1

World War II

Depression and the Rise of Totalitarian Dictatorship

Appeasement:___________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

__

Name:_______________________________

Mr. Marcussen and Mrs. Hedges 2015-2016

2

Homework Calendar World War II

January 4-8, 2016

How to use this calendar • This calendar gives you the homework assignment for each week. The calendar

gives the assignment for each night. The assignment is due the next day! Remember no homework will be accepted late!

World War II

1. Causes – appeasement and similarity to World War I 2. Effects – Political, Social, Economic

3. Holocaust 4. Establishment of the United Nations

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

4

Homework: The

Policy of

Appeasement and

World War II pages

5-6

5

Homework:

Rape of Nanjing

pages 10-11

6

Quiz Day

Homework: United

Nations Pages 12-14

7

Castle Learning

Homework: finish

Packet and study.

8

TEST

3

Allied

Powers Nation

and

Leader

United States

___________

Great Britain _____________________

France

____________

_

Soviet Union

____________

_

China

____________

_

Axis

Powers Nation

and

Leader

Germany

___________

Italy ______________

______________

Cause

s

Immediate

Cause

________________

________________

________________

Long Term

Causes

World

War II

_____________________

- glorified war and death

for the Fatherland the

highest honor

______________________

- the Axis nations

considered themselves

superior and destined to

rule

Class work for January 4, 2016

___________________

- they openly declared

their intent to destroy

democracy

_____________________

- each act of appeasement

strengthened the Axis to

make further demands

_________________

- Axis nations used

the excuse that they

lacked resources and

land

4

Event

Sequence

_____________ - set the conditions for

the rise of Hitler

1

_________________

- Appeasement gives

Hitler confidence to take

more territory

______________________

- the war begins as blitzkrieg

tactics are very effective, war

of movement begins

______________________

- the United States enters

the war and provided

supplies

_____________________

-turning points in the war

showing the end of the Axis

____________________

- the Allied nations occupy

Germany ending the war

_______________________

- atomic bombs dropped on

Hiroshima and Nagasaki end the

war in the pacific

2

3

4

5

6

7

Effects

of

World

War II

World

War

II

___________________________

___________________

- the Soviet Union creates buffer

states to protect it from the West

_________________________

- the nations of Europe face

difficult problems of recovery and

can’t stop colonial nationalism

_____________________

- the United States rebuilds Japan and

transforms the government into a

democracy

_______________________

- Nazi leaders are put on trial for

their actions in the Holocaust for

Crimes Against Humanity

__________________________

- this international organization was

formed to maintain peace, promote

human rights, and solve

humanitarian problems

_________________________

- the two superpowers –the US and

USSR- compete against each other

for power and influence in the

world

_________________________

- nations of Europe faced enormous

damage and millions of refugees in the

challenge to rebuild nations

5

The League's failure to stop the Japanese encouraged European Fascists to plan aggression of their

own. The Italian leader Mussolini dreamed of building a colonial empire in Africa like those of Britain

and France. The Ethiopians had successfully resisted an Italian attempt at conquest during the l890s. To

avenge that defeat, Mussolini ordered a massive invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935. The Ethiopian

emperor urgently appealed to the League for help. Hoping to keep peace in Europe, the League

condemned the attack, but did nothing.

Hitler also took bold steps. In March 1935, he announced that Germany would not obey the

Versailles Treaty's restriction on the size of the German army. The League issued only a mild

condemnation. Hitler took even greater risks. On March 7, 1936, German troops moved into the

Rhineland, a 30-mile zone on either side of the Rhine River that the treaty had set as a buffer between

Germany and France. Stunned, the French were unwilling to risk war. The British urged appeasement,

giving into an aggressor to keep peace.

Hitler's growing strength convinced Mussolini to seek an alliance with Germany. In October 1936,

the two dictators reached an agreement that became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. A month later,

Germany also made an agreement with Japan. Germany, Italy, and Japan came to be called the Axis

Powers.

