The Road to WWII

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The Road to WWII
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Before we begin

• Remember, WWI The WAR to END ALL WARS was
  just 20 years prior.
• Europe was only very slowly recovering while we
  were enjoying the Roaring 20s
• When our economy crashed, so did Europes WORSE
  than what happened in the US mostly because of
  the Treaty of Versailles.

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Remember Wilsons 14 Points

• Woodrow Wilson brought with him a blueprint for
  World peace the 14 Points
• League of Nations The US NEVER joined so it was
  weak and ineffective (even though it was our
  idea!)
• Self Determination Only for white Europeans
  creates tensions that exist to this day.
• No more alliances yeah right.

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Lets Begin
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The Interwar Years (1919-1939)

• WWI turned the world upside down the map of
  Europe, the Middle East, and parts of Africa and
  Asia have changed.
• Monarchies and Empires have been replaced with
  new governments operating in newly-formed
  countries. (Germany, former A-H)
• The destruction of the massive war gutted
  infrastructure and the working-age demographic
  from many European communities
• the stage is set for more conflict.

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USSR

• Lenin dies soon after WWI leaving a power
  vacuum. A struggle for control of the new
  socialist government began among various top
  officials.

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Rise of Stalin

• Joseph Stalin seizes control (by killing anyone
  who got in his way).
• Stalin brutally oppresses anyone who stands in
  his way, shifting the government into a
  totalitarian regime.

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Stalins 5-Year Plan

• USSR was still a back-woods, backwards place.
  Stalin was going to change that.
• Comprehensive long-term economic plans were set
  in place to develop a soviet
• Industrial complex (factories and mines)
• Agricultural complex Collectivization
  (state-owned farms)
• Military complex
• Infrastructure (roads, rail, power, dams)
• Brutally strict deadlines and demands were made
  to quickly modernize the result was as many as
  18-20 million dead Russians, worked to death to
  meet the goals. However, the results were
  impressive.

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Joseph Stalins push to Industrialize the USSR
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The BIG Purge

• Those previously mentioned 18-20 million who were
  worked to death were sentenced to work to death
  Stalin was paranoid that there was a plot to
  overthrow him, so he had whole groups of people
  rounded up those who he believed were in
  opposition of the totalitarian regime he was
  creating.

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Italy

• A devastated economy led to a revolution against
  the monarchy.
• A virtual nobody named Benito Mussolini organizes
  thousands of war veterans (the Black Shirts) to
  oppose the crown and marches on Rome. The king is
  deposed! Mussolini sets up a new government with
  himself in complete control. The term fascism
  is coined.
• (Fascism emphasis on nationalism, an ethnic
  group, and the supreme authority of the leader)
• The power goes to his head Mussolini fancies
  himself to be a modern-day Caesar destined to
  rebuild the glory of the ancient Roman Empire

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The Rise of Fascism in Italy

• Fascism is a totalitarian form of government
  which
• Glorifies the state
• Has one leader and one party and all power is in
  the hands of that leader. Cult of Personality
• All aspects of society are controlled by the
  government
• No opposition or protests are tolerated
• Propaganda and censorship are widely practiced

Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922 and helped
found the political ideology of fascism. He sided
with the Axis powers in 1940.
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Benito Moussolinis Fascist Italy
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Remember What the Treaty of Versailles did to
Germany

• Germany
• Forced to take blame for the war
• Loses territory (nearly half used to create
  Poland)
• Loses military power
• Loses monarchy Weimar Republic installed
• Reparations forced on them

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Germany

• The German people were furious and bitter after
  what happened to them in Versailles.
• Despite that, the Weimar government got off the
  ground and was a functioning democracy
• However, the same economic problems that were
  plaguing Italy and the rest of Europe were even
  worse for the Germans.
• One of more than a dozen political parties to
  form was a pro-Germany nationalist movement led
  by thousands of young, angry war veterans the
  NAZI Party.

