The Second World War

Q: What was meant by Lebensraum? How was it connected with the outbreak of war?

Lebensraum means "living space". Hitler claimed that Germans needed more land in Eastern Europe, especially in Poland and the Soviet Union, and his drive to win it by conquest led to the invasion of Poland in 1939.

ICSE Class 10 · History & Civics · Chapter 18

What this chapter covers

The Second World War: an overview
Causes: dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles
Causes: the rise of Fascism and Nazism
Causes: the policy of appeasement
Causes: the Japanese invasion of China
Causes: the failure of the League of Nations
The immediate cause: Hitler's invasion of Poland
The attack on Pearl Harbour
The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Consequences: the defeat of the Axis Powers
Consequences: the formation of the United Nations
Consequences: the Cold War, NATO and the Warsaw Pact

Key points

The Second World War was fought from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945 between the Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allies (Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States, China).
The Treaty of Versailles left Germany humiliated by the war guilt clause, reparations and loss of territory, and Italy and Japan were also dissatisfied with the peace settlement.
Fascism in Italy and Nazism in Germany glorified war; Mussolini conquered Abyssinia and Albania, and Hitler rearmed, reoccupied the Rhineland and annexed Austria.
Britain and France followed appeasement, which peaked at the Munich Agreement of 1938; Hitler's seizure of Czechoslovakia in March 1939 ended it.
Japan seized Manchuria after the Mukden incident of 1931, left the League in 1933 and invaded the rest of China in 1937.
The League of Nations failed because the United States never joined, it had no army, decisions needed unanimity and its leading members acted in their own interests.
The Nazi–Soviet Pact of 23 August 1939 freed Hitler to invade Poland on 1 September 1939; Britain and France declared war on 3 September.
Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour on 7 December 1941 brought the United States into the war.
Atomic bombs on Hiroshima (6 August 1945) and Nagasaki (9 August 1945) led to Japan's surrender.
The consequences were the defeat of the Axis, the formation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945, and the Cold War between the American-led and Soviet-led blocs.
NATO (1949) was the Western military alliance; the Warsaw Pact (1955) was the Soviet bloc's alliance in reply.

Questions answered

What was the Second World War? Name the leading members of the Axis and of the Allies.

The Second World War was a global war fought from 1 September 1939 to 2 September 1945. The Axis Powers were led by Germany, Italy and Japan; the Allies were led by Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United States and China.

Why did the Germans call the Treaty of Versailles a Diktat?

Germany was not allowed to negotiate the terms of the treaty; its representatives were simply told to sign it. Germans therefore regarded it as a dictated peace imposed on them.

State any three terms of the Treaty of Versailles that made Germany dissatisfied.

(1) The war guilt clause blamed Germany for the war. (2) Germany had to pay reparations, fixed at 132 billion gold marks. (3) Germany lost all its colonies, Alsace-Lorraine and the Polish Corridor, and its army was limited to 100,000 men.

What was meant by Lebensraum? How was it connected with the outbreak of war?

Lebensraum means "living space". Hitler claimed that Germans needed more land in Eastern Europe, especially in Poland and the Soviet Union, and his drive to win it by conquest led to the invasion of Poland in 1939.

Define appeasement. Who is most closely associated with this policy?

Appeasement is the policy of avoiding war with an aggressive power by giving in to some of its demands, in the hope that it will then be satisfied. It is most closely associated with Neville Chamberlain, Prime Minister of Britain from 1937 to 1940.

What was decided at Munich in September 1938, and why is the agreement seen as a failure?

Britain, France, Italy and Germany agreed that the Sudetenland should be handed from Czechoslovakia to Germany. It is seen as a failure because Hitler broke his promise and occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, showing that concessions only encouraged him.

What was the Mukden incident, and what did Japan gain from it?

In September 1931 Japanese officers blew up part of a Japanese-owned railway near Mukden in Manchuria and blamed the Chinese. Japan used the incident as an excuse to occupy Manchuria, which it turned into the puppet state of Manchukuo in 1932.

How did the League of Nations respond to Italy's invasion of Abyssinia, and why did its response fail?

The League declared Italy the aggressor and imposed economic sanctions. The response failed because oil was not included in the sanctions and the Suez Canal remained open to Italian ships, so Italy conquered Abyssinia by 1936 and the sanctions were soon dropped.

