Download WWII_intro Rise of Hitler

Fascism in Europe
Benito Mussolini
• Italian
• Invaded
Ethiopia in
1935.
Adolf Hitler
• German
• Anger over the
Versailles treaty
• Believed
Germans were
a superior
• Formed a totalitarian “Aryan” race.
government
• Blamed the Jews
for Germany’s
problems.
• Used economic unrest and fears
of communism to gain support.
• Used nationalism to
gain support.
Fascists in Italy
• Fascist dictator Benito
Mussolini seized power in
Italy in 1922.
Mussolini’s policies:
-Tried to fix the war-torn
Italian country
-He controlled the press and
banned criticism of the
government.
- Nicknamed “Il Duce”
Benito Mussolini, 1936
* Promising Italians
greatness, Mussolini
invaded and conquered
Ethiopia in 1935.
* The League of Nations
failed to help Ethiopia.
Hailie Selassie,
Emperor of Ethiopia
Nazi Germany
· Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party
preached racial and religious
hatred.
· Hitler claimed that Germans
were a part of a superior
“Aryan” race, and that Jews
were to blame for Germany’s
troubles.
· In 1933, Hitler became
chancellor, or head of the
German government.
The Century: America's Time (Over the Edge Video)
The Road to World War II
Actions of Adolf Hitler
Add labels to
explain what the
cartoonist
suggests Hitler
is doing?
Who are the
other people in
this picture and
what does the
cartoonist think
of them?
January 1933: Hitler became
Chancellor of Germany
"If I can send the flower of the German
nation into the hell of war without the
smallest pity for the spilling of precious
German blood, then surely I have the
right to remove millions of an inferior
race that breeds like vermin."
- Adolf Hitler
swastika, Nazi party symbol
Hitler soon ordered a programme of
rearming Germany
Hitler visits a factory and is enthusiastically greeted. Many
Germans were grateful for jobs after the misery of he
depression years.
March 1936: German troops
marched into the Rhineland
The Rhineland was a
region of Germany that
was ‘demilitarised’ after
the Treaty of Versailles.
Germany was not
allowed to have troops
in the region.
Hitler’s actions showed
how he was willing to
directly challenge the
treaty.
March 1938: Nazi Germany
annexed Austria
Again, this went
against the terms of
the Treaty of Versailles
which banned
Germany from uniting
with Austria.
However, the arrival of
German troops was
met with great
enthusiasm by many
Austrian people.
March 1939: Germany invaded
Czechoslovakia
Hitler had ordered the
occupation of a part of
Czechoslovakia known as the
Sudetenland (in October
1938). Many hoped that that
this would be the last conquest
of the Nazis.
However, in March 1939, he
ordered his troops to take over
the remainder of
Czechoslovakia. This was the
first aggressive step that
suggested that a war in
Europe would soon begin.
Depression Diplomacy
- Isolationists passed a
series of Neutrality Acts in
the 1930’s.
- These laws….
• banned arms sales or
loans to countries at war.
• warned U.S. citizens not
to travel on ships of
countries at war.
- FDR announced the
Good Neighbor Policy in
an attempt to improve U.S.
relations with Latin
America.
August 1939: Germany and Russia signed a non-aggression pact
Hitler and Stalin (the Russian
leader) signed a ‘nonaggression pact’.
They promised that neither
country would attack the other
in the event of war.
As part of the deal, Hitler
promised Stalin part of Poland,
which he planned to invade
soon.
This photo shows the Russian foreign minister
signing the pact, whilst Stalin stands smiling in
the background
Stalin
Hitler
The non-aggression pact was surprising. Hitler and Stalin were seen as natural enemies.
When Hitler talked of taking over new land for Germany, many thought that he meant Russia.
Hitler also hated Communism, the form of government in Russia
September 1939: Germany invaded Poland
But, the pact
allowed Germany to
march into Poland
without fear of an
attack from Russia.
On 3rd September
1939, Germany
invaded Poland and
started a War with
Britain and France.
German troops marching
into Warsaw, the capital
of Poland.
May 1940: Germany turned west and
invaded France and the Netherlands
In May 1940, Germany
used Blitzkrieg tactics
to attack France and
the Netherlands.
British troops were
forced to retreat from
the beaches of Dunkirk
in northern France.
Captured British
troops, May 1940
By June 1940, France had surrendered to
the Germans
Britain now stood
alone as the last
remaining enemy of
Hitler’s Germany in
Western Europe.