On November 5, 1937, Hitler announced to his advisers his plans to absorb Austria and

Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich, or German Empire. In March 1938, Hitler sent his army into Austria

and annexed it. France and Britain ignored their pledge to protect Austrian independence. In September

1938, Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia give Germany its western border regions called the

Sudetenland. The Czechs refused and asked France for help.

France and Britain were preparing for war when Mussolini proposed a meeting of Germany,

France, Britain, and Italy in Munich, Germany. The Munich Conference was held on September 29, 1938.

The Czechs were not invited. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed that he could preserve

peace by giving in to Hitler's demand. Britain and France agreed that Hitler could take the Sudetenland. In

exchange, Hitler pledged to respect Czechoslovakia's new borders. Less than six months after the Munich

meeting, Hitler took Czechoslovakia. Soon after, Mussolini seized Albania. Then Hitler demanded that

Poland return the former German port of Danzig. The Poles refused and turned to Britain and France for

aid. But appeasement had convinced Hitler that neither nation would risk war.

Britain and France asked the Soviet Union to join them in stopping Hitler's aggression. As Stalin

talked with Britain and France, he also bargained with Hitler. The two dictators reached an agreement.

Once bitter enemies, Fascist Germany and Communist Russia now publicly pledged never to attack one

another. On August 23, 1939, their leaders signed a nonaggression pact. As the Axis Powers moved

unchecked at the end of the decade, war appeared inevitable.

Reading Questions

1. How did the weakness of the League of Nations encourage Italy and Germany to become

aggressive toward other nations?

2. Define appeasement.

3. How did the events of World War I influence Great Britain and France to use appeasement with

Hitler?

4. Do you think appeasement would work in today’s society? Explain your answer

The Policy of Appeasement

Homework for January 4,2016

6

World War II The League's failure to stop the Japanese encouraged European Fascists to plan aggression of their

own. The Italian leader Mussolini dreamed of building a colonial empire in Africa like those of Britain

and France. The Ethiopians had successfully resisted an Italian attempt at conquest during the l890s. To

avenge that defeat, Mussolini ordered a massive invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935. The Ethiopian

emperor urgently appealed to the League for help. Hoping to keep peace in Europe, the League

condemned the attack, but did nothing.

Hitler also took bold steps. In March 1935, he announced that Germany would not obey the

Versailles Treaty's restriction on the size of the German army. The League issued only a mild

condemnation. Hitler took even greater risks. On March 7, 1936, German troops moved into the

Rhineland, a 30-mile zone on either side of the Rhine River that the treaty had set as a buffer between

Germany and France. Stunned, the French were unwilling to risk war. The British urged appeasement,

giving into an aggressor to keep peace.

Hitler's growing strength convinced Mussolini to seek an alliance with Germany. In October 1936,

the two dictators reached an agreement that became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. A month later,

Germany also made an agreement with Japan. Germany, Italy, and Japan came to be called the Axis

Powers.

On November 5, 1937, Hitler announced to his advisers his plans to absorb Austria and

Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich, or German Empire. In March 1938, Hitler sent his army into Austria

and annexed it. France and Britain ignored their pledge to protect Austrian independence. In September

1938, Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia give Germany its western border regions called the

Sudetenland. The Czechs refused and asked France for help.

France and Britain were preparing for war when Mussolini proposed a meeting of Germany,

France, Britain, and Italy in Munich, Germany. The Munich Conference was held on September 29, 1938.

The Czechs were not invited. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed that he could preserve

peace by giving in to Hitler's demand. Britain and France agreed that Hitler could take the Sudetenland. In

exchange, Hitler pledged to respect Czechoslovakia's new borders. Less than six months after the Munich

meeting, Hitler took Czechoslovakia. Soon after, Mussolini seized Albania. Then Hitler demanded that

Poland return the former German port of Danzig. The Poles refused and turned to Britain and France for

aid. But appeasement had convinced Hitler that neither nation would risk war.

