Dictators Threaten World Peace

Candidate A: He associates with gypsy healers and consults astrologers. He’s had two mistresses. He chain smokes and has eight to ten martini’s a day.

Candidate B: He has been kicked out of office twice. He sleeps until noon each day. It is proven he used opium while in college and he drinks a quart of brandy every evening.

Candidate C: He is a decorated war hero. He is also a vegetarian. He doesn’t smoke, and drinks only an occasional beer. He has not had any illicit affairs.

Candidate A:

Candidate B:

Candidate C:

Maybe a persons morals show nothing about the real person and the type of leader they are.

The Treaty of Versailles and Worldwide economic conditions were the two main factors that led to the rise of dictatorships in Europe and Asia

The Depression caused worse conditions in other countries than we experienced in the US

Fascists believe that the nation was more important than the individual. The nation becomes great by expanding its territory and building up its military.

Fascists were Anti-Communists

In 1922 Russia renamed its territories the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Vladimir Lenin assumed power of the first totalitarian government established after WWI

After several strokes Lenin died in 1926 and Joseph Stalin took control of the USSR

He begins a massive build-up of industrialization to build up the power of the country

He tolerated absolutely no opposition to his decisions. 8-13 million of his own people will die resisting communist policies

The purge of his officer corps in 1937 would severely hamper the USSR in WWII

In 1922 backed by his thugs, known as Black shirts, Benito Mussolini became the Prime Minister of Italy then set-up a dictatorship

He felt Italy had been shortchanged in the Treaty of Versailles

Called himself Il Duce, the Leader, Mussolini organized Fascists groups throughout Italy

Claiming the country needed order Mussolini and the Fascists suspended national elections and made himself the dictator

In 1935 he will invade Ethiopia to test his war making abilities

After asking the League of Nations for help and receiving none the leader of Ethiopia said… “It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.”- Haile Selassie

Fought and severely injured in WWI Adolf Hitler was very upset with the Treaty of Versailles and its impact on the nation of Germany

1919 Adolf Hitler joined the National Socialist German Workers Party, aka the Nazi Party

In 1923 Hitler led an unsuccessful revolt against the German government- sentenced to prison for his actions. In prison he will write Mein Kampf , it will outline the Nazi philosophy and his plans for the nation

Very critical of the Jewish population which he blamed for many of Germany’s problems

He proposed Lebensraum and Aryan racial breeding

Gen. Francisco Franco led the revolt to overthrow the established government of Spain

Western democracies sent aid in the form of food

Some from the United States went to Spain to fight

Franco wins in 1939 but remained neutral in the war

Again the depression had a very large impact on the rise of the Japanese Empire

The military blamed corrupt politicians for the state of the country. The military promoted the idea that Japan was destined to dominate East Asia. This would give Japan the resources they need to build their empire

First Target was resource rich, Manchuria

Military, acting without permission from the Emperor, invaded Manchuria. As the government was attempting to end the invasion the Prime Minister was assassinated by the military and from then on the military was in control

The Nye Committee findings said that arms factories made huge profits and caused the US to get involved in WWI

Foreign countries are not able to repay their war debts to the US from WWI

These items led many American’s to support isolationism and avoiding international commitments

Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935, making it illegal for the US to sell arms to warring nations

Neutrality Act of 1937 included above but added that warring countries to buy supplies had to do so on a Cash and Carry basis

FDR supported Internationalism- trade creates prosperity and helps prevent war

After the full invasion of China by Japan FDR announced he would sell weapons to China

Neutrality Acts did not apply since neither country declared war

Atrocities of the invasion soon come back to America in pictures

Section 2

Germany and Italy will form an AXIS on which the continent of Europe will revolve

Germany will control much of Europe, Italy will have the Mediterranean Sea theater and Japan will get East Asia and the Pacific rim

As the war wears on other countries will join with the Axis powers such as Hungary and Romania

In March 1938 Hitler announced Anschluss or unification of Austria and Germany

Very soon after Hitler claims the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia

France, the USSR and Britain all threaten to fight any further attacks on Czechoslovakia by Germany. This will lead to the Munich Conference in 1938

Britain and France, hoping to avoid another war adopted a Policy of Appeasement granting permission for Hitler to claim Czechoslovakia

Neville Chamberlain, the PM of Great Britain, returned from the Munich Conference confident that Hitler would be a man of his word and stop his land grabbing with the acquisition of Czechoslovakia- he was wrong!