Adolf Hitler tours Paris after his
successful invasion.
September 1940-May 1941: the
Blitz
For the following nine months, the
German air force (Luftwaffe) launched
repeated bombing raids on British towns
and cities. This was known as the
BLITZ and was an attempt to bomb
Britain into submission.
Operation Barbarossa, June 1941
But in May, 1941, Hitler ordered a change of tactics. He decided
to halt the bombing of Britain and launch an attack against
Russia. He betrayed Stalin and ignored the promises he had
made.
This was a bold move that would prove to be an important turning
point in the War.
Tasks
Answer the following questions:
1) In what ways did Hitler ignore the Treaty of
Versailles?
2) At what stage do you think other countries
should have attempted to stop Hitler by using
force? Why do you think they did not?
3) How was Hitler able to take over Western
Europe so quickly?
4) Why did he create problems for the German
army by deciding to invade Russia?
American
Foreign Policy:
1920-1941
Foreign Policy Tensions
Interventionism
Disarmament
•
Collective security
•
Isolationism
•
“Wilsonianism”
•
Nativists
•
Business interests
•
Anti-War movement
•
Conservative
Republicans
American Isolationism
5 Isolationists like
Senator Lodge, refused
to allow the US to sign
the Versailles Treaty.
5 Security treaty with
France also rejected by
the Senate.
5 July, 1921  Congress
passed a resolution
declaring WW I
officially over!
Sen. Henry Cabot
Lodge, Sr. [R-MA]
Washington Disarmament
Conference
(1921-1922)
5 Long-standing Anglo-Japanese alliance (1902) obligated
Britain to aid Japan in the event of a Japanese war with the
United States.
5 Goals  naval disarmament and the political situation in the
Far East.
Five-Power Treaty (1922)
5 A battleship ratio was achieved through this ratio:
US
5
Britain
5
Japan
3
France
1.67
Italy
1.67
5 Japan got a guarantee that the US and Britain would
stop fortifying their Far East territories [including
the Philippines].
5 Loophole  no restrictions on small warships
European Debts to the US
Hyper-Inflation in Germany:
1923
Dawes Plan (1924)
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)
5 15 nations dedicated to outlawing aggression and war as
tools of foreign policy.
5 62 nations signed.
5 Problems  no means of actual enforcement and gave
Americans a false sense of security.
Japanese Attack Manchuria
(1931)
5 League of Nations condemned the
action.
5 Japan leaves the League.
5 Hoover wanted no part in an American military action in
the Far East.
Hoover-Stimson Doctrine
(1932)
5 US would not recognize any territorial
acquisitions that were achieved by force.
5 Japan was infuriated because the US had
conquered new
territories a few
decades earlier.
5 Japan bombed
Shanghai in
1932  massive
casualties.
FDR’s “Good Neighbor”
Policy
5 Important to have all
nations in the Western
Hemisphere united in
lieu of foreign
aggressions.
5 FDR  The good
neighbor respects
himself and the rights
of others.
5 Policy of non-
intervention and
cooperation.
FDR Recognizes the Soviet
Union
(late 1933)
5 FDR felt that
recognizing Moscow
might bolster the
US against Japan.
5 Maybe trade with
the USSR would
help the US
economy during the
Depression.
FDR’s “I hate war” Speech
(1936)
Ludlow Amendment (1938)
5 A proposed amendment
to the Constitution
that called for a
national referendum on
any declaration of war
by Congress.
5 Introduced several
Congressman Louis Ludlow
[D-IN]
times by Congressman
Ludlow.
5 Never actually passed.
Nye Committee Hearings
(1934-1936)
5 The Nye Committee I
investigated the charge
that WW I was needless and
the US entered so munitions
owners could make big profits
[“merchants of death.”]
5 The Committee did charge
Senator Gerald P. Nye [R-ND]
that bankers wanted war to
protect their loans & arms manufacturers to make
money.
5 Claimed that Wilson had provoked Germany by sailing
in to warring nations’ waters.
5 Resulted in Congress passing several Neutrality Acts.
Neutrality Acts: 1935, 1936,
1937
5 When the President proclaimed the existence of a
foreign war, certain restrictions would automatically
go into effect:
 Prohibited sales of arms to belligerent nations.
 Prohibited loans and credits to belligerent nations.
 Forbade Americans to travel on vessels of nations at
war [in contrast to WW I].
 Non-military goods must be purchased on a “cash-andcarry” basis  pay when goods are picked up.
