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World War II 1939 - 1945 Paths to War The German Path to War • Adolf Hitler – Germans were part of an Aryan race that were superior to all other races/nationalities – Germany was capable of building a great civilization – Planned to conquer the Soviet Union in order to secure land and Slavic states to strengthen the Third Reich. Germany The First Steps • Treaty of Versailles limited Germany’s military • Hitler (now Chancellor of Germany) announced to the world that Germany wanted to revise the treaty by peaceful means • Hitler directly violated the Treaty – Creation of a new air force – Military draft to expand Germany’s army from 100,000 to 550,000 troops • France, Great Britain, Italy warned Hitler but did not take action due to Great Depression Germany The First Steps • Hitler was confident that the Western states had no intention of using force to maintain the Treaty of Versailles – March 7, 1936—Hitler sent German troops to the Rhineland, which was part of Germany, but according to the Treaty of Versailles, was a demilitarized zone (no weapons or fortifications permitted) • France had the right to use force against Germany for violating the demilitarized Rhineland, but they wouldn’t act without British support • Great Britain didn’t provide support saying “Germans were only going into their own back garden” • Great Britain was practicing appeasement – policy of satisfying reasonable demands in exchange for peace Germany New Alliances • Rome-Berlin Axis – Hitler’s alliance with Benito Mussolini (Fascist Italy) • Anti-Comintern Pact – Hitler’s alliance with Japan Union With Austria • 1938 – Germany forms a union with Austria – Austrian Nazis in charge of the government – German troops invited to enter Austria to maintain order – Austria soon annexed to Germany Germany Demands & Appeasement • Hitler’s next objective – destruction of Czechoslovakia • September 15, 1938 – demanded that Germany be given the Sudetenland (an area in northwestern Czechoslovakia inhabited by Germans) • Hitler would risk “world war” to do this • Munich Conference – – – – Britain, France, Germany, Italy German troops allowed to occupy Sudetenland Czechs were helpless British Prime Minster, Neville Chamberlain, felt that peace had been secured (“peace for our time”) Hitler lied Germany Demands & Appeasement The Munich Conference was a hastily arranged meeting of British, French, German, and Italian representatives to address Hitler’s demands on Czechoslovakia. Although allied with Czechoslovakia, the British and French agreed to virtually all of Hitler’s demands. The Czechs were abandoned by their allies and forced to helplessly watch German troops occupy the Sudetenland. Hitler promised that this was the end of his demands, and the Allies believed him. However, the Munich Conference only served to convince Hitler that the Western democracies were weak & would not fight. This encouraged him to continue his invasions of other European countries, and eventually led to war. Germany Great Britain & France React • 1939 – Hitler took control of w. Czechoslovakia – Slovakia became a puppet state controlled by Nazi Germany – Hitler declared he would be known as the “greatest German of them all” • Western states finally realized Hitler was a liar! • Great Britain offered to protect Poland from Hitler • Great Britain & France knew that only the Soviet Union was powerful enough to stop Germany so they began negotiations with Joseph Stalin (the Soviet dictator) Germany Hitler & the Soviets • Hitler thought the West wouldn’t fight over Poland • He was afraid though, the West would ally with the Soviets making a two-front war for Germany – To prevent this, Hitler made his own agreement with Joseph Stalin Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact • Germany & Soviet Union promised not to attack each other • Hitler gave Stalin control of eastern Poland and the Baltic • This pact gave Hitler the freedom to attack Poland The Japanese Path to War In September 1931, Japanese soldiers had seized Manchuria, which had natural resources Japan needed. Japan used as an excuse a Chinese attack on a Japanese railway near the city of Mukden. The “Mukden Incident” had actually been carried out by Japanese soldiers disguised as Chinese. Worldwide protests led the League of Nations to investigate in Manchuria. This led to Japan withdrawing from the League. Over the next few years, Japan strengthened its hold on Manchuria (which was renamed Manchukuo) and expanded into North China. By the mid-1930s militants gained control of Japanese politics. U.S. was angry but did not threaten force. Japan War With China • Chiang Kai-shek – Tried to avoid conflict with Japan so he could concentrate on Communist threat – Eventually turned focus against the Japanese when they continued to move into southern China – July 1937 – Chinese and Japanese forces clashed – December 1937 – Japan seized Chinese capital – Chiang Kai-shek refused to surrender and moved his government upriver Japan The New Asian Order Japanese military leaders hoped to force Chiang to join a New Order in East Asia (Japan, Manchuria, and China) Part of Japan’s plan was to seize Soviet Siberia for its rich natural resources. During the 1930s, Japan assumed Germany would help them attack the Soviet Union and divide its resources between them. But Germany had signed the nonaggression pact with the Soviets so Japan had to change plans. They knew they couldn’t defeat the Soviets without help. So…Japan focused on SE Asia’s raw materials Japan The New Asian Order A move southward though would risk war with the European colonial powers AND the United States. Nevertheless, in the summer of 1940, Japan demanded the right to exploit economic resources in French Indochina. U.S. was angry! Warned Japan we would apply economic sanctions (restrictions intended to enforce international law) unless Japan withdrew. Japan badly needed the oil and scrap iron it was getting from the U.S. Should the U.S. cut off these resources, Japan would have to find them elsewhere. Japan The New Asian Order Japan was now caught in a dilemma -To guarantee access to the raw materials it wanted in SE Asia, Japan had to risk losing raw materials from the U.S. (the oil and scrap iron) Japan’s military leaders, guided by Hideki Tojo, decided to launch a surprise attack on U.S. and European colonies in SE Asia.