Transcript The Gathering Storm of Fascism and the Weak American Reaction

The Gathering Storm: The
Road to WWII
An Interactive Internet Activity
The objective
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This Power Point takes you through a timeline of events in the
1930s that lay out the road to America’s eventual entrance into
WWII. White slides explain events occurring in the world; blue
slides depict what was going on at the same time in the United
States.
Some of the information should be familiar to you. However, this
activity is designed to help you put everything together in context
and chronological order, combining world events with what was
happening back home in America.
When you get to slides with RED text, you will find small
additional tasks designed to add to and more fully develop the
timeline. Answer each of the questions as thoroughly as possible
in bullet point form. You will be called upon to share your slides
in class.
1930: in the world
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Great Depression has hit Germany hard!
1930 was a Reichstag (parliamentary) election year
Hitler and the Nazi Party promises work to the
unemployed, prosperity to failed business people,
profits to industry, expansion to the Army, social
harmony and an end of class distinctions to idealistic
young students, and restoration of German glory to
those in despair.
On election day September 14, 1930, the Nazis
received 6,371,000 votes, over 18% of the total, and
were thus entitled to 107 seats in the German
Reichstag.
Overnight, the Nazi party went from the smallest to
the second largest party in Germany.
1931 in the world
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Japan was growing
overpopulated
 Manchuria was rich in
minerals, forests, farm
land: the perfect
solution to their
problems
 Sept. 18: Japanese army
invades the Chinese
territory of Manchuria,
establishing a puppet
government and
renaming it
“Manchukuo”
1932 in the world
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Nazis work hard to disrupt and sabotage the Reichstag
Descent into chaos: violence in streets
The German people were desperate for relief from the tremendous
personal suffering brought on by the Great Depression. Over six
million were unemployed, thousands of small businesses had
failed, homelessness and starvation were real possibilities for
everyone.
Hitler runs for President against 85 year old Paul von Hindenburg:
his slogan was “Freedom and Bread”
Hitler got over 11 million votes or 30% of the total; Hindenburg got
over 18 million votes or 49%, leading to a run-off.
April 10, 1932 run-off: Hitler won 36%, and Hindenburg won 53%,
winning another 7 year term.
1933 in the world
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Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor on
January 30
 Massive fire at the Reichstag (Parliament)
building, February 28, 1933
 Enabling Act passed on March 23, 1933
How did these two laws help Hitler?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933
How did life change for Germany’s Jews when Hitler came to
power? What laws were instituted?
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http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/index.php?ModuleId=10005681
1933 in America
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March 4: Franklin D.
Roosevelt sworn in as
President of the
United States
“We have nothing to
fear but fear itself.”
Unemployment rate
over 25% in the U.S.
1934 in the world
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Hitler begins a massive arms build-up, in
violation of the Treaty of Versailles
August 19: Hitler becomes Fuhrer of Germany
September: Nuremberg Nazi Party Day
1934 in America
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A special committee led by Senator Gerald Nye
begins Senate hearings into the involvement of
banks and corporations in financing WWI and
supplying arms to Allies; hearings continue for 3
years
The majority of Americans begin to believe that
weapons makers and bankers were primarily
responsible for getting the U.S. into WWI:
weapons makers are called “merchants of death”
Widespread isolationist sentiment grows in
America
1935 in the world
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• Hitler announces a plan to build a 500,000 man army,
also in violation of the Treaty of Versailles
• Hitler and the Nazis announce the Nuremberg Laws
October 3: Italy invades Ethiopia in the hopes of
building Mussolini’s “New Roman Empire;” it takes
Italy seven months to conquer a country fighting with
spears and 19th century rifles!
The League of Nations condemns this action, but
does nothing to stop oil shipments to Italy through
Suez Canal
Hitler and Mussolini believe that the democracies are
weak and powerless to stop them!
Map of Mussolini’s
Conquests
What were the Nuremberg Laws, and how
did they change life for German Jews?
