The Road to WWII

1933: London Economic Conference: 66 nations met to figure out how to fight the Depression; FDR did not go because he was concerned about domestic recovery more than international issues. The collapse of international cooperation strengthened the dictators’ position.

1933: Hitler became Chancellor1935: Hitler called for compulsory military service1936: Germany marched into Rhineland1937: Japan invaded China1937: FDR’s Quarantine Speech: “We should quarantine the aggressors by economic policy”1938: Hitler annexed Austria1938: Kristallnacht

1938: Munich Conference: after Hitler took Sudetenland, Chamberlain negotiated “Peace in our time”1939: USSR/ Germany non-aggression plan1939: Hitler broke promise and invaded rest of CzechoslovakiaSeptember 1, 1939: Poland invadedBlitzkrieg!

US Reaction:Congress passed Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1937, 1939: US citizens could not travel on ships of “belligerent” nations, no arms sold to “belligerent” nations, and no loans extended; no arms to either side in Spanish Civil War1939: Neutrality is relaxed through “Cash and Carry” Act: countries could buy US weapons if they paid cash and used their own ships. 1940: Selective Service Act: All American men 21 – 35 had to register for a draft

Spanish Civil War: 1936-1939: was a preview of WWIIFranco, helped by Hitler, overthrew the Spanish governmentUS remained neutral, refusing to sell arms to either side, which helped cause the defeat of the Spanish democracy and emboldened the dictators.

1940: Hitler overran Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, and FranceUS Reaction: Bill #1776: Lend-Lease Act: “Send guns, not sons!” By the end of the war, US had sent over $50 billion in arms and equipment.

Japanese war effort based on shipment of steel, scrap iron, oil from US, but in 1940, US began embargo.1941: US/Japan negotiated and US demanded Japan withdraw from China; Japan refusedUS had cracked Japanese code, but expected to be attacked at the Philippines

December 7, 1941: The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor3,000 casualties