chapter 16 world war looms essential question: how did the rise of dictators contribute to the...

Chapter 16 World War Looms Essential Question: How did the rise of dictators contribute to the outbreak of WWII?

Section 1 p. 554 Dictators Threaten World Peace Main Idea: The rise of rulers with total power in Europe and Asia led to WWII. Why it matters now: Dictators of the 1930s and 1940s changed the course of history, making world leaders especially watchful for the actions of dictators today OBJ: ID the types of governments that took power in Russia, Italy, Germany, and Japan after WWI Why did America turn to isolationism in the 1930s?

Conflict still brews in Europe after WWI. For many nations, peace did not bring prosperity it brought revolution fueled by economic depression and struggle. The post war years brought the rise of powerful dictators driven by the belief in nationalism loyalty to ones country ABOVE ALL ELSE! Dictators also wanted new territory. Failures of the WWI Peace Settlement: The Treaty of Versailles caused anger and resentment for Germans. They saw nothing fair in a treaty that blamed them for starting the war. It stripped them of their colonies and border territories. These problems overwhelmed the Weimar Republic, the democratic government set up in Germany after WWI. The Soviets also resented the carving up of parts of Russia. Why did the new democracies set up after WWI fail? Because there was a lack of democratic tradition, failure of the Treaty of Versailles and economic devastation.

With no democratic tradition, people turned to authoritarian leaders to solve their economic and social problems. The new democracies collapsed and dictators were able to seize power. Germany experienced hyperinflation in 1923. The economic demand of reparations payments, required by the Treaty, was the prime cause of inflation. The German people felt their government had betrayed them and they were angry with the Allies for waging economic war on their country. Inflation was so high that 5-million German Marks were worth less that a penny. Children built blocks with stacks of useless German marks.

Russia becomes the Soviet Union (formally Russia and its surrounding territories) establishing the communist state in 1922. Lenin communist leader dies in 1922. Stalin becomes leader. Joseph Stalin Transforms the Soviet Union Stalin focused on creating a model communist state. He made agricultural and industrial growth the prime economic goals. He established all privately owned farms and replaced them with collectives large government-owned farms, each worked by hundreds of families. Stalin moved to transform the USSR from a backward rural nation into a great industrial power. 1928 he outlined several 5 year plans to direct industrialization. All economic activity was placed under state management. By 1937 The USSR had become the worlds second-largest industrial power. The human costs for this transformation was tremendous.

Stalin eliminated or purged challenges to his rule by attacking his closest allies and leaders of the revolution. The world watched as the accused plead guilty to the states outlandish charges of treason and counter-revolution, knowing full well that such confession would result in their execution. The Show Trials (1936, 37 and 38) made a big impact on American Communists and sympathizers. Many saw the potential totalitarian underpinnings of Communism and deserted the movement. He eliminated anyhow who threatened his power he did not even spare his most faithful. Historians estimate that Stalin was responsible for the deaths of 8 13 million people. Millions more died in famines caused by the restructuring of Soviet society. By 1939, he had established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control over its citizens.

Totalitarian state is where individuals have NO RIGHTS, and the government suppresses all opposition. No Civil Liberties! What are the characteristics of a totalitarian state? It has complete control over citizens and uses ruthless suppression of the opposition.

The Rise of Fascism in Italy: While Stalin was consolidating his power in USSR, Benito Mussolini was establishing a totalitarian regime in Italy where unemployment and inflation produced bitter strikes, of which some were communist led. Upper and middle classes demanded strong leadership alarmed by the threats. Mussolini took advantage. He was a powerful speaker and knew how to appeal to Italys wounded national pride. He played on the fears of economic collapse and communism. This way he won support of many discontented Italians. He started his political career as a socialists rising through the ranks to become editor of the Socialist Partys newspaper, Avanti! He broke with his party over the issue of WWI. The Socialists opposed it, He was a nationalist at heart and favored it. One of the characteristics of Fascism is extreme patriotism.

