World War II, Part 1:
The Rise of Dictators
and the Beginning of
the War
Goal 10
Essential Idea
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The rise of Hitler and his ignoring of the
Treaty of Versailles led to World War II.
World Safe for Democracy?
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Woodrow Wilson’s
Foreign Policy:
Moral Diplomacy –
spread democracy to
other governments
The Treaty of Versailles
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The Treaty of Versailles and the Great
Depression:
Due to the Treaty of Versailles and the
Great Depression, many governments fell
to dictatorships
Italy
Dictator: Benito Mussolini
Mussolini’s Beliefs: Fascism –
aggressive nationalistic movement
that considered the state to be
more important than individuals
What Italians were afraid of:
Italians and other Europeans
feared the spread of communism
Mussolini’s Blackshirts
Mussolini’s Actions in 1922:
 Marched on Rome with a Fascist militia
called the Blackshirts
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Mussolini Takes Power
Mussolini’s Actions:
 Claiming to protect Italy
against communism,
Mussolini became dictator
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Japan vs. China (again)
Japanese Response to the
Great Depression:
Military leaders thought the
cure for the depression was
to expand territory and get
more resources
Japan’s Actions in 1931:
Invaded Manchuria, which
was a region in China
Soviet Union
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Dictator: Josef Stalin
Stalin and Industry:
He industrialized the
Soviet Union, raising steel
production from 4 to 18
million tons
The Abuses of Stalin
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Stalin and Farmers:
Stalin combined private farms into government-run collectives
Famers who did not particpate:
Died of starvation
The Abuses of Stalin
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Opposition to Stalin:
Stalin did not tolerate opposition
Stalin used concentration camps in the Arctic to force dissenters
into slave labor
Stalin killed between 8 and 10 million people (more than Hitler)
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Germany
Dictator: Adolf Hitler
German Response to
the Treaty of Versailles:
Many Germans hated
the Allies
The Nazi Party
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The Nazi Party:
Political party that was nationalistic and anti-communist
Nazis were anti-Semitic, meaning they hated Jews
Hitler Arrested
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Hitler in 1923:
Hitler tried to overthrow the
local government in Munich
(Germany) and was arrested
Mein Kampf
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What Hitler did in prison:
Wrote the book “Mein Kampf”
(My Struggle)
He called for the reunification of
Germany
He described a “master race” of
blue-eyed, blond-haired Aryans
He blamed Jews for losing World
War I
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German Desperation
Effect of Depression on
German politics:
People got desperate and
voted the Nazis into power
Hitler Becomes Leader
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What happned once
Nazis got power:
They named Hitler
dictator (Der Fuhrer)
Hitler began rebuilding
the German military
The Axis Powers
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Americans are Discouraged:
The rise of dictators and militarism made
many Americans feel that World War I
was fought in vain
Dictatorships Join Forces:
Italy, Japan, and Germany joined to form
the Axis Powers
Americans Support Isolationism
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American Response:
Americans favored Isolationism
Neutrality Act of 1935 – made it illegal to
sell arms to countries at war
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What does the bed
on the left represent?
The bed on the right?
What is wrong in
Europe?
What is the message
of the cartoonist?
Can you recognize
this cartoonist?
America Sides with China
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FDR’s Response to China vs.
Japan:
FDR authroized the sale of
arms to China
Getting around the Neutrality
Act:
The Neutrality Act was not
violated because neither side
had declared war
Consequences of FDR’s
Actions:
Tension rose between Japan
and the United States
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What does the
man represent?
Where is the
boat likely
headed?
What is Dr.
Seuss saying?
Hitler Gets Bolder
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Hitler’s Action #1:
Hitler began rebuilding
the Germany military
(violating the Treaty of
Versailles)
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What is the difference between Germany prior to WWI and after the
Treaty of Versailles?
Were the new borders drawn according to ethnicities or national
identities?
What countries might Hitler want to invade in order to get “old Germany”
back?
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Breaking the Treaty of Versailles
Hitler’s Action
#2:
Hitler moved
troops into the
Rhineland, which
was an area
between France
and Germany (a
demilitarized
zone)
German-Austrian Unification
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Hitler’s Action #3:
Anschluss – Hitler sent
troops into Austria, which
had many German
speaking citizens
Hitler declared the
unification of Germany
and Austria
Hitler Wants More
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Hitler’s Action #4:
Hitler announced
that he wanted the
Sudetenland,
which was a
German-speaking
area of
Czechoslovakia
Munich Conference
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Munich Conference:
Leaders of Britain, France, and Italy met with Hitler to discuss
Czechoslovakia’s fate and try to avoid war
Appeasement
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Appeasement:
To keep peace, Britain and
France gave in to Hitler’s
demands
Britain’s Prime Minister,
Neville Chamberlain,
famously declared peace
had been maintained
The Non-Aggression Pact
Hitler’s Action #5:
 Non-Aggression Pact – Hitler and Stalin
agreed not to fight, which made Hitler bold
enough to claim Poland
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Who is the
groom?
 Who is the
bride?
 What does
the cartoonist
wonder?
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Hitler Demands Danzig
Hitler’s Action #6:
 Hitler demanded
Danzig, a German
city in Poland
 September 1, 1939
– Hitler Invaded
Poland
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Hitler Invades Poland
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Would Hitler have been as likely to invade countries if the Treaty of Versailles
had redrawn borders according to nationalism?
War!
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Result: Britain and France declared war and World War II began
How has Chamberlain’s tone changed?
What would happen if Germany did not agree to leave Poland?
Did Germany leave Poland?
What is the consequence?
Blitzkrieg
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Blitzkrieg:
A German strategy, meaning “lightening
war”
Large numbers of tanks would quickly
break enemy lines
Tanks were supported by airplanes
dropping bombs and paratroopers
Blitzkrieg
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Poland fell in a month
France made the mistake of waiting for Germany to come to them
(“Sitzkrieg”)
Miracle at Dunkirk
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Miracle at Dunkirk:
Germany overwhelmed French and British troops in France
French and British troops were forced back to the port city of Dunkirk
The new British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, asked all ships
(commercial and military) to help evacuate the troops
•850 ships of all sizes evacuated 338,000 troops before Germans arrived
•France fell to Germany
France Falls
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France Falls
(Full screen
video)
Battle of Britain
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Battle of Britian:
Fought in the air
between Britain’s Royal
Air Force and
Germany’s Luftwaffe
Hitler bombed London’s
civilians instead of
military targets
Excerpt from Churchill’s Speech, summing
up the endurance of the British
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"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France,
we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight
with growing confidence and growing strength in the
air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost
may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight
on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields
and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall
never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a
moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were
subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond
the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet,
would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good
time, the New World, with all its power and might,
steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
"
Hitler Backs Off
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Britain used a new
technology, radar, to
fight back despite being
outnumbered
Hitler was forced to
cancel his invasion of
Britain