Steps to WarChapter 26 Section 1

Rise of DictatorsBy 1930’s dictators had seized control in several countries

Italy

Germany

Japan

Soviet Union

Their rise to power was due to the economic and political conditions created by World War I

Italy

Mussolini

Hitler

Stalin Tojo

Bitter Legacy of WW1

The treaties that ended World War I did not resolve any issues

Japan and Italy: dissatisfied

Germany: 100% blame

Europe was in ruins

Great Depression worldwide

Italy’s Dictator

Benito Mussolini: Italian Fascist dictator

Came to power in Italy in 1922 and began fascism

Fascism: political philosophy that advocates a strong nationalistic dictatorship

Extreme form of patriotism or nationalism

Germany’s Dictator

Adolf Hitler: German dictator; Nazi Party head

National Socialist German Workers Party

Believed in German racial superiority

Became chancellor of Germany in 1932, and then took over the government

Soviet Union’s Dictator

Joseph Stalin: Communist dictator of the Soviet Union

Took power in 1924 after the death of Vladimir Lenin

Stalin controlled every aspect of life in the nation

He crushed any opposition

Japan’s Dictator

Hideki Tojo: Prime Minister of Japan 1941-1944

The military increased its power in Japan

Tojo became Prime Minister in 1941

As the war progressed, he assumed dictatorial power

Describe what brought dictators to power

Answer:Dictators came to power because

countries were looking for a way out of financial ruin caused by World War

I, the Great Depression, and mass unemployment

Essential Question

Axis Aggression

In 1936, Hitler and Mussolini formed an alliance called the Rome-Berlin Axis

Axis: The Rome-Berlin Axis, the alliance between Mussolini and Hitler, later joined by Japan

Germany takes over

1938: Hitler invades Austria, home to mostly German-speaking peoples

Hitler then looks to the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia

France, and Great Britain pledged their support to Czechoslovakia if Germany was to attack…

World War II Begins…

March 1939, Hitler conquers the rest of Czechoslovakia

Hitler then threatened to seize Polish territory

France and Britain warned Hitler that an attack on Poland would mean war….

Germany Starts the War

August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed not to attack each other

Germany then invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.

Two days later, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany

Allies Under Attack

June 1940, Germany invades France

Hitler plans to invade Great Britain next….

Germany’s Luftwaffe fought Britain’s RAF

Great Britain did not surrender!

America to the Rescue

Lend-Lease Act: allowed the United States to lend weapons to allies

The United States sent Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and other Allies about $50 billion worth of goods

Remaining neutral, we did not send men….

Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor: U.S. Naval base attacked by Japanese forces on December 7. 1941

2,400 Americans, both service men and civilians died.

U.S. warplanes and ships destroyed, leaving the U.S. fleet devastated.

Pearl Harbor Video

Pearl

Harb

or

U.S. Enters the War

December 7, 1941, “a date that will live in infamy”

Roosevelt asked congress to declare war on Japan!

On December 11, Japan’s allies Germany and Italy declared war on the United States…

Describe the events that led to World War II

Answer:

1. Germany invaded Poland2. Britain and France declared war on

Germany two days later

Essential Question