Causes of WWII & The WWII Alliances

Candidate A• A well-known critic of the government, this man has encouraged his fellow citizens to refuse

to pay taxes.• He has openly advocated secession, armed rebellion against the existing national

government, and even the overthrow of that government. • He is a known member of a militia group that was involved in a shoot-out with law

enforcement authorities. • He opposes the government’s gun-control efforts. • He is a businessman who has earned his fortune from such businesses as alcohol, tobacco,

retailing, and smuggling.Candidate B • This man is a decorated army war veteran.• He supports government medical research, including research to find a cure for cancer. • He opposes the use of animals in medical research. • He has supported restrictions on the use of asbestos, pesticides, and radiation, and favors

government-determined health and safety standards for workplaces.• He encourages citizens to consume healthy foods such as whole-grain bread and soybeans. • He supports government gun-control measures.• A dedicated nonsmoker, he has supported increased restrictions on both the use of and

advertising for tobacco products. Such advertising restrictions include: [1] not allowing tobacco use to be portrayed as harmless or a sign of masculinity; [2] not allowing such advertising to be directed to women; [3] not drawing attention to the low nicotine content of tobacco products; and, [4] limitations as to where such advertisements may be made.

• This man is a champion of environmental and conservationist programs.• He believes in sending troops into foreign countries in order to help maintain law and order.

Causes of World War II

U.S. II 7 a, b, c; 1c, d, h, i

U.S. II 7 a, b, c; 1c, d, h, i

1. Political instability and economic devastation in Europe resulting from

WWI

• Worldwide depression• High war debt owed by Germany

• High inflation• Massive unemployment

GERMANY’S WEIMER REPUBLIC FAILED:Opens Door to a Dictator

• The new democratic government in Germany was the Weimar Republic in Germany which was blamed for signing Treaty of Versailles

A German woman is seen here in 1923 feeding bundles of money into the furnace. . .why?

This Konstanz 50 milliarden (billion) Mark overprinted on 5-Mark illustrates the extent of the inflation in Weimar Germany.

Exchange rates, US Dollar to Mark, 1918-1923 Source : Gerald D. Feldman, The Great Disorder,

Oxford : UP 1997, p.5

Jan. 1918 Jan. 1919 Jan. 1920 Jan. 1921 Jan. 1922 April 1922 July 1922 Oct. 1922 Jan. 1923 Feb. 1923

5.21 8.20

64.80 64.91

191.81 291.00 493.22

3,180.96 17,972.00 27,918.00

Mar. 1923 Apr. 1923 May 1923 June 1923 July 1923 Aug. 1923 Sept. 1923 Oct. 1923 Nov. 1923 Dec. 1923

21,190.00 24,475.00 47,670.00

109,966.00 353,412.00

4,620,455.00 98,860,000.00

25,260,000,000.00 2,193,600,000,000.00 4,200,000,000,000.00

U.S. II 7 a, b, c; 1c, d, h, i

FAILURE OF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES

• Failed to provide a “just and secure peace” as promised

• Germany grew more and more resentful of the treaty that they felt was too harsh and punishing

• Hitler promised revenge and an end to the terms of the treaty.

The Versailles Treaty (above on crutches) took a beating in the U.S. and abroad.

SAFARI Montage

2. Rise of Fascism

• Fascism is a political philosophy in which total power is given to a dictator and individual freedoms are denied and nationalism, and often racism are emphasized

• The Fascist dictators led the countries that came to be known as the Axis Powers

Mussolini Tojo Hitler (Italy) (Japan) (Germany)

DICTATORS THREATEN WORLD PEACE

• For many European countries the end of World War I was the beginning of revolutions at home, economic depression and the rise of powerful dictators driven by nationalism and the desire to conqueror more land (Imperialism).

Storm Clouds Gather

German and Italian Dictators used Fascism, nationalism, propaganda and fear to control their people

Benito Mussolini Seized power of Italy and banned all opposing political parties and invaded Ethiopia

Adolph Hitler: Used Nazism to control people

THE RISE OF FASCISM IN ITALY

• Mussolini seized power, taking advantage of high unemployment.

• Mussolini was a strong public speaker who appealed to Italian nationalism.

• By 1921, Mussolini had established the Fascist Party – – Fascism stressed nationalism and

militarismand placed the interest of the state above the interests of the individual.

• Hitler and Mussolini signed an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis

MILITARISTS GAIN CONTROL OF JAPAN

• The military was taking control of Japan’s government.

• Like Hitler, they desired living space for their growing population

• Emperor Hirohito’s reign lasted from 1926-1989

• Tojo began a military buildup with several attacks on China and a dream of controlling the Pacific

The military led by Hideki Tojo took control of

Japan

JAPAN ATTACKS CHINA• In 1931, Japan attacked the Chinese province

of Manchuria and captured the province which is roughly twice the size of Texas

Japanese soldiers in Manchuria

RUSSIA: STALIN PLANS A TOTALITARIAN STATE

• By 1937, Stalin had achieved his goal– USSR was the world’s 2nd largest industrial power

• Who was Stalin Video 9 min.

