WWI Sets the stage for WWII

“The Enemy did not Appear in a Instant”

Treaty of Versailles

• Left many European nations dissatisfied.

• Italy:– Doesn’t get territory it wanted. Largely ignored

by other victorious countries.

• France: – Thought the Treaty wasn’t harsh enough.– Hoped to use the peace settlement to severely

weaken Germany.

Treaty is Harsh on GermanyLost 13% of territory and all overseas

colonies.

• Virtually dismantled its Navy and Air Force and limited army to 100,000 men.

• Forced to Sign the Treaty, although they weren’t allowed in negotiations.

• Forced to sign article 231- saying they were to blame for the war.

Treaty is Harsh on Germany

• Germany forced to pay Reparations to pay for the damages of the war.

– 132 Billion in Gold Marks w/ 6% interest set to be paid through 1988.

**Depression, unemployment, Weimar Republic becomes associated with “failure”.

Germany can’t possibly pay the reparations, destroying their

economy.

Japan is Also Unhappy

• Wants to be treated as an equal by the west.

– Not allowed to expand into China like they want.

– Small island, they feel they need colonial resources to compete in industrial world.

– Feel that they deserve respect from the west.

The Rise of Dictatorships

• Dictatorship: (Unchallenged Power)– Allows no other political parties

• Totalitarianism: (total control)– Controlled by a single person or party,

suppressing freedom and controlling every aspect of life.

European Fascism

• Fascism: (Glory of the state)– One party dictatorship characterized by racism

and militarism.

“Anti-individualistic, the Fascist concept of life stresses the importance of the State and accepts the individual only so far as his interests coincide with those of the state”

Benito Mussolini The Doctrine of Fascism 1932

1.) Benito Mussolini (Italy)

• National Fascist Party:– “Everything in the State,

nothing outside the state, nothing against the state.”

•Main Goals:•Stay in Power•Return Italy to Greatness •Cultural Improvements

2.) Adolf Hitler (Germany)

• Led into politics by anger over Treaty of Versailles.

Unrest in Germany and the Rise of the Nazi Party

• Weimar Republic in control of Germany from 1918-33’.– Controlled by the citizens – Era of hyperinflation and depression – Ideas, but little action taken to fix situation

• Society was becoming fragmented and many believed falling apart**Opens doors for Nazi Party to gain control.**

• 1923 Print during period of inflation.

1942 money

Rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party

• Wrote Mein Kampf: (my struggle)

– Outlining political beliefs/goals:

• Racially superior German Race (Aryans)• “Germany will either be a world power or there

were will be no Germany at all.”• Dream of uniting all Germanic peoples.

Rise of Hitler and the Nazi Party

• Stressed the need for “Action” not rationality.

• At first he down-played the anti-Semitic aspect of Nazism.

• Wanted to make Germany great again.

*Very popular leader, kept distance from “Little Hitler” actions.

Joseph Stalin (Russia)

• Violently crushed political opponents.

• Great Purges: 1936-39’– Killed off anyone that may

threaten his power.– Recognized Hitler as a

threat, sought alliance with west.

– 20 to 40 million died under his control in the 1930s.

Genocide

• THE KILLING OF AN ENTIRE PEOPLE

• Examples:– Armenians in 1917 (1 million +)– Stalinist Russia 1931-1939 (15 to 20 million)– Nazi Germany 1939-45 (6 million +)– Cambodia 1975-79 (1.5 million)– Bosnia 1992-95 (18,000 +)– Rwanda 1994 (1/2 million)– Sudan 2003 – present (2 million est.)

Genocide Quotes

• “Like the genocide of the Armenians before it, and the genocide of the Cambodians which followed it, ... the lessons of the Holocaust must never be forgotten.” George Bush Sr.

• "That's just the way a military dictatorship works. They drive around and pick people up on the street, and you never see them again." Reported in Sudan March 9, 2006

Create a Histo-Poem

• In pairs create a histo-poem that explains the causes of WWII and/or the emergence of military dictatorships in Europe.

Event in History____________________

Happened when____________________

Happened Where___________________

Caused By________________________

Key People involved in the event______________________

Life under these dictatorships_________________________

Result of these dictatorships_________________________

If I had lived then_____________________________