Transcript World War II: Chapter 24

World War II: Chapter 24
Section 1: Aggression Leads to War
The Rise of Dictators
• Soviet Communism
– Josef Stalin became dictator of the Soviet Union
by 1929
– Turned it into a totalitarian state
– Totalitarian state: nation where a single party
controls the government and every aspect of
people’s lives
The Rise of Dictators
• Fascism in Italy
– Benito Mussolini rose to power in 1922
– Turned Italy into the world’s first fascist state
– Fascism: political system based on militarism,
extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to a state
and its leader
– Said Italy was a superior nation that had a right to
conquer inferior nations
The Rise of Dictators
• Nazi Germany
– Adolf Hitler, an extreme nationalist, became
leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party
– Racism lay at core of Nazi beliefs (Aryan vs. others)
– Great Depression made Hitler popular; became
Chancellor in 1933
– Germany soon passed anti-Semitic laws
The Rise of Dictators
• Militarism in Japan
– Military leaders pressured civilian government to
take control of nearby countries
– By 1936, militarists were in complete control of
Japanese government
– Racism/nationalism was also preached
Military Aggression
• Japan Attacks China
– Japanese took Manchuria (land in NE China) in
1931
– Stepped up aggression in 1937
Military Aggression
• Italy Invades Ethiopia
– Invaded in 1935
– Haile Selassie, the emperor, appealed to the
League of Nations for help, but they responded
weakly due to Europe’s own economic crisis
Military Aggression
• German Aggression
– Hitler sent troops into Rhineland in 1936
– European leaders met in Munich in September
1938 to help ease crisis
– In Munich Pact, France/Britain agreed to let Hitler
occupy Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia near
Germany), in exchange for Hitler agreeing not to
seek any more land
– Hitler ended up occupying all of Czechoslovakia by
1939
American Neutrality
• Neutrality Act
– Passed in 1935
– Forbade president from selling arms, making
loans, or giving assistance to a nation in war
• Good Neighbor Act
– Hoover rejected Roosevelt Corollary in 1930
– FDR withdrew American troops from Nicaragua
and Haiti and canceled Platt Amendment in GNA
War Begins in Europe
• Invasion of Poland
– Hitler/Stalin signed Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939 
non-aggression
– Nazi troops invaded Poland on 9/1/39
– Two days later, France/Britain declared war on
Germany
War Begins in Europe
• Fall of France
– Germany moved into France in 1940
– Britain moved in to help, but both countries were
forced to retreat to Dunkirk (French port)
– On 6/22/40, Hitler accepted full surrender of
France
War Begins in Europe
• Battle of Britain
– Hitler ordered air assault on Britain
– Bombs hit daily; many forced to sleep in subway
stations and practice daily bomb drills
– Battle of Britain continued throughout 1940, but
Hitler gave up invading Britain
War Begins in Europe
• Invasion of the Soviet Union
– On 6/22/41, Hitler broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact with
Stalin
– Germany invaded Soviet Union
– Soviet Union joined Britain in fighting Germans
– Although Churchill/Stalin mistrusted each other,
they worked together in war