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Hansen
WWII
Unit III - 1931- 1941 Totalitarian Aggression in the 1930s and Axis
Victories in the First Two Years of the War- and Unit IV The Holocaust
Study Guide
Unit III Axis Victories
The 1930s

Japan’s Challenge to the League of Nations…
o What part of China did Japan first invade (in early 1930s?
o Know the reasons that Japan was so determined to get a foothold on the continent.
o Know why there was great bitterness in Japan towards westerners in general during the interwar
period (post WWI/ pre WWII)

No racial equality clause in the Treaty of Versailles

Understand why I showed this Dr. Seuss cartoon in
class:
o Understand the League’s reaction to this crisis (Japanese attack
of China) and Japan’s reaction to the League’s reaction.
o Understand which non-Asian nation took a special interest in the
conflict between Japan and China and why.
o How did the Japanese justify their expansion in Asia? What helps to prove that this justification
was a fraud?

Asia for Asians!
o Know that the fighting between the Chinese and Japanese was especially brutal and know the most
famous example of this brutality.

Rape of Nanking

Italy’s Challenges to the League
o Why was Italy embittered by the Treaty of Versailles (despite the fact that they’d been on the
winning side of WWI)?
o Why was Mussolini interested in expansion in Africa? Which country did he attack and what
criminal tactics did he use in the fighting?
o Know that although the League placed mild sanctions on Italy, they
didn’t embargo one particularly important item. (What item?)
o Know how to analyze this cartoon.

Germany’s challenge to the League
o Know that Hitler came to power in 1933 on the coattail of the Great
Depression
o Know that in 1935 he instituted a draft in opposition of the Treaty of
Versailles

Understand that air power allowed Nazi Germany to become a force to be reckoned with
in a much shorter time than would have been possible in earlier wars

Know that Germany had a much greater birthrate than France and so it was a matter of
time before they raised a larger army.

Also know that the Germans had glider clubs and youth groups to keep up the martial
preparedness of their troops without officially breaking the Treaty of Versailles
o Know that his next challenge to the League of Nations was the remilitarization of the Rhineland.

Know that he considered this his biggest gamble and the bit of evidence that proves that
at this stage of his career, Hitler could have been stopped without bloodshed.
o Know that the Anschluss was the next of Germany’s aggressive action. Know what the Anschluss
was and why this word was used for it.
o Know what the ‘Axis’ was and its basic purpose.

The Weakness of the Western Liberal Democracies
o Know that Britain and America and France were pacifist after WWI and that the Great Depression
added to their desires to reduce the size of their militaries
o The United States declared isolationism through the Neutrality Act
o Britain adopted a policy of appeasement under Chamberlain, most famously symbolized by the
Munich Conference
o Know that France did keep a large military, but in a defensive (Maginot Line) posture
o The Spanish Civil War was another demonstration of western spinelessness

Know in what sense the Spanish Civil War was a microcosm of WWII

Know what outside countries sent militaries to fight in the Spanish Civil War and which,
notably, did not
o Know that the Soviet Union built up a massive army in the inter-war period, but that Stalin
weakened it by purging its officer corps

The Czech Crisis
o Know why Hitler could (sort of) legitimately make a claim to the Sudetanland
o Know why giving up the Sudetanland in particular was a bad idea for the allies
Know whether Hitler’s generals supported the invasion of the Sudetanland and why or why not
Know what the Siegfried Line was and that when Germany acted in the East, this line was poorly
defended against the French

Understand the argument that could be made that ‘the Maginot Line defended Germany’s
Western border every bit as much as it defended France’s Eastern border’
o Know Chamberlain’s reasoning in going to Munich and the fateful decision Chamberlain made there.
Know that his actions are termed ‘appeasement’ and what this term means. Know the famous quote
Chamberlain made to the Brits upon returning from Munich. Know the general reaction of the British
population to Chamberlain’s actions. Know who Chamberlain’s #1 opponent was in regards to his
dealings with Hitler and his famous quote in response to Chamberlain’s famous quote.
o Know who, besides the Germans, grabbed a slice of Czechoslovakia and why this action is ironic.
o Know the action that caused even Chamberlain to realize that he’d made a mistake in dealing with
Hitler.
The Start of the War

Poland
o Know that the French and British quickly gave an ultimatum over Poland
o Know that Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact. Know why this made sense for each of
them, despite the fact that they were enemies.
o Know what the Polish Corridor was and how Hitler used it as a justification to invade Poland.
o Know that Poland was invaded simultaneously from the West and East and who invaded from each
direction.
o Understand that Hitler was still hoping to keep the Western democracies out of a general war,
feeling that they would never fight for central European nations.
o Know that the invasion of Poland was the official start of WWII as England and France declared
war on Germany. This occurred on September 1st, 1939.

