Treaty of Versailles

TheTreaty of Versaillesended World War I between Germany and the Allied Powers. Because Germany had lost the war, the treaty was very harsh against Germany.Germanywas forced to "accept the responsibility" of the war damages suffered by the Allies. The treaty required that Germany pay a huge sum of money called reparations.

The problem with the treaty is that it left the German economy in ruins. People were starving and the government was in chaos.

Japanese Expansion

In the period before World War II, Japan was growing rapidly. However, as an island nation they did not have the land or the natural resources to sustain their growth. Japan began to look to grow their empire in order to gain new resources. They invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937.

Great Depression

The period before World War II was a time of great economic suffering throughout the world called theGreat Depression. Many people were out of work and struggling to survive. This created unstable governments and worldwide turmoil that helped lead to World War II.