The Build Up to WWII

Who was Hitler? Adolph Hitler was a high school drop out (age 16) and a WWI veteran. During a brief prison term, he wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) which outlined his ideologies. It would become the backbone of the Nazi philosophy. Since 1923, Hitler and his followers had been gathering support by criticizing the weak German government. Hitler and the Nazi Party claimed that they could bring Germany out of the Depression and make it a great nation again. He became chancellor of Germany in January of 1933, and by March, his party had control of the German Parliament.

Hitler - First speech as chancelor.

Germany under Hitler Under Hitler's control, the economy improved, and unemployment went down. He subsidized farmers to help rebuild their farms, and poured money into public projects. The Nazis soon removed all other political parties, and Hitler was the sole ruler of Germany.

Hitler became known as “der Führer,” the leader. He was a ruthless dictator who ruled his country through intimidation and fear. The Nazis were deeply racist, and believed that the Aryan race was “pure,” and non- Aryans were considered to be inferior.

Nazi Anti-Semitism Nazi decrees denied Jewish people the right to: Hold public office Be employed in the media Work in farming or high schools Citizenship To marry those of “German blood”

Hitler and the Nazis Part of a campaign of terror Passed to strip the Jewish people of their civil, political and human rights Encouraged public attacks on Jewish people Nov 9 th 1938: Kristallnacht: The Nazis attacked synagogues and Jewish people Eventually, they decided to purge their nation altogether of these people (The Holocaust)

Why was the racism against the Jews supported? Anti-Semitism had purveyed the world over, resentment to the Jewish race was not isolated to Germany, nor to the 1930s. The Jewish people had weathered the Depression relatively well and many felt that it was because they were “cheap” or dishonest. More importantly, after such a difficult time people were looking for someone to blame, scapegoats, and Hitler offered up the Jews. Canada was not exempt from this hatred. In 1939 the ship St Louis, full of 900 Jewish refugees, arrived on the eastern shores of Canada. It was refused permission to dock, and was sent back to Europe and its concentration camps.

The Causes of War: GRAFT Great Depression: the failure of democratic, capitalist governments during the tough 1930s spurred people to look to alternate forms of leadership. Dictators took power across Europe and Asia, claiming they could solves the woes of the Great Depression

GRAFT: Rise of Hitler Rise of Hitler – he was particularly aggressive in his goal of global domination. As dictator, he reached to take over Europe and rid the world of the Jewish and other “impure” races.

GRAFT: Appeasement Throughout the 1930’s, Western democracies adopted a policy of appeasement in response to Germany’s aggression. No one wanted to fight another war, so leaders were willing to make concessions to Hitler to maintain peace. For example, when he overtook Austria, the Western Allies did nothing so as to avoid another global conflict. Rather than promoting peace, appeasement made Hitler bolder.

Hitler’s War Path & Response to Appeasement: March 1936 – Germany re-occupied the Rhineland March Germany took over Austria. September Britain and France agreed to abandon part of Czechoslovakia to Germany (Hitler pledged that this would be his last territorial claim) March Germany took over the rest of Czechoslovakia. August 1939 – Non-aggression pact with Russia (promise not to fight and divide Poland up between them) September 1939 – invades Poland

GRAFT: Failure of the League of Nations Dictators across the world were becoming aggressive. Japan invaded Manchuria (China) and the League of Nations was helpless to defend it. Italy attacked Ethiopia and again the League was useless. The idea of the League’s collective security was moot without any military.

GRAFT: Treaty of Versailles The end of the First World War was particularly harsh towards Germany. The treaty imposed massive restrictions that would keep Germany “weak” for decades. The Treaty forced Germany to give up its military, territories, ships, and pay $33 billion in damages. Clearly the German people were outraged and ready to fight its way back to a powerful nation.

Assignment: read pages and create a poster that visually displays the causes of the Second World War.