Download Canada in the 30`s the build up to WWII Due 18th Nov

The Build-up to
World War II
The 1920s

The decline of democracy:
– Italy under Mussolini (fascism)
– Russia under Stalin (totalitarian communism)
– Germany: The Weimar Republic - hyper
inflation in 1923 undermines the Gov’t
Stalin 
Hitler and the Nazis

The Beer Hall Putsch: Nov. 9, 1923
– A Nazi military coup is crushed
– Hitler spends 9 months in prison, writes Mein Kampf

Political organizing
–
–
–
–
1929: 12 of 550 seats in the Reichstag
1930: 107 seats
1932: 230 seats (the largest party)
1933: Jan. 30: Hitler becomes chancellor and seizes
control of Germany through the Enabling Act

One of Hitler's Speeches
The subtitles are fuzzy, and the translations bad at
times, but focus more on how he is saying what he is
saying. Listen to the passion and power with which he
says it all.
An Election Speech
Adolf Hitler

Born April 20, 1889 (Charlie Chaplin was born
April 16, 1889)
His step-father was violent and abusive
 High school drop-out at age 16
 Aimless and directionless youth

(tried art, but failed)

WWI: fought at Ypres and Passchendale
• Awarded Iron Cross (1st and 2nd Class) for
bravery
Germany:





German Military
Expansionism
1933: walks out of disarmament talks
1934: Germany and Poland sign a non-aggression
pact
1935: repudiates the Treaty of Versailles
1936: re-occupies the Rhineland
1930s: Germany rebuilds its’ military and begins
domestic projects for employment opportunities.
By 1938 > 50% of budget
is spent on the military
In Germany . . .
The Nazis:
 Outlaw other political parties
 Create concentration camps
 Strip Jewish people of their rights
 Total state control of society (Hitler Youth,
propaganda)
 Under Gov’t control the economy improves
• Unemployment: 1932 at 6 million, 1938 at 164,000
Nazi Anti-Semitism

Nazi Decrees denied Jewish people the
right to:
• Hold public office
• Be employed in the media
• Work in farming or high schools
• Citizenship
• To marry those of “German blood”
Hitler, filled with passion while
speaking publicly.
The Nuremburg
Laws
Part of a campaign of terror
 Passed to strip the Jewish people of their
civil, political and human rights
 Encouraged public attacks on Jewish people
 1938: Nov. 9: Kristalnacht: The Nazis
attack synagogues and Jewish people

(the night of broken glass)
Fascism Elsewhere
1936: Under Mussolini Italy conquers
Ethiopia (a member of the League of
Nations)
 1936 – 39: The Spanish Civil War

– Fascist Italy and Germany aid the Spanish
Fascists to defeat the existing Left wing
government.

The World Powers do not intervene
Asia: Japan’s Quest for
Empire

1931: Japan defeats Chinese forces and
captures Manchuria (for resources)

1937: Japan attacks China near Peking
(The start of WWII in Asia)

The World Powers choose not to intervene
German Conquests pre
WWII

March 1938 : Germany forces the annexation of
Austria (Anchluss)

Sept. 1938: The Allies appease Czechoslovakia to
Germany

Aug. 1939 : The Nazi-Soviet Non- aggression
Pact signed between Hitler and Stalin
Fascism
Ideas:
1. The State is absolute and supreme:
the individual is completely subordinate to the state
2. A destiny to dominate other nations/peoples
3. The cult of the leader
(“Only what Adolf Hitler, our Fuhrer commands allows, or does not
allow, is our conscience.”)
4. Glorification of War:
as a test of strength
as proof of destiny
Nazism
Fascism
+
 Racial hatred and belief in racial superiority

Buildup To War
Timeline




First: Read pages 92-96 in Counterpoints.
Second: Take out a fresh sheet of lined paper and
draw a timeline.
Third: Fill in the timeline with all of the events in
which an act of aggression was committed by either
Germany, Italy or Japan. When information is
provided please include a one sentence summary for
the event.
Fourth: If you finish early can you please work on
question 5 on page 98. They are not for homework
but will help reinforce today’s material in preparation
for the eventual WWII test.
That’s It !!!