did Japan pursue conquest and colonization in Asia?
- How did the Soviet Union’s government help direct resources toward the war?
- How did the war impact the US economy?
- Why did Britain, unlike Japan, not need to conquer new territories to support its war effort?
After you read
Respond to this question: What gave the Allied powers an advantage in production and distribution during the war?
Did you know: American spies tried inventing a fart weapon. In 1944, Ernest Crocker was working at the Office of Strategic Services (the predecessor to the CIA). He created a spray called “Who, Me?”, which had a powerful “fecal odor.” The idea was that French resistance fighters could discreetly apply the spray to Nazi officers, humiliating them and undermining German morale. Unfortunately, America’s spies forgot that “whoever smelt it, dealt it.” The spray was difficult to control. More often than not, it ended up contaminating the user. Despite the weapon’s failure, Crocker’s experiments led him to other breakthroughs in sensory and food technology after the war.
This collection highlights both commonalities and differences in how people across regions experienced and responded to the Second World War, revealing its global scope and human impact.
Causal thinking is a core skill in history. Read more in the blog post “Helping Students Make Sense of the Past, Present, and Future.”
Now that you’ve explored the many causes of the Second World War, consider: could it have all been avoided?
