World War II

World War II

• Objective:– To Understand the causes of World War II.– To understand the major events that occurred

during the war.– To understand the major turning points during

the war.– To understand the events that led to the end of

the war.

ACTS OF AGGRESSION1931 - Japan Invades Manchuria

The League of Nations opposes the attack and said it would deal with the government of the aggressor nation. But how could this

succeed when the government had no control over the army which was the cause of the problem ?

The Japanese army ignored the

Japanese government and launched a full-scale invasion of

Manchuria. Soon, it had occupied the whole of the

province.

What does this incident tell us about the League of Nations?

•The League also lost its most powerful member in the Far East and ultimately Japan was to unite with the two other nations that

broke League rules - Germany and Italy.

•The League could not enforce its authority. •A major power could get away with using force

•An issue so far from Europe was not likely to attract the whole-hearted support of the major European powers in the League.

•Other powers would almost certainly see this episode as a sign that they too could get away with

the use of force

ACTS OF AGGRESSION1935 – Italy Invades Ethiopia

On October 3, 1935, Italy attacked Ethiopia from Eritrea and Italian Somaliland without a declaration of war. On October 7, the League of Nations unanimously declared Italy an aggressor

but took no effective action.

Benito Mussolini

“I refuse to believe that the real people of Great Britain and France, who have never had discords with

Italy, are prepared to run the risk of hurling Europe along the road to

catastrophe for the sake of defending an African country

universally branded as a country without the slightest shadow of

civilization.”

How Does Mussolini justify the attack of Ethiopia?

“It is my duty to inform the Governments assembled in Geneva, responsible as they are for the lives of millions of

men, women and children, of the deadly peril which threatens them, by describing to them the fate which has

been suffered by Ethiopia… Representatives of the World I have come to Geneva to discharge in your midst the most

painful of the duties of the head of a State. What reply shall I have to take back to my people?”

On June 30, Haile Selassie made a powerful speech before the League of

Nations in Geneva in which he set forth two choices--support for collective security

or international lawlessness.

Haile Selassie

Acts of Aggression Lead to WWIICountry Area Attacked Reason Allies Reaction

Japan 1931 - Manchuria China 1. Need for natural resources.League of Nations condemned the

action but did nothing.

Italy Ethiopia - Africa

1. Distract Italians from depression.

2. Promised to build the new Roman Empire

League of Nations did nothing. Other nations concerned with their own problems.

  1. Austria (1938) 1. German people lived there. 1. None even though it was a direct

violation of the treaty

Germany2.Czechoslovakia/

Sudeten-land (1938)

2. German people lived there. 2. Hitler promised he was finished. Britain & France appeased and didn't fight.

  3. Poland (1939) 3. Desire for land. 3. Britain and France declare war.

AXIS POWER

Adolf Hitler (right) is considered one of the most brutal dictators

in history. After purging possible rivals for leadership, Hitler

rearmed Germany into a modern war machine. He and

Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (left), both Fascists, became

allies in 1936. They are shown here in Munich, Germany, in

1937.

GERMAN AGGRESSION

Adolf Hitler preached to the Nazi party faithful that they were a

superior race that deserved more than they had, including

additional Lebensraum, or living space, and a higher standard of living. Hitler was an emotional

speaker who had a mesmerizing effect on those who listened. By 1938 he had amassed the best-

equipped, best-trained army in the world.

Hitler invaded Austria in 1938. Many Austrians welcomed the Nazis and were content to see their country incorporated into Germany.

The British Government, led by Neville Chamberlain, merely registered a diplomatic protest which was rejected by Germany.

Hitler informs jubilant Nazi deputies in the Reichstag that Germany has annexed Austria, 1938.

GERMAN AGGRESSION

APPEASEMENT

After Germany invaded the Sudetenland, the British and French met with Hitler at Munich on September 30, 1938. They agreed to

allow the Nazi leader to seize the Sudeten districts of Czechoslovakia in return for an assurance from him that he had

no further territorial claims in Europe. Their appeasement policy once again gave in to the demands of an aggressor.

PEACE FOR OUR TIME!

“An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”

- Winston Churchill

On 15 March 1939, the German army occupied the remainder of Czechoslovakia.

“My good friends… I have returned form Germany bringing peace with honor. I believe it is

peace for our time… Go home and get a nice quiet sleep.”

The Policy Of Appeasement

Based on what you have learned, and these Dr. Seuss cartoons, what does ‘appeasement’ mean?

Nazi-Soviet Pact

On August 23, 1939, the world was shocked when, suddenly, Russia and Germany signed a non-aggression pact. In addition, the two

countries had a secret agreement to invade and divide between them.

What is the main idea of this political cartoon?

GERMANY INVADES POLANDOn September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Hitler introduced a new kind of war called a blitzkrieg, which means “lightning war.”

German bombers targeted railroads, shown here, which crippled Polish military mobilization. Hundreds of tanks smashed through Polish defenses and rolled deep into the country. The Poles fought hard, but on September 17, the Soviet Union invaded their country from the east. By the end of the month, Poland had fallen.

World War II Rages OnStage III: United States and Neutrality 1939

The United States is sympathetic to the Allies but __________________ control the Congress. Roosevelt’s (FDR’s) Fireside Chats assure that the U.S. will remain __________________________.

_______ ______ _________: The U.S. will sell arms to Allies for cash only and goods had to be picked up by the Allies.

Isolationists

neutralCash and Carry

French Refugees

Taking only what they could carry, civilians flee Paris in 1940 in anticipation of the German invasion.

France Falls!

In May 1940, the Germans attacked France. The French army was caught off guard.

The blitzkrieg sent French forces into a confused retreat, and as the Germans marched

into Paris on June 14, the French government collapsed.

German Blitzkreig Dominates

The Bombing of Britain

In Summer of 1940, the German Luftwaffe hit London with the Blitz, with bombing raids on the capital and dog-fights in

its sky during the Battle of Britain.

Operation Barbarossa

Nazis Invade Russia

March: _____________________________ The U.S. lends weapons to Britain who agrees to pay later.

June: Hitler double crosses Stalin and invades the USSR, breaking the __________________. The Russian winter stalls the German advance.

June: Japan joins the Axis Powers and seizes all colonies of Holland and France in Southeast Asia.

August: Roosevelt and Churchill set goals for the postwar world in the ____________________. Some of the terms include: That no country seeks

territorial gain, the support of the right of the people choose their own government and establish a system of world security. It also warned Germany

that the U.S. would not remain _____________ for much longer.

Lend Lease Program

neutral

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Atlantic Charter

Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor

• Attack on Pearl Harbor

• Battle of midway

D- Day: Operation OVERLORD

• Individual documentary

• D-Day German footage