Britain and France asked the Soviet Union to join them in stopping Hitler's aggression. As Stalin

talked with Britain and France, he also bargained with Hitler. The two dictators reached an agreement.

Once bitter enemies, Fascist Germany and Communist Russia now publicly pledged never to attack one

another. On August 23, 1939, their leaders signed a nonaggression pact. As the Axis Powers moved

unchecked at the end of the decade, war appeared inevitable.

Reading Questions

1. How did the weakness of the League of Nations encourage Italy and Germany to become

aggressive toward other nations?

2. Define appeasement.

3. How did the events of World War I influence Great Britain and France to use appeasement

with Hitler?

4. Do you think appeasement would work in today’s society? Explain your answer.

7

Classwork for January 5, 2016

World War II: The War Begins

During the 1930s, Hitler played on the hopes and fears of the Western

democracies. Each time he grabbed new territory, he would declare an end to his

demands. Peace seemed guaranteed - until Hitler moved again. In 1939, Hitler

demanded the return of the Polish Corridor, German territory that had been

transferred to Poland following World War I. At this point, Soviet dictator Joseph

Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler. In a secret part of the pact,

Germany and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Poland between them. They also

agreed that the USSR could take over Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.

After signing this nonaggression pact, Hitler quickly moved to conquer

Poland. His surprise attack took place at dawn on September 1, 1939. German

tanks and troop trucks rumbled across the Polish border. At the same time,

German aircraft and artillery began a merciless bombing of Poland's capital,

Warsaw. France and Great Britain declared war on Germany on September 3. But

Poland fell some time before those nations could make any military response.

After his victory, Hitler annexed the western half of Poland, which had a large

German population. The German invasion of Poland was the first test of

Germany's newest military strategy-the blitzkrieg, or "lightning war." It involved

using fast-moving airplanes and tanks, followed by massive infantry forces, to

take enemy defenders by surprise and quickly overwhelm them. In the case of

Poland, the strategy worked.

On September 17, Stalin sent Soviet troops to occupy the eastern half of

Poland. Stalin then moved to annex countries to the north of Poland. Lithuania,

Latvia, and Estonia fell without a struggle, but Finland resisted. In November,

Stalin sent nearly one million Soviet troops into Finland. The Soviets suffered

heavy losses, but by March 1940, Stalin had forced the Finns to surrender.

The Early War in Europe and the Mediterranean

After they declared war on Germany, the French and British mobilized

their armies. In May 1940, Hitler began a dramatic sweep through the

Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg as part of his strategy to strike at France.

Keeping the Allies' attention on those countries, Hitler sent an even larger force

toward France's northern coast. After reaching the French coast, the Germans

swung north again and joined with German troops in Belgium. By the end of May

1940, the Allies retreated to the beaches of Dunkirk, a French port city near the

Belgian border and fled to Great Britain. Following the evacuation of Dunkirk,

French resistance crumbled. By June 14, the Germans had taken Paris. French

leaders surrendered on June 22, 1940. The Germans took control of the northern

part of the country. They left the southern part to a French puppet government

headquartered in the city of Vichy.

After the fall of France, Hitler turned his attention to Eastern Europe. He

quickly secured the Balkans in preparation for invading the Soviet Union. Early in

the morning of June 22, 1941, the Germans launched the invasion. The Soviet

What was the nonaggression pact?

What is the first nation that Hitler attacks?

What is blitzkrieg?

What is Stalin’s reaction to the German invasion of Poland?

After taking Poland, what nations are next to be conquered by Nazi Germany?

How did Germany divide France?

Why do you think the Soviet Union was unprepared for the German invasion?

Classwork for January 5, 2016

8

Union was not prepared. The Germans pushed 500 miles inside the Soviet Union.

As the Soviet troops retreated, they burned and destroyed everything in the

enemy's path. The Russians had successfully used this scorched-earth strategy

against Napoleon.

