1931 – 1941 Chapter 19
Dec 25, 2015
1931 – 1941
Chapter 19
•What changes were taking place in the world after WWI and how was America responding to those changes?•What were the causes for WWII?•What was the Holocaust?•Why did the United States enter the war?
• Rise of Fascism in Italy Fascism – a very aggressive,
nationalistic socialism Fascists believed the state was
more important than the individual
Fascist states believed in expansion through the military
Fascist leader in Italy – Benito Mussolini aka “Il Duce”
Received support from Catholic Church
• Stalin and the USSR Russian Revolution 1917 won by
Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
established (USSR) aka Soviet Union 1926 Josef Stalin took over after
Lenin’s death and a subsequent power struggle
Stalin backed rapid industrialization and the collectivization of agriculture
Millions died during social turmoil and famine
• Hitler and the Nazis Adolf Hitler admired Mussolini Hitler helped found the National
Socialist German Worker’s Party (Nazi)
1923 – Nazis attempted to seize power in Munich – Hitler arrested
In prison wrote Mein Kampf (my struggle)
The German Volk Aryans
Lebensraum (living space) Hatred of Jews After prison, Hitler began political rise
in Nazi party 1933 Hitler appointed Chancellor 1934 Hitler could rule through edict
under Enabling Act Hitler also became president and now
in control of the German Army Der Fuhrer began to rebuild the army
in violation of the Treaty of Versailles
• Militarists Gain Control of Japan Many Japanese military officers
blamed democracy and civilian politicians for the Depression
Japan needed resources for industry – military wanted to take them
1931 Japan invaded Manchuria – officers assassinated the Japanese prime minister
Military now in control Military backed by the Japanese
emperor, Hirohito
• American Neutrality Americans overwhelmingly
isolationist 1935 Neutrality Act – illegal for US
to sell arms to any country at war 1936 Spanish Civil War – Fascists
led by General Francisco Franco supported by Italy and Germany; Communists/Republicans supported by Soviet Union
US banned weapons sales to countries in civil war
Hitler and Mussolini signed friendship pact
Japan aligned itself with Germany and Italy in Anti-Comintern Pact
Japan, Germany, and Italy became known as the Axis Powers
1937 Neutrality Act – US still banned arms sales but now any sales of goods were “cash and carry”
FDR supported internationalism -trade creates prosperity and helps prevent war
• The Austrian Anschluss 1938 – Hitler called for the
unification of German-speaking peoples
German troops marched into Austria and united it with Germany
Hitler next demanded the Sudatenland – a region of Czechoslovakia dominated by ethnic Germans
Czech crisis resulted in Munich Conference Convinced Hitler would be satisfied, Britain
and France gave in to his demands (appeasement)
“Peace in Our Time” – British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
1939 Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia
• 1938 – Hitler demanded the return of the city of Danzig and transportation rights through the Polish Corridor• Britain and France announced
they would come to Poland’s aid if Germany attacked• 1939 – Germany and USSR
signed the Non-Aggression Pact• Secret deal would divide Poland
between Germany and USSR
• September 1, 1939 – Germany invaded Poland from the West and USSR invaded from the East• Britain and France declared war
on Germany• Germany used mobile combined
arms warfare called Blitzkrieg (lightning war)• By October 1939 Poland was
defeated
• The Conquest of Western Europe
After fall of Poland Allies sat facing Germany
France defended with Maginot Line
April 1940 - Germany attacked Norway and Denmark to secure its iron supply from Sweden
May 1940 – Germany attacked Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg
• French and British forces moved north to confront German forces in Belgium • German armored units burst
through lightly defended border at the Ardennes Forest – bypassed Maginot Line• French and British forces were
trapped in Belgium
• Trapped Allied forces evacuated at Dunkirk using anything that could float
• ~338,000 troops saved• Allies had to leave behind all their
vehicles and heavy weapons• June 1940 – France surrendered• Northern France occupied by
Germans• Rest of France placed under
control of French puppet government at Vichy
• 1940 Battle of Britain Hitler expected Britain to
surrender – Britain refused British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill defiant Hitler prepared to invade – needed
control of the air for success German Luftwaffe attacked
airfields then switched to cities British air force inflicted great
damage to Luftwaffe – invasion called off
• Shoah – Jewish word for catastrophe• Anti-Semitism strong in Europe since
Middle Ages• Hitler blamed Jews for Germany’s
defeat in WWI• Nuremberg Laws – stripped Jews of
citizenship, restricted jobs and freedoms, forbade marriages with Jews • Jew = anyone with at least one
Jewish grandparent
• Kristallnacht Night of broken glass Hitler sanctioned attacks on
Jewish people, businesses, and synagogues
Over 20,000 wealthy Jews arrested by Gestapo (German secret police)
Jews forced to pay fines for the “damages”
• Jews attempted to leave Germany• Some migrated successfully to
US including Albert Einstein• Countries refused to take many
of them including US• SS St. Louis, filled with Jewish
refugees, was turned back from Cuba and the US – returned to Europe
• The Final Solution Wannsee Conference – meeting
that arrived at decision to exterminate Jewish population
Concentration Camps – detention centers where prisoners used as slave labor
Extermination Camps – usually attached to concentration camps; those not able to work: sick, old, children were executed usually in gas chambers
• Neutrality Act of 1939 US officially neutral after
Europe went to war Despite neutrality, FDR did
what he could to help Britain FDR got Congress to lift ban
on arms sales but it had to be “cash and carry”
• 1940 Destroyers-for-Bases US traded 50 WWI destroyers
fro bases in the Caribbean
• Isolationism American public divided over
involvement in European affairs America First Committee strongly
opposed to helping Britain Election of 1940 – FDR walked
tightrope between neutrality and helping Britain
FDR re-elected to unprecedented third term
• The Lend-Lease Act Britain out of money Under the Act, US lent war materiel
to Britain and, later, to the USSR
• Hemispheric Defense Zone Britain losing ships to German U-
Boats US could not directly help b/c it was
neutral US declared the eastern half the
Atlantic a Hemispheric Defense Zone and used US military to patrol it
• The Atlantic Charter FDR and Churchill
discussed the relationship between US and Britain
US promised to help Britain more
Fall 1941 German U-Boats attacked US warships
USS Reuben James sank with 115 sailors
• United States & Japan US angry at Japanese invasion of
China 1940 Export Control Act – US
blocked sale of scrap metal and oil to Japan
US sent lend-lease materiel to China
US froze all Japanese assets in US US would not lift embargo until
Japan made peace in China
• Pearl Harbor Japan needed to secure resources in
Asia without interference from US Decided to knock out US fleet at
Hawaii December 7, 1941 – attacked US at
Pearl Harbor Attack knocked out bulk of US Pacific
fleet and killed 2,403 Americans US declared war on Japan – Germany
and Italy declared war on US