The Gathering Storm: The
Road to WWII
An Interactive Internet Activity
The Objective
1. This Power Point takes you through a timeline of events in
the 1930s that lay out the road to America’s eventual
entrance into WWII.
2. White slides explain events occurring in the world;
blue slides depict what was going on at the same time
in the United States.
3. Some of the information should be familiar to you.
However, this activity is designed to help you put
everything together in context and chronological order,
combining world events with what was happening back
home in America.
4. When you get to slides with RED text, you will find
small additional tasks designed to add to and more
fully develop the timeline. Answer each of the
questions as thoroughly as possible in bullet point
form. You will be called upon to share your slides in
class.
1930: In the World
• Great Depression has hit Germany hard
• 1930 was a Reichstag (parliamentary)
election year
• Hitler and the Nazi Party promises work to
the unemployed, prosperity to failed
business people, profits to industry,
expansion to the Army, social harmony and
an end of class distinctions to idealistic
young students, and restoration of German
glory to those in despair.
Hitler Promises Work
Hitler visits a factory and is enthusiastically greeted.
Many Germans were grateful for jobs after the misery of
he depression years.
1930: In the World
• On election day September 14, 1930,
the Nazis received 6,371,000 votes,
over 18% of the total, and were thus
entitled to 107 seats in the German
Reichstag.
• Overnight, the Nazi party went from the
smallest to the second largest party in
Germany.
1931: In the World (Japan)
• Japan was growing
overpopulated
• Manchuria was rich in
minerals, forests, farm
land: the perfect
solution to their
problems
• Sept. 18: Japanese
army invades the
Chinese territory of
Manchuria, establishing
a puppet government
and renaming it
“Manchukuo”
1932: In the World
• Hitler runs for President against 85 year old
Paul von Hindenburg: his slogan was
“Freedom and Bread”
• Hitler got over 11 million votes or 30% of the
total; Hindenburg got over 18 million votes or
49%, leading to run-off.
• April 10, 1932 run-off: Hitler won 36%, and
Hindenburg won 53%, winning another 7 year
term.
• Hitler LOST!
1933: In the World
• Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor on
January 30
•
Why? Look at the last few paragraphs of this page:
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/collapse.htm
• Massive fire at the Reichstag (Parliament)
building, February 28, 1933
• Enabling Act passed on March 23, 1933
How did these two laws help Hitler?
•
•
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933
How did life change for Germany’s Jews when
Hitler came to power? What laws were
instituted?
•
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/index.php?ModuleId=10005681
1933 in America
• March 4: Franklin D.
Roosevelt sworn in as
President of the United
States
• “We have nothing to fear but
fear itself.”
• Unemployment rate over
25% in the U.S.
1934: In the World
• Hitler begins a massive arms build-up, in
violation of the Treaty of Versailles
• August 19: Hitler becomes Fuhrer of Germany
• September: Nuremberg Nazi Party Day
1934: In America
• A special committee led by Senator Gerald Nye
begins Senate hearings into the involvement of
banks and corporations in financing WWI and
supplying arms to Allies; hearings continue for 3
years
• The majority of Americans begin to believe that
weapons makers and bankers were primarily
responsible for getting the U.S. into WWI: weapons
makers are called “merchants of death”
• Widespread isolationist sentiment grows in America
1935: In the World
• Hitler announces a plan to build a 500,000 man army, also
in violation of the Treaty of Versailles
1935: In the World
• Hitler and the Nazis announce the
Nuremberg Laws
• October 3: Italy invades Ethiopia in the
hopes of building Mussolini’s “New
Roman Empire;” it takes Italy seven
months to conquer a country fighting
with spears and 19th century rifles!
• Hitler and Mussolini believe that the
democracies are weak and powerless
to stop them!
Map of Mussolini’s Conquests
What were the Nuremberg Laws, and how did
they change life for German Jews?
• http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/nurlaws.h
tml
1935 in America
• FDR reluctantly signs the first Neutrality Act,
preventing U.S. companies and banks from
selling arms or loaning money to warring
nations (this act was a direct response to
Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia)
• A best-selling book in the U.S.: The Road to
War, 1914-1917; first in a long line of books
arguing that the U.S. was dragged into WWI
by banks and corporations; other anti-war
books are best-sellers (All Quiet on the
Western Front, etc.)
1936: In the World
•
•
•
May 7: Germany remilitarizes
the Rhineland, which borders
France, in violation of the
Treaty of Versailles
Berlin-Rome Axis created:
alliance between Germany
and Italy
Germany hosts the 1936
Summer Olympics in Berlin
Germany and the Rhineland
The Spanish Civil War…
• Mussolini and Hitler send
troops, weapons, and money
to Fascist Francisco Franco
• Fascists engage in massive
bombing of civilian
populations (the first time in
human history)
• Loyalists supporting the
democratic government in
Spain receive no help from
U.S. due to Neutrality Act!
What were the “Abraham Lincoln Brigades”
that fought in the Spanish Civil War?
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_Brigade
Famous Spanish painter Pablo Picasso’s most famous painting was
called Guernica. Here it is! Why did Picasso make this painting, and
what connection does it have to this era of history?
• http://www.pbs.org/treasur
esoftheworld/guernica/gm
ain.html
What was the outcome of the Spanish Civil War when it
ended in 1939?
• http://www.answers.com/topic/spanish-civil-war
Watch this entire online exhibit. Explain how Hitler used the 1936
Olympics to his benefit. Videos in upper tight corner.
•
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympics/
1936: In America
• FDR reluctantly signs The Neutrality
Act of 1936, closing the loopholes in
the 1935 Act by prohibiting trade in war
materials (steel and oil) as well as loans
or credits to belligerents.
