The Beginning of WWII

Years of Crisis, 1919–1939 Societies undergo political, economic, and social changes that lead to renewed aggression. Worldwide Depression An economic depression in the United States spreads throughout the world and lasts for a decade.

Worldwide Depression (cont) Unstable New Democracies Fall of kingdoms, empires creates new democracies in Europe People have little experience with representative government Some form coalition governments—temporary, multi-party alliances Frequent changes in government create instability

Fascism Rises in Europe In response to political turmoil and economic crises, Italy and Germany turn to totalitarian dictators. Italians want a leader who will take action Fascist Party leader, Benito Mussolini, promises to rescue Italy

Hitler Rises to Power in Germany A New Power Adolf Hitler —obscure political figure in 1920s Germany The Rise of the Nazis Nazism—German brand of fascism Hitler becomes Nazi leader, plots to seize national power Mein Kampf —Hitler‘s book detailing beliefs, goals Hitler believes that Germany needs lebensraum, or living space Germans turn to Hitler when economy collapses

Hitler Becomes Chancellor Hitler’s New Power Hitler is named chancellor Turns Germany into totalitarian state Uses brutal tactics to eliminate enemies Nazis take command of economy The Führer Is Supreme Hitler takes control over every aspect of German life

Hitler Defies Versailles Treaty In 1935, Hitler begins rebuilding German army In 1936, Germany occupies Rhineland Britain urges appeasement, a policy of giving in to aggression – to avoid conflict Germany, Italy, and Japan—the Axis Powers—form an alliance

Democratic Nations Try to Preserve Peace United States Follows an Isolationist Policy Isolationism—avoidance of political ties with other countries In 1935, Congress passes Neutrality Acts The German Reich Expands Hitler plans to expand Third Reich—German Empire In 1938, Hitler annexes Austria Hitler demands the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia Czechs refuse, ask France for help

Democratic Nations Try to Preserve Peace Britain and France Again Choose Appeasement Leaders meet at Munich Conference to settle Czech crisis Britain and France agree to let Hitler take Sudetenland But in 1939, Hitler still takes rest of Czechoslovakia Mussolini takes Albania; Hitler demands part of PolandNazis and Soviets Sign Nonaggression Pact

Russian-German Alliance In 1939, Stalin and Hitler pledge never to attack one another

Hitler Makes War on the Jews Nazis deprive Jews of rights, promote violence against them

Jewish Persecution The Nazi persecution of Jews began in Germany in 1933. By 1939, the country's Jews had been deprived of their civil rights and property and ostracized from the national community. German conquests in Europe after 1939 led to the implementation of antisemitic policies in the occupied territories. Though the pace and severity of persecution differed in each country, Jews were marked, vilified, and segregated from their neighbors.

In eastern Europe, the Nazis generally isolated Jews in ghettos, enclosed districts which often were established in the most desolate sections of a city or town. The ghettos isolated the Jews from the non-Jewish community. In western Europe, internment camps served as detention centers for Jews. Such policies of isolation aided the Nazis when they began mass shootings and deportations to the killing centers.

The Holocaust Hitler made the decision in 1941 to carry out the systematic mass murder of Jews. Mobile killing squads followed the German army into the Soviet Union in June 1941, and by the end of the year, murdered almost 1 million Jewish men, women, and children. All Jews were targeted for death, but the mortality rate for children was especially high.

The Holocaust The Holocaust was the systematic, bureaucratic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Holocaust is a word of Greek origin meaning "sacrifice by fire." The Nazis, who came to power in Germany in January 1933, believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that the Jews, deemed "inferior," were an alien threat to the so-called German racial community.

Other targeted groups During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted other groups because of their perceived "racial inferiority": Roma (Gypsies), the disabled, and some of the Slavic peoples (Poles, Russians, and others). Other groups were persecuted on political, ideological, and behavioral grounds, among them Communists, Socialists, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals.