1. The Coming of World War II

2. Hitler’s Background Middle class Austrian Lousy student Rejected for art school A corporal in the German army in WWI

3. Hitler’s Ideas The need for struggle Survival of the fittest (social Darwinism) Anti-Semitism and Aryan supremacy (the “master race”) Slavic peoples would be slave workers for Germany Extreme German nationalism Lebensraum: “living space” for Germany, taken from the east

4. Rise of the Nazi Party 1919: Hitler joined German Workers’ Party in Munich Hitler gained control of the party by 1921; changed name to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party Not really socialist, but wanted to appeal to workers Hitler’s main talent: oratory

5. The Beer Hall Putsch Putsch: an attempted revolution Munich, November 1923 Supported by Nazi Storm Troopers (the SA) Failed badly Hitler imprisoned for high treason, but only for about a year In prison wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

6. Nazi Members in Reichstag (Nazi share in pink) 1928: 12 members 1930: 107 members 1932: 230 members (plurality but not majority) Why the increase THEN? The Great Depression (began fall 1929)

7. January 1933: Hitler Becomes Chancellor Hindenburg named Hitler chancellor Fear of a communist takeover Political leaders thought they could control Hitler January 30: Giant torchlight parade

8. February 1933: The Reichstag Burns Nazis blamed communists but probably did it themselves Nazis suspended freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and the privacy of the mail and telephone calls Communists in Reichstag arrested March 1933: Enabling Act gives emergency powers to Hitler

9. Hitler Tightens Control Opposition political parties dissolved Labor unions outlawed Camps established for Hitler’s enemies Army swore loyalty to Hitler, not Germany Abolished the SA (Nazi Storm Troopers) and gave power to the SS, his personal bodyguards

10. The Nazi Police Network (all under the SS) Gestapo: rounded up enemies of the state Security Service: network of spies Death’s Head Formations: ran concentration camps Waffen SS: elite combat soldiers Einsatzgruppen: hunted Jews in conquered countries

11. Hitler Fights the Depression Creates more jobs making armaments (vs. Versailles Treaty!) Discourages women from working Unemployment reduced by over 90% by 1937

12. Hitler Persecutes Jews 1933: Jews excluded from entertainment and the press 1935: Nuremberg Laws; denied citizenship and intermarriage to Jews; forced to wear a Star of David 1938: Night of the Breaking Glass (Kristallnacht) About half of Jews escaped Germany before war began in 1939

13. April 1933: Graffiti on Jewish Store in Berlin

14. Children Wearing Yellow Stars of David Required by the Nazis

15. Two Synagogues Destroyed on Kristallnacht

16. Hitler Breaks Versailles Treaty March 1935: Draft begins again—army to expand far beyond 100,000 March 1935: Hitler creates air force March 1936: Germany remilitarizes Rhineland Now it was impossible to stop Hitler without a major war Rhineland

17. Why Did France and Britain allow this? Poor economies during the Depression Internal political weakness France did not want to act without British support—and Britain thought Germany had been dealt with too harshly Hitler said he wanted peace, and Britain adopted a policy of appeasement French faith in its Maginot Line

18. War Clouds Gather October 1935-May 1936: Italy attacks and conquers Ethiopia October 1936: Rome-Berlin Axis November 1936: Anti-Comintern Pact (Germany + Japan vs. communism) March-April 1938: Anschluss (Germany unites with Austria) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V oFtxSviHdM&feature=relmfuhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V oFtxSviHdM&feature=relmfu

19. Beginning of 1938

20. The “Anschluss”

21. Czechoslovakia Germany threatened Sudetenland (west edge of Czechoslovakia) Munich Conference, Sept. 1938 Neville Chamberlain: policy of appeasement; “Peace for our time” Hitler is allowed to take Sudetenland and promised he would make no more demands But Czechoslovakia left defenseless! March 1939: Hitler takes western Czechoslovakia

22. Neville Chamberlain, British Prime Minister http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO72 5Hbzfls http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO72 5Hbzfls

23. 1938, before the Munich Conference

24. Hitler Takes Sudetenland

25. Hitler Takes Bohemia

26. Beginning of 1938

27. The “Anschluss”

28. Hitler Takes Sudetenland

29. Hitler Takes Bohemia

30. Hitler Invades Slovakia

31. August 23, 1939 Stalin distrusted Britain and France Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact-- Germany would be free to invade Poland Soviet and Germans would divide Poland in two USSR would take the Baltic states Germany now would not have to fight with the Soviet Union on the eastern front—so no two-front war!

32. September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland Britain gives up policy of appeasement and declares war The beginning of World War II in Europe

33. Before the War (Mid-1939)

34. Sept. 1939: Poland Invaded

35. USSR Takes Eastern Poland

36. The Baltic States: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia Beginning of 1939

37. Hitler Demands and Gets Memel from Lithuania Early 1939

38. USSR Takes Lithuania Fall 1939

39. USSR Takes Latvia, Estonia Late 1939

40. Japanese Aggression 1931: Japan invades Manchuria Japan’s goal: economic dominance of east Asia and access to natural resources The U.S. feared that defeating Japan would help the Soviet Union, so did little at first Japan attacked China, 1937—the beginning of what would be World War II in Asia The U.S. threatened economic sanctions (trade restrictions) against Japan