Transcript 10.8 Lecture – Steps Toward Another World War

10.8 Lecture – Steps
Toward Another World War
I.
Japan Seeks an Empire
A. In 1922, Japan signed an international treaty agreeing to respect
China’s borders.
B. In 1928, they signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact renouncing war.
1. Japan’s parliamentary system was weak.
2. Civilian leaders had little control over the armed forces.
3. Military leaders reported only to the emperor.
C. Militarists Take Control of Japan
1. When the Great Depression struck in 1929, many Japanese
blamed the government.
2. Military leaders gained support and soon won control of the
country.
a. The militarists did not try to establish a new
system of government.
b. They restored traditional control of the
government to the military.
c. The militarists made the emperor the symbol of
state power.
d. Extreme Nationalists.
e. Solved the country’s economic problems through
foreign expansion.
3. Keeping Emperor Hirohito as head of state won popular
support for the army leaders who ruled in his name.
4. Pacific empire
a. Empire would provide Japan with raw materials
and markets for its goods.
b. Give Japan room for its rising population.
D. Japan Invades Manchuria
1. Japanese businesses had invested heavily in China’s
northeast province, Manchuria.
a. Area rich in iron and coal.
2. In 1931, the Japanese army seized Manchuria.
a. Japanese engineers and technicians began
arriving in large numbers to build mines and
factories.
b. The Japanese attack on Manchuria was the first
direct challenge to the League of Nations.
1. When Japan seized Manchuria, many
League members vigorously protested.
2. Japan ignored the protests and withdrew
from the League in 1933.
E. Japan Invades China
1. Despite having a million soldiers, China’s army led by Jiang
Jieski was no match for the better equipped and trained Japanese.
2. Japanese troops killed tens of thousands of captured soldiers
and civilians in Nanjing.
a. At the same time, Chinese guerrillas led by
China’s Communist leader, Mao Zedong, continued
to fight the Japanese in the conquered areas.
II. European Aggressors on the March
A. Mussolini Attacks Ethiopia
1. The Ethiopians had successfully resisted an Italian attempt
at conquest during the 1890s.
2. Mussolini ordered a massive invasion of Ethiopia in October
1935.
a. The spears and swords of the Ethiopians were
no match for Italian airplanes, tanks, guns, and
poison gas.
3. Although the League of Nations condemned the
attack, its members did nothing.
B. Hitler Defies Versailles Treaty
1. Pledged to undo the Versailles Treaty.
2. In March 1935, the Fuhrer announced that Germany would
not obey these restrictions.
3. The League’s failure to stop Germany from rearming
convinced Hitler to take even greater risks.
4. Rhineland, the zone formed a buffer between Germany and
France.
a. Important industrial area.
b. March 7, 1936, German troops moved into the
Rhineland which was forbidden for Germany to posses.
c. The British urged appeasement – giving into an
aggressor to keep peace.
d. The German reoccupation of the Rhineland marked a
turning point in the march toward war.
1. It strengthened Hitler’s power and prestige
within Germany.
2. The balance of power changed in Germany’s
favor.
3. The weak response by France and Britain
encouraged Hitler to speed up his expansion.
5. Hitler’s growing strength convinced Mussolini that he should
seek an alliance with Germany.
a. In October 1936, the two dictators reached an
agreement that became known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
b. Germany also made an agreement with Japan.
c. Germany, Italy, and Japan came to be called the Axis
Powers.
III. Democratic Nations Try to Preserve Peace
A. Instead of taking a stand against Fascist aggression in the 1930s,
Britain and France repeatedly made concessions, hoping to keep
peace.
1. Serious economic problems as a result of the Great Depression.
2. The horrors of World War I had created a deep desire to avoid
war.
B. United States Follows an Isolationist Policy
1. Isolationism
a. The belief that political ties to other countries should be
avoided.
2. Beginning in 1935, Congress passed three Neutrality Acts.
a. These laws banned loans and the sale of arms to
nations at war.
C. The German Reich Expands
1. November 5, 1937, Hitler announced to his advisers his plans
to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich (The
German Empire).
a. Many Austrians supported unity with Germany.
1. March 1938, Hitler sent his army into Austria
and annexed it.
i) France and Britain ignored their
pledge to protect Austrian
independence.
b. Hitler next turned to Czechoslovakia.
1. Three million German-speaking people lived
in the western border regions of Czechoslovakia
call the Sudetenland.
2. In September 1938, Hitler demanded that the
Sudetenland be given to Germany.
i) The Czechs refused and asked
France for help.
D. Britain and France Again Chose Appeasement
1. France and Britain were preparing for war when Mussolini
proposed a meeting of Germany, France, Britain, and Italy in
Munich, Germany.
a. Munich Conference was held on September 29,
1938.
1. Goal was to preserve peace.
2. Britain and France agreed that Hitler could
take the Sudetenland.
3. In exchange, Hitler pledged to respect
Czechoslovakia’s new borders.
2. Less than six months after the Munich meeting, Hitler took
Czechoslovakia.
3. Soon after, Mussolini seized Albania.
4. Hitler demanded that Poland return the former German port
of Danzig.
a. The Poles refused and turned to Britain and France
for aid.
1. Appeasement had convinced Hitler that
neither nation would risk war.
E. Nazis and Soviets Sign Non-aggression Pact
1. Britain and France asked the Soviet Union to join them in
stopping Hitler’s aggression.
2. The two dictators reached an agreement.
a. Fascist Germany and Communist Russia now publicly
pledged never to attack one another.
b. On August 23, 1939, their leaders signed a
nonaggression pact.
3. As the Axis Powers moved unchecked at the end of the
decade, war appeared inevitable.