A Nazi drive on Moscow, the capital and heart of the Soviet Union, began

on October 2, 1941. By December, the Germans had advanced to the outskirts of

Moscow. The Soviets counterattacked. As temperatures fell, the Germans, in

summer uniforms, retreated. Ignoring Napoleon's winter defeat 130 years before,

Hitler ordered his generals to keep fighting. German troops dug in about 125

miles west of Moscow. They held on until March 1943. Hitler's advance on the

Soviet Union gained nothing but cost the Germans 500,000 lives.

The War in the Pacific

To almost everyone's surprise the attack that actually drew the United

States into the war did not come from Germany. It came from Japan. Early in the

morning of December 7, 1941, American sailors at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii

awoke to the roar of explosives. A Japanese attack was underway! Within two

hours, the Japanese had sunk or damaged 19 ships, including 8 battleships,

moored in Pearl Harbor. News of the attack stunned the American people. The

next day, President Roosevelt addressed Congress. December 7, 1941, he

declared, was “a date which will live in infamy.” Congress quickly accepted his

request for a declaration of war on Japan and its allies.

Victory in Europe

In 1943, Stalin finally got his wish for Germany to fight a two front war in

Europe. The invasion of France began on June 6, 1944 - known as D-Day. At

dawn on this day, British, American, French, and Canadian troops fought their

way onto a 60-mile stretch of beach in Normandy. The Allies took heavy

casualties. Among the American forces alone, more than 2,700 men died on the

beaches that day.

Despite heavy losses, the Allies held the beachheads. On July 25, the Allies

punched a hole in the German defenses and a month later, the Allies marched

triumphantly into Paris. By September, they had liberated France, Belgium, and

Luxembourg. They then set their sights on Germany. As the Allied forces moved

toward Germany from the west, the Soviet army was advancing toward Germany

from the east. Hitler now faced a war on two fronts.

The war in Europe was rapidly drawing to a close. By the middle of April

1945, a noose was closing around Berlin. Hitler prepared for his end in an

underground headquarters beneath the crumbling city. On April 30, Hitler and Eva

Braun committed suicide. Their bodies were then carried outside and burned. On

May 7, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third

Reich from the German military. President Roosevelt, however, did not live to

witness the long-awaited victory. He had died suddenly on April 12. Roosevelt's

successor, Harry Truman, received the news of the Nazi surrender. On May 9, the

surrender was officially signed in Berlin. The United States and other Allied

powers celebrated V-E Day-Victory in Europe Day.

What tactic did the Russian’s use against Napoleon and Germany?

What lesson did Hitler not learn from Napoleon’s attempt to conquer Moscow?

How did the United States become involved in World War II?

Why did President Roosevelt call the attack on Pearl Harbor “a date which will live in infamy”?

What was D-Day?

What is the significance of D-Day?

How did Hitler deal with the advancing Allied armies?

What is V-E Day?

9

Victory in the Pacific

Although the war in Europe was over, the Allies were still fighting the

Japanese in the Pacific. By February 1943, the Japanese advances in the Pacific

had been stopped. By the fall of 1944, the Allies were moving in on Japan. In

March 1945, after a month of bitter fighting and heavy losses, American Marines

took Iwo Jima, an island 760 miles from Tokyo. On April 1, U.S. troops moved

onto the island of Okinawa, only about 350 miles from southern Japan.

After Okinawa, the next stop for the Allies had to be Japan. President

Truman's advisers had informed him that an invasion of the Japanese homeland

might cost the Allies half a million lives. Truman had to decide whether to use a

powerful new weapon called the atomic bomb. Most of his advisers felt that using

it would bring the war to the quickest possible end. President Truman then warned

the Japanese that unless they surrendered, they could expect a “rain of ruin from

the air.” The Japanese did not reply. So, on August 6, the United States dropped

an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a Japanese city of nearly 350,000 people. Between

70,000 and 80,000 people died in the attack. Three days later, on August 9, a

second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, a city of 270,000. More than 70,000

people were killed immediately. Radiation fallout from the two explosions killed

many more. The Japanese finally surrendered on September 2, 1945.