 Banned involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
5 This limited the options of the President in a crisis.
5 America in the 1930s declined to build up its forces!
Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)
The American “Lincoln Brigade”
US Neutrality
Panay Incident (1937)
5 December 12, 1937.
5 Japan bombed USS
Panay gunboat & three
Standard Oil tankers on
the Yangtze River.
5 The river was an
international waterway.
5 Japan was testing US resolve!
5 Japan apologized, paid US an indemnity, and promised no
further attacks.
5 Most Americans were satisfied with the apology.
5 Results  Japanese interpreted US tone as a license for
further aggression against US interests.
Fascist Aggression
5 1935: Hitler denounced the Versailles Treaty &
the League of Nations [re-arming!]
Mussolini attacks Ethiopia.
5 1936: German troops sent into the Rhineland.
Fascist forces sent to fight with Franco in Spain.
5 1938: Austrian Anschluss.
Rome-Berlin Tokyo Pact [AXIS]
Munich Agreement  APPEASEMENT!
5 1939: German troops march into the rest of
Czechoslovakia.
Hitler-Stalin Non-Aggression Pact.
5 September 1, 1939: German troops march into
Poland  blitzkrieg  WW II
begins!!!
1939 Neutrality Act
5
In response to Germany’s invasion of Poland.
5
FDR persuades Congress in special session to allow
the US to aid European democracies in a limited way:
 The US could sell weapons to the European
democracies on a “cash-and-carry” basis.
 FDR was authorized to proclaim danger zones which
US ships and citizens could not enter.
5
Results of the 1939 Neutrality Act:
 Aggressors could not send ships to buy US munitions.
 The US economy improved as European demands for
war goods helped bring the country out of the
1937-38 recession.
5 America becomes the “Arsenal of Democracy.”
“America First” Committee
October 1938, Charles
Lindbergh received the
Service Cross of the
German Eagle
(Verdienstkreuz der
Deutscher Adler), the
second-highest honor
the Reich could bestow
on noncitizens.
Charles Lindbergh
Henry Ford, center, is awarded the Grand Cross of the German Eagle by Nazi diplomats.
AP photo
There is some evidence that Henry Ford gave Adolf Hitler financial backing when Hitler was first starting out
in politics. This can in part be traced to statements from Kurt Ludecke, Germany's representative to the U.S. in
the 1920s, and Winifred Wagner, daughter-in-law of Richard Wagner, who said they requested funds from
Ford to aid the National Socialist movement in Germany. However, a 1933 Congressional investigation into the
matter was unable to substantiate one way or the other that funding was actually sent.
Ford Motor Company was active in Germany's military buildup prior to World War II. In 1938, for instance, it
opened an assembly plant in Berlin whose purpose was to supply trucks to the Wehrmacht. In July of that year,
Ford was awarded (and accepted) the Grand Cross of the Order of the German Eagle (Grosskreuz des
Deutschen Adlerordens). Ford was the first American and the fourth person given this award, at the time Nazi
Germany's highest honorary award given to foreigners. Earlier the same year, Benito Mussolini had been
decorated with the Grand Cross. The decoration was given "in recognition of [Ford's] pioneering in making
motor cars available for the masses." The award was accompanied by a personal congratulatory message from
Adolf Hitler. [Detroit News, July 31, 1938.]
“Lend-Lease” Act (1941)
Great Britain.........................$31 billion
Soviet Union...........................$11 billion
France......................................$ 3 billion
China.......................................$1.5 billion
Other European.................$500 million
South America...................$400 million
The amount totaled: $48,601,365,000
1941 – the Atlantic Charter
August 14th 1941
Churchill and
Roosevelt meet and
proclaim the ‘Atlantic
Charter’ declaring
common principles of
democracy and
freedom. The USA
was not at war yet but
was clearly on
Britain’s side.
President Roosevelt of the USA meeting Winston
Churchill.
Pearl Harbor
Churchill’s reaction to Pearl Harbor
“So we have
won after all”
Churchill’s diary
entry December 7th
1941.
One historian’s view…….
Churchill saw no way of winning the war without
full American participation. His famous ‘give us
the tools and we will finish the job’ radio
broadcast of 9th February 1941 was a piece of
tactical phrasing and not hard truth. What he
really meant was ‘give us the tools and we will
hold out long enough for you to take your time
about joining the war’. It was therefore a
moment of joy when he heard the news of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Churchill
wrote famously in his diary of that attack ‘so we
have won after all’
Churchill, by Roy Jenkins (2001)