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http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/nurla
ws.html
1935 in America
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FDR reluctantly signs the first Neutrality
Act, preventing U.S. companies and banks
from selling arms or loaning money to
warring nations (this act was a direct
response to Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia)
 A best-selling book in the U.S.: The Road
to War, 1914-1917; first in a long line of
books arguing that the U.S. was dragged
into WWI by banks and corporations;
other anti-war books are best-sellers (All
Quiet on the Western Front, etc.)
1936 in the world
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May 7: Germany remilitarizes
the Rhineland, which borders
France, in violation of the
Treaty of Versailles
Berlin-Rome Axis created:
alliance between Germany
and Italy
Spanish Civil War beginsFascist military uprising
against a democratically
elected government; later
known as the “dress
rehearsal for World War II”
Germany hosts the 1936
Summer Olympics in Berlin
Germany and the Rhineland
More on the Spanish Civil War…
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Mussolini and Hitler send
troops, weapons, and
money to Fascist
Francisco Franco
Fascists engage in
massive bombing of
civilian populations (the
first time in human history)
Loyalists supporting the
democratic government
receive no help from U.S.
due to Neutrality Act!
What were the “Abraham Lincoln Brigades” that
fought in the Spanish Civil War?
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_Brigade
Famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso’s most famous painting was
called Guernica. Here it is! Why did Picasso make this painting, and
what connection does it have to this era of history?
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http://www.pbs.org/treasur
esoftheworld/guernica/gm
ain.html
What was the outcome of the Spanish Civil War when it
ended in 1939?
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http://www.answers.com/topic/spanish-civil-war
Watch this entire online exhibit. Explain how Hitler used the
1936 Olympics to his benefit.
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http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/
1936 in America
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FDR reluctantly signs The Neutrality
Act of 1936, closing the loopholes in
the 1935 Act by prohibiting trade in
war materials (steel and oil) as well
as loans or credits to belligerents.
1937 in the world
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Japan invades China, murdering 300,000
in The Rape of Nanking. The U.S. sends
loans to China but does not get militarily
involved (7 million total Chinese killed)
 Japan attacks an American ship: the
Panay
 Hitler declares his desire for lebensraum,
or living space for his “master race.” He
announces his intention to get it through
territorial expansion.
Find at least two photos of the Rape of Nanking, and summarize key
facts about this brutal time period.
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http://www.historyplace.com/
worldhistory/genocide/nankin
g.htm
What was the U.S. response to the Panay
incident in 1937?
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http://www.answers.com/topic/panay-incident
1937 in America
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70% of Americans polled believed that the
U.S. should have stayed out of WWI and
felt it was a mistake.
 Neutrality Acts of 1937: further tightened
restrictions on aiding warring nations and
made it illegal to travel on the ships of
nations at war; FDR signs it, once again,
reluctantly.
 FDR gives his famous “quarantine
speech” (see next slide)
What did FDR mean by “quarantine?”
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http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/resource
s/documents/ch29_03.htm
1938 in the world
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Mar. 28: Germany annexes Austria peacefully
in the Anschluss (union) without a single shot
fired!
Sept. 29-30: Munich Conference: Great
Britain, France, Italy, and Germany sign a
pact allowing Hitler to annex the Sudetenland
region of Czechoslovakia- Hitler promises
that he will make no further demands for
territory
Nov. 9-10: Kristallnacht
How did Hitler take control of Austria, without firing a single
shot?
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http://www.historyplace.co
m/worldwar2/triumph/traustria.htm
Why was British Prime Minister Chamberlain
blamed for “appeasement?” What does this word
mean in reference to Munich?
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http://www.spartacus.scho
olnet.co.uk/2WWappeasem
ent.htm
What was Kristallnacht? Why was it considered a turning point?
Write a summary and find two pictures.
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http://www.ushmm.org/museum/e
xhibit/online/kristallnacht/frame.h
tm
1938 in America
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Isolationist, anti-war organizations begin to form:
America First Committee, led by Charles Lindbergh
Congressman Louis Ludlow proposes a constitutional
amendment requiring a national vote before ever
going to war!
