WAR 1936-1945 PART 1: The Rise of the Third Reich The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. —Edmund Burke.

WAR 1936-1945

PART 1: The Rise of the Third Reich

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.

—Edmund Burke

How Did Hitler Come To Power?

Prior to Hitler coming to power Germany had many economic and political crises.

Essentially elected to office of Chancellor.

Created another crisis: Reichstag fire. Used presidential decree giving himself

emergency powers: Enabling Act. Remained in force throughout 3rd

Reich.

Could Hitler Have Been Stopped Sooner?

The German people had an opportunity to stop him. Why didn’t they?

Western democracies could have stopped him earlier. Why didn’t they?

The Soviet Union made an alliance with him. Could they have stopped him?

The German people.Pro/Con

Germans knew his policies were dangerous.

Allowed Hitler to make Jews scapegoats.

They voted him into office. They allowed feelings to

prevail. They were seeking revenge

for their loss in WWI. Could have supported a

democratic government.

Situation in Germany was desperate.

Could not know Hitler’s real plans, i.e.. Genocide.

Thought that Hitler could be controlled by senior ministers, statesmen.

Hitler promised and delivered.

Hitler did not get the majority of votes, 44%.

Fear of communism. Versailles weakened her.

Western DemocraciesPro/Con

Versailles was humiliating. They wanted peace at any

price. Red Scare. Hitler’s policy of rearmament

was good for business. Other nations were

experiencing the Depression and they did not resort to extremism.

Knew Hitler had designs on expansion Lebensraum.

National sovereignty - you can’t interfere in the internal affairs of another country.

The Versailles was unjust: it should not have been enforced.

Hitler could not have been stopped any other way than by force.

They bent over backwards to achieve peace.

Soviet ResponsibilityPro/Con

Russian was seeking lands from Poland, the West would not have made a pact with her on this.

Without the pact Germany would not have invaded Poland.

Stalin was hoping that capitalists would fight with each other.

Stalin was not concerned with the welfare of Europe.

Russia was not invited to the Munich Conference.

She could not trust the West. The West had not acted

against Hitler in Czechoslovakia. Would they if he went against her?

West was against Bolsheviks.

Treaty bought time to prepare for war.

Not a signer of Versailles.

Spanish Civil War 1936-39

Shades of WWII

“Guernica” by Pablo Picaso

16 April, 1937

The warring factions

Franco The Nationalists

Supported by:•Nazi Germany•Italy•Catholic Church•Monarchists

The Republicans

Supported by:•Soviet Union•International Brigades: Mackenzie-Papineau Abraham Lincoln

The War

A liberal democracy starts in 1931. The elected gov’t makes sweeping

radical changes. Particularly confiscation of church property.

Counter-revolutionary forces rally around the military and the church.

Another election sees a minority right-wing gov’t.

1936 A minority left-wing gov’t comes to power under near civil war conditions.

Left-wing forces are split between radical and conservative elements: causes failure.

Right had better military support. 1939 Franco Gov’t recognized by France

and Britain.

Hitler’s Germany

What Hitler did:

1. Rearmament:• Luftwaffe (air force)• Conscription (Wehrmacht) 1935• Labour Corps (autobahen motorways)

2. Testing his strength:• 1936 remilitarized the Rhineland (cancelled

Locarno)• Anti-Comintern Pact with Japan (1936)

• Italy joined – reaction to Stresa Front (Fr. + G.B.)• Becomes Axis Powers (Ger. Jp. It. )

• Anschluss with Austria (1938) self-determination was promised in Wilson’s 14 Points

The 1938 Munich Crisis and its Results

Appeasement by allies:– Chamberlain of Great Britain– Daladier of France– Benes of Czechoslovakia left out

Hitler threatened the Czechs – Use of military invasion– Sudetenland (with majority pop. Germ.)– All of Sudetenland, 30 Sept. 1938

15 March 1939 Hitler takes Moravia and Bohemia

23 August 1939– Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Treaty

“Ribbentrop/Molotov Agreement” Reasons (historical):

– Soviets excluded from Munich Pact – Soviets seen as big a threat to west as Hitler– No alliance deals made by west to Soviets– Soviets felt alone– Need to buy time to prepare for the inevitable

War Comes to the World

War in Europe

War in Asia

War at home

War in Europe: Phase I

Invasion of Poland:– Sept. 1, 1939. Germany invades Poland.– Sept. 3. France/England declare war.– Sept.17. Soviets invade Poland.– Sept. 27 Warsaw surrenders

Blitzkrieg: Lightning Warfare

Three prong approach:1. Air assault.

