Transcript Unit 9 * World War II (1939 * 1945)

Unit 9 – World War II
(1939 – 1945)
The Road to War in Europe
Bell Ringer!
Dictators and War
1.
2.
3.
4.
The political philosophy of Hitler and Mussolini that forced
individuals to put their welfare second to the welfare of the state?
a. Totalitarianism b. Fascism c. Democracy
He was the brutal communist dictator of the Soviet Union during
World War II?
a. Lenin
b. Trotsky
c. Stalin
Who held the real power of decision making in Japan during the
1930’s that the nation on the path to war?
a. Military Leaders b. Parliament c. Emperor Hirohito
Adolf Hitler and the Nazis were anti-Semitic. Anti-Semitism
means a prejudice against _______.
a. Jews
b. Communists
c. Slavs
Hitler Threatens World Peace
• 1933-1936 - Hitler
rearms Germany.
• His goal was unify all
German-speaking
people into the Third
Reich.
• He occupied the Saar
Basin (1935) and the
Rhineland (1936) & the
League of Nations &
France did nothing!
The Spanish Civil War (1936 – 1939)
• Nationalist Spanish forces
led by Fascist Francisco
Franco rebelled against
Spain’s democratic
government.
• Rome-Berlin Axis
provided arms to Franco
during this brutal conflict.
• The League of Nations
again did nothing.
• It was a testing ground for
new German and Italian
weaponry.
Appeasement Leads to War
Sudetenland
• March 1938 – Hitler
Annexes Austria in a
union called Anschluss.
• Sept. 1938 – Hitler
demands the
Sudetenland (W. Czech.)
where 3 million
Germans lived.
• Britain and France now
alarmed.
The Munich Conference (Sept. 1938)
• Neville Chamberlain (UK)
gave Hitler the Sudetenland
in Munich & Hitler promised
peace?
• Hitler annexed the rest of
Czechoslovakia 5 ½ months
later.
• Appeasement failed!
• Why? How did Hitler view
the Allies?
Hitler-Stalin Nonaggression Pact
• Aug. 23, 1939 – Cruelly
partitioned Poland and
promised not to attack
each other.
• Hitler got Poland and
Stalin got time.
• Britain and France
agreed to defend
Poland if attacked by
Germany.
Hitler Unleashes the Blitzkrieg!
• Sept. 1, 1939 – Poland
crushed by “lightning war”
– tanks, planes (Luftwaffe),
and mechanized infantry
• Predicated on both speed
and surprise, Poland was
crushed.
• Sept. 17, 1939 – USSR
invades E. Poland.
• Britain & France declare war
on Germany & Italy follows
suit. WW 2 begins!
Hitler’s Blitzkrieg Crushes Western
Europe (April – June 1940)
• France had faith in the
Maginot Line – a line of
forts and troop between
Switz. & Belgium.
• Apr. 9, 1940 – Denmark &
Norway
• May 10, 1940 – Belgium,
Holland, & France
• Late May, 340,000 Allies
evacuated at Dunkirk,
Belgium – 9 Days, 900
ships across the Eng.
Channel.
Britain Stands Alone!
• France surrendered on June 14,
1940 (35 days!)
• Winston Churchill (new Pr. Min. of
Britain) vowed to never surrender!
• May 1940 – June 1941 – Battle of
Britain (RAF vs. Luftwaffe) 30,000
Br. Killed (most in London during
the “London Blitz.”)
• RAF – lost 1,000 planes; Ger. 1,700
• Hitler’s first mistake was to
postpone the invasion!
• June 1941 – Frustrated, Hitler
violates non-aggression pact and
invades the Soviet Union.!
The U.S.A. Favors Isolationism
• Neutrality Acts of 1935, 36, 37 – Am.
Could not sail in the war zone or
loan materials or $$$ to belligerents.
• 1939 Neutrality Act included “Cash
and Carry” provision only as
Americans favored isolationism
• Sept. 1940 –Congress passed
Selective Service Act established 1st
peace-time draft at FDR’s urging
• FDR re-elected in Nov. 1940 over
Wendell Willkie (R-IN) by a
comfortable margin as Americans
are becoming aware of the pressing
danger
The Battle of the Atlantic and End of
American Neutrality
• Mar. 1941 – Lend-Lease Act – Economic
War declared on Axis (Japan joined in
1940); $40 Billion to the UK and U.S.S.R. in
return for rights to use bases from the U.K.
The U.S. was an “Arsenal for Democracy”
• Fall 1941 – Hitler orders his “wolf packs” of
U-Boats to target U.S. & Allied shipping.
FDR gives okay for U.S. to fight back! It
was an undeclared war at sea.
• 3500+ Allied ships and 1000s of seaman
lost.
• By 1943 – Allies, with help of new
technology, turn the tide against the UBoats.
Exit Slip – Appeasement Leads to War
1.
During the Spanish Civil War, Hitler and Mussolini supported
________, who would become Spain’s fascist dictator.
a. Francisco Franco b. Fidel Castro c. Joseph Stalin
2. “Anschluss” refers to Hitler’s annexation of this country?
a. France b. Austria c. Czechoslovakia
3. As a result of the Munich Pact, the leader of this nation basically
“gave” the Sudetenland to Germany?
a. the Soviet Union b. Great Britain c. the United States
4. When Germany invaded this nation on September 1, 1939 World
War 2 began?
a. France b. the Soviet Union c. Poland