The Battle of France
o Know what the Phony War (aka Sitzkrieg) was
o Know the various parts of the Maginot Line, the gaps in the line, why these gaps existed, and the
thinking that led the French to focus on a defensive strategy. (see map from lecture notes as a
guide)
o Know what Blitzkrieg is and how the Stuka and the German Panzer (tank) were used in
combination for this method of attack.
o Know why Churchill experienced the biggest shock of his life when he flew to Paris during the
early days of the Battle of France (no strategic reserve)
o Know how the Nazis pierced the Maginot Line.
o Know what the Miracle of Dunkirk was.
o Know what is important about the railway car where the French surrendered to Hitler and what
Hitler did to the car afterwards.
o Know the two main zones of France after it surrendered. Know why the Germans left Vichy in the
care of the French.
o Know that Britain now stood alone, with the exception of FDR’s Lend-Lease Program (what was
lent? What was leased?) and Britain’s Colonial empire.

The Battle of Britain
o Know that Hitler extended an offer of peace to Britain after the fall of France, but was rebuffed.
o What are the main reasons that Churchill felt that Britain was safe from amphibious invasion.
Another way of writing this would be: Why is an amphibious invasion so difficult? What new
factor possibly changed these calculations during WWII?
o What was Hitler’s basic strategy in Operation Sea Lion, and what had to be achieved before this
operation could be launched?
o What were British advantages in the air war? (think: enigma, Luftwaffe- 10 minutes of fight time,
radar )
o Why did Churchill order a bombing of Berlin? What was he worried about? How was his bombing
of Berlin effective towards Churchill’s larger goals) What was the central difference between the
overall Battle of Britain and the London Blitz? Which came first? Which did Churchill (sort of)
rejoice in and why?
o Know, in detail, Churchill’s quote thanking the RAF after the Battle of Britain.
o Now that the Germans were unsuccessful in destroying or subjugating Britain and how Hitler
intended to keep England on the ropes even though Operation Sea Lion had been abandoned. (Wolf
Packs/ Battle of the Atlantic)

Operation Barbarossa
o Why would Hitler risk his previous streak of successes by invading Russia?
o Why might a wise general have counseled against this invasion?
o Why was Stalin caught so badly off guard by Barbarossa? What were the results of this lack of
preparedness?
o Know what the Commissar Order was and what it says about the differences between Hitler’s style
of fighting on the western versus eastern fronts.
o What factors forced Stalin to launch his invasion 5 weeks late? Why was this crucial?
o What were the three strategic goals of Hitler’s invading army?
o How did Stalin stiffen resistance to the invasion?
o
o


Pearl Harbor
o What motivated the Japanese to this course of action?
o What was Churchill’s basic reaction to the attack?
o Our Pearl Harbor Lesson got cut off… we’ll pick this one up later
Unit IV. Holocaust Unit





Pre 19th century
o Vocab- Anti-Semitism, Diaspora, assimilated
o What factors led to persecution of Jews in Europe?
19th century
o Social Darwinism
o Nationalism
 Nations v kingdoms (why relevant for anti-Semitism?
o How did most Jews feel towards Germany prior to WWI?
1919-1933
o What is the significance of these dates?
o Why did WWI damage the status of German Jews?
 Weimar
 Stab in the Back
 Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire
o In what sense was Hitler a ‘Spartan’?
o Why did the Communist Revolution in Russia hurt the status of German Jews?
o Great Depression
o The Radicalization of Hitler
 Mein Kampf
 Know that Hitler calmed his rhetoric down after the Beer Hall Putsch and up
through his election
 What factors in Hitler’s life make his anti-Semitism ironic?
1933-1939
o What is the significance of these years?
o What group of Germans were first targeted for extermination? (T4 program)
o What were the Nuremberg Laws? Know the examples of these laws discussed in class.
o Kristallnacht- what, where, when, why?
 What was the reaction to Kristallnacht from other countries?
 Think- Evian Conference
 St. Louis
o Immigration policy towards Jews
 Why weren’t more Jews allowed in to places like the United States?
The Final Solution
o Why were mass exterminations made possible in around the year 1941?
o What was the Madagascar Plan?
o What was the final solution?
o Ghettoes
 What was the largest Jewish ghetto in Europe under the Nazis?
 What role did Jewish police officers play in the ghetto?
o Extermination
 What was the Wannsee Conference?
 Where were most of the extermination camps built?
 What was ultimately the most efficient killing technique used in the largest
death camps?