World War II | History for UPSC 2024 (Pre & Mains) PDF Download

 Page 1


PCS WORLD 
HISTORY
WORLD WAR II
Page 2


PCS WORLD 
HISTORY
WORLD WAR II
Free Courses 
Monday to Friday
Complete GS
(Prelims + Mains)
Pre-Mix
5 High Value Prelims Oriented Questions
MAD
5 Mains Related Questions per week
Saturday
Weekly CSAT Class
Weekly Scheme Analysis
Weekly Editorial Analysis
Also Covered
Sociology Optional
Political Science Optional
Paid Courses
For Prelims 2019
Prelims Test Series
(With/Without Video Solutions)
For Mains 2018
GS Crash Course
For GS 1, 2, 3, 4
Question & Answers Oriented
For Mains 2019
Upcoming Soon
Sociology For Mains 2018
Crash Course 
(With/Without Test Series)
Page 3


PCS WORLD 
HISTORY
WORLD WAR II
Free Courses 
Monday to Friday
Complete GS
(Prelims + Mains)
Pre-Mix
5 High Value Prelims Oriented Questions
MAD
5 Mains Related Questions per week
Saturday
Weekly CSAT Class
Weekly Scheme Analysis
Weekly Editorial Analysis
Also Covered
Sociology Optional
Political Science Optional
Paid Courses
For Prelims 2019
Prelims Test Series
(With/Without Video Solutions)
For Mains 2018
GS Crash Course
For GS 1, 2, 3, 4
Question & Answers Oriented
For Mains 2019
Upcoming Soon
Sociology For Mains 2018
Crash Course 
(With/Without Test Series)
Causes of Second World War:
Treaty of Versailles:
• Germany had been expecting a treaty based on Wilson’s 14 points and were not happy 
with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. However, they had no choice but to sign the 
document. The main terms of the Treaty of Versailles were:
• War Guilt Clause – Germany should accept the blame for starting World War One
• Reparations – Germany had to pay 6,600 million pounds for the damage caused by the 
war
• Disarmament – Germany was only allowed to have a small army and six naval ships. No 
tanks, no airforce and no submarines were allowed. The Rhineland area was to be de-
militarised.
• Territorial Clauses – Land was taken away from Germany and given to other countries. 
Anschluss (union with Austria) was forbidden.
• The German people were very unhappy about the treaty and thought that it was too 
harsh. Germany could not afford to pay the money and during the 1920s the people in 
Germany were very poor. There were not many jobs and the price of food and basic 
goods was high. People were dissatisfied with the government and voted to power a 
man who promised to rip up the Treaty of Versailles. This led to rise of extremism and 
the emergence of Hitler and Nazism. 
Page 4


PCS WORLD 
HISTORY
WORLD WAR II
Free Courses 
Monday to Friday
Complete GS
(Prelims + Mains)
Pre-Mix
5 High Value Prelims Oriented Questions
MAD
5 Mains Related Questions per week
Saturday
Weekly CSAT Class
Weekly Scheme Analysis
Weekly Editorial Analysis
Also Covered
Sociology Optional
Political Science Optional
Paid Courses
For Prelims 2019
Prelims Test Series
(With/Without Video Solutions)
For Mains 2018
GS Crash Course
For GS 1, 2, 3, 4
Question & Answers Oriented
For Mains 2019
Upcoming Soon
Sociology For Mains 2018
Crash Course 
(With/Without Test Series)
Causes of Second World War:
Treaty of Versailles:
• Germany had been expecting a treaty based on Wilson’s 14 points and were not happy 
with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. However, they had no choice but to sign the 
document. The main terms of the Treaty of Versailles were:
• War Guilt Clause – Germany should accept the blame for starting World War One
• Reparations – Germany had to pay 6,600 million pounds for the damage caused by the 
war
• Disarmament – Germany was only allowed to have a small army and six naval ships. No 
tanks, no airforce and no submarines were allowed. The Rhineland area was to be de-
militarised.
• Territorial Clauses – Land was taken away from Germany and given to other countries. 
Anschluss (union with Austria) was forbidden.
• The German people were very unhappy about the treaty and thought that it was too 
harsh. Germany could not afford to pay the money and during the 1920s the people in 
Germany were very poor. There were not many jobs and the price of food and basic 
goods was high. People were dissatisfied with the government and voted to power a 
man who promised to rip up the Treaty of Versailles. This led to rise of extremism and 
the emergence of Hitler and Nazism. 
Failure of Appeasement:
• Appeasement means giving in to someone provided their demands are seen as reasonable. 
During the 1930s, many politicians in both Britain and France came to see that the terms of the 
Treaty of Versailles had placed restrictions on Germany that were unfair. Hitler’s actions were 
seen as understandable and justifiable.
• When Germany began re-arming in 1934, many politicians felt that Germany had a right to re-
arm in order to protect herself. It was also argued that a stronger Germany would prevent the 
spread of Communism to the west. In 1936, Hitler argued that because France had signed a 
new treaty with Russia, Germany was under threat from both countries and it was essential to 
German security that troops were stationed in the Rhineland.
• In May 1937, Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister of Britain. He believed that the 
Treaty of Versailles had treated Germany badly and that there were a number of issues 
associated with the Treaty that needed to be put right. He felt that giving in to Hitler’s 
demands would prevent another war. This policy, adopted by Chamberlain’s government 
became known as the policy of Appeasement. The most notable example of appeasement was 
the Munich Agreement of September 1938.
• The Munich Agreement, signed by the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy, agreed 
that the Sudetenland would be returned to Germany and that no further territorial claims 
would be made by Germany. When Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, 
he broke the terms of the Munich Agreement. Although it was realised that the policy of 
appeasement had failed, Chamberlain was still not prepared to take the country to war. 
Page 5


