1. Semester 2 Week 1

2. 1919, Mussolini founded Italy’s Fascist Party. Fascism - aggressive nationalism Fascists believed: the nation was more important than the individual a nation became great by expanding its territory & building up its military pledged to return Italy to the glories of the Roman Empire Through intimidation & terror w/ his “Black Shirts”, Fascists gangs ousted elected officials in N’rn Italy 1922, thousands of Fascists marched on Rome Fearing a civil war, King Victor Emmanuel III asked Mussolini to form a gov’t & become PM Once in office, Mussolini worked quickly to destroy democracy & set up a dictatorship

3. HIS RISE Hitler had fought & wounded in WWI Germany’s surrender & signing of the Versailles Treaty left him & many other Germans hating the Allies & the German gov’t that accepted the peace terms National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or the Nazi Party 11/1923, Nazis tried to seize power by marching on city hall in Munich, but the plan failed & Hitler was arrested MEIN KAMPF While in prison, wrote autobiography, Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”) called for the unification of all Germans under one gov’t claimed that Germans, particularly blond, blue-eyed Germans, belonged to a “master race” called Aryans argued that Germans needed more lebensraum, or living space; called for Germany to expand east into Poland & Russia Hitler’s prejudice was strongest toward Jews believed that Jews were responsible for many of the world’s problems, especially for Germany’s defeat in WWI

4. focused on getting Nazis elected to the Reichstag, the lower house of the German parliament When the Great Depression struck Germany, many desperate Germans began to vote for radical parties, including the Nazis & Communists 1932, the Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag 1933, appointed as chancellor, or prime minister called for new elections; After the election, the Reichstag, dominated by the Nazis & other right- wing parties, voted to give Hitler dictatorial powers 1934, gave himself the new title of Furher, or “leader.” began to rebuild Germany’s military, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles

5. During the Spanish Civil War, Hitler & Mussolini signed an agreement Known as the Rome-Berlin Axis 9/1940, Japan aligned itself w/ Germany & Italy when signing the Tripartite Pact; group now known as Axis Powers required the countries to exchange information about Communist groups

6. 3/1938, Hitler sent troops into Austria & announced the Anschluss, or unification, of Austria & Germany Shortly after Germany annexed Austria, Hitler announced German claims to the Sudetenland, an area of Czechoslovakia w/ a large German-speaking population France threatened to fight if Germany attacked, & USSR also promised assistance

7. Austria the Sudetenland Czechoslovakia

8. MUNICH CONFERENCE 9/29/1938, GB & France agreed to Hitler’s demands, a policy that came to be known as appeasement Appeasement - policy of giving concessions in exchange for peace They felt that if they gave Hitler what he wanted, he would be satisfied & war would be avoided Czechoslovakia was informed that it must give up the Sudetenland or fight Germany on its own 3/1939, Germany sent troops into Czechoslovakia & broke up the country FALSE BELIEFS Europe’s leaders had several reasons for believing that Hitler could be satisfied & war avoided: 1. WWI; making many leaders fearful of another conflict 2. Hitler’s demand to have all German-speaking regions back was reasonable 3. thought Nazis would be interested in peace when they got more territory

9. 10/1938, wanted the Danzig; Baltic Sea port w/ 90% German population, to German control Hitler’s demands on Poland convinced GB & French that appeasement had failed 3/31/1939, GB announced that if Poland went to war to defend its territory, GB & France would come to its aid 8/23/1939, Germany & USSR signed a nonaggression pact Hitler had made the deal to free himself from war against USSR There was a secret deal between Germany & USSR to divide Poland between them 9/1/1939, Germany invaded Poland from the west & the Soviets from the east; Poland falls in 5 weeks 9/3, GB & France declared war on Germany, starting of WWII

10. After WWI, the French had built a line of concrete bunkers & fortifications called the Maginot Line along the German border Germans invaded the Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg 1st before going around the Line GB & French forces raced into Belgium; this was a mistake The Germans easily smashed through French lines, then raced west across N’rn France to the English Channel GB & French armies trapped in Belgium 6/22/1940, Hitler accepted the French surrender in the same railway car in which the Germans had surrendered at the end of WWI Germany now occupied France; installed a puppet gov’t at the town of Vichy & made Marshal Philippe Petain the new gov’t’s figurehead leader

12. TAKE OUT A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER NUMBER 1-5

13. 1. This is aggressive nationalism ? 2. What did Hitler argue that Germany needed more of? 3. During what event during Hitler & Mussolini sign into an alliance? 4. This is a policy of giving concessions in exchange for peace. 5. What did the French built at the German border in the hopes that the Germans would not invade France again?