1937: In the World
• Japan invades China, murdering 300,000 in
The Rape of Nanking. The U.S. sends loans
to China but does not get militarily involved
(7 million total Chinese killed)
• Japan attacks an American ship: the Panay
1937: In the World
• Hitler declares his desire for lebensraum, or living
space for his “master race.” He announces his
intention to get it through territorial expansion.
What was the U.S. response to the Panay
incident in 1937?
• http://www.answers.com/topic/panay-incident
1937: In America
• 70% of Americans polled believed that the
U.S. should have stayed out of WWI and felt
it was a mistake.
• Neutrality Acts of 1937: further tightened
restrictions on aiding warring nations and
made it illegal to travel on the ships of
nations at war; FDR signs it, once again,
reluctantly.
• FDR gives his famous “quarantine speech”
(see next slide)
What did FDR mean by “quarantine?”
• http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/resources/do
cuments/ch29_03.htm
1938 in the world
• Mar. 28: Germany annexes Austria peacefully in
the Anschluss (union) without a single shot
fired!
• Sept. 29-30: Munich Conference: Great Britain,
France, Italy, and Germany sign a pact allowing
Hitler to annex the Sudetenland region of
Czechoslovakia- Hitler promises that he will
make no further demands for territory
• Nov. 9-10: Kristallnacht
How did Hitler take control of Austria, without firing a single
shot?
• http://www.historyplace.com/wor
ldwar2/triumph/tr-austria.htm
Why was British Prime Minister Chamberlain blamed for
“appeasement?” What does this word mean in
reference to Munich?
• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet
.co.uk/2WWappeasement.htm
What was Kristallnacht? Why was it considered a
turning point? Write a summary and find two
pictures.
•
http://www.ushmm.org/museum/e
xhibit/online/kristallnacht/frame.h
tm
1938: In America
• Isolationist, anti-war organizations begin to
form: America First Committee, led by
Charles Lindbergh
• Congressman Louis Ludlow proposes a
constitutional amendment requiring a
national vote before ever going to war!
• 75% of Americans do not want to allow more
Jewish exiles into the US
Why was Charles Lindbergh America’s most famous
celebrity? What were his beliefs about the war?
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/a
mex/lindbergh/sfeature/fall
en.html
Please carefully examine each
of the next five slides, which
each have a photograph.
Study them closely, and type in
what you think is going on in
each picture.
1939: In the World
• Mar. 15: Hitler takes over the rest of
Czechoslovakia, in violation of the Munich Pact
• Aug.: Hitler and Stalin sign a non-aggression
treaty, agreeing to divide up Poland between the
two powers
• Sept. 1: Germany invades Poland; World War II
officially begins.
• Sept. 3: Great Britain and France declare war on
Germany, fulfilling treaty obligations.
• Sept. 17: Stalin marches into Poland from the
east- he and Hitler divide it.
Analyze this 1939 cartoon carefully. What is the
message of this cartoon?
1939: In America
• FDR submits a $1.3 billion defense budget,
saying that “Hitler and Mussolini were
madmen who respected force and force
alone”
• Neutrality Act of 1939 passed: allowed sale
of weapons to Britain, France, and China on
a “cash and carry” basis (countries that want
to buy weapons must use their own ships
and pay cash- no credit!)
1940: In the World
• May 10: German Blitzkrieg (lightning war) begins in
Europe
• Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
• Within ONE MONTH, Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium,
and Luxembourg all fall to Nazis.
• June 22: France surrenders to Hitler.
• July 10: Battle of Britain begins. “The Blitz” unleashed
on London and other major cities.
• Aug 1: Japan announces plan to build an Asian empire:
the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere: “Asia for
Asians”
• Sept 27: Japan, Italy, and Germany sign Tripartite Pact,
creating the “Axis”
What are the terms of the Tripartite Pact? Summarize them
below.
• http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ww2/tripartite.
html
Hitler takes Paris
The Blitz in London
The Blitz Continues
The Tubes
1940: In America
• July: Despite the raging war in Europe, FDR
•
•
•
•
promises Americans that he will not send your
boys to any foreign wars”
July: “Destroyers for bases” deal gives 50
destroyers to Britain in exchange for the rights
to eight bases in the Caribbean
Sept.: Selective Service Act passed: first
peacetime draft ever; 16 million registered
FDR wins reelection
Dec. 29: FDR calls upon Americans to become
“the arsenal of democracy”
1941: In the World
•
•
•
Japan invades Indochina; the
U.S. embargoes metal and
gas shipments to Japan (80%
of Japan’s gas came from the
US)
Oct. 18: General Hideki Tojo
becomes the Premier of
Japan
Will Japan stop plans to
conquer Asia expansion or go
to war with the U.S.? Plans
are made for a Pearl Harbor
attack!
1941: In America
• Lend-Lease Act is passed: FDR given the
power to sell or lease arms to Britain and
Soviet Union; Germans use U-boats to attack
ships
• July 26: FDR freezes trade with Japan,
including oil
• Dec. 7: Japan bombs U.S. base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii: America is at war. The day
that “will live in infamy.”
• U.S. and G.B. declare war on Japan,
Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S.
What were the “Four Freedoms” guaranteed in the Atlantic
Charter written by FDR and Churchill? These were the four goals
of the Allied forces in the war, the four goals that they wanted to
meet.
• http://www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/workbook/ralpr
s36b.htm
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•
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Freedom of
Freedom of
Freedom from
Freedom from
Pearl Harbor: Day of Infamy 12/7/41