1. Modern World History Aggressors Invade Nations
Chapter 15, Section 4

2. Agenda To Get: To Do: Guided notes from the back shelf Opener: Review
Lecture: Aggressors Invade Nations - Europe
Activities: Winston Churchill Quote
20TH Century Video and Quiz

3. Opener Review:
What country was the first to violate the conditions of the League of Nations?
Some historians consider the start of WWI to be in 1931 instead of 1939 – what action makes 1931 significant?
Why did the country from answer #1 want to expand its borders?
What did Mao Zedong do that made him a popular leader of China following WWII?
Explain the meaning
of the image:

5. 1. European Aggressors March
League’s failure to stop the Japanese encouraged European Fascists to plan aggression of their own
Mussolini dreamed of building an Italian colonial empire in Africa like Britain and France
Hitler and Stalin wanted to expand territory of Germany and Russia

6. 2. Mussolini Attacks Ethiopia
Ethiopia had remained independent
Mussolini attacked to avenge failed colony of the 1890s
The Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, urgently appealed to the League for help
The League condemned the attack, but did nothing
Britain controlled the Suez Canal but allowed Italy access to keep the peace

7. 3. Hitler Defies Treaty of Versailles
Hitler had pledged to undo Treaty of Versailles
limited size of German army
March announced they would not obey restrictions
League issued a mild condemnation
Hitler then re-militarized the Rhineland which was supposed to be a buffer between France and Germany

8. 4. Re-arming the Rhineland Major turning point in the march toward war
strengthened Hitler’s power and prestige within Germany
balance of power changed in Germany’s favor
France and Belgium were now open to attack
weak response by France and Britain encouraged Hitler to speed up his expansion
France

9. 5. Appeasing the Axis Powers
However stunned by German actions, French and British were unwilling to risk war, instead they followed the route of appeasement – giving in to an aggressor to keep peace
Hitler’s growing strength convinced Mussolini that he should seek an alliance with Germany
October 1936, both dictators reached an agreement known as the Rome-Berlin Axis, of which later Japan joined = Axis Powers

10. Spanish Civil War lasted for three years
6. Civil War in Spain
Spain remained a monarchy until 1931, when a republic was declared and the government, run by liberals and Socialists
July 1936, army leaders, favoring a Fascist-style government, joined General Francisco Franco in a revolt
Spanish Civil War lasted for three years
Francisco Franco

11. 7. Foreign Aid: Spanish Civil War
Hitler and Mussolini sent troops, tanks, and airplanes to help Franco’s Nationalist forces
The armed forces of the Republicans received little help from abroad
Western democracies remained neutral
Only Soviet Union sent equipment and advisers
International volunteers fought on the Republican side
1939, Republican resistance collapsed and Franco became Spain’s Fascist dictator

12. 8. Democratic Nations Try to Preserve Peace
In the 1930s, Britain and France repeatedly made concessions, hoping to keep peace, rather than risk war with Fascist aggression
Both nations were dealing with serious economic problems as a result of the Great Depression
Horrors of World War I created a
deep desire to avoid war

13. 9. U.S. Follows an Isolationist Policy
Many Americans supported isolationism, the belief that political ties to other countries should be avoided.
Isolationists argued that entry into World War I had been a costly error
Beginning in 1935, Congress passed three Neutrality Acts, which banned loans and the sale of arms to nations at war

14. 10. German Reich Expands
November 5, 1937, Hitler announces plans to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich , or German Empire
Treaty of Versailles prohibited union between Austria and Germany
Many Austrians supported unity with Germany
March 1938, Hitler sent army to annex Austria
France and Britain ignored their pledge to protect Austrian independence

15. This area formed the Czechs’ main defense against Germany
11. Czechoslovakia
3 million German-speaking people lived in the western border regions - Sudetenland
This area formed the Czechs’ main defense against Germany
Hitler stoked pro-Nazi feelings among Sudeten Germans
September 1938, Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland be given to Germany; Czechs refused and appealed to France for help
AUSTRIA

16. 12. Munich Conference
September 29, 1938
Mussolini proposed a meeting of Germany, France, Britain, and Italy in Munich, Germany; Czechs were not invited
British PM, Neville Chamberlain, believed he could preserve peace by giving in to Hitler’s demand
Britain and France agreed that Hitler could take the Sudetenland
In exchange, Hitler pledged to respect Czechoslovakia’s new borders

17. 13. Britain and France Again Choose Appeasement
Chamberlain boasted, “I believe it is peace for our time.”
Winston Churchill, then a member of Parliament, strongly disagreed with appeasement and warned of its consequences:
“We are in the presence of a disaster of the first magnitude we have sustained a defeat without a war And do not suppose that this is the end This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless, by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigor, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.”
WINSTON CHURCHILL, speech before the House of Commons, October 5, 1938

18. 14. Germany Takes Czechoslovakia
6 months after the Munich meeting, Hitler took Czechoslovakia
Mussolini seized Albania
Hitler demanded that Poland return the former German port of Danzig
Poles refused and turned to Britain and France for aid
Appeasement had convinced Hitler that neither nation would risk war

19. Video Questions America in the 20th Century World War II:
The Road to War