Global Depression and Rising Tensions

Japan in Trouble  Island nation dependent upon imports for many raw materials Makes it beholden to the whims of other countries  Saw conquest as the surest means of securing materials China and Southeast Asia

Japanese Aggression  Military spending ramped up Helped ease depression in Japan Allowed for Japan’s expansion into Asian mainland  Took Manchuria in September 1931 Clear violation of the Open Door policy and covenant of the League of Nations Established puppet government  League of Nations passed a resolution, effectively did nothing Illustrated weakness of LoN, made it powerless

Italy  Benito Mussolini took power in 1922  Fascist dictator Fascism – the idea that people should glorify their nation and race through an aggressive show of force From Italian word fascio, or bundle of rods, the symbol is meant to show strength in unity

Spain  Spanish Civil War Francisco Franco led fascist movement in Spain Though the US sided with opposition Loyalist forces, the Neutrality Acts prevented interference Franco established military dictatorship in 1939

Germany  As a reaction to deplorable economic conditions and resentment over Treaty of Versailles, Nazi party is born  Adolf Hitler gains control over German legislature in 1933  Charts course towards militarism and oppressive anti-Semitism

Appeasement  Hoping to avoid open conflict with Germany, the British and French adopted a policy of appeasement Allowed Hitler and Mussolini to get away with relatively small acts of aggression and expansion

Italy invades Ethiopia  Looking to prove fascism’s power, Mussolini invades Ethiopia  League of Nations protests, but does nothing to stop Italy

Germany on the Move  1936 – Hitler invades the Rhineland, demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles  1938 – Sudetenland German-speaking portion of Czechoslovakia, Hitler felt he had the right to take it over

Munich Conference  In 1938 Russia, Germany, Britain, France, and Italy met in Munich to decide what action, if any, to take concerning Germany’s aggression in Czechoslovakia. This conference came to be known as the Munich Conference. While there, the allies decided to enact a policy of appeasement, wherein they would allow Germany to erase the boundaries of the Versailles Treaty without taking military action. However, it was also agreed that the sovereignty of Poland would be protected, and thus a line was drawn that Germany would not be allowed to cross without risking full scale war.

What about America?