Unit 5: Crisis and Change
Lesson F: The Failure of Democracy and Return of War
Activity 6: Quest for Empire
The "Quest for Empire" was a theme of the events leading up to World War I and, of course, was also a major factor in the outbreak of World War II.
Look at the map of Axis-controlled territory in Europe at the height of the power of the Axis (1941-1942) and the similar map showing the expansion of the Japanese empire from 1870 to 1942.
Eastern Front during World War II [1]
Japanese Empire [2]
In this activity, you will review timelines of World War II-related events from the perspectives of eight different countries. This will help you to understand the changes shown on the Europe and East Asia maps. Follow your teacher's directions to complete this jigsaw activity.
Classroom Activity - Historical Interpretation of Causes of World War II
Jigsaw
Directions: In this activity, you will complete a jigsaw activity about the causes of World War II. Take notes on your assigned country as you work in groups to read and discuss the histories of the various major empires and the totalitarian regimes in place at the time of World War II. You will use this student resource again in the next lesson to complete the areas for the countries during the later years of World War II.
You may want to review the empire timelines for Germany, Italy, and Russia from Unit 5 Lesson B before you begin.
Download the World War II Timeline Graphic Organizer (doc).
Discussion
Directions: Prepare a response to the discussion question below. Follow your teacher's directions to participate in your class discussion.
- How did the quest for empire play a role in World War II?
Page Notes:
[1] Source: This image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Second_world_war_europe_1941-1942_map_en.png is licensed with Creative Commons Attribution. Attribution: ArmadniGeneral.
[2] Source: This image from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Japanese_Empire2.png is licensed under the terms of the GNU License Agreement.