Mussolini established the Fascist Party in 1921 which stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. Fascists argued that to strengthen the nation, power must rest with a single strong leader and a small group of devoted party members. Oct. 1922 he and thousands of his followers ( BLACK SHIRTS - thugs) marched on Rome. When the government, army, and police sided with the Fascists, the Italian king appointed him head of the government. He called himself Il Duce and gradually extended Fascist control in every aspect of Italian life. He was able to achieve efficiency in aspects of every day life making trains run on time but crushed all opposition by making Italy a totalitarian state. What factors led to the rise of Fascism in Italy? Following WWI, Italian pride had been hurt, there was rising inflation, unemployment, and social unrest.

Nazis Take Over Germany: Adolf Hitlers path to power was similar to Mussolinis. He was an unemployed soldier drifting around Germany. He joins the National Socialist German Workers Party (NAZI). It has no ties to socialism. He was a powerful public speaker and organizer and quickly become a party leader, calling himself Der Fuhrer the Leader he promised to bring Germany out of chaos. Hitler was born in Austria and wanted to 1. unite all German-speaking people in a Great German empire. His book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism the German brand of fascism also based on extreme nationalism. Hitler also wanted to enforce 2. racial purification at home. Blue-eyed/blond haired Aryan Germans formed the master race and were destined to rule the world. Inferior races Jews, Slavs, non-whites, were fit only to serve Aryans. 3. national expansion. He believed that for Germany to thrive, it needed more lebensraum or living space.

What were the key ideas and goals that Hitler presented in Mein Kampf? He wanted to reunite all Germans; Germans were the master race others were inferior; Germany needed more living space. The Great Depression helped Nazis come to power. Because of war debts and dependence on American loans, and investments, Germanys economy was hart hit. 1932 6 million Germans unemployed. Many joined Hitlers private army (Brown Shirts storm troopers). The German people were desperate and turned to Hitler as their last hope. By 1932 the Nazis had become the most powerful political party. Hitler was appointed chancellor (prime minister). Once in power, Hitler quickly dismantled Germanys democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he established the Third Reich the third German Empire that would last a thousand years. Hitler was elected in a democratic election. The last democratic election of the Weimar Republic. There was so much political infighting that moderate and right wing party members decided that Hitler was somebody they could work with and preferable to the moderate left Social Democrats.

Militarists gain control in Japan: Nationalistic military leaders were trying to take control of the imperial government in Japan. They shared Hitlers belief in the need of more living space for a growing population on this island nation. In 1931 the militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria twice the size of Texas rich in natural resources.

The League of Nations established after WWI to prevent aggressive acts went to Manchuria to investigate the situation. Japan was condemned they quit the League. The League had no power or ability to enforce its edicts. European dictators took notice. 1933 Germany leaves the League and begins a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. He sent troops into the Rhineland, France did nothing to stop him. Hitler realized that he could continue his aggressive demands, and the Western powers would give in. Mussolini began building his new Roman empire. He targeted Ethiopia one of Africas few remaining independent countries. By May of 1936 Ethiopia had fallen. It symbolized another in a long line of historical atrocities committed against people of African descent. Emperor Haile Selassie the emperor of Ethiopia- was moved to know that Afr/Am raised money for medical supplies and some fought for them not abandoning their African brothers standing by them.

Civil War Breaks out in Spain: 1936, Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out all over Spain and the Spanish Civil War had begun. About 3,000 Americans went to Spain to fight. Western democracies remained neutral. Limited aid could not stop the spread of fascism. Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco and formed an alliance know as the Rome-Berlin Axis. Franco becomes established fascist Spanish dictator in 1939 after the loss of almost 500,000 lives. Another country in Europe becomes totalitarian. Italy and Germany poured weapons and other assistance into Spain. The 2 countries use the Spanish Civil War and a testing ground for new weapons and tactics.

