Transcript War In Europe and American Neutrality

War In Europe and American
Neutrality
Mr. White’s US History 1
Main Ideas and Objectives
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Main Idea: As allied leaders sought to
avoid war at all costs, Adolf Hitler,
Germany, and other aggressive nations
expanded their empires through conquest.
After we finish this section, we should be
able to:
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Evaluate the decisions Allied leaders made to
avoid war in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Describe Germany’s first steps toward
expanding its empire and territory.
Hitler Wants Austria
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In the Treaty of Versailles,
it was forbidden for
Germany to merge with
Austria
Part of Hitler’s stated plan
was the unification of all
German-speaking people
into a German empire –
Austria was his first target
The Austrian chancellor,
Kurt Schuschnigg, wanted
to put this to a plebiscite, or
vote of the people – he
expected that the people
would vote against
unification with Germany
Rigged
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Before the Austrian government could organize the
plebiscite, Austrian Nazis seized the government and
removed Schuschnigg from power
The Austrian Nazis then handed power over to the
Germany Wehrmacht (army)
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The Germany government then allowed a plebiscite
on whether to unify
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Wehrmacht entered and occupied Austria
Germans claimed that over 99% of the Austrian people
voted for unification
None of the other European nations responded to this,
especially not the League of Nations
Hitler Wants the Sudetenland
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Hitler charged the
government of
Czechoslovakia with
abusing Germans living
in the Sudetenland (dark
purple)
Hitler demanded the
Sudetenland become part
of Germany, or he would
invade Czechoslovakia
Chamberlain Meets with Hitler
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British Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain (left) met with
Hitler to try to work out the
problem without war
Hitler was able to convince
Chamberlain that the
Sudetenland would be his “last
territorial demand”
Chamberlain agreed that Hitler
gets the Sudetenland
Chamberlain was proud to
have avoided war, claimed
“peace in our time.”
Appeasement
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Another politician in the
United Kingdom, Winston
Churchill, thought
Chamberlain made a bad
decision to “appease”
Hitler
Churchill thought this
would only make Hitler
bolder, not satisfy him
Do you agree or
disagree? Why?
Nazi Aggression Begins
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German armies took over the rest of Czechoslovakia
The German armies used new mobile weapons of
warfare such as tanks and airplanes to attack weak
spots in the opposition’s defenses
Czechoslovakia was quickly subdued
Hitler’s Designs on Poland
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Poland was a nation that had been created
by the Treaty of Versailles, and part of it had
been carved out of Germany
As all things with the Treaty of Versailles,
Hitler considered it invalid, and began to call
for the invasion of Poland
However, the Soviet Union also had an
interest in Poland, as it lay between Germany
and them
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
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Hitler and Stalin of the Soviet Union signed
the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
This was a non-aggression pact – both
agreed to not attack each other
They also agreed to respect each others’
claims to territory in Poland
Hitler now knew he could invade Poland
without having to worry about the Soviet
Union
Hitler Invades Poland
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Hitler’s SS staged an attack
against a German radio
transmitter, made to look like
an attack by Polish saboteurs
Hitler used this and other
staged violence to accuse
Poland of attacks on Germany
and Germans living in Polish
territory
In September of 1939, the
German army invaded Poland
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The Poles fought valiantly, but…
From the east, the Soviets
invaded, as well, and Polish
resistance quickly collapsed
Declaration of War, Sitzkrieg
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Immediately following Hitler’s invasion of
Poland, Great Britain and France declared
war on Germany, in support of their
protective treaty with Poland
French and British troops massed in
France, but what followed as a period of
very little fighting along the border of
France nicknamed the “Sitzkrieg”
The Maginot Line
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After moving forces back from Poland,
Germany attacked France
France had planned to rely on the
formidable Maginot line, a system of
fortifications along their border with
Germany, to protect them
The Germans simply went through
Belgium, bypassing the Maginot Line
Germany Defeats France
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Within several months,
French high military
command decided that
resistance to the
Germans was no longer
useful
The French surrendered
to Germany
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Germany allowed France
to set up a puppet
government in southern
France known as the Vichy
government
The Evacuation at Dunkirk
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During the Battle of France, a
large force of English and
French troops was cornered
against the English Channel
British used fishing boots,
people’s yachts, ocean liners,
cargo boats, etc., to ferry
troops from the beach of
Dunkirk to England
Over 300,000 men are
evacuated from France and
saved from capture
Battle of Britain
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After defeating France,
Hitler turned to England
To attack England,
Germany had to cross the
English channel, but first
had to take out the British
Royal Air Force
After a long air battle in
which it appeared that
Germany might win, the
British gradually defeated
the Germans
Hitler called off his invasion
of England
American Neutrality
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Through all this, United
States remained neutral
President Roosevelt and
Congress passed the
Neutrality Acts, outlawing
arms sales to nations at
war or in civil wars
Americans were still very
much against getting
involved in a European
war
Main Ideas and Objectives


Main Idea: As allied leaders sought to
avoid war at all costs, Adolf Hitler,
Germany, and other aggressive nations
expanded their empires through conquest.
After we finish this section, we should be
able to:


Evaluate the decisions Allied leaders made to
avoid war in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
Describe Germany’s first steps toward
expanding its empire and territory.