Warm Up: How did the Fascist
Dictators of Europe come to power?

WWII

1. Militarizing in the Rhineland
– Treaty of Versailles prevented Germany from putting military in a portion of the border between France and Germany

– Hitler breaks treaty and puts military along the border
– France didn’t like this but did not want to go to war

2. The Anschluss
– Hitler wanted the country of Austria to unite into one country with Germany
– This was called Anschluss
– Austrian Government refuses
– Hitler sends in troops and takes Austria

3. Sudetenland
– Hitler wanted to take a portion of
Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland
– This portion was filled with German speaking people.

– He threatened military attack
– French and British heads of state met with
Hitler and allowed him to take this area and avoid war. (appeasement)

1. Taking all of Czechoslovakia
– March 1939, Hitler sends troops into the rest of the country
– Takes it over without any fight
2. Attack on Poland
– Germany wanted to expand into more of
Eastern Europe
– September 1, 1939: Germany launches major invasion of Poland

– The German Blitzkrieg (lightening war) swept through the country
– Poland fell after one month

3. Allies Declare War
– France and Britain declare war on Germany
– Do not attack Germany but wait for Hitler to make his next move

1. Netherlands and Belgium Falls
– May 1940: Germans make their way to
France through the Netherlands and
Belgium
– Germans met by French, British, and
Belgian troops
– Germans pushed these troops back and capture both countries

2. Fall of France
– Hitler’s troops moved into France in two places
– Surprise attack through the Ardennes forest sweeps towards Paris.

– By the end of June France surrendered to
Germany
– Germany splits France in half
– One part occupied by Germany
– The other (Vichy France) under the control of those who cooperated with Hitler

3. Battle of Britain
– Great Britain stood alone against Germany
– Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused to negotiate with Hitler
– Hitler’s plan involved first attacking Britain by air

– British used new radar system to detect
German planes and inflict heavy damage
– Germany then began to bomb London
– Raids lasted for months and killed thousands of
Civilians
– End of 1940: raids stopped and Hitler called off his invasion of Britain

• Factories at home are back to producing goods.
• Many factories are building arms and weapons for the countries fighting in
Europe.

• Isolationism – Avoiding involvement in foreign affairs.
• Pacifists – People who don’t believe in the use of military force.
• Neutrality Act 1935 – The aim of this bill was to keep us out of the European war. It outlawed loans to warring countries.
• Ethiopia V Italy
• Spanish Civil War

• Neutrality Act adjustments – Cash and carry.
Countries at war could buy from us if they paid in cash.
• Lend / Lease Act – This allowed us to send weapons to Britain whether they could pay or not.
• The German U-boats sunk the USS Kearney and the US remained neutral.
• The German U-boats sunk the USS Reuben
James and the US remained neutral.
• The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and we were no longer neutral.