The US responds cautiously: Americans were alarmed by the international conflicts but believed that the US should NOT get involved isolationism. What factors contributed to Americans growing isolationism? There was evidence that large profits had been made by greedy banks and arms industries during WWI; there was regret over having involved in WWI Americans were more determined than ever to avoid war; there was hatred of militarism.

Neutrality Acts: in an effort to keep the US out of future wars, beginning in 1935, Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts. The first 2 acts outlawed arms sales or loans to nations at war. The third act was passed in response to the fighting in Spain. This act extended the ban on arms sales and loans to nations engaged in civil wars. Despite efforts to legislate neutrality, Roosevelt found it impossible to remain neutral. When Japan attacked China in 1937, Roosevelt found a way around the acts by claiming a war had not formally been declared. The US sent arms and supplies to China. Roosevelt called for nations to stand up against aggression. He was attacked by isolationist newspapers protesting that the President was leading the nation into war. He backed off. The US remained isolated from the conflicts over there.

Section 2 p. 562 War in Europe Main Idea: Using the sudden mass attack called blitzkrieg, Germany invaded and quickly conquered many European countries. Why it matters now: Hitlers actions started WWII and still serve as a warning to be vigilant about totalitarian government. Obj: Explain Hitlers motives for expansion and how Britain and France responded Describe the blitzkrieg tactics that Germany used against Poland.

Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall: Nov.5, 1937, Hitler met with his military advisors declaring that Germany could not grow and prosper without land (lebensraum)! That is the land of its neighbors. He planned to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich. Austria was hit first target. Most of Austrias population were Germans who favored unification with Germany. March 12, 1938 German troops marched into Austria unopposed. Germanys Anschluss (union) was complete. No one did anything or responded. Hitler then turns his sights on the Sudetenland the western border regions of Czechoslovakia where German-speaking people lived. He wanted to annex this region to provide more living space and to control its important natural resources. Of course Hitler claimed the Germans there were abused German headlines were full of hysteria and untruths about Czechs murdering Germans.

Early in the crisis France and Great Britain promised to protect Czechoslovakia. Hitler met with the French premier Edouard Daladier and British Prime minister Neville Chamberlain in Munich, Germany. The fuhrer declared that this annexation of the Sudetenland would be his last territorial demand. So believing him, and wanting to avoid war, on Sept. 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement turning the Sudetenland over to Germany without a shot being fired. Chamberlain returned home believing he had brokered peace with an honorable man. Another Englishman Winston Churchill Chamberlains political rival did not agree. Churchill felt that the Munich Agreement was just a shameful policy of appeasement giving up principles to pacify an aggressor. What was appeasement, and why did Churchill oppose it so strongly? It was an attempt to do whatever was necessary to pacify Hitler. Churchill saw it as an abandonment of moral principles that would lead to a war and national disaster.

The German Offensive Begins: As Churchill warned, Germany was not through expanding the Third Reich. March 15, 1939, German troops took the rest of Czechoslovakia. Hitler stated that Czechoslovakia no longer existed. Land-hungry Hitler next turns his gaze on its eastern neighbor Poland.

Poland also had a sizable German-speaking population. In the spring of 1939 Hitler again charges that Poland is mistreating German speaking people there and they need his protection. Some thought Hitler was bluffing because his attack on Poland may bring Germany into conflict with the Soviet Union Polands neighbor. Also, this attack on Poland may provoke a declaration of war from France and Great Britain both had promised to protect Poland. That would make Germany fight on 2 fronts its east and its west.

As tensions over Poland grow, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler (once a bitter enemy). Aug. 23,1939, they signed an agreement to never attack each other. They also signed a secret pact to divide Poland between them. This eliminated a war on 2 fronts for Germany. The fate of Poland is sealed. Sept. 1, 1939, the German Luftwaffe (Germanys improved air force) roared over Poland dropping bombs on military airfields, railroads, and cities at the same time, Germanys improved tanks raced across Poland spreading terror and confusion. This was Germanys new military strategy blitzkrieg or lightening war. They moved fast and were powerful quickly to surprise and crush the opposition with overwhelming force. Three days later Sept.3, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

The blitzkrieg tactics worked perfectly. The major fighting was over in 3 weeks before France and Britain could mount a defense. In the last weeks, the USSR attacked Poland from the east grabbing land. Germany annexed western Poland containing 2/3 of its population. By the end of Sept., Poland ceased to exist and WWII had begun.

