The Road to WWII1919-1941

Treaty of Versailles-1919

Treaty of Versailles• Territorial• The following land was taken away from Germany :• Alsace-Lorraine (given to France)• Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)• Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)• Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)• West Prussia, Posen and Upper Silesia (given to Poland)• The Saar, Danzig and Memel were put under the control of the League of

Nations and the people of these regions would be allowed to vote to stay in Germany or not in a future referendum.

• The League of Nations also took control of Germany's overseas colonies.• Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the Treaty of Brest-

Litovsk. Some of this land was made into new states : Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. An enlarged Poland also received some of this land

Treaty of Versailles• Military• Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men; the army was

not allowed tanks• Germany was not allowed an airforce• Germany was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no

submarines • The west of the Rhineland and 50 kms east of the River

Rhine was made into a demilitarized zone (DMZ). No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone. The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.

Treaty of Versailles

• Financial• The loss of vital industrial territory would be a

severe blow to Germany’s economy. Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular was a vital economic loss.

• Germany had to pay $33 billion to the Allies(GB/France).

• Germany was also forbidden to unite with Austria to form one superstate.

Treaty of Versailles• General• 1. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. This was

Clause 231 - the infamous "War Guilt Clause".

• 2. Germany, as it was responsible for starting the war as stated in clause 231, was therefore responsible for all the war damage caused by the First World War. Therefore, they had to pay reparations, the bulk of which would go to France and Belgium to pay for the damage done to both countries by the war. The figure was eventually put at $33 billion .

• 3. A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace.

1920’s/1930’s Peace Attempts

League of Nations

• What is it?• What were it’s weaknesses?

League of Nations

Washington Naval Conference-1921

4 Power Pact

• a treaty signed by the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan at the Washington Naval Conference in 1921.

• countries agreed to respect each others possessions in the Pacific and not seek further territory

5 Power Pact

• Signed by Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy

• Designed to prevent an arm’s race • It limited the construction of battleships,

battle cruisers and aircraft carriers • Did not restrict cruisers, destroyers or

submarines

9 Power Pact

• Guaranteed Chinese independence and upheld the Open Door Policy

• Signed by the United States, Japan, China, France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Portugal

Kellogg-Briand Pact

• Countries that signed agreed to not go to war to settle disputes

• Afghanistan, Finland, Peru, Albania,• Guatemala, Portugal, Austria, Hungary,• Rumania, Bulgaria, Iceland, Russia, China Latvia,

Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, Denmark, Lithuania, Siam,

• Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Spain, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sweden, Estonia,

• Norway, Turkey, Ethiopia, Panama, Cuba, Liberia

London Naval Conference-1931• Concerned with the agreements reached in

Washington Naval • The UK, the USA, France, Italy and Japan attended • The major change was in battleship tonnage,

altering the ratio between Britain, the US and Japan from 5:5:3 to 10:10:7

• All five agreed to a five-year halt on capital ship construction, tighter controls on submarine warfare, and the continuation of limits on aircraft carriers

Good Neighbor Policy-1933

Japanese Agression

Japan 1931-December 6, 1941

Japanese Invasion of Manchuria

Japanese Invasion of Manchuria• What did this affair prove ?

1. The League could not enforce its authority. 2. A major power could get away with using force 3. An issue so far from Europe was not likely to attract the support of the major European powers in the League - Britain and France4. Great Britain was more concerned with it’s territories in the Far East than in the maintenance of law and order. 5. Other powers would see this as a sign that they too could get away with the use of force 6. The League also lost its most powerful member in the Far East(Japan) and Japan eventually united with the two other nations that broke League rules - Germany and Italy.

