Transcript Road to WWII

ROAD TO WORLD WAR II
CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II
WWI was not the “war to end all wars.”A series
of problems stemming directly from WWI led
to World War II.
•resentment in Germany over Treaty of Versailles
•failure of the League of Nations to maintain
world peace
•global depression & intense nationalism led to
the rise of dangerous, aggressive dictators
UNDERLYING CAUSES OF WORLD WAR II
a.
Nationalism: extreme pride in one’s nationality or country
b. Imperialism: a nation expands own power by forcing other nations to submit to
its rule
c.
Militarism: building up & using a strong military to promote national interests
ROAD TO WORLD WAR II
Totalitarian Dictatorships: Leaders control all aspects of society
Prior to WWII, each dictator took advantage of economic problems in their countries by:
1. Promising simple solutions to their nation’s problems
2. Rebuilding national pride (often using propaganda)
3. Providing scapegoats (targets for anger & blame)
4. Absorbing power, taking away individual rights, and crushing opposition
TYPES OF TOTALITARIAN GOVERNMENTS:
FASCIST
Characteristics of fascist regimes
- highest value is the nation
- own nation is superior to any other
- see war as a glorious experience
- massive military build-up; use war to expand nation’s territory &
power
- use violence to crush opponents
- strongly opposed to communism
- believe strong have natural right to dominate weak; Social
Darwinism
- believe a single, all-powerful leader best leads nation to greatness
SOVIET COMMUNISM
UNDER JOSEF STALIN
-all means of production (land, labor,
capital) = state-owned & controlled
-communism based on military rule.
-forced labor created wealth for a few,
-lives of most people change very little or
get worse
-cult of the leader: all-knowing, all-seeing
Father of the People
-Young people encouraged to report
members of own families for ‘anti-Soviet’
views
DICTATORS
The Fascists
The Communists
Benito Mussolini- Italy
Joseph Stalin - USSR
Adolph Hitler- Germany
Mao Zedong- China
Francisco Franco- Spain
JOSEPH STALIN
1924
Country: Soviet Union
Type of Government: Communism
(dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
•Crushed opponents
•Held absolute authority; suppressed
resistance
•Brought his country to world power status
but imposed upon it one of most ruthless
regimes in history
•New Economic Policies (NEP)
•Collectivization: exported seized goods and
gained enough capital to finance a massive
industrialization drive
•Rapid industrialization: three 5-year plans
•The Great Purges: KGB = secret police
killed thousands of army officers and
prominent Bolsheviks who opposed Stalin
•Stalin = VERY paranoid
•Feared the growing power of Nazi Germany
BENITO MUSSOLINI
1922
Country: Italy
Type of Government: Fascism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
•Centralized all power in himself as leader
(total control of social, economic, and
political life)
•Ambition = restore the glory of Rome
•Invasion of Ethiopia
•Alliance with Hitler’s Germany
Il Duce
ADOLF HITLER
1933
Country: Germany
Type of Government: Nazism (dictatorship)
Goals and Ideas:
•Inflation and depression weakened the
democratic government in Germany and
allowed Hitler to rise to power
•Believed the western powers had no
intention of using force to maintain Treaty
of Versailles
•Anti-Semitism: persecution of Jews
•Extreme nationalism: National Socialism
(aka Nazism)
•Aggression: German occupation of
nearby countries
•Lebensraum: unite all German speaking
nations
•Anschluss: German union with Austria
HIDEKI TOJO
Country: Japan
Type of Government: Militarism
Goals and Ideas:
•Japan had an emperor but the military
had taken control of government
•Emperor Hirohito could not stand up to
the powerful generals but he was
worshipped as a god by the people
•Industrialization of Japan, leading to a
drive for raw materials – how do you get
raw materials? IMPERIALISM
•Invasion of Korea, Manchuria, and China
( League of Nations did nothing)
Hideki Tojo, Military Leader of Japan
Hirohito, Emperor of Japan
ASIA
China
• Ineffective
Manchu
dynasty
• Sun Yat-sen
Nationalists
united the
country
Japan
• Shoguns
• Trade and
colonies (raw
materials)