WORLD WAR II Europe after World War I

WORLD WAR II

Europe after World War I �PEACE 1 Treaty of Versailles left many European nations dissatisfied. 2 France thought it was not harsh enough on Germany 3 Italy felt ignored.

German Outrage �Germany’s economy really suffered because of the Treaty �Forced Germany to give up control of some of its land required Germany to make heavy reparations (payments) to other countries. �INFLATION: rising prices. �By 1923 - Germany currency had simply ceased to have any meaningful value. � Bottom Line: Germany was going through troubled times.

TOTALITARIAN LEADERS ARISE �Leader who reflected and expressed the people’s bitterness and anger. �These leaders promised a return to greatness for their nations. -- was so appealing to their unhappy people that many gave up basic freedoms in return for future glory. TOTALITARIAN- A FORM OF GOVERNMENT IN WHICH THE PERSON OR PARTY IN CHARGE HAS ABSOLUTE CONTROL OVER ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE

FASCISM �Stressed the glory of the state �Forbids/puts down opposition �“Everything in the State, nothing outside the State, nothing against the State. ” -- rights and concerns of individuals were of little importance. �Uses violence and war to invigorate the people

Dictatorship �Government by a leader or group that holds unchallenged power and authority. �ONE, SINGLE PERSON �This allowed no other political parties and ruthlessly crushed opponents.

BENITO MUSSOLINI Italy: Fascist

JOSEF STALIN USSR - COMMUNIST

EMPEROR HIRHITO JAPAN: FASCIST

ADOLF HITLER GERMANY: FACIST

ITALY �Benito Mussolini – �Inflation- Rising Prices �Unemployment �Communist Led Strikes �Middle & Upper Class demand leader �“Il Duce” -- the leader �Many of the young men in his party wore black shirts and carried guns and clubs. They walked the streets beating up people who did not believe in their ideas.

HITLER’S RISE � 1889: Born in Austria � 1907: Failed Art Student � 1918: Decorated veteran of WWI � 1919: National Socialist Party (Nazis)

� 1923: Wanted to imitate Mussolini’s March to Rome �Marched to Munich, Arrested, Sent to Jail(for nine months) � 1925: “Mein Kampf” My struggle– Written whil he was in prison. Stressed nationalism and devotion to the state. � 1932: Elected, quickly moves up to “Chancellor” � 1933: The Nazis were the most powerful party in the nations.

HITLER � 1923 - Hitler organized an effort to seize power in Germany by force. Failed. �Was imprisoned for nine months of a five year sentence. �MEIN KAMPF (MY STRUGGLE) -- dreamed of uniting all the Germans of Europe in a great empire. “Germany will either be a world power or there will be no Germany. ” he wrote.

Mein Kampf �Hitler blamed Jews for many of Germany’s problems and believed that they threatened the purity of the Aryan race. �“If we pass all the causes of the German collapse in review, the ultimate and most decisive remains the failure to recognize the racial problem and especially the Jewish menace. ” � -- Adolf Hitler, 1924. � When he got out of prison he was determined to gain power through peaceful means. � By 1933 the Nazis were the most powerful party in the nation.

RHINELAND - March 1936 �Treaty of Versailles said that Germany was required to keep its troops out of an area in the Rhine River valley along the French border. �WHY? �To protect France against possible German aggression. �MARCH 1936–Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland. �-- Claiming that a recent French military agreement with the Soviet Union threatened Germany.

March 1936 �France was alarmed �Did not take military action against Germany �Britain did not want to go to war over it �Germany’s troops remained – Hitler grew confident.

ANSCHLUSS -- March 1938 � 2 years later… Hitler took action to gain control of neighboring Austria. (Austrian by birth) 1938 - tried to force the Austrian government to agree to Anschluss – UNION WITH GERMANY They refused, and Hitler sent troops in.

Germany unifies Austria

SUDETENLAND -- September 1938 Plans to gain control of a German-speaking portion of Czechoslovakia called the SUDETENLAND Encouraged Germans in the Sudetenland to protest against Czechoslovakian rule. 2. Threatened a military attack. 1.

MUNICH AGREEMENT- October 1938 �Neville Chamberlain- British Prime Minister met with Hitler and French premier Edouard Daladier, Italy’s Mussolini, and Germany’s Hitler. �At a meeting in Munich, Chamberlain and Daladier agreed to allow Hitler to annex the Sudetenland – AKA make it part of Germany. �Czechoslovakia (had no representative) protested the agreement.

Daladier signing Munich Agreement Hitler signing

MARCH 1939 �Hitler sent troops into what remained of Czechoslovakia �TOOK ALL OF IT!

APPEASEMENT �APPEASEMENT- giving in to aggressive demands to maintain PEACE. �- prevented the outbreak of a needless war.