Several months after Poland fell, France and Britain stationed themselves along the Maginot Line a system of fortifications built along Frances eastern border with Germany. No one fought. In the meantime, Stalin occupied eastern Poland, annexed the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In 1939 he sent the Soviet army into Finland who surrendered after 3 months.

April 9, 1930 Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway on order to protect their (countrys) independence. He really had planned to build bases along their coasts to strike at Britain. He then turned to the Netherlands, Belgium., and Luxembourg which were overrun by May.

France and Britain Fight on: Frances Maginot Line ineffective Germany simply went around it. As the Germans march toward Paris, about 400,000 French and British soldiers are trapped at Dunkirk its on the French side of the English Channel. In less than a week, a makeshift fleet of fishing trawlers tugboats, river barges, pleasure craft about 800 vessels ferried these troops to safety across the Channel to England.

A few days later, Italy entered the war on Germanys side and invaded France from the South as the Germany closed in on Paris from the North. June 22, 1040, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender Germans would control the northern part of France and a Nazi-puppet government would be set up a Vichy in southern France. After the fall of France, French general Charles de Gaulle fled to England where he set up a government in exile.

Battle of Britain: In the summer of 1940, the French assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. Their naval power could not compete with Britain, so they also launched an air war at the same time. The Luftwaffe began to make bombing runs over Britain. GOAL: to gain total control of the skies by destroying the RAF Britains Royal Air Force.. Hitler sent around 2,000 planes to fly over London bombing it every night for 2 solid months. At first, the Germans targeted airfields and aircrafts. Then it targeted cities. The RAF fought back with new technology called: Radar. By September, Hitler called of the Britain invasion indefinitely BUT the Germany continued to pound Britains cities trying to disrupt production and break civilian morale. British pilots also bombed German cities. Civilians on both sides unrelentingly carried on.

Section 3 p. 568 The Holocaust Main Idea: During the Holocaust, the Nazis systematically executed 6 million Jews and 5 million other non-Aryans Why it matters now: After the atrocities of the Holocaust, agencies formed to publicize human rights. These agencies have remained a force in todays world. OBJ: Explain the reasons behind the Nazis persecution of the Jews and the problems facing Jewish refugees. Describe the Nazis' final solution to the Jewish problem and the horrors of the Holocaust.

In 1942 Jewish families in Poland had to give up their homes to German families. They were rounded-up by the SS - Hitlers elite Schutzstaffel security squadron and sent to labor camps. Persecution begins: Shortly after Hitler took power in Germany in on April 7, 1933, he ordered all non-Aryans removed from government jobs. This was one of his first moves in a campaign for racial purity it leads to the Holocaust the systematic murder of 6 million Jews across Europe. They Nazis also murdered about 5 million other people considered undesirable or enemies of the state. Even though Jews werent the only victims of the Holocaust, they were the center of Nazi targets. Anti-Semitism hatred of the Jews. This hatred has been going on for centuries in parts of Europe and the Germans needed a scapegoat for the cause of their failures. Hitler claims the Jews were responsible for Germanys economic problems and defeat in WWI.

In 1935 the Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their German citizenship, jobs, and property. To make it easier to identify them, Jews had to wear a bright yellow Star of David attached to their clothing. A later extension of these laws subjected Jews to economic, social and legal restrictions, which made it virtually impossible to do anything. Kristallnacht: November 9-10, 1938, Kristallnacht Night of Broken Glass. Nazi storm troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany and Austria. Windows were smashed, about 100 Jews were killed, and hundreds injured. 30,000 Jews were arrested and hundreds of synagogues were burned. Afterwards, the Nazis blamed the Jews for the destruction.

