War In Europe and American Neutrality

1
War In Europe and American Neutrality

• Mr. Whites US History 1

2
Main Ideas and Objectives

• Main Idea As allied leaders sought to avoid war
  at all costs, Adolf Hitler, Germany, and other
  aggressive nations expanded their empires through
  conquest.
• After we finish this section, we should be able
  to
• Evaluate the decisions Allied leaders made to
  avoid war in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
• Describe Germanys first steps toward expanding
  its empire and territory.

3
Hitler Wants Austria

• In the Treaty of Versailles, it was forbidden for
  Germany to merge with Austria
• Part of Hitlers stated plan was the unification
  of all German-speaking people into a German
  empire Austria was his first target
• The Austrian chancellor, Kurt Schuschnigg, wanted
  to put this to a plebiscite, or vote of the
  people he expected that the people would vote
  against unification with Germany

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Rigged

• Before the Austrian government could organize the
  plebiscite, Austrian Nazis seized the government
  and removed Schuschnigg from power
• The Austrian Nazis then handed power over to the
  Germany Wehrmacht (army)
• Wehrmacht entered and occupied Austria
• The Germany government then allowed a plebiscite
  on whether to unify
• Germans claimed that over 99 of the Austrian
  people voted for unification
• None of the other European nations responded to
  this, especially not the League of Nations

5
Hitler Wants the Sudetenland

• Hitler charged the government of Czechoslovakia
  with abusing Germans living in the Sudetenland
  (dark purple)
• Hitler demanded the Sudetenland become part of
  Germany, or he would invade Czechoslovakia

6
Chamberlain Meets with Hitler

• British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (left)
  met with Hitler to try to work out the problem
  without war
• Hitler was able to convince Chamberlain that the
  Sudetenland would be his last territorial
  demand
• Chamberlain agreed that Hitler gets the
  Sudetenland
• Chamberlain was proud to have avoided war,
  claimed peace in our time.

7
Appeasement

• Another politician in the United Kingdom, Winston
  Churchill, thought Chamberlain made a bad
  decision to appease Hitler
• Churchill thought this would only make Hitler
  bolder, not satisfy him
• Do you agree or disagree? Why?

8
Nazi Aggression Begins

• German armies took over the rest of
  Czechoslovakia
• The German armies used new mobile weapons of
  warfare such as tanks and airplanes to attack
  weak spots in the oppositions defenses
• Czechoslovakia was quickly subdued

9
Hitlers Designs on Poland

• Poland was a nation that had been created by the
  Treaty of Versailles, and part of it had been
  carved out of Germany
• As all things with the Treaty of Versailles,
  Hitler considered it invalid, and began to call
  for the invasion of Poland
• However, the Soviet Union also had an interest in
  Poland, as it lay between Germany and them

10
The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

• Hitler and Stalin of the Soviet Union signed the
  Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
• This was a non-aggression pact both agreed to
  not attack each other
• They also agreed to respect each others claims
  to territory in Poland
• Hitler now knew he could invade Poland without
  having to worry about the Soviet Union

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Hitler Invades Poland

• Hitlers SS staged an attack against a German
  radio transmitter, made to look like an attack by
  Polish saboteurs
• Hitler used this and other staged violence to
  accuse Poland of attacks on Germany and Germans
  living in Polish territory
• In September of 1939, the German army invaded
  Poland
• The Poles fought valiantly, but
• From the east, the Soviets invaded, as well, and
  Polish resistance quickly collapsed

12
Declaration of War, Sitzkrieg

• Immediately following Hitlers invasion of
  Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on
  Germany, in support of their protective treaty
  with Poland
• French and British troops massed in France, but
  what followed as a period of very little fighting
  along the border of France nicknamed the
  Sitzkrieg

13
The Maginot Line

• After moving forces back from Poland, Germany
  attacked France
• France had planned to rely on the formidable
  Maginot line, a system of fortifications along
  their border with Germany, to protect them
• The Germans simply went through Belgium,
  bypassing the Maginot Line

14
Germany Defeats France

• Within several months, French high military
  command decided that resistance to the Germans
  was no longer useful
• The French surrendered to Germany
• Germany allowed France to set up a puppet
  government in southern France known as the Vichy
  government

15
The Evacuation at Dunkirk

• During the Battle of France, a large force of
  English and French troops was cornered against
  the English Channel
• British used fishing boots, peoples yachts,
  ocean liners, cargo boats, etc., to ferry troops
  from the beach of Dunkirk to England
• Over 300,000 men are evacuated from France and
  saved from capture

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Battle of Britain

• After defeating France, Hitler turned to England
• To attack England, Germany had to cross the
  English channel, but first had to take out the
  British Royal Air Force
• After a long air battle in which it appeared that
  Germany might win, the British gradually defeated
  the Germans
• Hitler called off his invasion of England

17
American Neutrality

• Through all this, United States remained neutral
• President Roosevelt and Congress passed the
  Neutrality Acts, outlawing arms sales to nations
  at war or in civil wars
• Americans were still very much against getting
  involved in a European war

18
Main Ideas and Objectives

• Main Idea As allied leaders sought to avoid war
  at all costs, Adolf Hitler, Germany, and other
  aggressive nations expanded their empires through
  conquest.
• After we finish this section, we should be able
  to
• Evaluate the decisions Allied leaders made to
  avoid war in the late 1930s and early 1940s.
• Describe Germanys first steps toward expanding
  its empire and territory.