Roots of World War II
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Japanese society:
• Was seen as a global power
• Growing industrialized economy - society changing from rural farmers to urban
industrial
• Universal Education was in place – caused want for democracy
• Lacking of natural resources to maintain industrialized nation
• Hurt by:
 Economic downturn
 Great Depression
 Tariffs set by other nations on their exports
• Military influence was growing and the desire to expand was present as well
• Western fashion was spreading
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Many of these things was against the old guard and military
leadership
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How did this military influence grow in Japan?
• Economic Crisis caused panic – military was seen as stability
• Weak central government angered the people
 Made treaties that weakened Japan
 Let allies make them look like fools and humiliate them – U.S. barring Japanese immigrants
• People liked their vision of a strong and unified Japan that was reliant on itself
and basking in the glory of an emperor with a strong military to protect their
interests
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Why the need for military shows aggression?
• Military became bigger than government or civilian control – weak central
government with major problems
• They promoted a fighting spirit of no surrender no retreat
• Lack of resources drove them to look for more
• Loss of Navy made them feel vulnerable
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A nationalist group of military worked to take government
• Assassinated many of the heads of the Japanese government
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Manchurian Incident (1931) – Japan invades region in
northwestern China to get resources
Signing the Anti-Comintern Pact (1936) – made alliance with
Hitler’s Germany
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937) – War between Japan and China
because of Japanese Aggression
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Proposal of Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere (1940)
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Nanjing Massacre – Murder rampage killing of 100,000 Chinese men, women, and children
Seen as Japanese attempt at Empire
These events lead to heightened tensions globally
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Where: Italy
His belief: Fascism – Authoritarian government where the good of
the nation is put above anything else, and the nation is aggressive
and ruled by a dictator
When did he come to power: 1922
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March on Rome – this event showed the power of Mussolini’s fascist regime
How did he maintain control: Used propaganda to influence
people’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior
Act of Aggression: Invaded Ethiopia in 1935
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Where: Russia/Soviet Union
When: 1924
Beliefs:
Make Soviet Union a totalitarian state – Control people
• Five Year Plans – Way to strengthen Soviet economy
•
 Had goals for production
 Business and industry is controlled by government
Collectivization of farms – increase farm production by combining small farms into large
units that produce government required crops
• Punish or kill those who disobey
•
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Gulags built to hold criminals
Major Events
Famine of 1932 – starvation of many in country and Stalin refused aid – need to survive on
own
• Great Purge – got rid of those in government seen as against Stalin – they were executed
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Where: Germany
When 1933
Reasons for Rise:
Weakness of Weimar Republic Government – put in place after World War I by Allies
• Treaty of Versailles impact on Germany’s country, economy, and dignity
• Poor state of the economy
• His ability to be a great public speaker – motivated and inspired the people
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Railed on the Jews, Treaty of Versailles, and government – basis of his book Mein Kampf
Beliefs:
Germans were the master race – Aryans
• Might of military and pride of German army
• Jews were the problem in Germany
• Treaty of Versailles was unfair and a source of embarrassment for Germany
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Anti-Semitism – hatred and discrimination of Jews
Nuremberg Laws – created separate legal status for Jews
• Kristallnacht – Night of Broken Glass occurred on Nov. 9-10, 1938 and were riots that
destroyed Jewish businesses and places of worship and killed nearly 100 Jews
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