1. A Troublesome Path Leads Back to War
Descent to War

2. State of the world prior to the war
Most of Asia & Africa was colonized
Germany controlled by Hitler & the Nazis
Italy was under Mussolini
USSR was under Stalin
Most Western countries were suffering from Depression

3. Fascist Italy Italy unhappy after WWI Italian Economy in trouble
Veterans unemployed,
Pro-Communist unions striking
Middle-class scared of radicalism
Benito Mussolini – formed Fascist party (1919)
Blackshirts – street thugs – the muscle behind Mussolini’s rise
Fascists promised order & stability
Popular with middle-class

4. The March on Rome - 4/1922
Mussolini & 30K fascists demand control of Italy
King Emmanuel III makes Mussolini Prime Minister w/ emergency powers to make laws
Stated goal was to bring order to Italy
Fascism = dictatorship, aggressive nationalism, and govt. control of biz
Mussolini referred to as “Il Duce”
Demanded loyalty, censored media, used propaganda to glorify himself & Italy
Envisioned a new Roman Empire
Italy invaded Ethiopia (1935) – LofN did nothing

6. Trouble at home for Germany
Germans blamed govt. for problems
Political chaos, massive inflation, poverty
Problems related to Treaty of Versailles
U.S. Dawes Plan gave $200 million to help German economy
U.S. also gave GER more time to pay reparations owed to U.S.
Helped, but only temporary – Great Depression (1929) in U.S. spread to other parts of world incl. Germany

7. Economy Bad  Nazis Good
Bad econ & political conditions favored Nazis
Nazis provided targets for blame (Jews, Comms)
Jan – Hindenburg made Hitler Chancellor
An effort to try to control him
Reichstag fire – Feb – Nazis did it but blame Communists
Enabling Act – March 1933 – Hitler granted emergency powers to deal with “crisis”
Hindenburg dies – Hitler total leader in 1934
A Fascist dictatorship – nationalistic, militaristic, strong leader

8. Reichstag Fire

9. No Desire for War 2 key treaties
GB & FR looking to avoid war at all costs
Exhausted from WWI
Relied on League of Nations to solve probs
Ignored threat of Nazi Germany
2 key treaties
Locarno Treaty (1925) – Rhineland neutral
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) – war “illegal”
62 nations outlaw offensive war – defense okay

10. Japan & Hirohito Military govt. ruled Japan in Emperor’s name
Hirohito a figurehead leader – he let military run the country (right into WWII)
Leaders envisioned vast Pacific empire
To provide raw materials, markets, & living space
Japan invades Manchuria (1931) – northern province of China
Seeking Oil, coal, iron needed by Japan
League of Nations protested but did nothing

11. 1937 – Japan invaded China China torn by a civil war
Japanese better armed than Chinese
Japanese committed atrocities
Nearly 200,000 people executed in Nanking
Known as The Rape of Nanking
1937 – Japanese planes bomb U.S. gunboat Panay in China
The Panay Incident
U.S. demands that Japan leave China
U.S. begins building Pacific fleet
Later will use economic warfare against JPN

12. Japanese officers engaged in contests to see who could sever the most heads in a given amount of time, using their katana swords.

13. The Path to War - Europe Spanish Civil War 1936-1939
Nationalist rebels led by Francisco Franco
Get help from Germany & Italy
Spanish govt. aided by USSR & U.S. volunteers
Guernica – city destroyed by German bombing
SCW a testing ground for troops before WWII
Picasso’s “Guernica”

14. Missed Opportunities Hitler had always vowed to undo T of V
Saw JPN & IT challenge L of N w/out response
3/35 – Hitler defied T of V – expanded army
Lack of strong reaction by GB, FR, or L of N encouraged Hitler to take greater risks
3/7/36 – remilitarized Rhineland
Violation of T of V & Locarno Treaty
Hitler & generals thought France would fight back
FR unwilling to fight & GB urged appeasement
Hitler would have backed down if challenged
Encouraged Hitler to go further

15. Ever-bolder & Pushing On
Oct – Rome-Berlin Axis formed
Japan joins later
March 1938 – Anschluss with Austria
Forbidden by T of V
Supported by nationalists in both countries
Aust. Govt. not given much choice – intimidated
German army enters Aust. unapposed – Hitler greeted as a hero
League complains but does nothing

16. German Troops Enter Austria
Hitler & Mussolini
German Troops Enter Austria

17. The Sudetenland (1938)
A region of Czechoslovakia that was ethnically German
Mountainous, well defended, and mineral rich
Czechoslovakia's only real defense
Hitler threatened to annex the Sudetenland
Czechs had alliances with French and Soviets
Neither wanted to fight
Sept. 1938, Hitler demands to annex Sudetenland
Munich Conference held to settle issue

18. The Sudetenland

19. The Munich Pact
Meeting attended by Hitler, Mussolini, Neville Chamberlain (GB) & Edouard Daladier (FR)
USSR & Czechs not present
Munich Pact gives Sudetenland to Hitler on his promise to make "no further territorial demands"
Policy of giving in to dictators demands called Appeasement
Chamberlain returns to Britain claiming "Peace in our time"
Calls Hitler an honorable man

21. Hungry Lions April 1939, Hitler takes all of Czechoslovakia
Chamberlain looks like a fool
GB & FR abandon Czech but promise to defend Poland
1939 – Italy takes Albania – no action by L of N
Aug – Nazi-Soviet Pact signed
Completely unexpected – both hated each other
Secretly negotiated
Deal provides Stalin time to build army
Allows Hitler to avoid 2 front war

22. Nazi-Soviet Pact A non-aggression pact
Secret deals include division of Poland and Baltic countries of Latvia, Lithuania, & Estonia
Stalin would get land back for USSR
Hitler would get Lebensraum (living space)
Appeasement and the Nazi-Soviet Pact sealed Poland's fate
Sept. 1, Germany launches Blitzkrieg on Poland
France & Britain declare war Sept. 3, 1939