Europe Erupts in War

Axis Aggression– 1935—Hitler violates Versailles Treaty with build-up of

German military• Sends troops to the Rhineland (demilitarized zone), a

German region bordering France and Belgium• 1936--Rome-Berlin Axis Pact—est. a formal alliance

between Germany and Italy

Neutrality Acts-passed by Congress in 1935

– Law was meant to prevent the U.S. from being drawn into war.• Outlawed arms sales

and loans to nations at war

• It was extended to include nations in civil war (passed in response to the civil war in Spain)

< Cartoon by Dr. Seuss. What do you think his view was on the Neutrality Act?

– 1935—Italy invades Ethiopia• FDR viewed Italy as a dangerous aggressor. Under the

Neutrality Acts he suspended arms sales to both countries.• U.S. remained neutral

– 1936—Spanish Civil war• Hitler and Mussolini came to the aid of Francisco Franco with

troops, weapons, planes, tanks. Saw conflict as testing ground for their military power.

• Western democracies sent only food and clothing to anti-fascist forces. Resistance to Franco collapsed.

– 1937—Sino-Japanese War• Japan launches a new attack on China.• FDR refuses to enforce Neutrality Acts by continuing to send

arms to China.

Quarantine Speech-1937– FDR spoke out against isolationism.– Called peace loving nations to “quarantine” aggressor

nations to stop spread of war.• “The peace, the freedom, and the security of 90 percent of

the population of the world is being jeopardized by the remaining 10 percent who are threatening a breakdown of all international law and order. Surely the 90 percent, who want to live in peace under law and in accordance with standards that have received almost universal acceptance through the centuries, can and must find some way…to preserve peace.”

FDR, “Quarantine Speech,” Oct 5, 1937– Newspaper accused Roosevelt of leading nation into war.

Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall• Anschluss-“union” with Austria. March 12, 1938,

Nazis marched into Austria unopposed, forcing out Austrian leader. The rest of the world did nothing.

Sudetenland• Hitler accused Czechs of abusing Sudeten Germans.

Mobilized troops to the Czech border.• Munich Conference—Hitler invites French Prime

Minister and British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain to meet in Munich. At the meeting Hitler declared this would be his “last territorial demand.”

• 1938—Munich Pact signed turning Sudetenland over to Germany

• Chamberlin criticized by Winston Churchill. Churchill claimed Britain and France had adopted a policy of appeasement.

Winston Churchill…

was correct. Hitler was not appeased by gaining the Sudetenland.

• March 1939—Hitler takes Czechoslovakia which fell without putting up a fight.

Nonaggression pact—a shock to Europe

• August 23, 1939—the Soviet Union and Germany singed an agreement not to fight each other

• They signed a secret pact to divide Poland between the two of them.

• This eliminated the threat of a two front war for Germany.

Invasion of Poland

• On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland.• The German military used the blitzkrieg, or “lightening

war.”• Poland fought back to no avail.• By the end of the month, Poland was in German hands

German Forces Turn to the West• On September 3, 1939, Great Britain and France declared war on

Germany. They became known as the Allies.

• The Allies did not attack Germany. Instead, they decided to wait for Germany to make its next move. They believed that Germany’s army would grow weak trying to invade France.

• No fighting took place for several months. This became known as the “phony war”. The Germans called it “sitzkrieg”.

• Germany made plans to invade France through the Ardennes Forest. This was rugged terrain and the French army concentrated their defenses elsewhere. For example, the famed Maginot Line was to the south of the Ardennes.

Diagram of the Maginot Line

Maginot Line

German Forces Turn to the WestApril 1940 Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway.

» This improved Germany’s access to the Atlantic.» Both countries fell with little resistance.

May 1940 Germans invaded France.» Germans conquered the Netherlands and stormed into

Belgium.» Belgian, British, and French troops tried to stop the

Germans in Belgium.» By early June the Germans had trapped hundreds of

thousands of Allied soldiers at the French port of Dunkirk.» Meanwhile, German forces attacked France through the

Ardennes. The Maginot Line had been bypassed.June 1940 France surrendered to Germany and Italy.

» The unoccupied part of France was known as Vichy France a Nazi controlled government.

» Many French leaders, including Charles de Gaulle, fled to Great Britain to organize resistance to German and Vichy control of France.

Battle of Britain

• During the summer and fall of 1940 the Luftwaffe, German air force began to bomb London.

• The RAF (British Royal Air force) began to use RADAR which plotted the flight path of German planes.

• Hitler called of the invasion on September 15, 1940.

Increasing Tensions in East Asia1934 Japan began expanding its naval forces despite promises

made at the Washington Navel Conference.1936 Japan signed an anticommunism pact with Germany.1937 Japan began a war against China.1940 Japan formed a military alliance with Germany and

Italy. These nations were known as the Axis Powers.1941 Japan moved to take control of French Indochina, which

threatened American interests. President Roosevelttried to reason with General Hideki Tojo, the ministerof war who took control of the country in October of 1941. But the time for compromise was over.