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In Germany, depression, unemployment and hard
times led to a dramatic increase in votes for
Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Election date Votes in millions Share
May 20, 1928 0.81 2.6
September 14, 1930 6.41 18.3
July 31, 1932 13.75 37.3
November 6, 1932 11.74 33.1
March 5, 1933 17.28 43.9
Voting for Hitlers party increased as
unemployment rates rose
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Hitler seizes power
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with nazi help
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Anti-Communism

• Under communism, all means of production are
  controlled by the government, as are property,
  the media, and all other aspects of society.
• The 1930s saw the rise of many totalitarian
  regimes but most people chose fascism over
  communism.
• Hitler exploited peoples fear of a communist
  takeover in Germany to rise to power in 1933.

A Battle for Germany Nazi anti-communist book
from 1933
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Hitler/nazi power builds
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Burning of the Reichstag
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The 3rd Reich

• Soon after legally coming to power, Hitler began
  testing the will of the new League of Nations by
  invading Austria the League barely twitched so
  he moved on to Czechoslovakia merely a slap on
  the wrist.
• A meeting is called between British Prime
  Minister, Neville Chamberlain and Hitler.
  Chamberlain pursued an appeasement policy
  resulting in the Munich Agreement.

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Appeasement

• Appeasement is the act of giving in to an enemys
  demands in hopes of avoiding further conflict.
• In 1938, Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia cede
  the Sudetenland to Germany. He claimed that the
  German population living there was being
  mistreated.
• The British and French prime ministers agreed to
  Hitlers demands without consulting
  Czechoslovakian leaders, in the hopes that this
  would avoid a war in Europe.

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The Axis Powers form

• Not just Germany was trying to build an empire.
  The leaders of Italy and Japan also desired great
  empires. These three powers each believed they
  stood a chance if they helped one another.

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The Nonaggression Pact

• Hitler makes an agreement with Stalin the
  Non-Aggression Pact split Poland and promise to
  never attack each other.
• Why would Stalin make this agreement?

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Invasion of Poland

• Hitler (even after being warned by the Brits and
  French) attacks Poland The allied powers FINALLY
  do something about it and declare war WWII is
  under way.
• By this time, Hitlers regime was HEAVILY
  militarized, organized, and on a mission the
  Allies have no idea what theyre really in for.

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Blitzkrieg

• Lightning War think Schlieffen Plan from WWI
  only more effective due to new technologies.

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The Maginot Line

• String of French fortifications facing Germany.
• Built at great cost after WWI.

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• Hitlers war machine then went on to capture much
  of Europe, then invade and capture France, then
  brutally bomb Britain into near submission

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Germany Attacks

• Denmark
• Norway
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• BELGIUM

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Dunkirk
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Occupation of France
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The French Resistance
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Battle of Britain
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Britains Secret Weapon Radar
Radar capability gave the Brits just enough early
warning to get their fighter planes in the sky to
meet the German bombers it saved them from a
Nazi take-over!
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The Allied Powers organize

• Soviet Union
• United States
• United Kingdom

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Militarism

• The glorification of war, in which a nation
  strengthens its military and stockpiles weapons
  in preparation for war.
• An important aspect of militarism is that the
  glorification of war is incorporated into all
  levels of society, including education of the
  nations youth.
• Militaristic societies have existed throughout
  human history.

Hitler Youth group
Ancient Sparta is an example of a militaristic
society
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Nationalism

• Nationalism is the belief in the superiority of
  ones own nation over all others.
• In the extreme, it can lead to major conflicts
  between nations.
• Hitler, Mussolini, and Japans Tojo each touted
  their nations ability to dominate all others in
  the years leading up to WWII.

Nazi flag, Italian fascist logo, Japanese flag
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American Isolationism

• The failure of peace efforts such as the Kellogg
  Briand Treaty during the 1920s disillusioned many
  Americans about international involvement.
• The U.S. was in a major depression throughout the
  1930s and was mostly concerned with its own
  problems.
• Conflict in Europe seemed distant, and the U.S.
  tried to remain neutral. This policy weakened the
  European democracies.

The Nye Committee held congressional hearings in
the mid-1930s, concluding that the U.S. was
tricked into entering WWI by arms manufacturers
and Allied propaganda.