Download Axis Powers Conference Chairs

Axis Powers Conference
Chairs: Max Zalta and Ben Zalta
Crisis Director: Ben Kaiser
Table of Contents
Letter from the Chairs……………………………………………………………………………..2
Background………………………………………………………………………………………..4
Questions to Consider……………………………………………………………………………11
Council Positions…...……………………………………………………………………………12
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Letter from the Chairs
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to EthicalMUN 2016! We are so glad that you will be joining us on our
adventure through the historic World War 2, even if you will be representing the Axis Powers.
Our names are Max Zalta and Ben Zalta, yes, we are indeed brothers. Just to give you a little bit
about ourselves, we have both been attending Fieldston since Pre-K, we both love ice hockey
and are huge New York Ranger fans (any Islander fans who signed up for this committee might
want to reconsider...just kidding!), and we both love Model UN.
For those of you who are attending a Model UN conference for the first time, don’t
worry! Everyone will have a great time and at the end of the day, we hope that all of you learned
a bit about history while also having some fun. Crisis committees are a very unique experience
and will challenge all of you to think on your feet, adapt to changing situations, and work
together (or against each other) to complete the task at hand. We encourage, and will make it our
goal, for everyone to participate and for each of you to pursue your individual agendas as well as
those of the larger committee. It can get pretty dirty out there, but if you stick to your principles
and play your character to their potential, you will all have the chance to succeed. All of this,
however, can be tough if you get assassinated or framed. So trust us, you’re going to want to
cover your tracks; the name of the game is divisiveness.
All of you will be dealing with a very sensitive issue and looking at it from a very
different angle than you might be used to. Our hope through all of this is to challenge all of you
to think critically about each of your assigned characters and represent them as best you can.
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When coming up with this committee, we knew that it would be something high in tension and
strategy–the two ingredients to a great crisis committee.
Delving deeply into the Axis Powers during World War 2 will not be an easy task. The
fragile alliances that held these nations together proved to be a detriment to their potential
success at world domination. We are curious to see how all of you deal with these similar
difficulties, with a few unexpected twists and turns along the way courtesy of your crisis
directors. The decisions that you make will have consequences, sometimes dire, on the events
that take place in our alternate dimension of history.
All of that being said, I am sure that our committee will be full of fun, war, and of course,
assassinations. Again, we welcome all of you to EthicalMUN 2016 and we hope that you will all
have a great time in this committee. Just one quick note, ​you will receive your portfolio powers
the day of the conference​, so prepare a strategy, but be ready for anything.
Please shoot either of us an email if you have any questions about the committee, the
conference, or one of us at ​[email protected]​ and ​[email protected]​. We would be more than
happy to hear from you!
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Background
On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed in Paris, France ending the first
world war and permanently fragmenting the vast empires that previously ruled over Europe and
the Middle East. Although the treaty was designed to bring about peace to the world and prevent
future conflicts, its provisions which stripped Germany of much of its territory and military
power did just the opposite. Germany, who were pressured into signing the treaty against their
will, harbored a bitter resentment against the allied nations for years to come. Over the next
twenty years, this hatred laid the groundwork for fascism to come to power in Germany and for a
second world war to erupt even bloodier than the first.
The Rise of the Nazi Party
There are several components that led the Nazi Party to seize power in Germany.
Perhaps the most significant factor was something that affected not just Germany, but the rest of
the world. On October 4, 1929, the stock market bubble finally burst with traders selling 12.9
million shares of stock in just one day. Millions of Germans became unemployed over the
course of the next few years. Subsequently, as the devastation of the great depression spread
across Europe, the popularity of the​ Nazi party grew tremendously. In the 1928 elections, the
Nazi Party received only 810,000 votes. However, in the 1930 elections, the Nazi Party received
6.4 million votes, tying the social democratic party. It is often the case that when hardship
strikes a country, the population turns to extremist views to solve their problems. Germany was
no exception. The Nazi party platform promised to abolish the treaty of Versailles, ban Jews
from obtaining citizenship, and return the nation of Germany to its former glory. In the election
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of 1932, the Nazi Party received 37.5 percent of the national vote. The President at the time,
General Von Hindenburg, had the ability to select a new chancellor that year. Although he
disliked the Nazi party, the party leader, Adolf Hitler, had struck a deal with the other two parties
in which each party would keep a third of the seats in the Reichstag and Hitler would be
appointed the chancellor. When Hindenburg died in 1934, Hitler combined the positions of
Chancellor and President and proclaimed himself the Fuhrer of Germany.
