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The Rise of Hitler
Germany was still paying reparations to the Allied
countries when the Great Depression hit in 1929.
Adolf Hitler was known for his speech-making skills
and promised to “return Germany to her former
glory.”
Communism had started to appeal to Germans, so
Hitler and the Nazis manipulated the 1932 elections
by burning down the Reichstag and blaming it on
the communists.
He was sworn in as Chancellor early in 1933.
The Rise of Hitler: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hitlerbecomes-fuhrer
The Rise of Fascism
Fascism (n.) - led by a totalitarian dictator that
forcibly suppresses opposition and criticism; controls
all industry and commerce; and emphasizes
aggressive nationalism (and often racism)
*The three main countries in the Axis alliance were
Germany, Italy, and Japan, which were led by fascist
dictators.
Adolf Hitler
Benito Mussolini
Hideki Tojo
The Fascist Invaders
• Hitler wanted to rule the majority of Europe & the
Soviet Union.
• Mussolini wanted to rule the countries surrounding
the Mediterranean Sea (including the northern parts
of Africa) to build a “new Roman Empire.”
• Tojo wanted to rule Asia and the South Pacific.
– This led to the invasion of their respective areas and was the
primary reason for World War II.
– Although Germany and the Soviet Union had signed
a nonaggression agreement on August 23, 1939,
Hitler would later betray that pact, which resulted in
the Soviet Union joining the Allied Forces in
June of 1941.
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939
to regain the land they had lost in WWI, which
started WWII.
By June of 1940, Germany had swept through
Western Europe, conquering Belgium, Denmark,
France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, &
Poland.
Italy entered the war on the side of
Germany in June of 1940.
Mussolini
saw how
easy it was
to invade
France.
Germany invaded the Soviet Union in
1941.
On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl
Harbor, which led to the U.S. entering the
war.
Three days later,
Germany and Italy
declared war on the
U.S.
Why did Japan bomb Pearl Harbor?
http://www.pearlharbor.org/history-of-pearl-harbor.asp
Major Forces in the WWII Alliances
1943: When Allied troops gained ground in northern
Africa and Southern Italy, Italy surrendered and joined
the Allies.
In 1943, Benito Mussolini was ousted and
arrested by order of King Victor
Emmanuel III, which provoked a civil war
in Italy between the German-occupied
north and the Allied-occupied south.
Mussolini was later captured and killed on April 28, 1945 by
the Italian resistance while attempting to flee.
Death of Mussolini: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/benito-mussolini
June 6, 1944: Allies landed on the
beaches in Normandy, France on D-Day
Largest
amphibious
invasion in
world history,
which resulted
in the Allies
liberating
Western Europe
from Nazi
Germany’s
control.
April 1945: As German troops started getting
captured in large numbers and surrendering in the
different areas that they occupied, defeat seemed
inevitable.
On April 30, 1945, as the Battle of Berlin raged above him,
realizing that all was lost and not wishing to suffer
Mussolini's fate, German dictator Adolf Hitler committed
suicide in his “Führerbunker” along with Eva Braun, his
long-term partner whom he had married less than 40
hours before their joint suicide.
Germany officially surrendered on May 8, 1945,
which was called V-E Day, or Victory in Europe.
The only victory that was left to
win was against Japan…
For more information about General Hideki Tojo, click the following link:
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/tojo-hideki
To end the war, the U.S., led by President Harry
Truman, dropped 2 atomic bombs on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima on August 6th, and Nagasaki on
August 9th.
Japan surrendered on
September 2, 1945, which was
deemed V-J Day, or Victory in
Japan, thus ending WWII.
*General Tojo was tried as a war criminal
by Emporer Hirohito and executed.