Kristallnacht marked a step-up in the Nazi policy of Jewish persecution. Nazis tried to speed Jewish emigration Jews fleeing Germany had trouble finding nations that would accept them. France already had 40,000 Jews; British worried about anti-Semitism and refused 80,000 more refugees. The British controlled the Palestine Mandate ( part of which later became Israel) allowed 30,000 refugees there. US: in the 1930s the US tradition of offering asylum to victims of religious and political persecution conflicted with the quota system imposed aby the Immigration Act of 1924. Unemployment was at an all-time high (Depression), few leaders were willing to open the doors to thousands of refugees result Jewish refugees that may have been saved, died in the death camps.

The St. Louis was a German ocean liner with Jewish passengers from Germany was not allowed to dock in Miami in 1939. They were also refused to land in Cuba. Most had US immigration papers still they were not allowed to dock. The ship was forced to return to Europe. More than half were murdered in the Holocaust.

Hitlers Final Solution: To rid Europe and Germany of its Jews, Hitler imposed his Final Solution a policy of genocide the deliberate and systematic murder on an entire population. Hitlers belief of this rested on the belief that Aryans were superior people and that the strength and purity of this :master race: must be preserved. Jews and other groups that were viewed as inferior or unworthy or and enemies of the state were condemned. The groups included gypsies, freemasons, Jehovahs Witnesses, mentally ill, homosexuals, physically disables and incurable ill. Hitler began implementing his Final Solution in Poland where the SS rounded up Jews men, women, children and shot them on the spot.

Jews were also ordered in to overcrowded Ghettos segregated Jewish areas in certain Polish cities. They were sealed off with barbed wire and stone walls. Life in the ghetto miserable, dead bodies piled up faster than they could be removed, people were forced to work in factories next to the ghettos. Some Jews formed resistance movements inside the ghettos, published underground newspapers, secret schools were set up to educate Jewish children. Theater and music groups continued to operate.

Concentration Camps: Labor camps. Jews were dragged from their homes and herded onto trains or trucks for shipment to concentration camps. Families were separated many never to see each other again. They were originally set up to imprison opponents and protesters; the camps were turned over to the SS who expanded them to warehouse undesirables. Life in the camps was a cycle of hunger, humiliation, and work that almost always ended in death. They worked 7 days a week sun-up to sun-down. Prisoners were crammed into crude wooden barracks that held 1,000 each. They were cramped, full of rats, fleas and anything else. Those too weak to work were killed.

The Final Stage: The Final Solution reached its final stage in early 1942. Hitlers top officials agreed to begin a new phase of the mass murder of Jews. To the mass starvation and slaughter they would add a 3 rd method of killing poison gas. Being overworked, staved, beaten, and shot the Nazis were not satisfied that the Jews were being killed fast enough. So they built 6 death camps in Poland that began operating in 1941. They had huge gas chambers that could kill 12,000 a day. They were told they were going into the chamber for a shower. They were poisoned with cyanide gas that spewed from the walls while cheerful music played. The bodies were then buried in a large pit the smell of decaying corpses could be smelled for miles. At some camps, huge crematoriums or ovens burned the dead or thrown into pits and set on fire. Still others died as a result of horrible medical experiments carried out by camp doctors injected with deadly germs to study the effects, sterilization methods, or research looking for ways to improve the master race.

The survivors: it is estimated that 6 million Jews died in death camps, but there were survivors.

