World War II: Chapter 24

Section 1: Aggression Leads to War

The Rise of Dictators

• Soviet Communism– Josef Stalin became dictator of the Soviet Union by

1929– Turned it into a totalitarian state– Totalitarian state: nation where a single party

controls the government and every aspect of people’s lives

The Rise of Dictators

• Fascism in Italy– Benito Mussolini rose to power in 1922– Turned Italy into the world’s first fascist state– Fascism: political system based on militarism,

extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to a state and its leader

– Said Italy was a superior nation that had a right to conquer inferior nations

The Rise of Dictators

• Nazi Germany– Adolf Hitler, an extreme nationalist, became

leader of the National Socialist (Nazi) Party– Racism lay at core of Nazi beliefs (Aryan vs. others)– Great Depression made Hitler popular; became

Chancellor in 1933– Germany soon passed anti-Semitic laws

The Rise of Dictators

• Militarism in Japan– Military leaders pressured civilian government to

take control of nearby countries– By 1936, militarists were in complete control of

Japanese government– Racism/nationalism was also preached

Military Aggression

• Japan Attacks China– Japanese took Manchuria (land in NE China) in

1931– Stepped up aggression in 1937

Military Aggression

• Italy Invades Ethiopia– Invaded in 1935– Haile Selassie, the emperor, appealed to the

League of Nations for help, but they responded weakly due to Europe’s own economic crisis

Military Aggression

• German Aggression– Hitler sent troops into Rhineland in 1936– European leaders met in Munich in September

1938 to help ease crisis– In Munich Pact, France/Britain agreed to let Hitler

occupy Sudetenland (part of Czechoslovakia near Germany), in exchange for Hitler agreeing not to seek any more land

– Hitler ended up occupying all of Czechoslovakia by 1939

American Neutrality

• Neutrality Act– Passed in 1935– Forbade president from selling arms, making

loans, or giving assistance to a nation in war• Good Neighbor Act– Hoover rejected Roosevelt Corollary in 1930– FDR withdrew American troops from Nicaragua

and Haiti and canceled Platt Amendment in GNA

War Begins in Europe

• Invasion of Poland– Hitler/Stalin signed Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1939

non-aggression– Nazi troops invaded Poland on 9/1/39– Two days later, France/Britain declared war on

Germany

War Begins in Europe

• Fall of France– Germany moved into France in 1940– Britain moved in to help, but both countries were

forced to retreat to Dunkirk (French port)– On 6/22/40, Hitler accepted full surrender of

France

War Begins in Europe

• Battle of Britain– Hitler ordered air assault on Britain– Bombs hit daily; many forced to sleep in subway

stations and practice daily bomb drills– Battle of Britain continued throughout 1940, but

Hitler gave up invading Britain

War Begins in Europe

• Invasion of the Soviet Union– On 6/22/41, Hitler broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact with

Stalin– Germany invaded Soviet Union– Soviet Union joined Britain in fighting Germans– Although Churchill/Stalin mistrusted each other,

they worked together in war