Transcript World War II - Reading Community Schools

World War II
From Appeasement to Victory
What is the situation in the
late 1930’s?
• After World War I the Western democracies wanted to
preserve peace throughout the world.
• The leaders of Germany, Italy and Japan took
aggressive actions but were met with only verbal
protests and pleas for peace.
• The Western democracies had a policy of
appeasement toward Hitler and Mussolini.
• They wanted to avoid war at all costs after the
destruction of World War I.
What is appeasement?
 The granting of concessions to avoid conflict.
 Essentially it means giving someone what they want to
keep from having to fight with them.
Why choose appeasement?
 The policy of appeasement developed for several reasons.
 France and Britain were demoralized and suffering from political and
economic problems related to the Great Depression.
 Some people thought Hitler’s actions were justified due to the harsh
conditions of the Treaty of Versailles.
 Fascism was seen as a defense against the spread of communism.
 Most of all widespread PACIFISM (opposition to war) developed
following the terrible losses sustained in World War I, leading
governments to seek peace no matter what the price.
 Popular sentiment in the U.S. also expressed a desire to stay out of
foreign affairs and avoid war. Reflecting this isolationist feeling, the
U.S. Congress passed the Neutrality Acts, which forbade loans or the
sale of arms to any nations at war
Japanese Aggression in the Pacific
 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria in Northeastern China.
 China protested the action at the League of Nations.
 The League ordered Japan to give up Manchuria.
 Japan simply withdrew from the League of Nations,
which was powerless to stop them.
 In 1937, Japan conquered much of Eastern and
Southern China.
 By 1940 the Japanese conquered French Indochina,
and much of the Dutch East Indies.
Italian Aggression
 In 1935 Mussolini ordered the Italian army to invade
Ethiopia after more than a year of border disputes.
 The League of Nations condemned the attack and placed
economic sanctions on Italy.
 Unfortunately the sanctions did not stop the sale of oil, coal,
or iron, which were the resources needed for war, so the
sanctions had little effect.
 The League of Nations had no real power to enforce these
sanctions.
 By 1935 Mussolini had conquered Ethiopia
Spanish Civil War
 In 1931 King Alfonso of Spain abdicated.
 A new Republic was established with socialist leanings.
 The fascist Nationalists opposed the Loyalists, who were
socialists and those who wanted democracy.
 When war broke out Germany and Italy supported the
Nationalists, and the Soviet Union backed the Loyalists.
 Eventually the Nationalists won control and established a
fascist dictatorship under Francisco Franco.
 The Nazis used this war as “practice” for future campaigns.
Axis Powers
 Italy, Germany and Tokyo formed the Rome-BerlinTokyo Axis
 They joined together to fight Soviet communism
 They agreed not to interfere with any plans the others
had to expand their territory.
Nazi Expansion
 Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland in France
in 1936, violating the Treaty of Versailles. The League
of Nations did not stop him.
 In 1938 the Nazis sought to unify Germany and Austria
in the ANSCHLUSS, claiming that the two countries
shared a common history and language.
 Some Austrians were in favor of this and Hitler quickly
silenced any who opposed it. The Western
democracies took no action, so Hitler had his way.
Nazi Expansion
 The Sudetenland was a region of eastern
Czechoslovakia with many Germans.
 Hitler demanded that Sudetenland be given
independence. Britain and France did not want to go to
war over this region and wanted a peaceful resolution.
 Believing Britain and France to be weak, Hitler
increased his demands and insisted that the
Sudetenland be united with Germany.
Early Nazi Expansion
Munich Conference
 On September 29, 1938 the leaders of Germany, Italy,
Britain, and France met in Munich to solve the Sudetenland
problem.
 In an attempt to avoid war, Britain and France persuaded
the Czechs to give up this land. In return, Hitler promised
not to seek more territory.
 Peace seemed to be assured and British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain claimed that the meeting ensured
“peace for our time.”
 In March 1939 Hitler invaded the western part of
Czechoslovakia anyway.
 Britain and France realized their policy of appeasement had
failed and vowed to protect Poland, Hitler’s next likely target.
Nazi-Soviet Pact
 In August 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed
the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.
 They agreed to peaceful relations
 Secretly, they agreed to not fight if the other went to war.
 The two sides also agreed to split Poland into a German
area in the West and a Soviet area in the East.
 Stalin and Hitler joined forces because of mutual need:
 Hitler did not want a war with the West and the Soviets at
the same time
 Stalin tried to avoid war with Germany and gain land in
Eastern Europe.
Invasion of Poland
 Germany invaded
Poland on September
1, 1939.
 Britain and France
declared war on
Germany two days
later.
 World War II had
begun.
Map:
 On the other side of the map you completed on
Thursday, identify areas of Nazi and Italian expansion
in Europe and North Africa.
 Use two colors:
 First color: German territory
 Second color: Italian territory