1. Depression and the Rise of Fascism
interwar years
Depression and the Rise of Fascism

2. WWII: Long-term FACTORS
Treaty of Versailles (1919)
League of Nations (1920)
Depression (1920s-1930s)
Rise of Fascist Dictatorships (1920s-1930s)

3. Treaty of versailles
What was this?
How did it lead to WWII?

4. treaty of versailles
Treaty between Germany and the Allied Powers after WWI
Germany had to accept blame for starting the war.
Germany had to pay $33 billion USD in reparations for the damage done during the war.
Germany was forbidden to have submarines or an air force. Their navy was limited to six battleships and their army to just 100,000 men. Germany could not plan any troops in the Rhineland (the strip of land next to France.)
Germany lost territory in Europe and all colonies were given to Britain and France.

5. league of nations
Why was the League weak? It had no “teeth” – couldn’t enforce any of its declarations with military strength.

6. league of nations
Why was the League weak? U.S. did not join – lacked international legitimacy.

7. worldwide depression begins in germany
1920s-1930s (U.S.: 1929)
Germany currency loses value after they lose WWI
Germany prints more and more money to pay reparations hyperinflation
Why would this lead to WWII?
At some points prices doubled every 4 years!
Loaf of bread – in January cost 250 Marks; by November (same year) it cost 200 billion Marks!
People negotiated the price of a meal in advance because by the time the food would arrive, the price would have already increased.

8. rise of dictatorships
Hideki Tojo becomes Prime Minister of Japan (1941)
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany (1933)
Mussolini becomes Prime Minister of Italy (1922)

9. what is fascism?
Give students handout (Communism vs. Fascism Chart)

10. causes of WWII (1930s) Appeasement by Europe and the United States
Appeasement: to give in or allow something to happen in order to “keep the peace”
Aggression by Germany

11. appeasement
Appeasement – Britain and France wanted to avoid war so they continually give in to Hitler’s demands
Britain – realized the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh towards Germany and was sympathetic
France – would not do anything without Britain
U.S. – dealing with the Great Depression and trying to return to its isolationist stance
Russia – undergoing the “Great Purge” under Stalin
Consequence: Hitler becomes confident that the Allies were weak and would not fight – no matter what he does

12. AGGRESSION
Germany needs lebensraum (“living space”) to build its civilization of the “Master Race”
1936 – reoccupies the demilitarized Rhineland
1938 – annexes Austria
1938 – Munich Pact gives Germany control of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
*High point of Western appeasement: Pact signed by Britain and France
Chamberlain (Britain): “The agreement establishes peace for our time.”
1939 – signs a nonaggression pact with USSR (and agree to divide Poland between the two countries)
1939 – invasion of Poland
Official beginning of WWII: September 1, 1939
Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”)

14. The Deadliest Conflict in Human History
World War II
WWII begins in Europe
U.S. and Japan enter war
WWII ends
The Deadliest Conflict in Human History

15. Key Players Allied Powers Axis Powers Britain
Chamberlin – early/appeasement
Churchill – later/aggressive
Germany (Hitler)
France (de Gaulle)
Italy (Mussolini)
U.S. (FDR)
Japan (Tojo)
Soviet Union (Stalin)
China (fighting a war against Japan – their war gets pulled into WWII)
15+ other countries…

16. European theater

17. Pacific theater

18. the war (overview) 1940 – The Axis advances
1941 – The War becomes global (U.S. and Japan enter)
1942 – Axis advance is stopped by the Allies
1943 – Axis retreats
1944 – Allies close in on Axis territory
1945 – Axis collapses

19. 1940 axis advances May-June 1940 – Battle of France
3/5 of France is conquered by the Axis
September 1940 – May 1941 – The Blitz
German bombing of the United Kingdom
Bombing every night for 57 days straight
1 million houses destroyed
40,000 civilians killed

20. 1941 war becomes global
June 1941 – Germany breaks pact with USSR and invades Soviet Union
(Hitler convinced that the only reason Britain was remaining in the war was because they were hoping for Soviet support.)
December 7, 1941 – Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
US enters WWII
Japanese simultaneously attacked across the Pacific and creates the Greater East-Asia Co-prosperity Sphere (ruled by Japan)

22. 1942 Axis advance stopped Japan loses series of battles in the Pacific
Battle of Midway (June 1942)
(DE Video)
Germany halted in the Soviet Union
Did not learn lesson from Napoleon – invading Russia is never a good idea!
No winter uniforms
Supply line stretched thousands of miles
Battle of Stalingrad
Germans surrounded and cut off in frigid winter conditions – the best of the German troops (German Sixth Army) forced to surrender

23. 1943 axis retreats
Allies agree to fight until the Axis Powers surrender unconditionally
May 1943 – Axis troops surrender in North Africa
July 1943 – Soviet counteroffensive into eastern Europe
September 1943 – Allied invasion of Italy
Mussolini removed from office

24. 1944 Allies close in June 6, 1944 – D-Day – Allied invasion of France
2 million men and 500,000 vehicles landed in France and pushed inland
August 1944 – Allies liberate Paris
December 1944 – January 1945 – Allied victory at the Battle of the Bulge

25. 1945 axis collapses
March 1945 – Allies cross the Rhine River into Germany and link up with the Soviets
April 28, 1945 – Mussolini shot by resistance fighters
April 30, 1945 – Hitler commits suicide
May 7, 1945 – Germany surrenders
Japanese continue to fight in the Pacific
August 1945 – U.S. drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
September 1945 – Japan surrenders

26. Wwii deaths Country Military Civilian Total China 3-4 million
France
217,600
350,000
567,600
Germany
5.5 million
million
million
Italy
301,400
153,200
454,600
Japan
2.1 million
0.5-1 million
million
Soviet Union
million
million
23.4 million
United Kingdom
383,800
67,100
450,900
United States
416,800
1,700
418,500
TOTAL
million
37-54 million
62-78 million

27. Major consequences of the war
Deadliest conflict in human history
Cost of war caused the decline of European power – decolonization in Asia and Africa
United Nations (UN) created to replace the League and prevent a future conflict
U.S. and Soviet Union emerge as the two superpowers – leading to the Cold War