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1-13-17 Road to WWII
To what extent was World War II
inevitable?
Do Now: Compare and Contrast
Hitler and Mussolini.
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Italian Fascism was much less violent and
repressive than the Nazi variety
The state’s power over the lives of most Italians
was not extensive
Mussolini was not successful in reshaping the
attitudes and ideas of most Italians
Much of industry, the army, the Church, and the
bureaucracy was not thoroughly “taken over” by
the Fascists
Nonetheless, Hitler was inspired by Mussolini’s
example, methods and successes
Japan Seeks An Empire
1920’s Japan becomes more democratic
 Except, civilian leaders had little control over
military.
 Military leaders only report to Emperor.
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Bitter, Japan gets less territory than they wanted
from Treaty of Versailles.
 Global Depression enables Japanese military to
take control of the country.
 Restores control to military with Emperor symbol
of state power.
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INVASION OF MANCHURIA
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Japan’s actions were the 1st to ignite WWII in 1931 when
they invaded Manchuria
Manchuria was a wealthy manufacturing/textile area in
N. China
Japanese forces swept into northern China in 1937
– After almost destroying Shanghai, Japanese troops committed
what was called "The Rape of Nanjing." A period of two
months, the Japanese soldiers brutally murdered up to 250,000
Chinese civilians and raped up to 80,000 women and girls.
League of Nations
Established as a result of WWI (Pres. Wilson)
 International peace organization.
 Included all major democracies except U.S.
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L of N protest Japanese aggression-Japan
withdraws from it.
 Why did the League of Nations fail to
maintain peace?
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INVASION OF ETHIOPIA
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By Il Duce in October 1935
Effort to build a glorious Italian
empire
Revenge for Italy’s defeat in 1890s
by the Ethiopians
This time the Ethiopian army was
no match against the Italian army
The League of Nations merely
condemned the attack “Please
Don’t do that”
Britain and France hoped that
appeasing Mussolini would help
keep peace in Europe…will it?
SPANISH CIVIL WAR
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1936-39
July 1936, General
Francisco Franco led a
revolt against the elected
government
FRANCO was a FASCIST
Hitler and Mussolini sent
weapons and troops to help
Franco in Spain.
Hitler wanted to test out his
troops and military tactics
The Republican army
fighting Franco received
little help from abroad
Early in 1939, the
Republicans collapsed
How did Hitler violate the Treaty
of Versaille? V#1
INVASION OF THE RHINELAND V#2
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March 7, 1936
It was the last chance to stop
Hitler, but Britain and France are
not prepared to fight. Why are
Britain and France unprepared to
fight?
It marked an important turning
point:
– Strengthened Hitler’s power
and prestige within Germany
– Changed the balance of power
in Germany’s favor
– Encouraged Hitler to begin a
program of military and
territorial expansion.
ROME-BERLIN AXIS
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In October 1936
Alliance between Germany and Italy
Expected their alliance to become the axis around which
Europe would rotate
A month later, Germany also made an agreement with
Japan
Germany+Italy+Japan= AXIS POWERS
ANNEXATION OF AUSTRIA V#3
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The Fuhrer declared
Germany needed more
lebensraum “living Room”
in order to grow
March 1938: Anschluss, or
“union,” between Austria
and Germany
Part of Hitler’s motivation
for taking Austria was that
he was born in Austria
Once again, France and
Britain did nothing in
response to Hitler’s move
SUDETENLAND
A mountainous region of
western Czechoslovakia
 Hitler demanded this
area, because it was
inhabited by about 3
million German-speaking
people
 September 1938: Hitler
suddenly demanded that
Czechoslovakia give up
the Sudetenland
 Hitler threatened to
invade the Sudetenland
by October 1st
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MUNICH AGREEMENT
“Peace in our Time”  September 29, 1938
Hitler(Germany),
Chamberlain(Great Britain),
Mussolini(Italy), Daladier(France)
 Hitler promised that the
Sudetenland was his last territorial
claim
 In exchange, Hitler pledged to
respect Czech new borders
 Britain and France agreed to
Hitler’s demand: POLICY OF
APPEASEMENT Chamberlain“There will be Peace in our Time”
 6 months later, Hitler’s troops
marched into Czechoslovakia
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POLICY OF “APPEASEMENT”
Attempting to please
someone in order to
avoid conflict
 Britain and France
did not take a firm
stand against fascist
aggression
 They made
concessions to the
Fascists in hopes of “The Spineless leaders of Democracy”
keeping peace
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The Nazi-Soviet
Non-Aggression Pact
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Non-aggression pact: a
pledge not to attack
each other
In August 1939 between
Hitler and Stalin
They privately agreed to
divide Eastern Europe
Hitler wanted to avoid a
two-front war
Stalin needed time to
rebuild his Military
INVASION OF POLAND
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On April 28, 1939, Hitler
announced his plans to take back
the Polish corridor
On September 1, 1939, Germany
invaded Poland, sending in divebombers, tanks, and troops
Blitzkrieg: “lightning war,” or
sudden, massive attack
On September 3rd, Britain and
France declared war on Germany
and began mobilizing for war.
WWII officially started.
By the end of September 1939,
Poland was conquered
EXC Review
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Attempting to please
someone to avoid
conflict is called?
Appeasement
First act of aggression
Invasion of Manchuria
Name the countries that
make up the Axis Powers
Germany+Italy+Japan
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Famous quote at the
Munich Conference
“There will be peace in
our time”
Reason Hitler signed a
treaty with Stalin
To Avoid a Two front war
Translate the word
“Blitzkrieg”
Lightning War