The War's Aftermath

After six long years of war, the Allies finally were victorious. However, their

victory had been achieved at a very high price. World War II had caused more

death and destruction than any other conflict in history. It left 60 million dead.

About one-third of these deaths occurred in one country, the Soviet Union.

Another 50 million people had been uprooted from their homes and wandered the

countryside in search of somewhere to live. Property damage ran into billions of

U.S. dollars.

While nations were struggling to recover, they also tried to deal with the issue

of war crimes. During 1945 and 1946, an International Military Tribunal

representing 23 nations put Nazi war criminals on trial in Nuremberg, Germany.

In the first of these Nuremberg Trials, Nazi leaders were charged with waging a

war of aggression. They were also accused of committing “crimes against

humanity”-the murder of 11 million people. Hitler and several of his top staff had

committed suicide long before the trials began. However, other high-ranking Nazi

leaders remained to face the charges. Ten Nazi leaders were hanged on October

16, 1946. The bodies of those executed were burned at the concentration camp of

Dachau. They were cremated in the same ovens that had burned so many of their

victims.

What two important islands were taken by the US in 1945?

What convinced President Truman to use the atomic bomb?

Why did the US drop two atomic bombs?

What was the price of the Allied victory?

What were the Nuremberg Trials?

What is the significance of the Nazi leaders’ bodies being cremated at Dachau?

Your Opinion Do you think that putting the Nazi leaders on trial for “crimes against humanity” sends a message to future leaders not to commit acts of genocide or face the consequences? Explain your answer!

10

Rape in Nanjing

The1930s saw the beginning of another terrible world war, which would cause untold suffering

in many nations. This document focuses on Japan's capture in 1937 of China's capital city, Nanjing

(also called Nanking).

The fall of Nanjing occurred during the Sino-Japanese War of1937-1945. After years of friction

caused by Japanese pressure on China, full-scale war broke out in the summer of 1937. Invading

Japanese forces attacked the port city of Shanghai and advanced on Nanjing, which lay west of

Shanghai on the Yangtze River. Surrounded and unable to escape, 300,000 Nationalist Chinese

soldiers surrendered and Japanese soldiers entered Nanjing on December 13.

The scenes that followed shocked even some Japanese observers. Unable or unwilling to deal

with up to 300,000 prisoners of war, the Japanese slaughtered their captives mercilessly. Treatment of

civilians was equally brutal, as tens of thousands of men and women were bayoneted, raped, beheaded,

or otherwise mistreated. The mayhem continued into January 1938. These events are now known as

the Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing. The toll of dead has been estimated at between 100,000

and 300,000.

The first document is by a Japanese military correspondent covering the war.

The Massacre

On Hsiakwan wharves, there was the dark silhouette of a mountain made of dead bodies. About

fifty to one hundred [Chinese] people were toiling there, dragging bodies from the mountain of corpses

and throwing them into the Yangtze River. The bodies dripped blood, some of them still alive and

moaning weakly, their limbs twitching. The laborers were busy working in total silence, as in a

pantomime [a play in which the actors substitute body movement for speech]. In the dark one could

barely see the opposite bank of the river. On the pier was a field of glistening mud under the moon's

dim light. Wow! That's all blood!

After a while, the ... [laborers] had done their job of dragging corpses and the soldiers lined

them up along the river. Rat-tat-tat machine-gun fire could be heard. The . . . [laborers] fell backwards

into the river and were swallowed by the raging currents. The pantomime was over.

A Japanese officer at the scene estimated that 20,000 persons had been executed.

The second document is from a diary kept by John Rabe, a German resident of Nanjing who became

the unofficial leader of the city's foreign community in protesting against Japanese actions. Rabe was a

Nazi party member who reported directly to Hitler, yet he was unsparing in his criticism of the

Japanese.