Past board exam questions

ICSE 2027 sample paper · 3 marks

Observe the picture given below and answer the following questions: (The picture is a newspaper front page dated 'December 7th, 1941', with the headline 'WAR!' and below it 'Pearl Harbor Attacked'.) Which country was responsible for the bombing referred to in the headline? Mention any two consequences of the World War associated with this incident.

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1. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor (the American naval base in Hawaii) on 7 December 1941. 2. Any two consequences of the Second World War: - The Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) were defeated; the USA entered the war after Pearl Harbor and dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. - The United Nations Organisation was formed in 1945 to maintain world peace. - The world was divided into two blocs led by the USA and the USSR, leading to the Cold War. - Colonial empires weakened and many Asian and African nations won freedom.

ICSE 2027 sample paper · 3 marks

Explain the Policy of Appeasement which led to the Second World War.

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1. Appeasement meant accepting the hostile demands of an aggressive nation to keep peace. Britain and France followed it towards the dictators, Germany and Italy. 2. They felt the dictators had a genuine grievance because of the humiliating Treaty of Versailles, and that if it was removed they would not disturb world peace; they also wanted Germany as a check on communism and the influence of Russia. 3. So they allowed Germany to rearm, remilitarise the Rhineland and annex Austria and Czechoslovakia (Munich Pact, 1938). This encouraged the dictators' aggression, and when Germany invaded Poland in 1939 the Second World War began.

ICSE 2026 board paper · 1 mark

Which of the following is NOT a consequence of the Second World War?

Cold War
Defeat of the Axis Powers
Formation of the United Nations
Formation of the League of Nations

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Formation of the League of Nations

ICSE 2026 board paper · 2 marks

Mention any two causes for the Second World War.

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1. Dissatisfaction with the Treaty of Versailles – Germany felt humiliated by its harsh terms and wanted revenge. 2. Failure of the League of Nations to check aggression (and the policy of appeasement followed by Britain and France). (Also: rise of Fascism and Nazism; Hitler's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 as the immediate cause.)

ICSE 2025 compartment paper · 1 mark

Which of the following countries suffered due to the atom bomb during World War II?

France
Japan
Germany
Britain

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Japan

ICSE 2025 sample paper · 1 mark

Identify the cities most affected by American action in World War II.

Rome, Berlin
Tokyo, Berlin
Hiroshima, Nagasaki
Tokyo, Rome

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Hiroshima, Nagasaki

ICSE 2025 board paper · 3 marks

Read the passage given and answer the following questions: In an effort to secure resources for its expanding industries, Japan invaded the northern Chinese province of Manchuria. Although many Western nations protested the Japanese action, most members of the League of Nations, including Canada, opposed any form of military intervention to defend Chinese sovereignty. A League of Nations commission, headed by the British diplomat Lord Lytton, was dispatched to Manchuria to investigate. — Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum How did the incident being described above become a cause for the Second World War?

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1. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria (1931) was an act of aggression against China, a member of the League of Nations. 2. The League only sent the Lytton Commission and condemned Japan; it took no effective action, and Japan simply left the League (1933). 3. This exposed the weakness of the League and encouraged other aggressors – Italy attacked Abyssinia and Germany violated the Treaty of Versailles – which led to the Second World War.

ICSE 2025 board paper · 4 marks

Read the passage given and answer the following questions: In an effort to secure resources for its expanding industries, Japan invaded the northern Chinese province of Manchuria. Although many Western nations protested the Japanese action, most members of the League of Nations, including Canada, opposed any form of military intervention to defend Chinese sovereignty. A League of Nations commission, headed by the British diplomat Lord Lytton, was dispatched to Manchuria to investigate. — Loyal Edmonton Regiment Museum Mention any four reasons for the failure of the League of Nations.

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1. The USA, whose President had proposed the League, never joined it, and major powers like Germany, Japan, Italy and the USSR left or were expelled at different times. 2. The League had no army of its own to enforce its decisions. 3. Decisions needed a unanimous vote, which made action difficult. 4. Britain and France followed a policy of appeasement and put their own interests first; the League failed to stop aggression (Manchuria, Abyssinia). (Also: it was linked with the unpopular Treaty of Versailles; the economic depression.)