“We shall have peace in our time.” – Neville Chamberlain returning from Munich

“Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war.”

Hitler announces that Germany needs the return of Danzig, Poland. Danzig was Poland’s Baltic seaport- extremely valuable

Great Britain and France realize Appeasement has failed

August 23, 1939 Germany and the USSR sign a Nonaggression Pact with each other

The deal is Poland. Germany will invade from the west and the USSR will be allowed to invade from the east

September 1, 1939 Poland is invaded. Two days later Great Britain and France declare war on Germany. World War II has begun.

Blitzkrieg or Lightning War was extremely effective against the stunned Polish Army they were defeated in just over 1 month

Time of peace, known as Sitz-krieg, took place after the defeat of Poland.

October 11, 1939 FDR receives a letter from a Jewish immigrant scientist named Albert Einstein. He explains the theory that will lead to the development of the Manhattan Project and the atomic bomb

April 9 1940, Germany gets moving again conquering Denmark and Norway both countries fall within a month

After WWI France had constructed the Maginot Line

Designed to prevent tanks from crossing into France form Germany

Germany simply goes around the line by invading and conquering Belgium and the Netherlands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1M_DU4fVtw

Watch and take notes on your own.

As France is being invaded by fast moving German forces French and British soldiers are trying to retreat and avoid capture

They are pushed all the way to the coastal city of Dunkirk and barely saved by boats from Britain

Over 338,000 soldiers escape capture by the Germans- A huge mistake by Hitler

June 22, 1940 France surrenders to Germany

Hitler assumed Great Britain would negotiate for peace now that their strongest European ally has surrendered

But Britain will remain defiant! Hitler did not anticipate the bravery of the British people or their Prime Minister, Winston Churchill

On June 4, 1940 Churchill will deliver a speech that inspires the population but also makes the United States very aware of the desperate situation that the British are facing

To invade Britain, Germany will have to defeat the British air force, the RAF, in the Battle of Britain Germany will launch an all out offensive against Britain Military Targets Civilian Targets

(Mistake) RAF responds in kind

The RAF defended Britain day and night from the onslaught of the German Luftwaffe

When Germany started bombing London the people would use the tubes for protection

Britain had a secret weapon- Ultra!

June 1941 Hitler stops bombing Britain

He is about to make the mistake that Germany will not be able to recover from.

Section 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS98MAN3Xtg

As the German Army is crushing Europe Adolf Hitler begins to carry out his attempt at genocide by exterminating the entire Jewish population of Europe.

In 1935 the Nuremberg laws took citizenship away from the Jewish people that lived in Germany

Many of the Jews had suffered religious persecution but what Hitler was doing was the beginning of a 10 year nightmare

With the outbreak of the war people in Germany and Austria began open and violent actions against the Jews

The citizens of Germany were proud of their accomplishments on the continent and many chose to ignore the rumors as to what was happening to the Jews as vicious rumors started by the Jews themselves

Kristallnacht, the night of broken glass, was what many consider the beginning of Jewish persecution by the Nazi’s

November 9, 1938

90 Jewish people died this night with hundreds injured

Thousands of businesses were destroyed

180 synagogues were desecrated or burnt to the ground

Between 1933 and the beginning of the war in 1939 about 350,000 Jews escape Europe

Many emigrated to the United States, persons of exceptional merit, but many are trapped in Europe because they cannot get visas

Some countries refuse to allow the refugees in SS St. Louis

On January 20, 1942 Nazi leaders meet at the Wannsee Conference to decide the “final solution” the Jews and other “undesirables” from Nazi-controlled Europe

It was decided that concentration camps, labor camps, would continue but their would also be extermination camps that would start a systematic execution of the Jews and others.