A Foreigner's Reaction December 24, 1937

I have had to look at so many corpses over the last few weeks that I can keep my nerves in

check even when viewing these horrible cases. It really doesn't leave you in a "Christmas" mood; but I

wanted to see these atrocities with my own eyes, so that I can speak as an eyewitness later. A man

cannot be silent about this kind of cruelty!

Japanese military leaders involved in the massacre were charged with war crimes and put on trial by

the Allies at the end of World War II. Matsui Iwane, who held command over the armies that captured

the city, was convicted and executed. So was Tani Hisao, a lieutenant general.

Homework for January 5, 2016

11

Review Questions

The Massacre

1. What did the Japanese military order the Chinese laborers to do?

2. What eventually happened to the Chinese laborers?

3. Why do you think the books from which this document was excerpted refer to the fall of

Nanjing (Nanking) as a "rape" and a "forgotten Holocaust"?

A Foreigner's Reaction

1. Why did John Rabe feel that he had to see the atrocities that the Japanese had committed

against the people of Nanjing?

2. Why did Rabe refer to a "Christmas mood"?

12

United Nations The UN emblem shows the world held in

the “olive branches of peace”. The United

Nations officially came into existence on 24 October 1945.

The purpose of the United Nations is to

bring all nations of the world together to

work for peace and development, based on the principles of justice,

human dignity and the well-being of all people. It affords the

opportunity for countries to balance global interdependence and

national interests when addressing international problems.

There are currently 192 Members of the United Nations. They meet in

the General Assembly, which is the closest thing to a world

parliament. Each country, large or small, rich or poor, has a single

vote, however, none of the decisions taken by the Assembly are

binding. Nevertheless, the Assembly's decisions become resolutions

that carry the weight of world governmental opinion.

The United Nations Headquarters is in New York City but the land

and buildings are international territory. The United Nations has its

own flag, its own post office and its own postage stamps. The senior

officer of the United Nations Secretariat is the Secretary-General.

The Aims of the United Nations:

To keep peace throughout the world.

To develop friendly relations between nations.

To work together to help people live better lives, to eliminate

poverty, disease and illiteracy in the world, to stop

environmental destruction and to encourage respect for each

other's rights and freedoms.

The Principles of the United Nations:

All Member States have sovereign equality.

All Member States must obey the Charter.

Countries must try to settle their differences by peaceful means.

Countries must avoid using force or threatening to use force.

The UN may not interfere in the domestic affairs of any country.

Countries should try to assist the United Nations.

The predecessor: The League of Nations

The League of Nations was founded immediately after the First

World War. It originally consisted of 42 countries, 26 of which were

non-European. At its largest, 57 countries were members of the

League. The League was created because a number of people in

France, South Africa, the UK and the US believed that a world

organization of nations could keep the peace and prevent a repetition

of the horrors of the 1914-18 war in Europe. An effective world body

now seemed possible because communications were so much better

and there was increasing experience of working together in

international organizations. Coordination and cooperation for

economic and social progress were becoming important.

What was the purpose of

the United Nations?

Where is the headquarters of

the United Nations?

Which of the following aims of the

United Nations do you feel is the

most important? Explain your

answer.

Which of the following principles

of the United Nations do you feel

is the most important? Explain

your answer

Why was the League of Nations

created?

Homework for January 6, 2016

13

The League had two basic aims. Firstly, it sought to preserve the

peace through collective action. Disputes would be referred to the

League's Council for arbitration and conciliation. If necessary,

economic and then military sanctions could be used. In other words,

members undertook to defend other members from aggression.

Secondly, the League aimed to promote international cooperation in

economic and social affairs.

The End of the League

As the Second World War unfolded, it became clear that the League

had failed in its chief aim of keeping the peace. The League had no

military power of its own. It depended on its members' contributions;

and its members were not willing to use sanctions, economic or

military. Moral authority was insufficient.