China Incident-1937

Rape of Nanking

• Mass murder and mass rape committed by Japanese troops against the Chinese at Nanking, China

• 40,000-300,000 killed• Tens of thousands of people raped-women,

children, infants and elderly

Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact

• The USSR and Japan signed an agreement to not fight one another in April, 1941

• Japan considered breaking this once Germany(their ally) invaded the USSR in June, 1941, but did not

• The USSR broke this treaty when they declared war on Japan in August 9, 1945

Hitler/German Aggression 1933-1939

Hitler/German Aggression 1933-August 1939

• Drops out of the League of Nations-1933• Builds up the German military-1934• Rearms the Rhineland-1935• Along with Mussolini, helped Spanish Fascist

leader Francisco Franco win the Spanish Civil War-1936-1939

• Allied with Mussolini/Italy(Rome-Berlin Axis-1936) and eventually Japan(1940)

• Takes over all of Czechoslovakia-March 1939• Signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact-

August 1939

Anschluss with Austria-1938

Sudetenland/Munich Conference-1938

Munich Conference

• Neville Chamberlain-Great Britain• Adolf Hitler-Germany• Benito Mussolini-Italy• Edouard Daladier-France• Hitler was given the Sudetenland area of

Czechoslovakia—Policy of Appeasment• In return, Hitler promised he was done taking land

Munich ConferenceChamberlain: “Peace for our time”

Winston Churchill-Opposed Appeasment

Benito Mussolini/Italian Aggression-Pre-WWII

Ethiopia invaded by Mussolini 1936

• Italy lost its Ethiopia colony in Africa at the 1896 Battle of Adua

• one of the worst colonial disasters of modern history

• Feb. 23, 1935, Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia

• Oct. 7, 1935, League declared Italy the aggressor

Italy/Ethiopia Invasion• Nov. 18 , 1935, Leagues sanctions begin

-arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation of Italian goods

• Feb. 1936 - League could not agree on critical oil sanctions mainly because FDR refused - U.S. controlled 50% world oil trade

• Feb. 29, 1936, FDR signed the 1936 Neutrality Act 1. mandatory arms embargo with warring nations

2. mandatory ban on loans to warring nations

• May 5 - Italy occupied Addis Ababa - annexed all Ethiopia May 9

Other Italian Aggression

• Dropped out of League of Nations-1935• Allied with Hitler-Rome(Berlin Axis-1936)-and

eventually Japan(1940)• Along with Hitler, helped Spanish Fascist

leader Francisco Franco win the Spanish Civil War-1936-1939

• Annexed Albania in 1939

Rome-Berlin Axis

Generalisimo Francisco Franco and the Spanish Civil War

US Neutrality??

• Neutrality Act of 1935-stop trading with countries at war

• Neutrality Act of 1936-stop loaning money to countries at war

• Neutrality Act of 1937-Cash and Carry System-weapons not included

• Neutrality Act of 1939-Cash and Carry System-weapons included

America First Committee

Quarantine Speech-1937

Panay Incident-1937

Bases for Destroyers-1940

• Great Britain gave us 99 year leases on the following bases:

• Antigua - Naval Air Station, Sea Plane BaseBritish Guiana - Naval Air Station, Sea Plane BaseJamaica - Naval Air Station, Sea Plane BaseSt. Lucia - Naval Air Station, Sea Plane BaseBermuda - Naval Air Station, Sea Plane BaseNewfoundland - Three Army Air Force Bases (Pepperell, Goose Bay and Stephenville), Naval Operating Base Argentia and numerous Marine and Army Bases and Detachments,

88 in totalTrinidad - Naval Operating Base, Naval Air Station, Sea Plane Base, Lighter Than Air (Blimp) Base and Radio Station

• US gave Great Britain old destroyers:

Selective Training and Service Act

• United States starts drafting 21-35 year olds• Passed in 1940• First peacetime draft in US History

FDR Signs the Lend-Lease Act-March 1941

Atlantic Charter

• THE ATLANTIC CHARTER-FDR/Churchill• Spring 1941

• No territorial gain• No territorial changes without the peoples support

form those countries• Self-determination• Free trade• Destruction of the Nazis and then setting up a

peaceful governmet in Germany• Freedom of the seas• Abandon the use of force, disarmament and a

stronger League of Nation

US vs. Japan

• US stopped trading many items with Japan in 1940 after Japan invaded French Indochina

• US stopped trading oil with Japan in July, 1941