A World In Flames World War II

The Rise of Dictators After World War I it seemed as if Democracy was on the rise and that the peace would be long lasting However the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I had created many new problems-In nations like Germany the treaties terms had created terrible conditions and allowed idealistic leaders to gain control The economic crisis of The Great Depression made the situation much worse

Mussolini and Fascism in Italy In Italy a former school teacher and journalist named Benito Mussolini returned from World War I convinced Italy needed a strong leader In 1919 he founded the Fascist Party Fascism is a very aggressive form of Nationalism Fascists believe that the country is more important than the individual They believed individualism made countries weak and that a strong military along with territory expansion were essential

Mussolini and Fascism in Italy Fascists were also strongly Anti-Communists-they insisted that Communists were trying to bring down European governments He promised to protect private property and the middle class, he also granted the working class full employment and social security He stressed national prestige and pledged to return to the glory days of The Roman Empire

Mussolini and Fascism in Italy Mussolini backed a Fascist militia known as the Blackshirts-this group used violence to intimidate the public and silence opposition In 1922 he threatened to march on Rome to protect the city from Communism-Liberals wanted the king to declare martial law-when he refused the cabinet resigned-conservatives persuaded the king to make Mussolini the premier Once in power he virtually destroyed Democracy and made himself dictator-with the support of industrialists, landowners, and The Roman Catholic Empire-Mussolini declared himself Il Duce or “The Leader” and began to establish his form of order in the country

Stalin Takes Over the USSR The Communist were a major force in Russia-in 1917 the Bolsheviks took control of Russia and renamed the various countries combined-the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) they proceeded to establish control over these territories They instituted a one-party government, suppressed civil liberties, and punished opponents When Lenin died in 1924 a power struggle began-through murder and deception Joseph Stalin became leader He began a massive industrialization movement that would lead to the death of 8 to 10 million Soviet peasants that resisted his policies

Hitler and Nazi Germany Adolph Hitler a strong Anti-Communist and an admirer of Mussolini He had fought in World War I and was angered over the terms of the Treaty of Versailles-he hated the German government for agreeing to its terms In the chaotic climate of post World War I Germany many new political parties were formed including the National Socialist German Workers Party or the Nazi Party –the party did support the workers as the name suggested but was nationalist and anti-communists-Hitler was one of the first recruits

Hitler and Nazi Germany In 1923 the Nazis planned to march on Munich and take control of the local government and then Berlin, the capital-but the plan failed and Hitler was arrested While in prison he wrote Mein Kampf-My Struggle-in this book he called for the unification of Germany and argued that blonde-haired-blue-eyed Germans belonged to a Master Race-Aryans He said Germans needed more lebensraum of living space and that should expand into Poland and Russia

Mein Kampf Sooner will a camel pass through a needle’s eye than a great man be ‘discovered’ by an election. The broad masses of a population are more amenable to the appeal of rhetoric than to any other force. Never forget that the most sacred right on this earth is man’s right to have the earth to till with his own hands, the most sacred sacrifice the blood that a man sheds for this earth. Those who want to live, let them fight, and those who do not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle do not deserve to live. Any alliance whose purpose is not the intention to wage war is senseless and useless. The Jew’s life as a parasite in the body of other nations and states explains a characteristic which once caused Schopenhauer, as has already been mentioned, to call him the 'great master in lying.

Hitler and Nazi Germany Hitler thought that Slavic Eastern Europeans belonged to an inferior race and that German’s should enslave them However his greatest racist hatred was for the Jews He blamed the Jews for Germany’s economic problems and for their loss in World War I His hatred for Jewish people would play a major role in his future military and political actions

Hitler and Nazi Germany After his release from prison Hitler changed his tactics and decided to take control of the country by political means He focused on having Nazis elected to the Reichstag-the lower house of the German government After the Great Depression hit Germany many desperate people started to vote for radical parties by 1932 the Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag Many traditional German leaders supported Hitler’s nationalism and pushed to have him put into power-in 1933 he was appointed the chancellor

Hitler and Nazi Germany After taking office Hitler began to crackdown on Socialist and Communist Parties His paramilitary forces called Storm Troopers intimidated voters After the next election the right wing parties decided to give Hitler dictatorial powers-in 1934 he became president and took control of the military He declared himself the Fuhrer or leader and the next year began to rebuild the German military violating the Treaty of Versailles

Challenges to the Treaty of Versailles

Hitler and Nazi Germany Life Under Adolf Hitler video

Militarists take control of Japan Difficult economic times in Japan helped to undermine the government In the 1920’s Japan did not make enough money on exports to pay for its imports-when the depression hit other countries raised their tariffs-this made the situation worse Many blamed the problems on a corrupt government and began to think that democracy was –un-Japanese Japanese military leaders and those that supported them thought the only way to get needed resources was to seize territory

Militarists take control of Japan In 1931 the Japanese invaded the resource rich Chinese province of Manchuria Without government permission the Japanese military started a war The Japanese government tried to negotiate peace-the prime minister was assassinated From this point on the military was effectively in control-the civilian government began to support the nationalist expansion minded policies

America Turns to Neutrality Many Americans did not see the benefits of the sacrifices that were made in World War I Once again America turned to isolationism During the depression many European nations decided they would no longer pay their war debts-at the same time many individuals printed books and articles stating that the United States had been tricked into joining World War I by arms companies A Senator from named Gerald P. Nye held hearings to investigate the nations involvement in the war His committee found that arms companies had made huge profits during the war-these findings only increased feelings of isolationism

America Turns to Neutrality Afraid of arms sells dragging America into war again-The Neutrality Act of 1935 made it illegal to sell arms to foreign nations at war In 1936 a rebellion began in Spain after many socialists and communists were elected-it was lead by Francisco Franco and other Fascists The rebellion turned into a full scale civil war Hitler and Mussolini began to support Franco-the United States remained neutral

America Turns to Neutrality Shortly after the beginning of the Spanish Civil War-Germany and Italy formed an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. The following month Japan aligned itself with Germany and Italy when it signed the Anti-Comitern Pact with Germany Together the three countries became known as the Axis-Powers –although they were not formally allies until 1940 With the situation getting worse in Europe-the United States passed another neutrality act in 1937-it included selling non military supplies on a cash and carry basis-foreign nations would have to pay for the item immediately and transport them on their own ships-Why would the united States include this concept in this act?

America Turns to Neutrality In 1933 Roosevelt understood the importance of international relationships but thought that establishing a stable American society was more important He did believe in internationalism- this was the idea that trade between nations helped to prevent war He feared neutrality acts might actually bring about war but continued to support bills that defended isolationism After the Japanese invaded China in 1937-Roosevelt went against the neutrality acts and began to sell weapons to China stating that the United States could not allow lawlessness to infect the world-despite this Americans were still not willing to risk war to stop overseas aggression