Several Big Powers failed to support the League: the United States

crucially never joined; Germany was a member for only seven years

from 1926 and the USSR for only five years from 1934; Japan and

Italy both withdrew in the 30s. The League then depended mainly on

Britain and France, who were understandably hesitant to act

forcefully. It was indeed difficult for governments long accustomed to

operating independently to work through this new organization.

The United Nations Charter

Even as the Second World War raged, the leaders of Britain, China,

the US and the USSR, under intense pressure from the press and

public, discussed the details of a post-war organization. In 1944

representatives of China, the UK, the US and the USSR prepared a

blueprint for an international organization. Towards the end of the war

representatives of 50 countries gathered in San Francisco between

April and June 1945 to hammer out the final text that would lay the

foundations of international cooperation.

Although the League was abandoned, most of its ideals and some of

its structure were kept by the United Nations and outlined in its

Charter. The ideals of peace and social and economic progress

remained the basic goals of the new world organization. However,

these were developed to fit the new and more complex post-war

world.

The League's Council was transformed into the Security Council

consisting of the five victors of World War II as permanent members

and ten other countries serving two year terms. The five permanent

members - China, France, the UK, the USSR, and the US were also

given veto power, which means that decisions taken by the Security

Council can be blocked by any of the five permanent members.

This is significant firstly because the Security Council is the principle

UN branch responsible for ensuring peace, and, secondly, because it is

the only body whose decisions are binding on all Member States.

Since the creation of the UN the balance of Big Powers has changed

What were the basic aims of the

League of Nations?

There were several reasons for the

failure of the League of Nations.

Pick the one you feel was the most

important and explain why?

What nations prepared a blueprint

for a new international

organization?

Who are the permanent members

of the Security Council? What

special power do they hold?

Why is the Security Council so

important? What power does it

hold?

14

and over one hundred new Member States, mainly non-Western, have

joined. With these changes have come increasing demands to reform

the Security Council.

The former League of Nation’s Covenant was turned into a

comprehensive prescription for international economic and social

cooperation, with the aim of achieving conditions of stability and

well-being recognized as essential for peaceful relations among

nations. Under the guidance of a new organ, the Economic and Social

Council, the work of existing and anticipated Specialized Agencies in

the fields of labor, education, health, agriculture, development and

many others would be coordinated within the UN system. Racism and

repression demanded that another, new, people's element should enter

emphatically into the Charter, that of rights. Many sorts of rights,

from the right to self-determination, which encouraged the

independence of colonized peoples, to general human rights, which

aimed to protect individuals, are enshrined in the Charter, the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and two Covenants which

have become major, standard-setting additions to international law.

The United Nation System

The basic structure of the United Nations is outlined in an

organizational chart. What the structure does not show is that

decision-making within the UN system is not as easy as in many other

organizations. The UN is not an independent, homogeneous

organization; it is made up of sovereign states, so actions by the UN

depend on the will of Member States, to accept, fund or carry them

out. Especially in matters of peace-keeping and international politics,

it requires a complex, often slow, process of consensus-building that

must take into account national sovereignty as well as global needs.

Recently, international conferences organized by the UN have gained

significance. UN conferences have been held since the 1960s, but

with the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development, known

as the Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, they gained influence

in national and international policies regarding issues that affect

everyone such as the environment, human rights and economic

development. Since the Earth Summit, UN conferences have turned

into forums in which non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can

voice their concerns alongside those of governments. Such

conferences focus world attention on these issues and place them

squarely on the global agenda. Yet, once the international agreements

produced by these conferences are signed, it is still up to each

individual country to carry them out. With the moral weight of

international conferences and the pressures of media and NGOs,

Member States are more likely to endorse the agreements and put

them into effect.

Why is the Economic and Social

Council important in achieving

peaceful relations among nations?

Why is the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights important?

Why is the decision – making process

slow and difficult in the United

Nations?