This 1932 poster championed the Soviet Defense

industry

• By 1939, Stalin firmly established a totalitarian government in the USSR

• The government gets rid of all opposition and has strict control over the citizens who have no civil rights.

• Ruled by fear.

Rise of Hitler:Early Years

• Adolf Hitler (1889-1945)– Born in Austria– Failed art student in Austria, painting picture

postcards. – World War I :volunteered for the German

army, fought bravely, twice receiving the Iron Cross.

– Germany’s defeat made Hitler want total victory over Germany’s enemies.

• At the end of WWI he was a jobless soldier drifting around Germany

• In 1919, he joined a struggling group called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (Nazis) Hitler, far left, shown

during WWI

Start of the Nazis

SAFARI Montage

Hitler Gains Power for the Nazis• In 1923, Hitler attempted to seize power in

Munich– Imprisoned for 9 months. – Prison gave Hitler attention – In prison, he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

about his goal to conquer Europe– When Hitler left prison in 1924, he tightened his

hold on the Nazi party. – The Nazi party grew

• 27,000 members in 1925 • 178,000 members in 1929

His Beliefs• Unite all German-speaking people

under one great Empire• Racial purity – “inferior” races such

as Jews, Slavs and all non-whites were to form a work force for the “master race” – blond, blue-eyed “Aryans”

• “Anti-Semitism”• For this new race: Germany must

acquire Lebensraum (living space) by expanding eastward. (Imperialism)

• Blamed the Jews for German problems.

He alone, who owns the youth, gains the

Future!-- Adolf Hitler, speech at

the Reichsparteitag, 1935

Rise of the Nazi Party • The Depression of 1930, however, created the

unrest needed for people to increasingly turn to Hitler and the Nazi Party.

• The Nazi party went from 810,000 votes in 1928 to 6.4 million in 1930.

• The German people wanted, a better economy, protection against the Communist threat, and revenge for the Treaty of Versailles.

• Hitler promised all of these things and more, hope and jobs.

Rise of the Nazi Party was because of Hitler

• Public speaker/brain washer and organizer drew many followers

• Became the Nazi Party leader. “Der Fuhrer”• Aging President Paul von

Hindenburg (1847-1934) was pressured into naming Hitler as Chancellor/Prime Minister: head of law makers.

Hitler Takes Power

• Hitler took office in 1933 and quickly moved to assume dictator powers.

• Hindenburg dies and Hitler becomes President and Prime Minister: Total Power

• Replaced the Weimar Republic with a totalitarian government.

Hitler was appointed chancellor by the aging President Hindenburg of

the Weimar Republic

Hitler becomes Dictator

• March 1933, Hitler passed the Enabling Act of 1933, giving himself unlimited authority.

• Hitler had used democracy to destroy the republic and create a dictatorship.

Nazi Germany -The Leader-State: Hitler exerts

his power.

• Propaganda helped the Nazis come to power. Now it would be used to cement their hold on the German nation. – The Ministry of Popular Enlightenment –

Joseph Goebbels, controlled the press, book publishing, the radio, the theater, and the cinema

•

U.S. II 7 a, b, c; 1c, d, h, i

•

Hitler & Prosperity 1936

• The economy was doing well, people were working, preparing for war. Germany was rearming and breaking the Treaty of Versailles.

• Hitler was rebuilding Germany’s power in the world and the people like this.

STALIN MURDERS MILLIONS OF SOVIETS

• Purged (eliminated) anyone who threatened his power.

• Stalin was responsible for the deaths of 17-22 million of his own Soviet citizens

• Millions more died of famine caused by his economic ideas.Labor camp workers in Siberia --

Stalin sent millions of political prisoners to labor camps

How Fascism and Totalitarianism control people:

• The party-state/dictators determine what people should believe. – There is no room for individual thinking, private

moral judgment, or individual conscience.– The individual possesses no natural rights that

the state must respect. • The state regards individuals merely as tools

or building blocks that it can use to build a new social order.

WWII ALLIANCESALLIED POWERS (“ALLIES”) AXIS POWERS

Democratic nationsAND the Soviet Union (after being invaded by Germany).

United States Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Harry S. TrumanGreat Britain Winston ChurchillCanadaSoviet Union (Communism) Joseph Stalin (dictator)

Governments run by Fascist dictators.

Japan Hideki TojoItaly Benito MussoliniGermany Adolf Hitler

The “Allies” started as only Democratic nations:the United States, Great Britain, France, and Canada. The Soviet Union later joined the Allies after being attacked by Hitler (meaning that there was a dictator in our alliance).

Famous Allied Leaders

• United States– Franklin D. Roosevelt– Harry S. Truman

• Great Britain– Winston Churchill

• Soviet Union– Joseph Stalin