The Road to War1931 - 1941

Chapter 24

04/2009

The Road to War

Many Americans assume that World War II started at Pearl Harbor

The seeds of WWII were sowed long before then, in countries that wanted to build their empires and countries that suffered humiliation from WWI

The direct causes began in the early 1930’s

World War II

officially started on

The Road to War

Cause:

Cause:

Totalitarianism

Government controls all aspects of the nation, including religion, the economy, the arts, and education

Leaders depended on ___________ to suppress all opposition

Regimes could be ______, _________, or a ___________ - led by an absolute ruler

The Soviet Union Under Stalin

Communism

Stalin took power in 1924 after Lenin’s death

______________1st five-year plan

Modernized agriculture and built new industries

Built modern industries where ___________________________were produced

Industry modernized by

The Soviet Union Under Stalin

Trans-Siberian RR - 6000 miles from Moscow to Vladovostock

– Ukraine – Breadbasket of the USSR Farmers not allowed to farm on their

own land – produce confiscated State-run commercial farms Resistance led to harsh reprisals Leaders killed or sent to labor camps

– Starved between _______Ukrainian farmers

The Soviet Union Under Stalin

“_________” in the 1930’s rid the country of all of Stalin’s political & economic rivals

The Soviet Union Under Stalin

Executed _________members of the Communist Party on trumped up charges

– Killed millions of people in forced labor camps while building up industry and transportation

– Many people simply disappeared

– Historians estimate Stalin killed about ____ million of his own citizens

The Soviet Union Under Stalin

Italy under Mussolini Fascism Italians were angered that they didn’t get

more territory after WWI Mussolini flamed their anger and gained

support from veterans, socialists, anarchists ‘______________’ enforced his authority King panicked and appointed “_________”

as prime minister

Italy Under Mussolini

Mussolini suspended all elections, outlawed all other political parties, and created a dictatorship

In 1935 Italy invaded __________ and within 6 months overwhelmed the local forces

* American volunteers aided the Ethiopians with men and supplies - too little, too late

Germany Under Hitler

Hitler joined the Nazi Party in 1919 Nazism becomes a form of fascism based

on _______________________________ Hitler spoke out against the Treaty of

Versailles and the democratic government Wrote _________while in prison in 1923;

outlined plans for militarism and racial cleansing

Germany Under Hitler

Depression in 1930’s hit Germany particularly hard

Hitler promised to lead people to economy prosperity and to restore the nation’s territories and pride

1930 - The Nazi Party took control of the __________________

1932 - Hitler ran for president but lost to ______________________

1933 - Hindenburg named Hitler chancellor, or head of the government

1934 - Hindenburg died, leaving Hitler as the nations leader

Germany Under Hitler

_________ silenced all opposition

1934 – staged a fire in the Reichstag

Convinced Reichstag to grant him dictatorial powers to prevent “anarchists” from overthrowing the government

Suspended freedom of speech / press and all elections

Germany Under Hitler

Germany Under Hitler

Hitler ended Germany’s depression with massive government spending

Built the __________ and other public works

Germany Under Hitler

Increased the military in violation of the Treaty of Versailles (1935)

German troops re-entered the Rhineland, the area they were forbidden to occupy in the Treaty of Versailles (1936)

___________________________united (1938) Germany conquered the ____________ (1938)

– (Munich Conference) Germany expanded

___________________________(1939) Germany occupied the remainder of

__________________ (1939)

Germany Under Hitler

The Road to War Italy and Germany signed an alliance

agreement (1936), became the Axis Powers

Great Britain and France practiced _______________ - giving in to avoid a larger conflict

United States wanted to remain isolated from European affairs

The remainder of the world watched and waited

Spanish Civil War1936 - 1939

Republicans – (loyalists) elected government– Vs

Nationalists - military dictatorship (Franco)

Spanish Civil War1936 - 1939

Nationalist Germany and Italy

gave military support to Franco

Used the war to practice war maneuvers, such as aerial bombing of cities

Republicans Soviet Union aided

with arms and supplies

Volunteers from 50 other countries also assisted

Spanish Civil War

The Nationalists, with help from the Germans, took control of the country by March, 1939

Germany and the Soviet Union had their first practice run at each other.

