Major international issue: Unemployment! Many responses… Great Depression

Welcome to Noblestan! We are a post WWI government struggling with the effects of the Great Depression. Our first need is to elect a leader to lead us out of this crisis. We need the right leader to help our country survive!

The economic problems we face mean that it is time for our class to be looking for a new leader. Examine the candidates for what you think our country needs. Which candidate would you choose? Why? Candidate A I come from a family with ties to government. I suffer from severe ailing health. I have an agenda to bring sweeping and controversial change to the political landscape of our country. I have been known to have affairs, but it doesn’t interfere with my political ambitions. Candidate B I am a decorated war hero. I understand how badly our country has been treated. The current leadership is indecisive and weak; I offer change and hope. We need a leader that will represent the strength of our nation. I will provide the economic stability our country needs. Candidate C I am often considered defiant. I have a mouth that my enemies think causes trouble. I’ve served in the military and worked my way to power. Some people say that I am short tempered and have a problem with alcohol.

The economic problems we face mean that it is time for our class to be looking for a new leader. Examine the candidates for what you think our country needs. Which candidate would you choose? Why? Candidate A I come from a family with ties to government. I suffer from severe ailing health. I have an agenda to bring sweeping and controversial change to the political landscape of our country. I have been known to have affairs, but it doesn’t interfere with my political ambitions. Candidate B I am a decorated war hero. I understand how badly our country has been treated. The current leadership is indecisive and weak; I offer change and hope. We need a leader that will represent the strength of our nation. I will provide the economic stability our country needs. Candidate C I am often considered defiant. I have a mouth that my enemies think causes trouble. I’ve served in the military and worked my way to power. Some people say that I am short tempered and have a problem with alcohol.

WWII at a Glance A Bird’s Eye view of the bloodiest war in human history.

6 Quick Facts A. War Costs 1.US Debt $9 billion US Debt $98 billion The war cost $330 billion times the cost of WWI & as much as all previous US Federal spending since 1776

7 Quick Facts B. Human Costs 1.Over 60 million people died (compared to 15 million in WWI) 21.3 million Soviets (7.7 million civilians) 11 million died as a result of the HOLOCAUST (6 million Jews + 5 million others) 2/3rds of deaths civilian

8 Quick Facts B. Human Costs

9 When? 1939 Sept.1 - Germany invades Poland (official start to the war ) Sept. 3 - Britain & France declare war on Germany Dec. 7 – Japan bombs Pearl Harbor; US enters the War 1941 May - Germans Surrender Sept. - Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japanese Surrender US involvement Aug.- Feb. Battle of Stalingrad June 6, D-Day invasion of Normandy France. 1944

10 Who? Allies Axis Great Britain France (note: France surrendered to Germany in 1940 (after 6 weeks of fighting) United States USSR Germany Italy Japan (major powers)

11 Major Leaders Adolf Hitler Nazi Germany Benito Mussolini Italy

12 Major Leaders Hideki Tojo Japanese Prime Minister Winston Churchill British Prime Minister

13 Major Leaders Franklin Delano Roosevelt US President Joseph Stalin Soviet Leader

14 Why? (underlying causes of WWII) 1. Treaty of Versailles (WWI) A. Germany lost land to surrounding nations B. War Reparations 1) Allies collect $ to pay back war debts to U.S. 2) Germany must pay $33 billion (paid less than 21 billion from ) 3) Bankrupted the German economy & embarrassed Germans 4) Germans began printing money and giving to French – destroying the German Economy Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson during negotiations for the Treaty

German Marks needed to buy one US dollar 1919 April--12 December November July--493 December--7, January--17,000 July--53,000 August--4,621,000 October--25,260,000,000 November--2,193,600,000,000 December--4,200,000,000,000

Hitler attempted to take power During the height of economic depression in 1923, Hitler tried to take overthrow the government He failed, was tried and convicted He went to prison for almost two years. The German economy slowly began to recover with foreign loans (mainly from the United States) 17