2. Mechanized assault.

3. Closely followed by troops.

Stuka Dive Bomber

War in Europe: Phase II

Phony War:– Nothing happens until…

April 9, 1940 Denmark and Norway invaded May 10 Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg

invaded (Benelux nations) May 26 Evacuation at Dunkirk (Operation

Dynamo): 345,000 troops saved

"Arm yourselves, and be ye men of valour, and be in readiness for the conflict; for it is better for us to perish in battle than to look upon the outrage of our nation and our altar." Winston Churchill This was quoted by Churchill in his first broadcast as Prime Minister to the British people on the BBC, May 19, 1940, London.

June 3, Germans bomb Paris June 10, Italy declares war on Fr. + Br. June 14, Germans take Paris

Charles de Gaulle

Marshal Pétain

Marshal Pétain Vichy Government

Vichyssoise Soup

Phase III: Attack on Britain Operation Sea Lion: Invasion of

Britain. Battle of Britain July to Sept., 1940

repels Germany attack. Battle for the Atlantic U-boats in the

Atlantic.

Phase IV:

1941 (Summer till year end) critical year: – Brings USSR, then USA against Germany.

Barbarossa: invasion of Soviet Union by Germany, June 22, 1941.– Stalingrad, Fall 1942 – February 1943 (major

German loss)– Kursk, July 1943 (largest tank battle in history)

Tiger Tank (German)

Ferdinand Tank(German)

T-34 Tank (Russian)

Phase V

Germans lose in North Africa, El Alamein Nov., 1942.

Allies land in Sicily, summer, 1943 13 October 1943 Italy declares war on

Germany

Phase VI

June 6, 1944 D-Day. Invasion of Normandy, France.

Battle of the Bulge, December,1944 May, 1945, war in Europe is over.

War in Asia and the Pacific

The Real White Man’s Burden

Beginnings

Japan needs markets and resources after losing trade with US in 1929. (Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act)

Total mobilization Manchuria, 1932 (Mukden Incident). Chinese infighting. Chiang v. Mao.

War Against China

July 1, 1937, Marco Polo Bridge Incident marks the beginning of the Pacific War.

By 1939 Japan controlled eastern part of China, but Chiang would not give up; he was being supplied from Burma (Burma Road).

The Japanese were seeking international recognition of their interests in Manchuria, and a surrender from the Nationalists.

Non-aggression treaty with Stalin in the spring of 1941.

Co-Prosperity Sphere: “Asia for Asians”. Britain and US engage in trade embargo

with Japan. Scrap metal/oil Japan needed oil: Burma and Indonesia. Challenged the colonial powers in Asia. Preemptive strike against US, Dec. 7,

1941.

100 Days of Victories

25 December 1941 Hong Kong fell. January - May, Philippines fell. January – March, Dutch East Indies fell. 15 February 1942 Singapore fell. April, ’42 Burma fell.

Summer of ‘42 Japanese were in control of much of Asia.

Lost heavily at Midway in June, and were never to recover.

Island hopping (US strategy).

Soviets enter war against Japanese after fall of Germany.

Finally on August 6, 1945 a nuclear bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, three days later Nagasaki was also bombed.

Victory in Japan

Japan’s unconditional surrender, Aug. 14,1945

Victory in JapanNations and historians have been very critical of the American’s use of the Atomic Bomb, especially on Nagasaki.

Possible reasons for dropping the bomb:

a. To quickly end the war and spare American lives.

b. To get revenge on the Japanese for the war.c. To test their terrible new weapon.d. To send a warning to the Stalin and the

Soviets.

Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer

Head of the Manhattan Project

Fat Man and Little Boy

Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. (February 23, 1915 – November 1, 2007)

Nagasaki

Nagasaki

Warning - Next Slide

End of WWII

Terms Manchuria Greater East Asia

Co-prosperity Sphere

Manhattan Project Atomic Bomb VJ Day

Hiroshima Nagasaki Enola Gay Anti-Comintern Pact Battle of Midway Fat Man and Little

Boy

The War at Home

Many Canadians had their lives touched by the war.

Mobilized the population to contribute to “the war effort”.

Women started to take jobs that men had.

Exposure to propaganda. Dehumanization of enemies.