1. A World IN Flames
Chapter 11

2. The Origins of WWII
Lesson 1

3. Mussolini & Fascism in Italy
One of Europe’s first dictatorships arose in Italy: Benito Mussolini
Fascism: Political system led by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and often racism and no tolerance of opposition
Fascism was strongly anticommunist, especially due to the Russian Revolution
Mussolini exploited these fears by portraying it as protecting private property and the middle class

4. He was backed by the Blackshirts (Fascist militia) and threatened a march on Rome
Members of Parliament wanted the king to declare martial law—when he didn’t the cabinet resigned
The king ended up appointing Mussolini to premier—he took the title of “The Leader”

5. Stalin and the Soviet Union
Vladimir Lenin created the USSR (Soviet Union) in 1922
Joseph Stalin took over when Lenin died in 1924
Stalin tried to industrialize the nation using Five Year Plans with little success
He tolerated no opposition and used concentration camps which killed about 2 million
Between 15 and 20 million died during Stalin’s rule, which ended in 1953

6. Hitler and Nazi Germany
Hitler was very upset with the German government for accepting the Allies peace terms following WWI
He became the leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party—Nazi Party
The Nazi Party was one of many groups that formed that wished to expand Germany and reject the Treaty of Versailles
When they marched on city hall in Munich, Hitler was arrested and the party was banned for a while

7. Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) while in prison
Claimed Aryans were the master race (especially blonde hair and blue eyes) and Slavic people of Eastern Europe were inferior (especially Jews)
Hitler blamed Jews for the world’s problems
Once Hitler was out of prison, he worked on a different tactic; including having Nazis elected to powerful positions
The Depression led people to vote for radical parties, like the Nazis, hoping for a solution to the economy’s problems
In 1934, the German president appointed Hitler as chancellor
He then gave himself the title of “The Leader”

8. Japan
Japanese industries had to import almost all of the resources they needed to produce goods
When the Depression hit, countries had to raise tariffs on these goods
The military decided that seizing territory was the only answer to their problems
In September 1931, the Japanese army invaded Manchuria (in Northern China)
Emperor Hirohito’s prime minister asked Hideki Tojo, the minister of war, to remove troops—afraid of the U.S. getting involved

9. Tojo refused and the military was now running the country
The Japanese army swept through China and invaded Nanking (Nanjing) killing about 300,000—became known as the “Rape of Nanking”
In October 1941, Tojo took over the position of prime minister

10. Treaty of Versailles
By 1935, Hitler began breaking the Treaty of Versailles
New air force
Began the draft to expand the army
European leaders tried to negotiate with Hitler—trying to avoid war, thought his wants were reasonable, and thought they would want peace once they gained more land

11. Anschluss
In 1937, Hitler called for the unification of all German speaking people— including those in Austria and Czechoslovakia
He threatened to invade Austria unless Austrian Nazis were given important government jobs
The chancellor gave into this but tried to have the people vote on unification
Hitler sent troops to Austria and announced Anschluss—unification of Austria and Germany

12. Sudetenland
Hitler announced claims to the Sudetenland, an area in Czechoslovakia with large amounts of German speaking people
The Czechs resisted and were backed by France and the Soviet Union
Britain would support their allies, France

13. Appeasement
Representatives of Britain, France, Italy, and Germany met in Munich to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia
Britain and France decided to grant Hitler his wishes and let him have the Sudetenland
This became known as the policy of appeasement

14. Hitler wants More Hitler then demanded Danzig in Poland
Britain and France were now convinced that war was inevitable
On March 31, 1939, Britain and France announced that if Poland went to war, they would back them
In May 1939, Hitler ordered his army to prepare to invade Poland
He also started negotiations with the Soviet Union to have allies against Britain and France

15. Nazi-Soviet Pact
Stalin agreed to a non-aggression pact with Germany—he saw this as the best way to turn capitalist nations against each other
This treaty shocked the world, as communism and Nazism went against each other
Britain and France did not realize this treaty called for the division of Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union

16. War September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland
Two days later Britain and France declare war on Germany
WWII has begun
May 10, 1940: Hitler began a blitzkrieg in Western Europe
German troops drive the Allies toward the English Channel
The port of Dunkirk became their only way out
Hitler ordered his forces to stop—Historians believe he was nervous to risk his tank forces

17. This allowed the Allies to evacuate
338,000 British and French survived the “Miracle at Dunkirk”
On June 22, 1940 the French surrendered
French general Charles de Gaulle led the Free French resistance forces and worked with Allied leaders and refused to recognize the defeat of France

