The Second World War
Driving Question: What were the causes of the Second World War?
There has never been a war on the scale of World War II. It transformed global power, devastated economies, and unleashed a horrifying age of weapons of mass destruction. This lesson unpacks the complex causes and progression of the war, and explores its profound consequences.
Learning Objectives:
- Use evidence to understand how and why diplomacy failed to prevent a second world war.
- Use the historical thinking practice of causation to analyze global factors that led to the Second World War.
- Use the historical thinking practice of claim testing to identify, assess, and use evidence when evaluating and making claims.
Vocab Terms:
- antisemitism
- appeasement
- mobilization
- total war
Before learning how global war broke out, take a moment to reflect on the complex nature of identity. By exploring how identities overlap, you’ll start thinking about how belonging, community, and perspective shaped the choices people—and nations—made in the lead-up to World War II.
As fascist leaders rose to power, democratic nations faced difficult choices. Discover how efforts to keep peace through compromise ultimately shaped the path to another war and sparked lasting debate.
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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 did appeasement mean in this period?
- Why did Chamberlain support appeasement?
- How did appeasement affect Hitler’s views of Britain and France?
- How has appeasement been remembered since World War II?
After you read
Respond to these questions: Do you think France and Britain could have prevented a war with fascist Germany? Why or why not?
OER Project offers several maps to help you teach the global scale of the Second World War. In addition to 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 was a massive and complicated conflict. In this section of the lesson, you'll trace its key turning points, economic demands, and global alliances while also working to untangle the many causes that led to war in the first place.
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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
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 nineteenth-century developments gave the Allied powers an edge in production and distribution during the war?
Be sure to print and cut out the claim cards provided on the Lesson Guide. You’ll need one set per group of four students.
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 devastating costs of war and test claims about the global impact of the conflict. Then, zoom in on one individual and assess how the choices he made reflect the nuances of war.
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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:
- How did nuclear science reach the United States before the bombs were developed?
- What is one argument for why President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs?
- What alternative explanation does Gar Alperovitz offer for Truman’s decision?
- According to Hasegawa, what led Japan to surrender?
- Besides destruction, what other global consequences resulted from the development of nuclear weapons?
After you read
Respond to this question: Which explanation for the use of atomic bombs do you find most convincing, and why?
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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?
Did you know: The US Navy had a floating ice cream factory in the Pacific. Three large, refrigerated barges carried thousands of tons of frozen food for American soldiers, including morale-boosting ice cream. The barges included ice cream production equipment that could make five tons of the frozen dessert every day. This is a great way to illustrate how the Allies won the war. Supply lines and logistics were often just as important as battlefield heroics.
Now that you’ve explored the many causes of the Second World War, consider: could it have all been avoided?
Video critic: After they watch the video, ask students to be editors as an exit ticket: How would they have presented this information differently? What rating would they give this video? Why?
Together, these materials invite you to rethink the causes, consequences, and historical context of the conflict. A powerful visual shows just how many lives were lost, while a thought-provoking article argues that World War II may have been part of a longer, 30-year global crisis.
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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:
- How did military and civilian casualties differ during the war?
- Which country lost the most soldiers and civilians in the war, and why?
- Which side intentionally targeted civilians?
- Was World War II the deadliest war in history?
- What is meant by “The Long Peace”?
After you watch
Respond to this question: Why do you think major wars have become less frequent and less deadly since 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:
- How did nationalism connect World War I and World War II?
- What role did empires and colonialism play across both wars?
- How did the post–World War I treatment of Germany contribute to the outbreak of World War II?
After you read
Respond to these questions: Do you think viewing 1914 to 1945 as one long war helps us better understand the causes and consequences of global conflict? Why or why not?
