1. Objective
Students will comprehend political views of major world leaders during WWII and how they gained popularity by analyzing key speeches made by them

2. The Origins of WWII
Cult of Personalities

3. Benito Mussolini Italian Fascist Violent youth Blackshirts Il Duce
Took over the government in a coup

4. Joseph Stalin
Russian
Communist
Responsible for the death 15 to 20 million of his own people

5. Adolph Hitler Austrian but German leader Nazi party
Resented the Allies and Treaty of Versailles
Responsible for the death of millions

6. Hideki Tojo Japan Military leader Became the Prime Minister
Invaded Manchuria and China
Responsible for many deaths

7. Franklin D. Roosevelt
American
Democrat
You know the rest
Didn’t actively kill anyone

8. Winston Churchill
British
Prime Minister - Conservative
Also didn’t actively kill anyone

9. Authoritarian Government
When the government has complete control of the people and demands complete obedience
Run by a dictator

10. Fascism or Communism?
Communism –complete equality in society through class warfare
Power to the people
Fascism –nationalistic right wing focused on suppression of opposition
Strong government control

11. WWII Begins 1935 Hitler began to defy the Treaty of Versailles
Started building up the air force and draft
Europe tried to negotiate rather than go to war
Thought Hitler’s demands were reasonable and that he would back off and want peace too.
Hitler wanted to unify all German speaking people

12. Hitler takes more land Hitler believed in Anschluss and Lebensraum
Wanted to expand to Austria who grudgingly accepted but wanted to put it to a vote
Hitler was afraid they wouldn’t vote in his favor so he invaded instead

13. Munich Crisis Hitler claimed Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
Britain and France said they would go to war with Germany if they invaded
September 1938 Britain, France, Italy, and Germany all met in Munich to decide Czechoslovakia’s fate
Agreed to Hitler’s demands
Appeasement
Czechoslovakia had to give up Sudetenland or fight alone

14. Appeasement Fails March 1939 Germany sent troops into Czechoslovakia
Divided it into Slovakia and Czech lands
Slovakia was “independent” but under German control
Czech lands became a German protectorate

15. Demand for Danzig Around the same time Hitler demanded Danzig
Polish city that was 90% German but belonged to Poland since WWI
He also wanted highways and railways through Poland
Britain and France said they would help Poland defend its territory
Everyone prepared for war

17. Nazi-Soviet Pact Germany proposed a non- aggression treaty with Russia
Stalin agreed hoping to turn capitalist nations against each other
Shocked the world but everyone soon realized it was because Germany wanted to be able to fight the West without Russia to its back

18. Invasion of Poland and the Fall of France
September 1st 1939 Germany invaded Poland
Blitzkrieg -Lightning War
Western Europe waited for a direct German attack
May 1940 Germany invaded Belgium and smashed through the northern French line
France was taken

19. Miracle at Dunkirk
German troops drove Allied forces toward the English Channel
Port of Dunkirk became the Allies’ only way out
For some insane reason Hitler ordered the German troops to stop
This gave troops a chance to escape to England
Around 338,000 British and French troops were saved

20. Battle of Britain
Hitler though Britain would surrender after France fell
Winston Churchill was defiant “We shall never surrender”
Luftwaffe vs. The British Royal air Force
London was bombed so Britain bombed Berlin
Radar
Hitler cancelled his invasion plans

21. But what about the rest of the world?
Japan rarely gets mentioned before Pearl Harbor
Invasion of Manchuria and China
The Rape of Nanking
Terrible atrocities were inflicted on the people of China and Korea

22. American Isolationism
Determined not to get involved again
Depression was on and people were preoccupied
Not much more to say about America at this time

23. And that’s just the beginning!