Unit 9 – World War II (1939 – 1945)

The Road to War in Europe

Bell Ringer!Dictators and War

1. The political philosophy of Hitler and Mussolini that forced individuals to put their welfare second to the welfare of the state?a. Totalitarianism b. Fascism c. Democracy

2. He was the brutal communist dictator of the Soviet Union during World War II?a. Lenin b. Trotsky c. Stalin

3. Who held the real power of decision making in Japan during the 1930’s that the nation on the path to war?a. Military Leaders b. Parliament c. Emperor Hirohito

4. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitism means a prejudice against _______.a. Jews b. Communists c. Slavs

Hitler Threatens World Peace

• 1933-1936 - Hitler rearms Germany.

• His goal was unify all German-speaking people into the Third Reich.

• He occupied the Saar Basin (1935) and the Rhineland (1936) & the League of Nations & France did nothing!

The Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939)

• Nationalist Spanish forces led by Fascist Francisco Franco rebelled against Spain’s democratic government.

• Rome-Berlin Axis provided arms to Franco during this brutal conflict.

• The League of Nations again did nothing.

• It was a testing ground for new German and Italian weaponry.

Appeasement Leads to War

• March 1938 – Hitler Annexes Austria in a union called Anschluss.

• Sept. 1938 – Hitler demands the Sudetenland (W. Czech.) where 3 million Germans lived.

• Britain and France now alarmed.

Sudetenland

The Munich Conference (Sept. 1938)

• Neville Chamberlain (UK) gave Hitler the Sudetenland in Munich & Hitler promised peace?

• Hitler annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia 5 ½ months later.

• Appeasement failed! • Why? How did Hitler view

the Allies?

Hitler-Stalin Nonaggression Pact

• Aug. 23, 1939 – Cruelly partitioned Poland and promised not to attack each other.

• Hitler got Poland and Stalin got time.

• Britain and France agreed to defend Poland if attacked by Germany.

Hitler Unleashes the Blitzkrieg!• Sept. 1, 1939 – Poland

crushed by “lightning war” – tanks, planes (Luftwaffe), and mechanized infantry

• Predicated on both speed and surprise, Poland was crushed.

• Sept. 17, 1939 – USSR invades E. Poland.

• Britain & France declare war on Germany & Italy follows suit. WW 2 begins!

Hitler’s Blitzkrieg Crushes Western Europe (April – June 1940)

• France had faith in the Maginot Line – a line of forts and troop between Switz. & Belgium.

• Apr. 9, 1940 – Denmark & Norway

• May 10, 1940 – Belgium, Holland, & France

• Late May, 340,000 Allies evacuated at Dunkirk, Belgium – 9 Days, 900 ships across the Eng. Channel.

Britain Stands Alone!• France surrendered on June 14, 1940

(35 days!)• Winston Churchill (new Pr. Min. of

Britain) vowed to never surrender!• May 1940 – June 1941 – Battle of

Britain (RAF vs. Luftwaffe) 30,000 Br. Killed (most in London during the “London Blitz.”)

• RAF – lost 1,000 planes; Ger. 1,700• Hitler’s first mistake was to postpone

the invasion!• June 1941 – Frustrated, Hitler violates

non-aggression pact and invades the Soviet Union.!

The U.S.A. Favors Isolationism• Neutrality Acts of 1935, 36, 37 – Am.

Could not sail in the war zone or loan materials or $$$ to belligerents.

• 1939 Neutrality Act included “Cash and Carry” provision only as Americans favored isolationism

• Sept. 1940 –Congress passed Selective Service Act established 1st peace-time draft at FDR’s urging

• FDR re-elected in Nov. 1940 over Wendell Willkie (R-IN) by a comfortable margin as Americans are becoming aware of the pressing danger

The Battle of the Atlantic and End of American Neutrality

• Mar. 1941 – Lend-Lease Act – Economic War declared on Axis (Japan joined in 1940); $40 Billion to the UK and U.S.S.R. in return for rights to use bases from the U.K. The U.S. was an “Arsenal for Democracy”

• Fall 1941 – Hitler orders his “wolf packs” of U-Boats to target U.S. & Allied shipping. FDR gives okay for U.S. to fight back! It was an undeclared war at sea.

• 3500+ Allied ships and 1000s of seaman lost.

• By 1943 – Allies, with help of new technology, turn the tide against the U-Boats.

Exit Slip – Appeasement Leads to War

1. During the Spanish Civil War, Hitler and Mussolini supported ________, who would become Spain’s fascist dictator.a. Francisco Franco b. Fidel Castro c. Joseph Stalin

2. “Anschluss” refers to Hitler’s annexation of this country?a. France b. Austria c. Czechoslovakia

3. As a result of the Munich Pact, the leader of this nation basically “gave” the Sudetenland to Germany?a. the Soviet Union b. Great Britain c. the United States

4. When Germany invaded this nation on September 1, 1939 World War 2 began?a. France b. the Soviet Union c. Poland