A WORLD IN FLAMESA WORLD IN FLAMES

1931-19411931-1941

WORLD WAR II

Major Players

TEAM 1TEAM 1

The Axis PowersThe Axis Powers

Benito Mussolini

Italy» One of Europe’s first major

dictatorships in the modern era arose in Italy

» After Benito Mussolini returned from WWI, he felt that Italy needed a strong leader

» In 1919, Mussolini founded Italy’s Fascist Party

Fascism

» Fascism believed that the nation was more important than the individual

» During World War II, Italy, Germany, and Japan all were ruled by fascist governments that received absolute power

Adolf Hitler

Germany

» Hitler fought for Germany in World War I

» In 1919, he joined the German Worker’s Party, which was later renamed the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (NAZIs)

» In 1921, Hitler became the leader of the Nazi party

Mein Kampf» While in prison after trying to seize power

in Germany, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”)» This book called for a unification of all

Germans under one government» Believed that all blond hair, blue-eyed

Germans belonged to the “master race” called Aryans

» Also said that Germans needed more lebensraum (living space)

» His racist views were strong towards Jewish people

Der Fuhrer» In January 1933, the Nazi Party was the

largest group in the Reichstag (German parliament), and Hitler was named chancellor

» An act of parliament suspended civil liberties and gave him dictatorial powers in the new government, known as the Third Reich

» He was now Der Fuhrer (“the leader”)

Germany

» Treaty of Versailles effectively disarmed Germany

» One of Hitler’s goal was to restore German power in Europe

» In 1935, Hitler began to rearm Germany

Treaty of Versailles

» Let’s look at the Treaty of Versailles cartoon

The Rhineland» For many years the Rhineland area had

been a key industrial region of Germany, producing coal, steel and iron resources

» One of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles was that the Germans would not be able to keep military forces in a 50km stretch of the Rhineland

» However, in 1936, German troops occupied the Rhineland

The Rhineland

Japan

Japan» During the 1920s, Japan had very

difficult economic times» Many Japanese military officers

believed that Japan was destined to dominate East Asia

» Japan was every bit as eager as Germany and Italy to establish itself as a world power in the 1930s

Japan

» Military leaders who dominated the government resented their dependence on the United States and other nations for such necessary resources as iron, coal, and petroleum

» In 1931, the Japanese army invaded Manchuria in northern China, a region rich in minerals

Japan

» The invasion into Manchuria was a direct violation of the Kellogg-Briand Treaty» An agreement to abandon war and

settle all disputes peacefully

» The League of Nations did nothing about the Japanese invasion

Japan

» After Japan invaded China, the US stopped selling oil and other resources to them

USSR

The USSR was not officially a part of the Axis powers or the Allied powers

Joseph Stalin

USSR» Vladimir Lenin, leader of the

Bolshevik party, established a Communist government in Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917

» Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

» Joseph Stalin became the new Soviet dictator after Lenin’s death

USSR

» The USSR signed a nonaggression pact with Germany in 1939 after the war had officially begun

» Germany invaded the USSR, therefore, Russia later fought with the Allies to help defeat Germany

TEAM 2TEAM 2

The Allied PowersThe Allied Powers

Franklin D. Roosevelt

United States

» FDR was the President from 1933 to 1945» The US had returned to the idea of

isolationism following World War I» Isolationism- Opposed getting involved in

overseas affairs

» Worried that German and Italian aggression might lead to war in Europe, Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935

United States

» The situation in Europe was getting worse, therefore Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1937» This act continued to ban selling arms

to nations at war

» FDR supported internationalism.» The idea that trade between nations

creates prosperity and helps to prevent war

United States

» Roosevelt decided to help China after Japan invaded Manchuria

» He said that since neither Japan nor China had officially declared war, then the Neutrality Act of 1937 did not apply, therefore he authorized the sale of weapons to China

Winston Churchill

Great Britain

» Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, attempted to appease Hitler in 1938

» Appeasement is the policy of concessions in exchange for peace

Sudetenland

Sudetenland» After World War I, the Sudetenland,

historically a part of Germany, became part of Czechoslovakia

» In an attempt to appease Hitler, Chamberlain gave the Sudetenland to Germany, in return for “peace”. This became known as the Munich agreement

Great Britain» Chamberlains efforts did not work» Hitler violated the Munich agreement

when his troops occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia months later

» Why try so hard to appease Hitler?» Deep hatred for war in the west» In retrospect, the Treaty of Versailles

backed Germany into a corner

Great Britain

» After Chamberlains death in 1940, the steadfast Winston Churchill became the new British prime minister

France

France

» Along with Great Britain, France attempted to appease Hitler

» France will declare war on Germany in 1939

MAJOR PLAYERSAXIS POWERS• Italy• Germany • Japan

ALLIED POWERS• France• Great Britain • United States after

1941

REMBEMER: USSR signed a nonaggression pact with Germany but was not officially a part of the Axis powers

REVIEW

» Why was Hitler interested in negotiating the nonaggression pact with the USSR before invading Poland?

» Answer: Germany did not want to fight a war on its eastern and western fronts simultaneously