Transcript Introduction and Early War

Causes
1. Treaty of Versailles created a
bitter peace
2. World-Wide Depression
3. Rise of Totalitarianism
4. Weakness of the League of
Nations (Appeasement)
Treaty of Versailles and the Bitter Peace
The Treaty of Versailles
blamed the War on the
Germans
The reparations payments to
the Allies created severe
economic problems
Germany.
Rampant inflation and
terrible unemployment left
the German people
completely disatisfied with
their democratic
government.
World Wide Economic Depression
The World Wide
Economic Depression
caused democratic
governments to fail and
in their place totalitarian
governments rose,
promising to end the
economic problems (or at
least the totalitarians
provided a scapegoat).
3. Rise of Totalitarian Regimes
In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as
important as the needs of the nation
GERMANY
USSR
Communist
Dictatorship
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TOTALITARIANISM
ITALY
Fascist
Dictatorship
Fascist
Dictatorship
Fascism:- military
government based on
racism & nationalism with
strong support from the
business community
Rise of Totalitarianism
In Germany Hitler joined and
manipulated the “National
Socialist Workers’ Party” (which
was not socialist), preaching a
doctrine of German ethnic
supremacy and victimization.
In Italy the depression bred civil
unrest between fascists on one
side and communists and
socialists on the other. Mussolini
was named leader by the king
and ruled with an iron fist.
Adolph Hitler
1889 – 1945
Austrian; Did not become a German
citizen until 1932
Failed artist and expelled from
technical school…homeless or in
“poor housing”
Went through a further negative
personality change upon the death
of this brother
Probably became an Anti-Semite
somewhere in his early 20s, during
his stay in Vienna.
Found success as an Army officer
during WWI
He was chancellor of Germany from
1933 to 1945 and dictator of Nazi
Germany (“the Führer”) from 1934 to
1945
Benito Mussolini
1883-1945
Expelled from school for
stabbing a fellow student
Not baptized (surprising in a
catholic country)
Originally a socialist, but
kicked out of the party for
supporting WWI
Founded the fascist party and
became, through legal means,
the fascist leader of Italy (“Il
Duce”) in 1926
Joseph Stalin
1878 - 1953
Had a damaged left arm; abused
by father
Had tried to become a Russian
Orthodox priest but was expelled
from the Seminary
Turned to the Bolshevik party and
raised money for (during)the
Russian communist revolution
through bank robbing, kidnapping
and extortion
Stalin came to power in 1924 and
proceeded to turn (force) his
nation into a modern industrial
economy
He was responsible for the deaths
of more than 10 million of his own
people.
in
So what did Hitler want?
• To rebuild his army, navy, and airforce.
• The return of all German-speaking lands
(Anschluss) : Austria, The Sudentenland
(Western Czechoslovakia).
• Lebensraum (“living space”): The policy
of Lebensraum assumed the superiority
of Germans as members of an “Aryan master
race” who , because of their superiority, had
the right to displace people deemed to be
part of inferior races. The Nazis insisted that
Lebensraum needed to be developed as
racially homogenous to avoid intermixing with
peoples deemed to be part of inferior races.
Peoples deemed to be part of inferior races
living within territory selected to be
Lebensraum, were subject to expulsion and/or
destruction.
Weakness of the League of Nations
•
The League had no standing army,
thus no way to enforce
international will.
•
Because of WWI, and especially
during the Depression, the member
nations lacked the desire to go to
war for any reason
•
Appeasement: The other nations
tried to give Germany and Italy
some of what they wanted so that
the war would not happen.
•
Thus, at The Munich Conference,
(Sept, 1938), France, GB and Italy
allowed Germany to take the
Sudetenland…annexation of
Austria had happened in March,
1938, with no objection by the
League.
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
August 23, 1939: A Non-Aggression Pact was signed between
Germany and the USSR. It assured a non-involvement of the
Soviet Union in a European War (for 10 years – will be broken
by Germany in June, 1941).
Secretly, the USSR and Germany also agreed to split Poland .
What did each side stand to gain?
Germany invaded Poland on
September 1, 1939.
Soviets Stood by and watched, then
its sphere of influence on Sept. 17.
moved into
Great Britain and France declared War on
Germany on Sept. 3, and World War II had begun.