In your groups �On page 392 - please read out loud the two quotes from Neville Chamberlain and Winston Churchill. �Answer the two questions in your notebook (section that has the quotes) (10 minutes)

PACT WITH RUSSIA �AUGUST 1939 - he announced a nonaggression pact with Stalin’s Soviet Union �Stalin agreed �Hitler promised not to attack the Soviet Union and vice versa. �“I have the world in my pocket. ” Hitler after Stalin agreed to the deal.

HITLER ATTACKS POLAND �To provide an excuse for the attack, Hitler had a German criminal dressed in a Polish military uniform. �The man was taken to the German-Polish border and shot.

SEPTEMBER 1, 1939 �Germany claimed it had been attacked by Poland, using the dead criminal as proof. �German troops immediately launched a massive invasion of Poland.

BLITZKRIEG �“Lightning War. ” �Featured an overwhelming combination of air attack and fastmoving armored strikes to drive deep into enemy territor. �-- Germans were well trained and used the blitzkrieg to devastate Poland �-- By the end of the month, Poland was in German hands.

ALLIES SEPTEMBER 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. -- they became known as the allies. - Little they could do to slow Hitler in Poland Formed their own strategy

ALLIES STRATEGY �DECIDED NOT TO ATTACK HITLER AND WAIT FOR HIS NEXT MOVE �HOPED GERMAN FORCES WOULD WEAKEN BY TRYING TO BREAK THROUGH FRANCE’S STRONG DEFENSE.

SITZKRIEG �Winter of 1939 -1940 Period of inaction came to be known as the sitzkrieg, or “phony war. ” What was Germany planning? ? ?

MAGINOT LINE �STRING OF BUNKERS AND FORTRESSES THAT LINED PART OF THE FRENCH-GERMAN BORDER. �Defense between France and Germany.

April 1940 �Hitler sends forces in Denmark and Norway �**aimed at improving Germany’s access to the Atlantic Ocean

May 1940 �One group of German troops quickly conquered the Netherlands and stormed into Belgium. �Then they were met by Belgian, British, and French units. �Allied ships and hundreds of civilian boats plucked nearly 340, 000 troops from the coast and carried them to Great Britain.

France Falls �German’s bypassed the Maginot Line and shattered France’s defensive plan. �By the end of June, France had surrendered to Germany and Italy, which had joined the war earlier this month. �German forces now occupied much of France. �The rest was under the control of French officials who cooperated with Hitler.

VICHY FRANCE Part of France controlled by Hitler.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN �Britain was now led by Winston Churchill �-- had a gift for inspiring courage and confidence among the British people. �He refused to try to negotiate a peace agreement with Germany. �MEANWHILE…Hitler was planning to invade Great Britain.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN �GERMAN PLAN 1. Destroy the British Royal Air Force, or RAF. Outcome: FAIL. Using a new technology that used radio waves to detect approaching airplanes, the RAF inflicted heavy damage on German planes.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN �As the battle wore on… The German air force, Luftwaffe, bombed London. *Goal of this- to terrorize the public so the would lose the will to fight. -1000 s died in the raids, but Churchill helped keep the nation’s spirit up.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN �Americans followed the Battle of Britain over thrilling radio reports of Edward R. Murrow. �He was an American Reporter stationed in London. �Live broadcasts described the air raids as bombs exploded around him �By late 1940, the Battle of Britain was over. �The British had stopped the Luftwaffe. -- Hitler was forced to call off the attempted invasion.

TENSIONS IN EAST ASIA �In 1940, Japan formed a military alliance with Germany and Italy. These three nations become known as the AXIS POWERS.

AXIS POWERS

American Isolationism- What is going on? After WWI, Americans did NOT want to go to war again. The desire to avoid involvement in foreign wars was known as ISOLATIONISM. Most Americans remained read to defend their country and its interests. Isolationists wanted to preserve America’s freedom to choose the time and place for such action.

NEUTRALITY ACTS �Passed in 1935 - law meant to prevent the nation from being drawn into war as it had been in 1917. At first– NO WEAPONS FOR COUNTRIES WAR Then – Cash-and-Carry- Countries at war were allowed to purchase American goods as long as they paid cash and picked up their orders in American ports. *Roosevelt hoped that this policy would allow the Allies to slow Hitler’s Advances.

�Election of 1940 -- Roosevelt decided to run for a third term in office. (had never been done before) Voters decided to stick with him. GOAL: make the United States the “arsenal of democracy. ” LEND-LEASE ACT- United States would lend England weapons for FREE!

ATLANTIC CHARTER �Roosevelt and British Leader Winston Churchill met secretly on a ship off the coast of Canada. �There they agreed to this Atlantic Charter -- Proclaimed the shared goals of the United States and Britain in opposing Hitler and his allies.