18. Germany v. Britain
Hitler mistakenly thought Britain would negotiate peace after France surrendered
Hitler ordered the German air force, the Luftwaffe, to attack British ships in the English Channel—and later battled the British Royal Air Force in what is known as the Battle of Britain
London was accidentally bombed and they retaliated by bombing Berlin
The Luftwaffe started targeting London and other cities
After major losses on both sides, Hitler cancelled the planned invasion of Britain

19. From Neutrality to War
Lesson 2

20. Isolationism
Many Americans began to support isolationism as WWII began and did not want to get involved
Due to the Depression, many European nations had announced that they would not be able to pay the U.S. the debts they owed

21. Nye Committee
Accusations emerged that the U.S. had been tricked into WWI by the arms manufacturers
Gerald P. Nye, a Senator, set up hearings to investigate
The Nye Committee report documented huge profits that arms factories had made during the war and created the impression that these businesses influenced the decision to go to war

22. neutrality
Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935—this made it illegal for Americans to sell arms to any country at war
In October 1935, Mussolini ordered the Italian military to invade Ethiopia, what was then called Abyssinia
The Abyssinian forces were no match for the Italians and their emperor was forced into exile
Roosevelt passed the Neutrality Act of 1936, as he knew we could not intervene to stop Italy, which extended the ban on arms sales and banned loans to nations at war

23. Spanish Civil War In 1936 another conflict in Europe broke out
On one side was the rebel Nationalists—led by General Franco and supported by Germany and Italy
On the other side were the Republicans—supported both by the Soviet Union and thousands of volunteers from Europe and the U.S. who went to Spain to fight against Franco
This conflict is portrayed as being the first clash between fascism and the forces of western democracy
Franco won the civil war and became the new leader of Spain until his death in 1975

24. Continued Neutrality
Japan became allies with Germany and Italy—becoming the Axis Powers
Neutrality Act of 1937: continued the ban on selling arms to warring nations and also required nations to buy all nonmilitary supplies from the U.S. on a “cash-and-carry” basis
Countries had to send their own ships to pick up goods and had to pay in cash, loans were not allowed
They were trying to prevent attacks on American ships which is why we got involved in WWI
Roosevelt was a supporter of internationalism—actively trading with foreign countries to foster peace and prosperity
He was worried that neutrality acts “might drag us into war instead of keeping us out”

25. When Japan invaded China without declaring war, Roosevelt said that the neutrality acts did not apply and they could sell weapons to China
Roosevelt also wanted to help the Allies, Britain and France, and asked Congress to revise the neutrality acts
Neutrality Act of 1939: permitted sale of weapons on a cash-and-carry basis only
Britain asked Roosevelt for old American destroyers to replenish its fleet— Roosevelt found a loophole by trading them to him for exchange of America’s use of British bases in the Atlantic—it did not involve an actual sale so it did not go against the neutrality act
By July 1940 most Americans supported aiding the Allies—but people could not agree on how much we should help
Roosevelt won reelection in 1940 and expanded the nation’s role in the war

26. Land-Lease Act By December 1940 Britain had run out of war funds
This act allowed the U.S. to lend or lease arms to any country considered “vital to the defense of the United States”
Britain could receive weapons, then return them or pay rent for them after the war
This eventually applied to the Soviet Union as well, when Hitler invaded them in 1941
Roosevelt supported any state that was fighting the Nazis

27. Problems
There was a problem getting shipments to Britain as German troops were sinking hundreds of thousands of cargo each month and the British Navy lacked the ships to stop them
Because the U.S. was still neutral, Roosevelt could not order our navy to protect British cargo ships

28. Hemispheric Defense Zone
Roosevelt declared the entire western half of the Atlantic part of the Western Hemisphere and was therefore neutral
He then ordered the U.S. Navy to patrol the western Atlantic and reveal the location of German submarines to the British

29. Atlantic Charter August 1941 Roosevelt and Churchill
Committed both nations to a postwar world of democracy, nonaggression, free trade, economic advancement, and freedom of the seas
Roosevelt made it clear that he would look for an incident which would justify him in opening hostilities with Germany

30. Pearl harbor
Roosevelt’s efforts to help Britain fight Germany resulted in Japan’s decision to attack the U.S.
Japan depended on the U.S. for many key materials, including scrap iron, steel and especially oil
In July 1940, Congress allowed Roosevelt the power to restrict the sale of strategic materials (items needed for war)
He blocked the sale of airplane fuel and scrap iron to Japan
The Japanese were furious and joined the Axis Powers
By July 1941, Japan had sent military forces into southern Indochina, which threatened the British Empire
Roosevelt decided to freeze all Japanese assets in the U.S., reduced the oil shipments to Japan, and sent General Douglas MacArthur to the Philippines to build up American defenses there