Most of the extermination camps were built in Poland The first was Chelmno

Thousands will die every day at these camps The deadliest was Auschwitz

In only a few years, Jewish culture had been virtually wiped away by the Nazi’s

Jewish children in the Lodz Ghetto on their way toward transports that will take them to Chelmno Death Camp.

A mass shooting somewhere inside occupied Russia.

Carbon-Monoxide poisoning was used to kill some that were mentally ill

The method was abandoned because it did not kill enough people quickly

Poison gas (rat poison) was the preferred method

People were told they were going to the showers

Section 4

Two days after Britain and France declared war on Germany FDR declared the United States as a neutral nation

Neutrality Act of 1939 will allow warring countries to buy weapons from the US but Cash and Carry still apply American public opinion was shifting to favor the Allies

with limitations

FDR, using a loophole in the above act, sold 50 old US Destroyers to Britain in exchange for land leases in the Caribbean and North Atlantic

Opposed ANY American intervention or aid to the Allies

Led by Charles Lindberg Tried to pressure Congress to

oppose FDR’s position and requests

In the 1940 Presidential election they will support Wendell Willkie, on the promise he would keep the US neutral

FDR breaks tradition and runs for a third term, he defeats Wilkie

Using the landslide victory as proof he has the support of the American public FDR pushes for and gets from Congress the Lend-Lease Act America will become the

“Arsenal of Democracy”

Fireside Chat about a neighbors house convinces the public

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L-GBHNNqrQ

His inability to get Britain to surrender has caused Hitler to make a very costly mistake… he decides to invade the USSR!

It began on 22 June 1941

Operation Barbarossa was the largest military operation in human history in both manpower and casualties

Its failure was a turning point in the Third Reich's fortunes.

Operation Barbarossa and the areas that fell under it became the site of some of the largest battles, deadliest atrocities, highest casualties, and most horrific conditions for Soviets and Germans alike — all of which influenced the course of both World War II and 20th century history.

The "Greer Incident" occurred September 4, 1941

Initial reports claimed that Greer had been fired upon by a German submarine and that a British aircraft aided in repelling the attack.

Germany disagreed, claiming "that the attack had not been initiated by the German submarine; on the contrary, ... the submarine had been attacked with depth bombs, pursued continuously in the German blockade zone, and assailed by depth bombs until midnight." Germany concluded: "Roosevelt thereby is endeavoring with all the means at his disposal to provoke incidents for the purpose of baiting the American people into the war."

It was intended as the blueprint for the postwar world after World War II, and turned out to be the foundation for many of the international agreements that currently shape the world.

It was drafted at the Atlantic Conference (codenamed Riviera) by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aboard warships in a secure anchorage in Ship Harbour, Newfoundland and was issued as a joint declaration on 14 August 1941.

Potentially, it would detail the goals and aims of the Allied powers concerning the war and the post-war world.

When elected Prime Minister he promised the Emperor he would keep peace with the United States

He also prepared for war asking Adm. Yamamoto to design an attack on Pearl Harbor

He did not know that the US code breakers have broken the Japanese code

We just don’t know where they are going to attack

In July 1940 Congress passed the Export Control Act, restricting the sale of strategic materials to other countries

FDR blocked the sale of airplane fuel and steel to Japan

This drives Japan to sign on with the Axis Powers of Germany and Italy

Japan will attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

The attack was planned by Adm. Yamamoto

2,403 Americans were killed in the attack

December 8, 1941 FDR ask Congress for a Declaration of War, they give it to him

December 11, 1941 Germany and Italy declare war on the USA

“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”

- Admiral Yamamoto

It forces the US into World War II

The war saw the creation of the most devastating weapon of all time, the Atomic bomb

The war saw the reprehensible attempt at genocide committed by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi’s as well as Japan in China

As a result of the war some of the world’s greatest works of art and architecture were destroyed

The creation of a new world map