By: Matthew S. Russell M.D.

Overview   Allied Powers vs. Axis Powers  Key Leaders: Franklin D. Roosevelt: USA Harry S. Truman: USA Joseph Stalin: USSR Winston Churchill: UK Emperor Hirohito: Japan Benito Mussolini: Italy Adolf Hitler: Nazi Germany

1920s: Time of Change  After the conclusion of the Great War in 1919, most of Europe fell into a great economic depression Germany -> Weimar Republic Facism ○ Italy ○ Germany

What is Fascism?  It is a radical form of totalitarianism  It relies heavily on a vanguard party to keep the citizens at bay Mussolini – Blackshirts Hitler – SS, Gestapo  Believed in the mass mobilization of the population  Specifically, Hitler modeled his form of Fascism with anti- jewish tendencies Developed ghettos, concentration camps, and eventually extermination camps in order to “cleanse” the world of the Jewish menace

Adolf Hitler  Born in Austria  Was an aspiring artist  Was injured during the Great War  Hitler attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic in 1923 during the Beer Hall Putsch He was imprisoned  Greatly exaggerated his experiences in the war in his book Mein Kampf, which he wrote while in prison  His foreign and domestic policies revolved around the idea of Lebensraum (living space)  He diplomatically seized power from President Hindenburg and became chancellor of Germany in 1933  Upon doing so, he began to rearm Germany

Benito Mussolini  One of the Founders of modern fascism  Mussolini became the 27 th prime minister of Italy in 1922  He seized total control in 1926 and became known as “Il Duce”  He also created the supreme military rank Field Marshal of the Empire, ruling along side the monarch Victor Emmanuel III  He ruled the Italian population through the use of propaganda and fear, utilizing his Blackshirt party to great effect.

1930s: Military Conquest  Italy invades Ethiopia Ethiopia was one of the only free African nations  Spanish Civil War Hitler and Mussolini supported Franco (fascist) Stalin supported the existing republic Proved to be a battleground on which the various nations could tryout their new and improved military tactics  Japanese invasion of China: Japanese captured Nanking Nanking Massacre Inconclusive victory  Japanese invasion of Mongolia and USSR: The Japanese attempted to invade the Soviet Union, but they were beaten back and eventually gave up their conquest in the North

Appeasement  “is a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor”  Adolf Hitler’s European Claims: Annexed Austria Annexed the Sudetenland Invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia  Provoked Various treaties Franco-British Pledge (British-French) Pact of Steel (German- Italian) Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (German-Soviet)

War Breaks Out  Germany and Soviet Union invade Poland September 1, 1939  Poland quickly falls and is divided up between 4 nations USSR Germany Lithuania Slovakia  2 Days later, on September 3, France and Britain (along with its commonwealth nations) declare war on Germany  Poles continue to fight back for the rest of the war, with their HQs located in various Allied nations

Further Conquest  Germany went on to invade: Belgium France Netherlands Luxembourg  The Netherlands and Belgium fell in a few weeks  France was officially occupied on June 22, 1940  The remaining Allied troops were evacuated at Dunkirk

Axis Oppression  Phoney war (Sitzkreig)  Battle of Britain They German Luftwaffe attempted to establish air superiority over Britain  Vichy France Puppet State set up by Hitler in Southern France, that was not considered occupied  Tripartite Pact Stated that any country, except the USSR, not in the war that attacked any Axis country, would be forced to go to war with all 3  Japan seized control of Indochina