Even though Hitler had obtained a very prominent position in the German government,
he still sought to obtain absolute power. On June 30, 1934, Hitler eliminated his political
enemies and purged the leadership of the SA, a party that he created in 1921, in the Night of
Long Knives. Although the members of the SA supported Hitler and his ideals, Hitler feared that
they had taken his propaganda too seriously and would try and stop his suppression of worker’s
rights in order to increase industrial production to prepare the country for war. After he had
carried out the massacre, Hitler restructured the German military and made them swear
allegiance to him rather than the country of Germany. Thus, by 1935, Hitler had complete
control of Germany and all its affairs.
Another factor that contributed to the Nazi Party’s victory was the charisma of Adolf
Hitler and the propaganda they used to influence the opinions of the German population. Hitler
himself was a masterful public speaker and was extremely popular. Oftentimes before he gave a
speech he would have to wait five minutes to allow the applause to subside before he could begin
speaking. In his speeches, he catered to the desires of the indignant German population by
promising to purify the population and restore Germany to prosperity. The Nazi Party also
censored any work of art or literature that protested their ideals and utilized propaganda to
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convince the people of their beliefs. In 1933 when Hitler came to power, he appointed Joseph
Goebbels as the minister of propaganda. Goebbels’ duty was to both to censor artists who did
not comply with the Nazi regime, and promote anti-semitism and Nazi beliefs through films and
newspapers. In this way, the Nazis used propaganda not only to gain power, but also to keep it.
The Rise of Anti-Semitism
The history of anti-semitism in Germany began long before the rise of the Nazis. When
the Jews first entered Europe in the Middle Ages, there was great animosity against them from
the Christian inhabitants who feared their superior intelligence. In the 1500s when Martin
Luther drafted his 95 theses criticizing the Catholic Church, he stated, ​"let the magistrates burn
their synagogues and let whatever escapes be covered with sand and mud. Let them be forced to
work, and if this avails nothing, we will be compelled to expel them like dogs." Four hundred
years later, the Nazis would often quote Martin Luther in their newspapers and pamphlets.
Leading up to the Nazi’s rise to power, anti-semitism was widespread in Germany. Many
Germans blamed the nation’s economic and political misfortunes in the mid-1800s on Jewish
bankers and business owners. During the first world war, Jews were blamed for sabotaging the
war efforts and that the Jewish population of Germany had stabbed the government in the back
and led to German defeat in the war. In the 1920s, anti-semitism grew in Germany as the Nazi
Party began to gain popularity. Surprisingly, Hitler restrained hardline anti-semitism from the
Nazi platform at first. However, this was merely a strategic move by Hitler to gain respect from
wealthy industrialists and the middle class and keep negative publicity at bay. It was not until
1933 when Hitler gained absolute power when he finally revealed his true anti-semitic agenda.
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Once Hitler rose to power, the Nazis began a propaganda campaign to undermine
prominent Jewish businessmen. They released newspapers and pamphlets portraying the Jews as
greedy, depraved, and conniving suc-humans who preyed on helpless German citizens. As their
propaganda spread across Germany, people began blaming Jews for every undesirable event
occurring in Germany, such as murders, rapings, thefts, and sale of illegal products. In March,
1933, The German Government opened Dachau, the first of many first concentration camps that
would eventually facilitate the extermination of six million jews. At first, the concentration
camps were mainly used to hold political prisoners rather than jews, but this would eventually
change as the world moved towards world conflict.
Over the course of the next five years, several events occurred that further stripped the
Jews of their rights and damaged their status in society. In 1935, the Nazis passed the
Nuremberg Laws which revoked German citizenship from Jews and outlawed intermarriage
between Jews and Non-jews. On November 8, 1937, Joseph Goebbels opened his anti-semitic
exhibit called “The Eternal Jew” in the German Library in Munich. Perhaps the most
devastating event occurred on November 9, 1938. On this night, 267 Synagogues and Jewish
businesses were vandalized and destroyed in an incident that came to be known as “The Night of
Broken Glass.” By 1939, Hitler was ready to begin his mass imprisonment and extermination of
the Jewish People.
Fascism in Italy
There were many parallels between the rise of the Nazis in Germany and the rise of the
fascist movement in Italy. Similar to the rise of the Nazis in Germany, Italy experienced a
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growth in populist fascism after the end of the first world war. Although Italy was originally part
of the triple alliance with Germany and Austria, it remained neutral at the start of the war before
declaring war on Austria in 1915. However, once the war was over, Italy faced a similar
problem to Germany; it was underrepresented in the Versailles Treaty. The Italian people
became angry with the government as they felt that the gains of war did not justify the immense
costs. 600,000 Italians had died during the war. Furthermore, after the war Italy became saddled
with debt. Inflation crippled the economy and unemployment rates soared as troops returned
home to the workforce. People started to become frustrated with the government’s inability to
spur the economy. It was in these conditions that the fascist movement of Italy began.
