Download 31-4-Aggressors-Invade-Nations

Aggressors Invade Nations
Ch. 31-4
Describe the League of Nations
Manchuria
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Japanese business men invested heavily in
China’s northeast province, Manchuria.
It was an area rich in iron and coal.
In 1931, the Japanese army seized
Manchuria.
Japanese engineers and technicians began
arriving in large numbers to build mines and
factories.
Challenge to League of Nations
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The Japanese attack on Manchuria was the
first direct challenge to the League of
Nations.
League members protested, but it had no
power to enforce its decisions.
Japan ignored their protests and withdrew
from the League in 1933.
League of Nations
Who wasn’t a
member?
Japan invades China
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On July 7, 1937, the Japanese and the
Chinese exchanged shots at a railroad
bridge near Beijing.
Jiang Jieshi’s soldiers were no match for the
better equipped and trained Japanese.
The League of Nations did nothing to help.
Mussolini attacks Ethiopia
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The League’s failure to stop the Japanese
encouraged Mussolini to invade Ethiopia.
Mussolini wished to build an empire, and
Ethiopia was one of the few remaining
independent African nations left.
Ethiopia had successfully resisted an Italian
attempt at conquest during the 1890s, and
Mussolini wanted to avenge the defeat.
He ordered a full scale invasion on Ethiopia
in October 1935.
Italy takes over Ethiopia
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Ethiopia could not withstand the new
technology of airplanes, tanks, guns, and
poison gas.
The Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie
urgently appealed to the League of Nations
for help.
The League condemned the attack, but did
nothing to help.
He warned League members that
If they did nothing, “God and history
will remember your judgment…It is
us today. It will be you tomorrow.”
They did nothing.
Hitler defies the Versailles Treaty
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In March 1935, Hitler announced that he
would not obey the restrictions of the
Versailles Treaty.
Hitler began building up his army.
The League of Nations did nothing
Hitler Takes Land
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Hitler invaded the ‘Rhineland’ – it was a 30
mile zone on either side of the Rhine River. It
was a buffer zone between Germany and
France.
The League of Nations did nothing
Appeasement
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Great Britain and France urged
appeasement, which meant giving into an
aggressor to keep peace.
Turning Point
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The German occupation of the Rhineland
marked a turning point in the march towards
war
1) it strengthened Hitler’s power and prestige
within Germany
2) France and Belgium were now open to
attack from German troops
3) the weak response from Britain and
France encouraged Hitler to speed up his
aggression
Axis Powers
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Hitler’s growing strength encouraged
Mussolini to seek an alliance with Hitler.
In October 1936, the two dictators reached
an agreement that became known as the
Rome-Berlin Axis.
A month later, Germany also made an
agreement with Japan.
Germany, Italy, and Japan became the AXIS
POWERS
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Emperor Hirohito
Leader of Japan
during WWII
Civil War Erupts in Spain
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In July 1936, General Francisco Franco led a revolt.
He wanted to establish a fascist style government in
Spain.
The Civil War lasted 3 years.
Hitler and Mussolini supported Franco by sending
troops, tanks, and airplanes.
Franco’s forces were called the Nationalists.
The Soviet Union supplied Spain’s elected
government.
The new Spanish republic collapsed and Franco
became Spain’s Fascist dictator.
Isolationism in the U.S.
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Isolationism is the belief that political ties to
other countries should be avoided.
Isolationists argued that entry into WWI had
been a costly error.
Congress passed three neutrality acts.
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These laws banned loans and the sale of arms to
nations at war.
They believed this would keep the U.S. out of
another foreign war.
The Third Reich
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On November 5, 1937, Hitler announces his
plans to take Austria and Czechoslovakia.
The Germans would then expand into Poland
and Russia.
The Treaty of Versailles prohibited a union
between Austria and Germany, called
Anschluss.
Many Austrians supported unity with
Germany.
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Hitler sent his army in Austria and annexed it
in March, 1938
France and Britain ignored their pledge to
protect Austrian independence
The Sudetenland
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After WWI, Czechoslovakia had developed into a
prosperous democracy with a strong army and
defense treaty with France.
About 3 million German-speaking people lived in the
western border regions of Czechoslovakia known as
the Sudetenland.
Hitler demanded the Sudetenland belong to
Germany.
Czechoslovakia refused and asked France for help.
The Munich Conference
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Mussolini proposed a meeting of Germany, France,
and Britain, and Italy, in Munich Germany.
The Munich Conference was held on September 29,
1938.
The Czechs were not invited.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed
that he could preserve the peace by giving in to
Hitler’s demands.
It was agreed that Hitler could take the Sudetenland,
in exchange, Hitler agreed to respect
Czechoslovakia’s new borders.
Policy of Appeasement working???
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The Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain told
the London crowds, “I believe it is peace for
our time.”
Winston Churchill, then a member of the
British Parliament, hated the policy and
warned of its consequences.
Defies Munich Conference Agreement
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Less than six months after the Munich
Conference, Hitler took over Czechoslovakia.
Mussolini seized Albania.
Hitler demanded that Poland return the
former Germany port of Danzig.
Poles refused and turned to Great Britain
and France for help.
Both countries said they would back Poland.
Great Britain, France, and the Soviet
Union
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Britain and France asked the Soviet Union to
join them in stopping Hitler’s aggression.
The two democracies distrusted the
Communist government, and Stalin was
bitter about being left out of the Munich
Conference.
Soviet Union and….Germany?
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Germany approached the Soviet’s too
While Stalin was talking to Britain and
France, he was also bargaining with Hitler
Non-Aggression Pact
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Hitler and Stalin committed to never attack
one another.
On August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact
was signed.
The whole world waits to
see what would happen
next