Section 4 p. 576 America Moves Toward War Main Idea: In response to the fighting in Europe, the US provided economic and military aid to help the Allies achieve victory. Why it matters now: The military capability of the US became a deciding factor in WWII and in world affairs ever since. OBJ: Describe the US response to the outbreak of war in Europe in 1939. Explain how Roosevelt assisted the Allies without declaring war. Summarize the events that brought the US into armed conflict with Germany Describe the American response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

The US Musters its forces: In Sept. of 1939 Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass the cash-and-carry provision that allowed warring nations to buy US arms as long as they paid cash and transported them in their own ships. He felt this would help France and Britain defeat Hitler and keep the US out of the war. It passes Congress. AXIS THREAT: By 1940 France has fallen and Britain was under siege. Roosevelt scrambled to provide the British with all aid short of war. On Sept.27 Germany, Italy and Japan signed a mutual defense treaty the Tripartite Pact- the Axis Powers. Their aim was to keep the US out of the war. To declare war would be a nightmare for the US it would be fighting a war on several continents and on 2 Oceans. What impact did the outbreak of war in Europe have on US foreign and defense policy? Roosevelt revised the Neutrality Acts; he dramatically increased defense spending; there was also the institution of the nations first peacetime draft.

Roosevelt runs for a 3 rd term: he broke with tradition of a 2-term presidency. He was re-elected. He told America that it was impossible to negotiate peace with Hitler. He warned that if Britain fell, the Axis powers would be left unchallenged to conquer the world. Lend-Lease Plan: By late 1940, Britain was out of cash to spend FDR suggested a new plan lend-lease. Under this plan the president would lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country whose defense was vital to the US. It passed in Mar. 1941. In June 1941, Hitler broke his agreement with Stalin and invaded the USSR. He was offered the lend-lease supplies. Why did FDR take one unneutral step after another to assist Britain and the USSR in 1941? FDR believed that the best way to stop the Axis powers was to help their opponents mainly Britain and the USSR.

German Wolf Packs: Providing supplies and aid was one thing, keeping supply lines open across the Atlantic Ocean was another. Hitler deployed hundreds of German submarines U-Boats to attack supply ships. These U-boast became know as the wolf pack. Some groups of 40 would patrol areas in the North Atlantic where convoys could be expected. They were successful for sinking as many as 350,000 tons of supplies in a single month. In June of 1941, FDR granted the navy permission for US warships to attack German U- boast in self-defense. By 1943, subs were contained by a new detection device radar and by airborne anti-sub patrols operating from small escort aircraft carriers. Atlantic Charter: US and Britain pledged: collective security, disarmament, self-determination, economic cooperation and freedom of the seas. FDR told Churchill that he couldnt ask Congress to declare war against Germany but he would do everything he could to force an incident.

Allies: These nations that fought against the Axis powers. 26 nations Why was the Atlantic charter important? It set forth the war aims of the Allies. Why did the US enter into an undeclared shooting war with Germany in fall of 1941? Because German U-boats were attacking American ships.

Japan Attacks the US: The US was now involved in an undeclared naval war with Hitler. However, the attack that brought the US into war came from JAPAN. Hideki Tojo: chief of staff of Japans Kwantung Army. Japanese leaders saw an opportunity to unite East Asia under Japanese control by seizing the colonial lands of Europeans at war. Only the US and its Pacific islands remained in Japans way. They needed OIL to do this. The US had an embargo against them. They would seize the oilfields in the Dutch East Indies it would mean war. How was oil a source of conflict between Japan and the US? Japan needed oil and the US had placed an embargo on it to protest Japanese aggression in Indochina.

Tojo becomes prime minister, he meets with emperor Hirohito and even through he promised peace, he ordered the Japanese navy to prepare for an attack on the US. Roosevelt sent out a war warning, December 7, 1941 the Japanese bomb Pear Harbor, Hawaii, the largest US naval base in the Pacific. At this time Hawaii was not a state. For an hour and a half, the Japanese planes bombed and blasted target after target. The devastation was appalling. Reaction to Pearl Harbor: FDR addressed Congress, Yesterday, December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy, an unprovoked and dastardly attack Congress quickly approved Roosevelts request for a declaration of war against Japan. 3 days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the US. Former isolationists now were behind the war effort. The war was good for business. It brings the US out of the Depression by producing war supplies, etc. Factories were hiring again and the unemployment rate shrank rapidly.