Hitler On the Offensive, 1940:
•
Denmark and Norway – April 9 (less than a week)
(Winston Churchill Replaces Chamberlain as British Prime Minister on May 10)
•
The Netherlands and Belgium – May 10 (5 days)
(Miracle At Dunkirk: May 26- June 4: 338,000 British troops evacuate
June 10 – Italy enters the War)
•
France- June 5 (11 days)
Blitzkrieg (“Lightning War”)
•
•
New form of fighting that allowed Germany to capture lots
of territory quickly
Combined arms tactic…all-motorized force concentration
of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air
power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pla
yer_embedded&v=_Xh5JzL7CPs
By mid-1940, the only Allied power remaining was Great Britain…and the Battle
of Britain began with a fury in July, 1940.
Why We Fight – US propaganda Film by Frank Capra:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=the+battle+of+britain&view=detail&mid=07C5E948DFE8F95C514707C5E948DFE8F95C5147&first=0&FOR
M=NVPFVR
Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of Great
Britain
Leader of the UK during
WW2, starting May, 1940
Soldier, Politician, Orator,
and Artist
Won the Nobel Prize for
literature
Honorary American
citizen
Meanwhile, in the United States….
After WWI, America was all about Isolation
We did not want to get in other countries’
conflicts – The experiences of World War I had
taught us to avoid war, and the Great
Depression had turned our attention to
domestic matters.
Adding to the Isolationist stance: Beliefs about
“Merchants of Death”:
• Question: Why did we really go to
war during WWI?
• New Theory: Arms manufacturers,
big business, and banks had wanted
war and made it happen so that
they could make a fortune selling
weapons or loaning money to
foreign nations like Great Britain and France
FDR’s October, 1937 Quarantine Speech
It seems to be unfortunately true that the epidemic of world lawlessness is
spreading.
When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the community approves
and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the
community against the spread of the disease.
War is a contagion, whether it be declared or undeclared. It can engulf states and
peoples remote from the original scene of hostilities .... We are adopting such
measures as will minimize our risk of involvement, but we cannot have complete
protection in a world of disorder in which confidence and security have broken
down.
If civilization is to survive the principles of the Prince of Peace must be restored.
Shattered trust between nations must be revived.
Most important of all, the will for peace on the part of peace loving nations must
express itself to the end that nations that may be tempted to violate their
agreements and the rights of others will desist from such a cause. There must be
positive endeavors to preserve peace.
America hates war. America hopes for peace. Therefore, America actively
engages in the search for peace.
What was the main idea?
Lend-Lease
By late 1940, the debate between isolationists and interventionists was raging.
When France fell to Germany, leaving the British on their own against the Axis
powers, many Americans were worried about staying (isolationist) neutral.
After Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite Pact in
September, 1940, America had even more reason to worry.
Congress passed a Civil Service Act (9/1940)– a peacetime
draft of 1.2 million active soldiers (& 800,000 reserves) a year.
Lend- Lease Act (March, 1941 )
An Act to Further Promote the Defense of the United States
The US to supply (lend, lease, sell, exchange) Great Britain,
the USSR, China, Free France, and other Allied nations with
weapons and defense materials between 1941 and 1945…they
would pay us back later.
A decisive step away from non-interventionist US policy, as
was the Atlantic Charter (8/1941), where FDR and Churchill
agreed upon post-war peace objectives.
So what was up with Japan?
Tensions had been heating up between the
Japanese and the Americans in the Pacific region
in the decades since WWI. Japanese expansion
into Asia, especially China, and the US presence
in Guam, the Philippines and China created this
conflict.
When Japan continued to expand as war broke
out in Europe, the US stopped selling oil and
other necessary industrial goods to Japan. We
turned up the embargo after Tripartite Pact of
1940. (One needs oil to run a navy)
In the meantime, General Hideki Tojo, and
aggressive military expansionist became
Japanese Prime Minister in 1941… The US and
Japan spent the summer and fall trying to
negotiate a settlement…
Hideki Tojo
1884 – 1948
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941
“ A day that will live in infamy”
Under the orders of prime minister
Tojo, Japanese forces bombed
American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii
2,500 people killed; US also suffered
heavy losses in ships and planes
Luckily, US aircraft carriers (and 7
destroyers) were out at sea on
maneuvers, and the American Fleet
and submarine bases, and fuel
facilities survived the attack.
The United States declared war on
Japan on December 8...Japan’s allies,
Germany and Italy declared war on
the US on December 11.
Photograph from a Japanese plane of Battleship
Row at the beginning of the attack. The explosion
in the center is a torpedo strike on the USS
Oklahoma.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=pearl+harbor+movie+attack+part+1&mid=C
D2CFA27ED7897CA48ADCD2CFA27ED7897CA48AD&view=detail&FORM=VIRE
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