Just like Hitler led the Nazi movement to prosperity with his public speaking and
charisma, Benito Mussolini, a former school teacher and political maverick, ignited faith in the
fascist movement with manipulative oration. In 1921, Mussolini formed the National Fascist
Party, and captured 35 seats in the Chamber of Deputies. Its platform in vague terms called for
social reform, financial stability, and an increase in foreign power. In the same year, the Fascists
entered a coalition with the leading party of Italy, the Italian Liberal Party. This gave the
Fascists the political exposure they needed to seize power in Italy.
Once Mussolini had gained absolute power in Italy, he began a campaign to expand
Italy’s influence and expand its control into other parts of the world. In 1935, Mussolini invaded
Ethiopia in an effort to expand its colonial empire. Mussolini also admired the Nazis, and in
1936, he entered the Rome-Berlin axis, and pled his allegiance to Hitler’s regime. By 1939,
Mussolini and his fascist empire were ready to aid Hitler in his plot to conquer the world.
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Rise of the Japanese Empire
Since the dawn of its existence, Japan had always been an enigmatic nation. Long
isolated from the Western World, Japan did not have much world influence until the early 20th
century. After the Russo-Japanese war ended, Japan sought to expand their territory in East
Asia, as many western countries were looking to do the same. In 1910, Japan invaded and
conquered Korea. During the first world war, Japan fought with Britain and France against
Germany in an effort to capture German colonies in China and the Pacific. How exactly did the
Japanese transform from an friend of the allied powers into one of its greatest enemies? When
the Versailles treaty was being drafted, Japan proposed a clause on racial equality that would
grant every member of the league of nations equal representation and rights. However, this
clause challenged several ideals of western colonial dominance and was quickly blocked by
several nations, the most important one being the United States. The end of the Anglo-Japanese
Alliance in 1923 illustrated the divide that was beginning to occur between Japan and the
western nations, and the first seeds of conflict between Japan and the United States.
In 1931, Japan further angered the western world by invading Manchuria and establishing
a puppet regime in the region. The most important reason for Japan’s territorial expansion
leading up to the second world war were economic incentives. Because Japan is an island
country, it did not have access to the resources it needed to transform itself into a world
industrial power. In the 1920s, Japan imported much of its raw materials such as oil, iron, and
rubber from the United States. However, with the effect of the Great Depression on both the
Japanese and American people, Japan began to look for land in East Asian which it could control
and obtain raw materials from so it could lessen its reliance on the United States.
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On July 7, 1937, Japan invaded China, beginning a bloody conflict that would last until
the eventual fall of the Japanese Empire in 1945. Initially, the Japanese were winning the war,
scoring great victories in the Battle of Shanghai and by capturing the capital city of Nanjing.
However, by 1939, the war became a stalemate, with the Japanese unable to defeat the Chinese
communist military and a guerilla war of sabotage began. Facing pressure from the war in
China, relation with the United States, and the situation in Europe, Japan was on the brink of a
decision that would either bring it to prosperity or failure.
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Questions to Consider
What does my nation desire? What is our end goal?
What resources am I afforded (influence, manpower, weaponry etc.)?
What our my character's goals (power, influence etc.)
What are the key geopolitical hurdles my country must clear to achieve its end goal?
Who are my political friends and enemies?
How can I help out in the war effort?
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Council Positions
***Please Note: Your specific portfolio powers and your personal goals will be given on the
first day of committee sessions. When researching, be sure to find the specific political and
economic goals of YOUR PERSON (as well the other participants if you want to be a step
ahead of your competitors).
Adolf Eichmann
Germany
Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutenant colonel), Architect of the Holocaust
Wilhelm Keitel
Germany
Field Marshall of the German Army
Hideki Tojo
Japan
General of the Imperial Japanese Army
Joseph Goebbels
Germany
Head of German (propaganda)
Giovanni Messe
Italy
Grand Officer of the Military Order of Savoy
Erwin Rommel
Germany
Senior Military Commander of the German Army
Heinrich Himmler
Germany
Head of the SS/Minister of the Interior
Miklós Horthy
Hungary
Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary
Mitsumasa Yonai
Japan
Head of the Japanese Navy
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Rino Corso Fougier
Italy
Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force
Karl Donitz
Germany
Head of German Navy
Hiroshi Oshima
Japan
Ambassador from Japan to Germany
Pietro Badoglio
Italy
Chief of Staff of the Italian Armed Forces
Hermann Goering
Germany
Head of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force)
Isoroku Yamamoto
Japan
Commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet
Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk
Germany
German Minister of Finance
Koiso Kuniaki
Japan
Japanese Minister of Greater East Asia
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