Download The Coming of WWII

The Coming of WWII
DICTATORS DESTROY PEACE
“How many people look up to him
with a touching faith! As their
helper, their savior, their
deliverer from unbearable
distress-to him who rescues…the
scholar, the clergyman, the
farmer, the worker, the
unemployed, who leads them…”
Who is
this
about?
How did dictators rise to power?
 Hard feelings left from WWI
 Germans hated the Treaty of Versailles
Blamed for war, had to pay for it and had to demilitarize
 Other countries felt bitter as well
 Italy, Russia, Japan
 All these bitter feelings about the Treaty of Versailles led to
the creation of totalitarian governments in which a single
party or leader (dictator) controls government, economy
and social aspects
 Bitter nations started to realize that the League of Nations was long on
words but short on action
 Couldn’t back up its policies
 Big Weakness: US is not a member

Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union (Russia)
 Stalin took Lenin’s place
as the communists
dictator in Russia
 Stalin was ruthless
 Started the Great Terror
in which he purged the
Communist Party of
traitors…millions killed
 Fear kept Stalin in
power
Death solves
all problems no man, no
problem.
Benito Mussolini in Italy
All within the
state, nothing
outside the
state, nothing
against the
state.
 Started the Fascist Party
that promoted extreme
Italian nationalism and
promised to make Italy
great again
 Highly militaristic
 Anti-Communists
Adolf Hitler in Germany
“What luck
for rulers,
that men
do not
think.”
 Set up the Third Reich (3rd
Empire) in Germany
characterized by Nazi rule
under Hitler
 Controlled the Nazi Party
that promoted German
ethnic unity


Hated communists and Jews
(Anti-Semitic)
Spread hatred toward Jews
Emperor Hirohito of Japan
 Did not set up a totalitarian




government in Japan , kept
their monarchy
Set up a militaristic type
government instead
Highly nationalistic
Attacked Manchuria even
though Japan had agreed to
disarm at the Washington
Naval Conference
Left the League of Nations
Hitler Causes Problems
 Violated Treaty of Versailles by…
 Building up Germany’s army and navy (militarism)
 Moving troops into the Rhineland (militarism)
 Tested some of his new military technologies during the Spanish
Civil War (militarism)
 In response, US, France and Britain used
appeasement (Granting concessions to a
potential enemy in the hope they will maintain
peace)
 Why give into Hitler?


Memories of WWI
Too worried about economic troubles (Great Depression is still
going strong)
The Munich Pact
 Britain and France
appeased Hitler by giving
him the Sudetenland to
preserve peace and he
promised he would not
conquer any other
European territories
 Hitler will violate this
later
 Lesson learned: cannot
trust Hitler
Appeasement Fails…War
 Hitler violated the Munich Pact by taking all of
Czechoslovakia…appeasement is not working
 Britain and France will take action and agree to
protect Poland which is Hitler’s next move
 Non-Aggression Pact was signed between
Russia and Germany in which both agreed
not to attack one another and agree to attack
Poland from two directions
 September 1, 1939: Germany attacks Poland

War declarations start
Axis Powers vs. Allies
 Axis Powers: Germany, Italy
and Japan
 Allies:


Originally France and Britain
Later Russia, US and China
“Phony War”: for 8 months
nothing happens
Hitler’s Success
 Easily took Poland, then Denmark and Norway
 Then turned to Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg
 Took France in just 35 days
 These successes scared US and led to US helping Allies
by sending supplies
 Germany used a mixture of total war (attacking
civilians and economic resources) and blitzkrieg




Means “lightning warfare”
Emphasized speed and power to penetrate deep into an
enemies territory
Tanks and planes come in first, then motorized vehicles
and infantry
Highly effective German technique