Why have international conferences

organized by the United Nations

gained importance?

What power do these international

agreements signed at conferences

have on the nations?

15

Classwork for January 7, 2016

Lead up to World War II

Japan, Italy and Germany became militaristic and expanded for resources and world power

Japan expands into China and Southeast Asia

Italy expands into East Europe and North Africa

Germany takes over surrounding lands in Austria, the Rhineland and Czechoslovakia

The League of Nations could not stop it

Munich Conference

1938, Germany wanted the Sudetenland, and met with Britain and France

The democracies appeased Hitler’s demands and gave him the territory to avoid another world war

World War II Begins

Germany continued to expand

In September 1939, Germany invades Poland = the start of WWII

World War II Ends

Russia was too big and too cold to defeat and Germany suffered major defeats

The U.S join on D-Day, forcing the Germans to fight on two-front

- These two things forced Germany to surrender

The U.S used two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end the war in the Pacific

Sample Questions

1. One reason that Britain and France agreed to appease Hitler at the Munich Conference was to

(1) prevent the start of another world war

(2) stop the Nazis from invading the Soviet Union

(3) obey an order from the League of Nations

(4) obtain advanced German military weapons in exchange

2. The term appeasement is best defined as

(1) an attempt to avoid conflict by meeting the demands of an aggressor

(2) a period of peace and prosperity, resulting in cultural achievement

(3) a declaration of war between two or more nations

(4) an agreement removing economic barriers between nations

3. When some European leaders agreed to Hitler’s demands concerning Czechoslovakia in 1938, they

were supporting a policy of

(1) détente (3) collective security

(2) balance of power (4) appeasement

4. One reason for the outbreak of World War II was the

(1) ineffectiveness of the League of Nations

(2) growing tension between the United States and the Soviet Union

(3) conflict between the Hapsburg and the Romanov families

(4) refusal of the German government to sign the Treaty of Versailles

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5. The Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931 and Hitler’s rebuilding of the German military in 1935

demonstrate the

(1) success of defensive alliances (3) support for the Treaty of Versailles

(2) fear of communist expansion (4) failure of the League of Nations

6. Which event is most closely associated with the start of World War II in Europe?

(1) invasion of Poland by Nazi forces (3) building of the Berlin Wall

(2) signing of the Munich Agreement (4) assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

7. Which situation was a direct result of the Holocaust and other atrocities committed by the Nazis

during World War II?

(1) development of the Cold War

(2) war crimes trials in Nuremberg

(3) formation of the League of Nations

(4) separation of Germany into Eastern and Western zones

8. Which geographic factor in Russia played a role in Napoleon’s defeat in 1812 and Hitler’s defeat at

Stalingrad in 1943?

(1) Siberian tundra (3) arid land

(2) Caspian Sea (4) harsh climate

9. During World War II, the Allied invasion of France on D-Day (June 6, 1944) was significant

because it

(1) demonstrated the power of the atomic bomb

(2) resulted in a successful German revolt against Hitler and the Nazi Party

(3) led to the immediate surrender of German and Italian forces

(4) forced Germans to fight a two-front war

10. During World War II, which event occurred last?

(1) German invasion of Poland

(2) Russian defense of Stalingrad

(3) United States bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

(4) Japanese invasion of Manchuria

11. Which action taken by both Hitler and Napoleon is considered by historians to be a strategic

military error?

(1) invading Russia with limited supply lines

(2) introducing combined ground and naval assaults

(3) invading Great Britain by land

(4) using conquered peoples as slave laborers

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12.

Which British foreign policy regarding Germany does this cartoonist suggest?

(1) Imperialism (3) Containment

(2) Appeasement (4) Nationalism

13. What is the main idea of this cartoon?

(1) Freedom of the seas should be maintained, whatever the cost

(2) War is necessary to maintain a balance of power

(3) Armed strength is the best defense against aggression

(4) Appeasement will save Europe from war

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