Spain was neutral during WWII

Franco remained in power until 1975

The Road to War1939

Germany and Italy continued to build their militaries

The remainder of Europe and the USA watched and waited

War in Europe Italy occupied __________ (April 1939)

France & Great Britain prepared for war and pledged to defend __________ (1939)

Germany removed their largest obstacle by signing a ____________with the Soviet Union (August, 1939)

Within a month, Germany conquered W. Poland

France & Great Britain unable to help

World War II officially began

Soviet Union (1939)

Conquered E. Poland, Finland & The Baltic States

**Resistance fighters in Finland would continue to fight, and would eventually win back most of their country

Molotov Cocktail

‘_______________lasted from October 1939 to April 1940

France reinforced the ____________

War in Europe

* April 9, 1940

*Germany conquers Denmark (1 day);

*Norway (2 weeks);

*Belgium and The Netherlands (12 days).

War in Europe Continues

The Maginot Line protected France from a ________________ from Germany

Germans used _______________ to cross the line and bombed reinforcements

German Panzer divisions invaded from the north, through ______________, around the Maginot Line

The French and English armies retreated to the northwest coast

War in Europe

Evacuation at Dunkirk

F The French and British were trapped between the English Channel and the German Army

F The British navy rushed to evacuate the troops

F In 9 days, over ______ ships evacuated over __________________ troops

while being strafed by the ____________

Occupation of France 1940-1944–Collaborators

Germany occupied 3/5’s of France

The ‘_____’ gov’t, under Petain, ruled the remainder

–Resistance Fighters used

___________and sabotage to disrupt the Germans

Rescued and returned fighter pilots

The Blitz

By September the Germans were deliberately using ___________ bombs on civilian populations

This would continue off and on for eight months

Both sides would target civilian populations throughout the war

Hundreds of RAF pilots died defending GB

American and Canadian volunteers assisted before the USA declared war

British people stayed resolved to fight back

British gained an advantage by cracking Germany’s codes

The invasion of GB never occurred

The Blitz

American Involvement

Eventually the USA begins to provide supplies and equipment to the Allied Powers.

“_______________________” The USA does not have direct troop

involvement until after Pearl Harbor.

The Holocaust

Prior to 1938, Germany encouraged Jews to emigrate; many did to other European countries

Germany began the systematic imprisonment of Jews by 1938

Kristallnaght was the beginning of an all-out campaign against Jews

As they conquered additional territory, more Jews came under their control

The Final Solution was agreed on in 1941

Japan ______________________- elected

government but emperor remained powerful Built up military and industry and became

most powerful nation in the Pacific Took control of Korea and ‘policed’

By staging revolts and anarchy, the military was able to take control of the government

Japan Japan could not support its population or

industry In September, 1931 they seized control of

Manchuria By moving thousands of soldiers and

farmers into the area, they were able to use it as a base for further expansion

United States and the League of Nations protested but did nothing to stop it

War with China July, 1937 Japan began an all-out assault on

They quickly conquered the northern and eastern cities but failed to conquer the interior

Japanese were particularly brutal to civilians and prisoners of war

“Rape of Nanjing” killed at least 100,000 men, women, and children

War with China United States responded with a series of

________________ Great Britain and the Soviet Union sent

men and supplies General Jiang Jieshi and Mao Zedong

worked together to thwart the Japanese, using sabotage and guerrilla warfare

By 1939 they reached a ____________

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

1940 Japan signed the tripartite with Germany and Italy

– Each country would come to the others’ defense– They would not support each other’s enemies– Recognized that Italy & Germany controlled Europe– Recognized that Japan controlled East Asia

Japan signed a non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union

Invaded French Indochina and other European colonies

Neutrality 1935 - Banned the USA from selling arms

to countries at war

1936 - Banned loans to these countries

1937 - Only allowed to sell non-military goods on _________________

(September) 1940 Executive order – 99 old destroyers for bases (8) in U.K. territories

(March) 1941 - ______________allowed USA to lend, lease, or otherwise provide all available support to the Allied forces

(July) 1941 – US destroyers started escorting supplies overseas; conflicts w/ u-boats

Prelude to War - Europe

Prelude to War - Japan

(1940) USA cut off _____________________to Japan when they expanded in the Pacific

(1941) Further expansion precipitated a freeze on all Japanese assets in the USA

(1941) USA cut off all _________to Japan– USA and Japan continued negotiations to find a

peaceful solution– General Tojo Hideki became PM of Japan

Pearl Harbor

The Japanese strategy was to make us give in to their demands in order to avoid war

Admiral Yamomoto, who planned the attack, opposed it

“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant”

Japanese Strategy Failures