75% of Americans do not want to allow more Jewish
exiles into the US
FDR asks Congress for $300 million in new military
spending
FDR plans for annual production of 50,000 planes
Why was Charles Lindbergh America’s most
famous celebrity? What were his beliefs about the
war?
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/a
mex/lindbergh/sfeature/fall
en.html
Please carefully examine each of the next eight slides, which each have a
photograph. Study them closely, and type in what you think is going on in
each picture.
1939 in the world
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Mar. 15: Hitler takes over the rest of
Czechoslovakia, in violation of the Munich
Pact
Aug.: Hitler and Stalin sign a non-aggression
treaty, agreeing to divide up Poland between
the two powers
Sept. 1: Germany invades Poland; World War
II officially begins.
Sept. 3: Great Britain and France declare war
on Germany, fulfilling treaty obligations.
Sept. 17: Stalin marches into Poland from the
east- he and Hitler divide it.
Analyze this 1939 cartoon carefully. What is the message of this
cartoon?
1939 in America
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FDR submits a $1.3 billion defense
budget, saying that “Hitler and Mussolini
were madmen who respected force and
force alone”
 Neutrality Act of 1939 passed: allowed
sale of weapons to Britain, France, and
China on a “cash and carry” basis
(countries that want to buy weapons must
use their own ships and pay cash- no
credit!)
1940 in the world
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May 10: German Blitzkrieg (lightning war) begins in
Europe
Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
Within ONE MONTH, Denmark, Norway, Holland,
Belgium, and Luxembourg all fall to Nazis.
June 22: France surrenders to Hitler.
July 10: Battle of Britain begins. “The Blitz”
unleashed on London and other major cities.
Aug 1: Japan announces plan to build an Asian
empire: the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere:
“Asia for Asians”
Sept 27: Japan, Italy, and Germany sign Tripartite
Pact, creating the “Axis”
What are the terms of the Tripartite Pact? Summarize
them below.
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http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ww2/tripart
ite.html
Hitler takes Paris
Sir Winston Churchill takes charge!
The Blitz in London
The Blitz Continues
The tubes
1940 in America
• July: Despite the raging war in Europe, FDR
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promises Americans that he will not send
your boys to any foreign wars”
July: “Destroyers for bases” deal gives 50
destroyers to Britain in exchange for the
rights to eight bases in the Caribbean
Sept.: Selective Service Act passed: first
peacetime draft ever; 16 million registered
FDR wins reelection
Dec. 29: FDR calls upon Americans to
become “the arsenal of democracy”
1941 in the world
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June 22: Germany invades
the Soviet Union, in violation
of their non-aggression treaty
Japan invades Indochina; the
U.S. embargoes metal and
gas shipments to Japan (80%
of Japan’s gas came from the
US)
Oct. 18: General Hideki Tojo
becomes the Premier of
Japan
Will Japan stop plans to
conquer Asia expansion or go
to war with the U.S.? Plans
are made for a Pearl Harbor
attack!
1941 in America
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Mar.: Lend-Lease Act is passed: FDR given the power
to sell or lease arms to Britain and Soviet Union;
Germans use U-boats to attack ships
July 26: FDR freezes trade with Japan, including oil
Aug.: FDR and Churchill create the Atlantic Charter:
the vision for the free world!
Dec. 7: Japan bombs U.S. base at Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii: America is at war. The day that “will live in
infamy.”
U.S. and G.B. declare war on Japan, Germany and
Italy declare war on the U.S.
What were the “Four Freedoms” guaranteed in the Atlantic Charter written by
FDR and Churchill? These were the four goals of the Allied forces in the war,
the four goals that they wanted to meet.
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http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/r
alprs36b.htm
Freedom of
 Freedom of
 Freedom from
 Freedom from
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Pearl Harbor: Day of Infamy
12/7/41