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World War II
Dictator Notes
Causes to World War II
I.
Failure of Treaty of Versailles
a. No “just and secure peace”
b. Germany upset
c. Land lost in Russia
d. World not “safe for democracy”
e. Did not help war-torn nations
f. New countries collapsed
Following the end of the First World War, the Big Four (US, Great Britain, France and
Italy) worked together to write the Treaty of Versailles. This document was intended to
ensure that peace would exist throughout the world. Unfortunately it did not achieve its
ultimate goals.
(a.) Woodrow Wilson, the author of the Treaty, claimed that it did not provide a “just and
secure peace.” Namely because America refused to sign a document that established the
League of Nations – an international peace keeping body – whose main focus was to
keep the peace and could force the US military to be involved in foreign affairs. (b.)
Germany was severely punished by the treaty for simply losing the war. They did not
cause the war and the German people did not believe it was fair to be blamed for
something that was not their fault. The treaty took away land from Germany, changed
their government, cut down their military and ruined their economy by making them pay
war reparations. (c.) Russia, who surrendered to Germany in 1917, also lost land in
which the countries of Poland, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were created.
(d, e, f.) The treaty also did not make the world “safe for democracy”. Germany, Austria,
Italy and a variety of other Eastern European nations were forced to change their
governments from a monarchy to a democracy. These countries did not have a
democratic tradition. For thousands of years, they had been ruled and controlled by a
monarchy or dictatorship. They had to be shown that democracy could make their lives
better. When the Great Depression reached Europe, these people did not know how to
react to the economic crisis. Before WWI, the ruler solved all problems, now the people
had to solve the problems themselves. The huge war debts, widespread hunger,
homelessness and unemployment caused a lot of dissatisfaction with the new
governments. Dictators slowly began to take over. The people believed what they were
being told by the dictators who were blaming the politicians for all the problems within
the countries. The people believed them and allowed the dictators to come to power.
World War II
Dictator Notes
Benito Mussolini
I.
Fascists in Italy – Mussolini – Totalitarian state
a. Seizing of power
i. Versailles Treaty
ii. War veterans
iii. Economic unrest and fear of communist revolution
b. Formed Fascist Party
c. Outlawed Political Parties
d. Schools – “Mussolini is always right.”
i. Total obedience to “Il Duce”
e. Opposite of Stalin – Communism
f. Invading Ethiopia
i. 1930s – Use conquest to distract Italians
ii. Restore “Roman Empire”
iii. 1935 – Ethiopia – 1st step
iv. Emperor Haile Selassie (Ethiopia) – League of Nations
v. Response by League of Nations – economic boycott
vi. Selassie – “It is us today, it will be you tomorrow.”
In the 1930s, dictators (ruler who has complete power over a country) had won power in both Italy and
Germany. They had exploited economic troubles and feelings of extreme nationalism to win support.
In 1922, Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy. He had begun his march on Rome in Sicily and walked
through the streets of Italy with his “Black Shirts” gaining the support of the Italian people. When he
arrived in Rome, the Italian King – Victor Emmanuel III – turned all power in Italy over to Mussolini.
Before he had taken over Italy, Mussolini had a very troubled life. While in school, he was expelled twice;
the most extreme of cases came when he stabbed a fellow student in the neck with a penknife. During the
First World War, Mussolini fought for Italy and became very disgruntled with the government.
While on his march to Rome, Mussolini played on the Italian peoples anger toward the Versailles Treaty,
economic unrest and fear of a communist revolution. Many Italians felt cheated by the treaty because it did
not grant Italy all the territory it wanted. Mussolini also asked the war veterans to fight the politicians –
who he claimed were destroying Italy. After he came into power his Fascist Party became the only political
party in the country, because all other points of view and political parties had been outlawed. The Italian
people were drawn to the strong centralized government, ruled by a dictator, who used their strong sense of
nationalism and desire to make Italy a great power in the world to his advantage. School children were
taught, “Mussolini is always right.” They learned total obedience to “Il Duce” – the leader. Mussolini
feared communism and showed the differences between himself and Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union). Any
ideas or points of view different from Mussolini would be dealt with harshly – even death. Mussolini had
created a totalitarian state – government that has total control over every aspect of the country.
In the 1930s, the Italian people began to grow restless because Fascism had not given them the utopia
Mussolini had promised. He promised to restore Italy to greatness – the Roman Empire. In 1935
Mussolini needed to find a way to have the Italian peoples minds off the troubles at home. He found a
solution – the invasion of Ethiopia. In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia after a small incident at the Ethiopian
city of Wal Wal, in which Italy’s honor had been violated. The entire Italian military, tanks, cannons,
machine guns, planes, went through the Suez Canal and attacked the ill prepared Ethiopian military. The
Ethiopian people fought with their swords, spears and one old airplane against Italy who had adopted a new
military strategy of total-air-war. The slaughter was appalling. Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, went
to the League of Nations for help. The League did nothing to help Ethiopia. Great Britain and France were
more concerned with their own economic troubles. Most European nations had terrible memories of WWI
and were unwilling risk another war. Selassie warned the League, “it is us today, it will be you tomorrow
and the West will perish.”
World War II
Dictator Notes
Joseph Stalin
I.
