1. The Rise of Hitler and Lead- up to WW2

2. In 1914-would have been worth approximately $12 Million US; 9 years later when printed was approximately equal to $1US, and entirely worthless a few weeks later.

3. Germany during the interwar… Was weak (economy and military and government) The government– called the “Weimer Republic”– had internal flaws –People within this government were anti- Semitic and nationalistic Germans were frustrated and resentful They were desperate for strong leadership and a change in their current situation

4. Enter…Adolf Hitler In the 1920s, Hitler published Mein Kampf (meaning “my struggle”) –It introduced Hitler to a wider audience –It introduced his political platform, in a way By the early 1930s, Hitler played a key role in the government In 1933, he was appointed Chancellor At first he lead a bi-partisan gov’t but then he began to change things…

5. Germany 1933-1939 During the 1930s, Hitler and his Nazi Party started to transform Germany Disobeyed Treaty of Versailles –He began building-up a strong military (militarism) –Pulled out of League of Nations!! League of Nations ultimately fails (with no power to enforce its policies/peace-keeping) Recruited people into his army –“Hitler Youth”, for example In 1938, Hitler annexed (peacefully) Austria. –What did this foreshadow?

6. Appeasement Meanwhile… Great Britain is trying to “appease” (calm down and even IGNORE) Germany British P.M. Neville Chamberlin, at first, made appeasement his official foreign policy “Appeasement is a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor ”

7. The Century clip on rise of Hitler

8. Meanwhile… In Japan Japan had been building up its military throughout the interwar period. In 1933, they withdrew from of the League of Nations. Late 1930’s-1941 – Japan began to attack European colonies in Asia  French Indochina  Dutch East Indies  British Singapore In response – Europe/US stopped selling iron ore, steel and oil to Japan  Japan viewed embargo as act of aggression

10. Back in Europe…The Start of the War! WWII officially began when Hitler (Germany) invaded Poland in 1939

11. Allied Powers Great Britain Soviet Union France

12. Axis Powers Nazi Germany Japan Italy