Transcript World War II 1939-1945

World War II
1939-1945
U.S. History
McDougall Littell text
Aggressors on the March
Ch . 15
Section 4
Other countries fall to dictators
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Poland
Hungary
Yugoslavia
Albania
Bulgaria1935: Czechoslovakia – only
democracy in Eastern Europe
• Authoritarian rule: only way to prevent
instability.
League of Nations
• As Germany and Italy moved toward
military conquests, tired and distracted
countries hoped the League of Nations
would keep the peace.
Kellogg-Briand Pact
• Japan signs pact, renouncing war
• Parliamentary system is weak
• Military reported only to the emperor
Government Blamed for
Depression in 1930
• Military took control of the country.
• Emperor made symbol of state power
• Nationalists: solve economic problems
through expansion .
• Pacific empire included China.
Japan Invades Manchuria in 1931
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Rich in iron and coal
First direct challenge to League of Nations
No power to enforce decision
Japan withdrew from the League I 1933
Northern China falls to the
Japanese in 1937
• The “rape” of Nanjing: Japanese troops
killed tens of thousands of captured
soldiers and civilians.
• Jiang Jieshi retreats.
• Mao continues to fight.
Mussolini Attacks Ethiopia
• League’s failure encourages Mussolini.
• Complained Britain and France had left
little for Italy in Africa
• Ethiopian’s had successfully resisted
Italian invasions before.
• 1935 massive invasion
Britain and France do nothing
• Hoping to keep the peace, Britain and
France give in.
• Italian troops and supplies go through
British controlled Suez Canal
Hitler Defies Versailles Treaty
• Treaty limited size of German army.
• The Fürer announced that Germany would
not obey restrictions.
• Today Germany! Tomorrow the World!
League fails to stop Germany,
Hitler takes greater risks.
• Treaty had forbidden German troops to
enter a 30-mile wide zone on either side of
the Rhine river.
• March 7 1936 German troops marched
into the Rhineland
Appeasement
• French unwilling to risk war.
• British urge giving in to keep the peace
• Hitler later admitted that he would have
backed down if challenged.
Turning Point
• 1. Strengthened Hitler’s power and
prestige.
– Cautious generals now agreed to follow him.
• 2. Balance of power changed
– France and Belgium were open to attack
– Hitler speeded up military and territorial
expansion.
Axis Powers
• Alliance:
– Germany
– Italy
– Japan
Spanish Civil War
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Monarchy until 1931
Republic declared
1936 – Fascists leaders revolt
Francisco Franco
Hitler and Mussolini help
Republicans received little help
Western democracies remained neutral.
Only Soviet union and international brigade of
volunteers helped.
France and England
• Tired of war
• Economic depression
Isolationism
• U.S. believed political ties should be
avoided.
• Determined to prevent mistake of entering
another war.
• Congress banned loans and sale of arms
to nations at war.
Third Reich
• Absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia
• Expand into Poland and Russia
Sudetenland
• Borderland in Czechoslovakia with
German-speaking people.
Munich Conference
• September 29, 1938
• Czechs not invited
• Britain and France agreed Hitler could
take Sudetenland.
• Hitler pledged to respects
Czechoslovakia’s new borders.
Churchill and Chamberlain
Disagree
• Chamberlain thought he had preserved
the peace.
• Winston Churchill warned of the
consequences of appeasement
Six months later
• Hitler takes Czechoslovakia
• Mussolini takes Albania
• Hitler demands Polish port of Danzig
Nonaggression Pact
• August 23, 1939 Hitler and Stalin agreed
never to attack each other.
Ch. 16
Hitler’s Lighting War