18 Why? (underlying causes of WWII) 2. World-wide Depression A. The Depression made Germany’s debt even worse as US loans stopped B. Desperate people turn to desperate leaders 1) Hitler seemed to provide solutions to Germany’s problems in 1933; President Hindenburg appoints Hitler as Chancellor Wallpapering with German Deutchmarks

19 Why? (underlying causes of WWII) 2. World-wide Depression 2) Hitler provided scapegoats for Germany’s problems (foreigners, Jews, communists, Roma [Gypsies], mentally-ill, homosexuals) 3) Kristallnacht - vandalism & destruction of Jewish property & synagogues in 1938

20 Why? 3. Rise of Totalitarian Regimes A. In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of the nation Totalitarianism Communist Dictatorship (USSR) Fascist Dictatorship (Germany, Italy) Military Dictatorship (Japan) Fascism: military government with elements of racism & nationalism with strong support from the business community

26 Why? 4. Appeasement/ Isolationism A. Why was the U.S. Isolationist? 1. Great Depression (problems at home) 2. Perceptions of WWI a. WWI did not seem to solve much b. People began to think that US had entered into WWI for the wrong reasons (greedy American businessmen!) 3. Opposition to war (Pacifism) a. Washington Conference - Limits on size of country's navies b. Kellogg-Briand pact - condemned war as a way to solving conflicts

27 Why? 4. Appeasemen/Isolationism Powers B. This led to policies of “Appeasement” 1. Appeasement: give dictators what they want and hope that they won’t want anything else 2. Began with Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and continued with Hitler... Now we have “peace in our time! Herr Hitler is a man we can do business with.” British Prime Minster Chamberlain in 1938

28 So What Was Hitler Asking For? Return of German Speaking Lands - “Lebensraum” Austria - Peacefully Annexed in 1938 Sudentenland - (now part of Czech Republic) Munich Conference - Great Britain & France give it to Hitler in return for peace Hitler then invaded (illegally) the rest of Czechoslovakia German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca. 1939

29 So What Was Hitler Asking For? Return of German Speaking Lands Nonaggression Pact USSR stays out of the war in return for 1/2 of Poland. Hitler invaded Sept. 1 Hitler's triumphal entry into Danzig, Poland 1939 September 3, 1939 Great Britain & France finally declare war on Germany (following through on pledge to support Poland).

The non-aggression pact was surprising. Hitler and Stalin were seen as natural enemies. When Hitler talked of taking over new land for Germany, many thought that he meant USSR. Hitler also hated Communism, the form of government in USSR

31 What was Hitler’s war strategy? Blitzkrieg “Lightning War” – Poland 1939 In Spring of 1940, Hitler invaded: Denmark Norway The Netherlands France Hitler in Paris

Vichy France General Petain’s agreement and partitioning of German Occupied France. 32

Who was left to oppose Hitler? Battle of Britain 1,000 Nazi planes a day bombed Great Britain. London was a frequent target. 30,000 Londoner sdied 120,000 injured Refused to surrender Royal Air Force pilots flew 6-7 missions a day to keep up with the much larger Luftwaffe.

35 US Assistance Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies: Lend-Lease US “lent” war materials to cash-strapped Great Britain London Firefighter Tackles an Air Raid Blaze Atlantic Charter US secretly met with England to commit to defeating Germany

36 Meanwhile … in the Pacific Pearl Harbor: “a date which will live in infamy” USS Arizona Sinking in Pearl Harbor What? Surprise attack by the Japanese on American forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii December 7, 1941 Effect? US declared war on Japan; Germany declared war on USA

U.S. Helps the Allies Defeat Hitler

Holocaust… Roots of Anti-Semitism Systematic removal and murder of Jewish people  11 Million Jewish People  5 million others Post War… Creation of Israeli State 39

Stalingrad (Winter) D-Day (June 6, 1944)

Allies turn their attention on Japan Hiroshima – August 6, 1945 Nagasaki – August 9, 1945 V-J Day Celebrations