31. Japan was now vulnerable in China without the resources they needed and decided to attack the British and Dutch colonies in Southeast Asia
They also decided to take the Philippines and to attack the American fleet at Pearl Harbor
Japan tried to make it seem like they were still negotiating with the U.S. on peaceful terms, but we intercepted messages that made it clear they planned to go to war with the U.S.
Because we were not able to interpret the message correctly, Pearl Harbor was left as an open target
Japan surprise attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
The results were devastating: 8 battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, and 4 other vessels were sunk or damaged, 180 aircraft were destroyed—2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 were injured
The U.S. declared war on Japan the next day
On December 11, Germany and Italy both declared war on the U.S.

32. The Holocaust
Lesson 3

33. Background
During the Holocaust, the Nazis killed nearly 6 million European Jews, as well as millions of other groups they considered to be inferior
The Nazis targeted anyone that opposed them, but their main focus was the Jews
In September 1935, the Nuremberg Laws took citizenship away from Jewish Germans and banned marriage between Jews and other Germans

34. Jews were then banned to hold public offices or to vote
Passports of Jews were marked with a red J to identify them as Jewish
By the summer of 1936, at least half of Germany’s Jews were jobless—life for Jews became very difficult
Despite the harsh conditions, many Jews were reluctant to leave Germany— they did not want to leave the lives they had created and thought conditions would improve

35. Kristallnacht
November 7, 1938: A Jewish refuge killed a German diplomat in Paris—he was seeking revenge for the persecution of the Jews
Hitler ordered his minister of propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, to stage attacks against the Jews that would seem like a spontaneous popular reaction to news of the murder
November 9: Night of Broken Glass
By the next day more than 90 Jews were dead, hundreds were badly injured, and thousands more were terrorized
The Nazis had forbidden police to interfere as they destroyed 7,500 Jewish businesses and hundreds of synagogues

36. Time to Flee
Many Jews decided that it was time to leave after Kristallnacht
Between 1933 and 1939 about 250,000 Jews escaped
Including Albert Einstein
By 1938, the U.S. consulate in Germany had a backlog of more than 100,000 visa applications from Jews trying to go to the U.S.
Following the Nazi Anschluss, about 3,000 Austrian Jews applied for U.S. visas each day
Most never received a visa and were trapped

37. Factors limiting Immigration to the U.S.
Nazi orders prohibited Jews from taking more than about 4 dollars out of Germany
The U.S. was limiting their immigration to those who might become a “public charge” and since Jews were forced to leave their money it seemed this would apply to them
The Depression also caused the U.S. to limit immigration
Existing immigration policies allowed only 150,000 immigrants annually, with a fixed quota from each country

38. ST. Louis Affair
May 27, 1939
SS St. Louis entered the harbor of Havana, Cuba with 930 Jewish refugees on board
When they ships arrived the Cuban government refused to let the refugees come ashore
The ship circled for several days seeking permission to dock at a U.S. port
They were denied and turned back to Europe (France, Holland, Belgium, and Great Britain)
Many of these refugees were killed in the final solution

39. The Final Solution
Previous methods seemed to move too slow and was inefficient for the Nazis
January 20, 1942: Wannasee Conference
Nazis made plans to round up Jews from Nazi-controlled Europe and sent to concentration and extermination camps

40. Concentration Camps Camp where persons are detained or confined
Nazis established these camps in 1939 for political opponents, after the war they began to build camps throughout Europe
Hundreds of prisoners died every month from exhaustion and horrible living conditions

41. Extermination Camps
Camp where men, women, and children were sent to be executed
In late 1941, Nazis built these at Chelmno and Auschwitz camps in Poland
After the Wannsee Conference more camps were built
Jews were the Nazis main victim
Gas chambers were built to kill 2,000 people at a time—they could gas 12,000 people in one day
Upon arriving at Auschwitz, healthy prisoners were assigned to slave labor, elderly or disabled people were immediately sent to the gas chambers

42. Theories
Nobody truly understands how something as horrific as the Holocaust could have happened, theories include:
German people’s sense of injury after WWI
Severe economic problems
Hitler’s control over the German nation
Lack of a strong tradition of representative government in Germany
German fear of Hitler’s secret police
Long history of anti-Jewish prejudice and discrimination in Europe