CHQ:CouldWWIIhavebeenprevented?
Couldthewarhavebeen
smaller?UsingHindsightActivity
Event Description(Brief)
Treatyof The harsh Treaty of Versailles
Versailles created tension between major
Western powers and Germany in
the 1920s and early 1930s. The
enforcement of the treaty led to
economic crisis and social
pressures in Germany that
contributed to the rise of Adolf
Hitler.
GrowingNazi By 1936 Hitlers Nazi military was
Threat the most powerful in Europe.
Hitler had forged an alliance with
fascists in Italy and Japan,
moved troops into the Rhineland
in violation of the Treaty of
Versailles, and was supporting a
fascist revolt in Spain.
Japanese Japanese imperialism affected
Imperialism many areas of Asia, including
Manchuria, a Chinese territory
rich in mineral reserves that were
important for supporting the
military. The invasion of
Manchuria was marked by the
indiscriminate killing of unarmed
civilians.
Munich In 1938 Hitler met with British
Agreement prime minister Neville
Chamberlain. Chamberlain
appeased Hitlers demands for
territory in Czechoslovakia and
invaded Poland.
U.S. In spite of the threat of fascist
Isolationism aggression, the United States
pursued a policy of isolationism
throughout the 1920s and 1930s.
TheBombing On December 7th, 1941, the
ofPearl Japanese navy and air force
Harbor attacked the American fleet at
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Within
three days the United States had
WhatmighttheUnitedStates WhydidnttheUnitedStates
and/oritsallieshavedoneto and/oritsalliestakeactionto
preventtheevent?
- The allies couldve been
less harsh regarding the
terms and conditions of
the treaty
- Couldve spread out the
blame to all the Central
Powers
-The U.S. could have prohibited
this growing threat by not
appeasing to Hitlers high demand
of terrain
-send military support before the
Nazis could become powerful with
their flux of land
-Fight back regarding Treaty of
Versailles
-mention the open-door policy to
China and acknowledge peace
agreements with Japan
-lend U.S military support instead
of Japanese searching for support
themselves through imperialism
-not give in to Hitler and his
demands/negotiate terms
-provided economic support/send
in troops
-negotiations could have been
made to reduce the amount of
conflict that the nations had
preventtheevent?
- The Allies wanted
revenge on Germany
for all the trouble it
caused
- They believe that
Germany was to blame
for the entire war
- Although the US was all
for the spread of
democracy, they
refused to get involved
into another war and
declared neutrality
- FDR was too busy with
the Great Depression to
get involved
-did not focus on their actions
such as the ones of Nazi
Germany
-U.S. neutrality
-Br and FR were pacifists and
too afraid
-Allies remained neutral/didnt
want Germany to expand
further
-feared US intervention with war
-there was a breach of
neutrality
-underlying bias for the Allies
-mass opposition to war by US
citizens
-US were on the verge of
entering the war
-more aggressive action was
taken in defense of American
 declared war with Japan, allies
Germany, and Italy. -bombing was result of the
tension caused by an embargo
and ending of diplomatic
relations

CouldWWIIhavebeenprevented?Couldthewarhavebeensmaller?
WWIIwasinevitableasaconsequenceofthepreviousWorldwar.Tensionswerealready
fueledandwwiicouldnthavebeenprevented.Howeveritcouldhavebeensmaller.Actions
couldhavebeentakenthatdidntprovokeothernationsasmuchandthuscreatingmore
conflict.

PreventionIdeaBank

EconomicEmbargo* Negotiate/Diplomacy** Sanctions***
(i.e.LeagueofNations)

SendintheTroops Nothing(Isolation) EconomicSupport

Other-Makeyourown,uniquedecision

* Embargo: A ban on trade with another country (usually effective for countries who sell
a lot)
** Negotiate/Diplomacy: Dealing with people and events in a sensitive and effective way
through representatives of each country
***Sanction: a penalty or fine (like a tariff) applied to trade with a country as a form of
punishment