WORLD WAR II(or should we say the “Great War Part II”?)

Prelude to The Great Depression

WWI expensive Two countries relied on American

credit: France and Germany

October 1929 – Stock Market Crash

International Catastrophe Americans stopped issuing credit Germany had no way to pay reparations France therefore had no money either U.S. and Germany hit hardest – 1/3 out

of work

Response

United States 1932 elected

Franklin Roosevelt Strong political

structure allowed for change

Germany (and Italy) Democratic elective

assemblies still shaky

Fascism takes root

Fascism – Common Ideas

Destroy the individual in favor of “the people” Unify society Not concerned with eliminating identity

characteristics such as class or private property

New identity pushed – relied on extreme nationalism and racial identity

Fascism (ideology) Extreme nationalism Single party (or person) control Appeals to middle and upper classes, as well as

unemployed (anti-communist) Law, order and hard work at the expense of

individuality Nazism is a form of fascism, only more racist/anti-

semetic

Italy: Rise of Mussolini

1919 - Founder of the National Fascist Party

“Blackshirts” fought socialist and communist organizations, winning support from factory and land owners

1921 – many seated in parliament, Mussolini named Prime Minister

As the post-war economy failed to improve, Mussolini seized the opportunity to create a totalitarian regime by 1926

Germany: Rise of Hitler

The Weimar Republic replaced the emperor after WWI

As Germany's economy collapsed (Treaty of Versailles), people lost faith in the “Reichstag”

As head of the Nazi Party, Hitler rose to power inspiring extreme nationalism

Espousing ideas of Social Darwinism and racism, Hitler called for the deportation (later elimination) of Slavs and Jews, and the takeover of Europe by Germans

“Fuhrer”

By 1923, Nazis dominated German government

1933, Hitler became “chancellor” of the Reichstag

Hitler seizes full control of the government, establishing the “Third Reich”, and set out to take over Europe

1933 – began militarizing in clear violation of the Treaty of Versailles and withdrew from the League of Nations

Similarities

Mussolini and Hitler’s Rise to Power Fear of Communism Democratic government failed to address

economic depression (more so in Germany) Appeal to Nationalism (it’s everyone else’s

fault) Lack of democratic tradition in respective

countries Used totalitarian means to gain power:

terror & intimidation, secret police, censorship, propaganda

Totalitarianism

What Fascist Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Communists Lenin and Stalin all have in common: Government where state (or one

person/party) has ALL the power While promising liberty, abolishes freedom

(press, etc) Police state Propaganda vital Grows usually where democracy fails Communist and Fascist leaders can be

totalitarian rulers

Differences

Fascism under Mussolini Winner in WWI –

upset about lack of land granted after war

Heavy taxes to pay for war hurt economy

Inflation due to lack of goods

Less racist/anti-Semitic until end of war

Fascism (Nazism) under Hitler Loser in WWI –

anger at land loss Reparations to pay

after war hurt economy

Inflation due to printing too much money

More racist/anti-Semitic

Appeasement

Nations of Europe ignored Hitler’s buildup, fearing another war

Germany and Italy supported Nationalists in Spain under Francisco Franco in overthrowing the Spanish Monarchy and parliamentary democracy, France and Britain turned a blind eye

Germany took back the Rhineland in 1935 1937 – German alliance with Japan 1938 – Germany annexed Austria (Anschluss),

threatened Sudetenland ALL DONE UNDER THE CONCEPT OF

“LEBENSRAUM”

Munich Conference of 1938(more appeasement)

1938 – Hitler, Mussolini, Neville Chamberlain (PM of England) all in attendance

Hitler given Sudetenland without the consent of the Czechs, as long as expansion stopped

Expansion stops (for 1 whole year!) before Hitler takes all of Czechoslovakia

European Response

Britain and France signed a non-aggression pact with Greece, Turkey, Romania and Poland as Italy invaded Albania

Germans signed the Nazi-Soviet pact, insuring the Soviets would not intervene in German affairs, and a plan for dividing up parts of Europe between the both of them

Sept. 1939, Germany invaded Poland

Guess What Happened Next?(Alliances – Not Again!!)