A Dictator in the Soviet Union
a. Joseph Stalin
i. Hitler’s Boast
ii. Gaining of Power
iii. 2 goals
1. Create model Communist state
2. Transform Soviet Union into industrial power
iv. Great purges – (human cost)
v. Totalitarian state – (police state)
1. Superhuman efforts
2. Resistance and prying eyes
vi. Expanding Russia – steel and oil production
1. used to stop German aggression
Joseph Stalin took over the Soviet Union following the death of its Communist leader,
Vladimir Lenin, in 1924. While in power, like all world leaders, he read Adolf Hitler’s
book – Mein Kampf (My Struggle). Unlike all other world leaders, Stalin actually
believed that Hitler was going to put forth his plans to take over the world. He knew that
the Nazis hated communism and wanted to expand eastward. He used his power to
prepare the Soviet Union for the upcoming war.
Stalin had two main goals: 1) to create a model Communist State; and 2) transform the
Soviet Union into an industrial power. In the 1930s, the government ordered all peasants
to hand over their land and farm animals and to join the collective farms – government
run farms. Those poor farmers (Kulaks) that resisted were executed or sent to labor
camps. In order to transform the country into an industrial power, Stalin launched a
series of 5-year plans. The first began in 1928 and was a campaign to build massive
state-owned factories, steel mills and power plants. The second, beginning in 1933, was
completed in only 4 years. The final began in 1937 and brought the Soviet Union to the
world’s 3rd largest industrial power, behind the US and Germany. Stalin was named Time
Magazine “Man of the Year” for his work in the Soviet Union.
Despite all the wonderful advancements, Stalin caused many problems. He established a
police state and there was a tremendous loss of human life through his Great Purges. No
one was safe from the prying eyes and ears of Stalin’s spies and secret police. Those
accused of being anti-communist or anti-Stalin were executed to sent to labor camps.
Some were even put on display as an example to others.
During his time as leader Stalin went through a number of Great Purges. Tens of
thousands of Communist Party officials, bureaucrats and army officers were deemed
enemies of the people and executed. He killed between 8-13 million people during his
creation of this totalitarian state. Like Mussolini, Stalin used all weapons at his disposal.
He urged the Soviet people to make superhuman efforts to produce more goods. Anyone
who resisted the government faced prison or death. Despite this harsh rule, the Soviet
Union was able to expand, steel and oil production rose. For Stalin, the materials would
be needed to fight off German aggression – any warlike act by one country against
another without just cause – that he knew was coming.
World War II
Dictator Notes
Japanese Military
IV.
Problems in the Pacific
A. Military Rulers in Japan
1. Need for space
2. Economy and Immigration to US
3. 1930s – military took power
a. Natural resources
b. Overseas empire
B. Attacks on Manchuria
1. 1931 – Japan attacks northeastern China
a. Rich resources
b. Renamed state Manchukuo
2. China calls on League of Nations
3. League of Nation’s reactions
4. US – refused to recognize Manchukuo
5. 1933 – Japan leaves League of Nations
C. War against China
1. 1937 – all-out war against China
2. US leaders alarmed
a. Open Door policy
b. Philippines
c. Isolationists in US
The Japanese shared Adolf Hitler’s and Benito Mussolini’s belief that their people were part of a master
race and were destined to rule the world. They believed that they needed more land for living space. The
country of Japan, is located on an island, which geographically restricts the amount of “room” there is per
person. This was a huge cause to the military coming to power in Japan.
Another cause was the economic struggles Japan was suffering from during the Great Depression. As the
economy grew worse and worse, many Japanese grew impatient with their new democratic government.
In the 1930s, the military leaders took control of the government in Japan. They convinced the Japanese
people that they were lacking in raw materials and land. That everything the Japanese people did, they
should do it for their God emperor. Japan lacked many important resources – such as coal and oil. They
believed that like Great Britain and France, they had a right to win an overseas Empire – an expansion into
Asia.
This expansion began on, September 18, 1931, when the Japanese attacked the Chinese province of
Manchuria. The Japanese controlled the peninsula country of Korea and through a treaty, a railroad that
ran throughout Manchuria. The Japanese had secretly and illegally reinforced their garrisons along the
railway and had placed an entire army, equipped for a winter campaign at the border of Korea and
Manchuria. At 10:30 pm, after the train had passed by a small section of railroad track was dynamited. A
railroad tie and 2 fishplates were damaged. Roughly about 3-4 feet on track were damaged, but the honor of
the entire country of Japan had been violated. The Japanese army stormed across the border and within a
few days had control of Manchuria. They renamed it Manchukuo and established a puppet-government,
one in which could be controlled by the military leaders in Japan.
China, called on the League of Nations for help, but just like with the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the
League did nothing. Japan was condemned for their aggressive actions against the Chinese, but not other
action was taken. In 1993, Japan left the League of Nations.
By 1937, Japan was in an all-out war against China. The Japanese had the raw materials from Manchuria,
and now needed the manpower from mainland China. Day after day, hundreds of Japanese planes bombed
Beijing, Shanghai and other Chinese cities. Thousands of civilians were killed, including women and
children.
The US leaders were alarmed at these attacks because they undermined the Open Door Policy, which
allows all countries to trade with China and protects against one countries control over China. Even more
importantly, they felt that the Philippines, a US territory was being threatened and could possibly be
attacked next. But the US policy of Isolation kept them from taking any action against the Japanese.