PCS WORLD 
HISTORY
WORLD WAR II
Free Courses 
Monday to Friday
Complete GS
(Prelims + Mains)
Pre-Mix
5 High Value Prelims Oriented Questions
MAD
5 Mains Related Questions per week
Saturday
Weekly CSAT Class
Weekly Scheme Analysis
Weekly Editorial Analysis
Also Covered
Sociology Optional
Political Science Optional
Paid Courses
For Prelims 2019
Prelims Test Series
(With/Without Video Solutions)
For Mains 2018
GS Crash Course
For GS 1, 2, 3, 4
Question & Answers Oriented
For Mains 2019
Upcoming Soon
Sociology For Mains 2018
Crash Course 
(With/Without Test Series)
Causes of Second World War:
Treaty of Versailles:
• Germany had been expecting a treaty based on Wilson’s 14 points and were not happy 
with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. However, they had no choice but to sign the 
document. The main terms of the Treaty of Versailles were:
• War Guilt Clause – Germany should accept the blame for starting World War One
• Reparations – Germany had to pay 6,600 million pounds for the damage caused by the 
war
• Disarmament – Germany was only allowed to have a small army and six naval ships. No 
tanks, no airforce and no submarines were allowed. The Rhineland area was to be de-
militarised.
• Territorial Clauses – Land was taken away from Germany and given to other countries. 
Anschluss (union with Austria) was forbidden.
• The German people were very unhappy about the treaty and thought that it was too 
harsh. Germany could not afford to pay the money and during the 1920s the people in 
Germany were very poor. There were not many jobs and the price of food and basic 
goods was high. People were dissatisfied with the government and voted to power a 
man who promised to rip up the Treaty of Versailles. This led to rise of extremism and 
the emergence of Hitler and Nazism. 
Failure of Appeasement:
• Appeasement means giving in to someone provided their demands are seen as reasonable. 
During the 1930s, many politicians in both Britain and France came to see that the terms of the 
Treaty of Versailles had placed restrictions on Germany that were unfair. Hitler’s actions were 
seen as understandable and justifiable.
• When Germany began re-arming in 1934, many politicians felt that Germany had a right to re-
arm in order to protect herself. It was also argued that a stronger Germany would prevent the 
spread of Communism to the west. In 1936, Hitler argued that because France had signed a 
new treaty with Russia, Germany was under threat from both countries and it was essential to 
German security that troops were stationed in the Rhineland.
• In May 1937, Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister of Britain. He believed that the 
Treaty of Versailles had treated Germany badly and that there were a number of issues 
associated with the Treaty that needed to be put right. He felt that giving in to Hitler’s 
demands would prevent another war. This policy, adopted by Chamberlain’s government 
became known as the policy of Appeasement. The most notable example of appeasement was 
the Munich Agreement of September 1938.
• The Munich Agreement, signed by the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy, agreed 
that the Sudetenland would be returned to Germany and that no further territorial claims 
would be made by Germany. When Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, 
he broke the terms of the Munich Agreement. Although it was realised that the policy of 
appeasement had failed, Chamberlain was still not prepared to take the country to war. 
Failure of the League of Nations:
• The League of Nations was an international organisation set up in 1919 to help keep 
world peace. It was intended that all countries would be members of the League and 
that if there were disputes between countries they could be settled by negotiation 
rather than by force. If this failed then countries would stop trading with the 
aggressive country and if that failed then countries would use their armies to fight.
• Although the idea for the League of Nations had come from Woodrow Wilson, there 
was a change of government in the United States before the signing of the treaty and 
the new Republican government refused to join. As a punishment for having started 
World War One, Germany was not allowed to join and Russia was also excluded due 
to a growing fear of Communism. Other countries decided not to join and some 
joined but later left. The League was not able to control Japanese invasion of 
Manchuria or Italian invasion of Abyssinia. 
The Great Depression: 
• As the US economy fell, there were widespread consequences. Europe which was 
dependent on US for rebuilding its economy fell in the shock of inflation and 
unemployment. Germany was extremely badly hit. I n 1931, Japan was hit badly by 
the depression. People lost faith in the government and turned to the army to find a 
solution. The army invaded Manchuria in China, an area rich in minerals and 
resources.