Allied Powers Axis Powers Great Britain France Later – Soviet Union

and U.S. (non-aggression pact

with Greece, Turkey, Romania and Poland)

Germany Italy Japan (non-aggression pact

– Soviet Union)

World War II: Tens of Millions Dead

Eastern Europe - Germany’s “blitzkrieg” devastating. Within 10 days Poland divided between Germany and Russia

“Phony War”

Western Europe - 1939- April, 1940 - British and French strategy – await a German attack (defensive war) behind the “Maginot Line” along the Franco-German border

Battles of France and Britain

Maginot Line failed to protect the border between France and Belgium

April, 1940 – Germany attacked Holland and Belgium, then France (Vichy Regime – Marshall Petain), controlling most of continental Europe by June

The British military was spared due to the evacuation at Dunkirk

Next stop for Germany: Great Britain itself

Winston Churchill

Hitler anticipated peace negotiations with it’s “German” brother

Resolute and fierce Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused a deal with Germany

1940 – Battle of Britain – air bombing campaign by Hitler, bravely fought by the British with the help of radar

OTHER REGIONS OF THE “ATLANTIC (EUROPEAN) THEATER”

1941

North Africa and the Balkans Italy attacked and later defeated Greece with

the help of Germany The takeover of the Balkan state violated the

pact with Russia who was promised the Balkan state an earlier non-aggression pact

Germany moved into Russia, relieving pressure on the British

PACIFIC THEATER1941

1941 - Pacific Theater

Japan invaded Indochina and the US issued sanctions

Japan entered the Tripartite Pact with Rome and Berlin

Japan bombs Pearl Harbor after the US refuses to lift sanctions

US declares war on Japan, Germany declares war on US

Japanese History: A Quick Review

By 1905: Kicked out the Europeans (again), Industrialized, defeated China and Russia for territory

Fought with allies in WWI, economy and military was thriving

By 1930, severely impacted by the Great Depression; Claimed “empire building” would help Japan economically

1931 – Invaded Manchuria, withdrew from the League of Nations, signed the Anti-Comintern pact with Germany in 1936

1937 Invaded China – “Rape of Nanjing” (250,000 slaughtered)

1941-1942

Allies fought Japan in the Pacific, and Germans and Italians in Africa

US secretly worked on Manhattan Project

Finally – An Allied Assault 1943 - US and Britain begin offensive in

Italy 1944 – British, Canadian and US forces

land on the beaches of Normandy, France (D-Day), with the help of French forces liberate France

Meanwhile – 1942, Red Army defeated the Germans at Stalingrad and advance west for the next 3 years

1945 - Hitler closed in on from the eastern and western fronts, reaching Berlin – Hitler commits suicide

War in the Pacific

Battle of Midway cripples Japan Dragged on a few more months as

the allies defeated Japan from island to island at a great economic and human cost

Japanese refused to surrender, President Truman reasons that dropping an atomic bomb was the answer to ending a prolonged war

The Atomic Bomb

August 6, 1945 – dropped on Hiroshima, 100,000 died immediately, Japan refused to surrender

August 9 a second bomb is dropped on Nagasaki and Japan surrenders

The impact of the bomb continues to be felt years later

Atomic Bomb

=

Consequences

Holocaust revealed, sympathy for a Jewish state rose sharply

The peace settlement made the US and the Soviet Union superpowers

Europe torn to shreds, US institutes the Marshall Plan Decline of Colonialism Changes for Women Creation of International Organizations

United Nations World Bank International Monetary Fund General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs

And THE COLD WAR

The Marshall Plan

US will give economic aid to countries in order to prevent the spread of communism

Used WITH the Truman Doctrine Aid to Turkey and Greece (monetary

AND military) to prevent Soviet control Considered the start of the Cold War

Windows to the Holocaust