Pre-War Foreign Policy -we focused on domestic issues *Great Depression and the New Deal* -extreme anti-war feelings “Merchants of Death” isolationism -Good Neighbor policy in Latin America -Neutrality Acts forbids arms sales to warring nations, prohibits loans to warring nations, and American travel on their ships -1937 Roosevelt gives Quarantine speech leave isolationist policy to contain fascist aggression, big words but no action

Prelude to War -Japanese Aggression Expansionism---Manchuria and China very aggressive Emperor Hirohito----Hideki Tojo -Italy Fascism: glorification of a nation above an individual, central gov’t headed by dictator, severe economic and social restrictions Benito Mussolini –leads Italy

Prelude to War -Rise of Germany Failed Weimar Republic falls to Nazi party Adolph Hitler & Third Reich come into power, want to expand, believe the Aryan race to be superior especially to the Jews. -Russia (USSR) Joseph Stalin: rises to power in the Soviet Union, after failed attempts to get support from Britain and France, he turns to Hitler and signs Nazi-Soviet Pact

Appeasement -Kellogg-Briand Pact: outlawed war, was a useless piece of paper -Hoover-Stimson Doctrine refuse to recognize lands taken by force -German rearmament: Hitler begins to build army -Taking of the Rhineland in Austria Initially, appeasement is Britain and France’s official policy towards Germany -Austria -Munich Peace Conference: future of Czechoslovakia, allowing Germany to take the country is an example of appeasement -American Neutrality

Europe at War -Japanese are invading China, 1937 -Germany annexes Austria, 1938 Violation of Munich Peace Pact -Germany takes Czechoslovakia, 1938 (again, against Munich agreement) -Germany-Russia sign non-aggression treaty, 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact -Germany attacks Poland Sept. 1, 1939 -France, England declare war

Blitzkrieg -lightning warfare -heavy use of machinery and aircraft -quick victory over Poland—only took 3 weeks -Phony War begins: more for propaganda than strategy, represent defensive intentions Maginot Line France Siegfried Line Germany -Stalin attacks Finland, Hitler attacks Denmark, Norway, then Belgium -Invasion of France -Massive Allied evacuation at Dunkirk aka Miracle of Dunkirk -France signs surrender, June 1940

Battle of Britain -Germany controls most of Europe -Luftwaffe begin bombing of Britain (German Air force) -RAF defends British homeland (Royal British Air force) -”Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few”--Winston Churchill: -Germany never launches invasion of Britain

The Holocaust

Persecution Begins -Anti-Jewish sentiments for many centuries: hatred of Jews, Jews were blamed for Germany’s failures -Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” blamed Jews for Germany’s problems “My Struggle” -Nuremburg Laws took away civil rights of Jews Star of David required to wear yellow star and to register -Kristallnacht, 1938 Night of Broken Glass 15 hours of destruction of Jewish property, arrested 30,000

Jewish Refugees -after Hitler’s election, many Jews fled Germany, however, many countries would not accept Jews -U.S. was one of many nations not accepting many Jewish refugees Albert Einstein (Jewish Refugee) Only excepted Jews of exceptional merit. Why?? Great Depression -Why did others not leave???

Final Solution -1939 decision to rid Europe of all Jews and other undesirables -concentration camps set up across Europe imprisonment of a large number of people -many sent to slave labor camps (slavery and prison combined) -others were simply killed or experimented upon: idea was to improve master race

Concentration Camps -Jews gathered from ghettos and separated: families were separated forever -crude wooden barracks held thousands who were fit to work Cycle of hunger, humility, and work that often ended in death Crowded quarters, rats, fleas, unsanitary, worked from dawn to dusk -hunger and disease killed thousands

-as war went badly for Germany, they tried to speed up Final Solution Death Camps -as war went badly for Germany, they tried to speed up Final Solution Final Solution: genocide of Jews -building of several death camps to execute Jews with poison gas -bodies were then buried in mass graves or burned -Auschwitz: largest death camp, located in S. Poland, Anne Frank and Ellie Wiesel -Belzec: first extermination camp -Buchenwald: largest camp on German soil, not a death camp but there was an extraordinary amount of death here

Survivors -6 million were killed in the Holocaust, 63% of the Jewish population -some were liberated by Allied armies -others were helped to hide or escape from capture -Elie Wiesel “Night” -Oscar Schindler: subject of Schindler’s List, saved 1000s of Jews

Personal Voice “The brute Schmidt was our guard; he beat and kicked us if he though we were not working fast enough. He ordered his victims to lie down and gave them 25 lashes with a whip, ordering them to count out loud. If the victim made a mistake, he was given 50 lashes…Thirty or forty of us were shot everyday. A doctor usually prepared a daily list of the weakest men. During the lunch break they were taken to a nearby grave and shot. They were replaced the following morning by new arrivals…It was a miracle if anyone survived for more than 5 or 6 months in Belzec”

Personal Voice “Never shall I forget that night, the first night in the camp, which has turned my life into one long night….Never shall I forget the little faces of the children, whose bodies I saw turned to wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forged these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.”

Essential Questions 1. What were the main causes of WWII? 2. What factors combined to draw the world and ultimately the U.S. into WWII? 3. How did the U.S. respond? 4. Why did the Holocaust occur?

Review Questions What did the fascist states that formed in Europe have in common? Each prospered during the Great Depression Each was led by Adolf Hitler Each stressed nationalism Each had ties to socialism

2. Which event led Britain and France to declare war on Germany? Germany’s invasion of Austria Germany’s annexation of the Sudetenland Germany’s invasion of Czechoslovakia Germany’s invasion of Poland

3. Why did Roosevelt refuse to admit large numbers of Jews who were fleeing Europe? He believed they should go to Israel He feared they would take jobs from Americans He thought it was Germany’s problem to solve alone He believed they should remain in Europe

4. This speech claimed we should leave our isolationist policy to contain fascist aggression. Quarantine Speech Four Freedoms Speech The Miracle at Dunkirk Speech Churchill’s inaugural address

5. A form of government that emphasizes glorification of a nation above an individual, a dictator, and economic restrictions. Totalitarianism Fascism Democracy Monarchy