1. Chapter 34 Book Notes – Answers
United States History

2. 34.1 Introduction: #1
How did Adolf Hitler take advantage of Germany’s economic troubles to stir up German nationalism?
Hitler took advantage of Germany’s economic troubles and economic nationalism by:
Rearming the country
Violating the Treaty of Versailles
Beginning to threaten Germany’s neighbors

3. 34.1 Introduction: #2
What actions did the Nazis take that undermined the stipulations set forth by the Treaty of Versailles?
1936: German troops occupied the Rhineland [Treaty of Versailles banned military action in the region]
1938: Anschluss with Austria

4. 34.1 Introduction: #3
What is appeasement and why did the policy fail to stop German aggression during the 1930s?
Appeasement is the policy of yielding to an enemy’s demands in order to maintain peace.
This policy failed to stop German aggression as Hitler was never satisfied with the territory he was given.

5. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #1
How did Hitler’s violation of the Treaty of Versailles boost his popularity in Germany?
Hitler’s violation of the Treaty of Versailles boosted his popularity in Germany in three major ways:
Germans hated paying war reparations
Germans objected to the War Guilt Clause
The rise of feelings of extreme nationalism

6. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #2
What is totalitarianism?
Totalitarianism is a system in which the government controls all aspects of a society, including the economy.

7. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #3
What were Joseph Stalin’s two main economic goals for the Soviet Union?
To raise agricultural production
To modernize industry
[These goals were linked: Increased exports of food would bring in the capital to finance industrialization]

8. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power: #4
What were the consequences for farmers who refused to resettle on cooperative, state-owned farms?
Farmers who refused to resettle on cooperative, state-owned farms in Stalin’s Soviet Union were shot or forced to do hard labor in prison-like concentration camps (gulags).

9. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #5
What methods did Stalin use to strengthen his control of the Communist Party?
Stalin used brutal methods to strengthen his control of the Communist Party. This included purging party officials by having them:
Arrested
Put on trial
Executed

10. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #6
What conditions did Mussolini take advantage of in Italy to form a dictatorship?
Following WWI, Italy saw serious problems:
Inflation and labor strikes hurt the Italian economy
Communists threatened to take over the democratic government
Italians felt insulted by the Treaty of Versailles as its grant of territory to Italy fell short of expectations
Mussolini took advantage of these conditions, emerging as a national figure, and founding the first fascist political movement in 1919.

11. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #7
What is fascism? Who are fascists strongly opposed to?
Fascism is a political movement based on extreme nationalism in which the state comes first and individual liberty is secondary.
Fascists are strongly opposed to both communism and democracy.

12. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #8
How did Mussolini’s public speaking skills differ from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s?
Where FDR spoke with a calm, soothing voice, Mussolini agitated crowds with emotional outbursts and dramatic gestures.

13. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #9
What is Nazism? What is the core belief of Nazis?
Nazism is a form of fascism that had its roots as a small political party in Germany.
Nazis believed that Germans and other Aryans were physically and morally superior to other races.
Nazis wanted to purify Germany by removing other races, especially Jews.

14. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #10
What did Adolf Hitler argue in his book Mein Kampf?
Hitler argued that the superior Aryan race was locked in a struggle with other races.
He introduced the idea of lebensraum (“living space”, declaring that Germany needed land on which Aryan settlers could raise large families.

15. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #11
What did the Nazis call their government? What new laws did they pass?
The Nazis called their government the Third Reich.
The passed new laws targeting Jews and exposing them to persecution.

16. 34.2 Dictators and Militants Rise to Power #12
Why did Japan begin to move toward a policy of militarism in the 1930s?
The worldwide economic depression during the 1930s undermined civilian rule and caused Japan to move toward a policy of militarization.

17. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #13
Why did President Franklin Roosevelt take no direct action against aggressive dictators in Asia and Europe during the early 1930s?
During the early 1930s, FDR took no direct action against aggressive dictators as Americans still strongly favored isolationism.
Bitter memories of WWI and the challenge of economic problems at home led Americans to not want the nation to become entangled in another war.

18. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #14
What was Roosevelt’s “Good Neighbor Policy”?
The Good Neighbor Policy declared that “No state has the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of another.”
This pledge was meant to send a message to aggressor nations.

19. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #15
What were the major consequences of the Japanese invasion of the Manchurian region of China,
It gave Japan a large piece of territory that was rich in resources.
It began an area in which the military dominated the Japanese government.
It isolated Japan from most other nations.

20. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #16
What happened during the Rape of Nanking?
Japanese soldiers went on a six-week rampage massacring as many as 300,000 Chinese civilians and raping about 200,000 Chinese women.

21. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #17
How did Japan’s aggression test the League of Nations and how did the League fail to respond effectively to Japan’s challenge?
Japan’s aggression tested the League of Nations who could have imposed boycotts and other economic sanctions or use the combined military force of its members.
Instead, the League of Nations chose to do nothing.

22. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #18
What actions did the League of Nations take as Hitler began rebuilding the German military and announced the formation of an air force/start of compulsory military service?
As Hitler began rebuilding the German military, etc., the League of Nations only lodged a formal protest.
It refused to consider sanctions against Germany.

23. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #19
How did Mussolini begin his quest to build a New Roman Empire? What actions did the League of Nations take in response?
Mussolini began his quest to build a New Roman Empire by invading Ethiopia in 1935.
The League of Nations voted to impose economic sanctions.

24. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #20
Describe the military rebellion that started the Spanish Civil War.
1936: A military rebellion led by General Francisco Franco started the Spanish Civil War.
The Spanish military and the Nationalists (right-wing allies) sought to overthrow Spain’s democratic republic. [Italy/Germany backed the rebels]
Republicans (left-wing groups) fought to save the republic [with aid from the Soviet Union]

25. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #21
What were the conditions of the Neutrality Act of 1935?
This act prevented the United States from supplying “arms, ammunition, or implements of war” to nations in conflict.

26. 34.3 Military Aggression Meets a Weak Response: #22
What were additional neutrality acts in 1936 and 1937 designed to accomplish?
Congress passed these neutrality acts to keep the United States out of conflicts brewing in Europe, such as the Spanish Civil War.