Aggression,
Appeasement, and War
Chp. 18 section 1 pp. 468-472
Adapted from a presentation by Becca Sehnert 2012
Main Idea
During the 1930s, dictators undermined world
peace.
Dictators Challenge World Peace
Japan on the Move
• Mussolini and Hitler thought desire for peace
was weakness and responded with aggression
• Japan’s military and ultranationalists though
Japan should be = to western powers
• So they seized Manchuria in 1931 and
withdrew from the League of Nations
• This strengthened militarists and they over ran
eastern China
• Westerners had no effect on the conquering
Dictators Challenge World Peace
Italy Invades Ethiopia
• Mussolini used his military for imperialist
ambitions
• Looked at Ethiopia in NE Africa
• In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia
• Mussolini had more modern weapons
• Ethiopia looked to the League of Nations for
help but they didn’t have power to enforce
the sanctions and Italy conquered Ethiopia in
1936
Dictators Challenge World Peace
Hitler’s Challenge
• Hitler found the western democracies to be
WEAK!
• So he built up the German military against the
treaty of Versailles
• Then in 1936 he went into Rhineland
• Germans HATED Versailles treaty and Hitler
gained popularity
• Western democracies didn’t take action
• Uh oh!
• Then they adopted appeasement
Dictators Challenge World Peace
Appeasement and Neutrality
• Developed appeasement cuz
– France was demoralized
– Couldn’t move against Hitler
• British didn’t want to confront German
dictator
– They thought Versailles treaty was too harsh
against Germany
Dictators Challenge World Peace
Appeasement and Neutrality
• Britain and France liked Hitler cuz he fought
against the spread of Soviet communism
• Pacifism spread and all people wanted was
peace!
• USA congress passed Neutrality Acts cuz they
didn’t want to get involded in the European
war
Dictators Challenge World Peace
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
• Germany, Italy, and Japan were known as the
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
• They fought soviet communism
– Agreed to not butt in about expansions
• Created anti-democratic powers
Spanish Civil War
From Monarchy to Republic
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1936 Spanish civil war drew other European countries to fight
1920s Spain was dominated by upper class, CC, and military
In 1931, king was forced to leave the country
Republic was set up with new constitution
Republican gov. passed controversial reforms
Took church lands and ended church control of edu
Gave some peasants land, women could vote, ruling class lost
powers
• Public opinion was divided
– Leftists wanted radical reform
– Conservatives backed by military, rejected change
– Wanted peace!!!
Spanish Civil War
Nationalists Versus Loyalists
• 1936 Francisco Franco led a revolt that started
the civil war
• Nationalists joined Franco
• Supporters of republic, aka Loyalists
– Communists, socialists, supporters of democracy
• Hitler and Mussolini helped Franco
• 37,000 volunteers joined the International
Brigades and fought against fascism
• Gov. of Britain, Franco, and USA remained neutral
Spanish Civil War
Dress Rehearsal
• Both sides committed atrocities
• Took ~1 million lives
• Worst horror…
– Germans air raid on Guernica
• One April morning in 1937, German bombers dropped bombs on the
market square
• Then they shot anyone on the streets who survived
– = total of 1600 innocent people killed!
• Nazis said this was an “experiment” to see what their
planes could do
» I call BS!
• 1939, Franco won and made a fascist dictatorship and
scared people into following him
German Aggression Continues
• Hitler wanted all German-speaking people to
be in the Third Reich
• Thought he had the right to conquer Slavs to
the east
• “Nature is cruel, so we may be cruel, too…I
have the right to remove millions of an inferior
race that breeds liker vermin.”-Hitler
German Aggression Continues
Austria Annexed
• 1938 Hitler wanted to make Anschluss
» Austria and Germany
• Forced Austrian chancellor to appoint Nazis to
cabinet
• Sent German army to make order
• Made a speech at former residence of
Hapsburg leader
• Hitler silenced those who opposed him
German Aggression Continues
Czech Crisis
• Germany went after Czechoslovakia next
• Czechoslovakia was one of 2 remaining democracies in
Eastern Europe
• Britain and France didn’t want to start a war to save it,
wanted a peaceful solution
• Sudetenland must be annexed to Germany said Hitler
• Munich Conference in Sept. 1938
– British and French wanted appeasement
– Caved in to Hitler and persuaded Czechs to surrender
Sudetenland peacefully
– Hitler agreed not to expand territory further
German Aggression Continues
“Peace for Our Time”
• British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain,
said he made “peace for our time”
• Edouard Daladier said, “The fools, why are
they cheering?”
• Winston Churchill had warned the
government about the Nazi threat and said,
“They had to choose between war and
dishonor. They chose dishonor; they will have
war.”
Europe Plunges Toward War
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Like Churchill said, Munich didn’t bring peace
Europe went to war
March 1939 Hitler took over Czechoslovakia
Appeasement failed
Promised to protect Poland from Hitler
Europe Plunges Toward War
Nazi-Soviet Pact
• August 1939 Hitler announced a nonaggression pact with
Stalin, Soviet leader
• Nazi-Soviet Pact bound Hitler and Stalin to peace
• Secretly agreed to not fight if other went to war and divide
up Poland and E Euro
• Pact was based on mutual need
– Hitler feared communism
– Stalin feared fascism
• Hitler didn’t want to fight w/West. Democracies and soviet
union at the same time
• Stalin wanted w. allies against Nazi control
• He bought time to build army and got territory
Europe Plunges Toward War
Invasion of Poland
• Sept. 1, 1939, 1 week after Nazi-Soviet Pact
• Germans invaded Poland
• 2 days after, Britain and France declared war
on Germany
• WWII began!
Why War Came
• Versailles divided the world- those who agreed
and those who didn’t
– Germany, Italy, Japan, and Soviet Union felt left out
• People debated why western democracies didn’t
respond to Hitler with force
– Hoped diplomacy and compromise would solve
problem
• Historians say Britain and France could have
stopped Hitler in 1936 by aiding Loyalist Spain
– Didn’t want to risk war
VOCAB
• Sanctions
– Penalties
• Appeasement
– Giving in to demands of aggressor to keep peace
• Pacifism
– Opposition to all war!
• Anschluss
– Union of Austria and Germany
REVIEW
• What Treaty ended World War I?
– Treaty of Versailles
• What was the Economy in after WWI and before WWII?
– A Depression
• What country did Germany invade to begin WWII?
– Poland
• What type of government did the Soviet Union have after
WWI until 1992?
– Communism
REVIEW 2
• What was the leading political party in Germany by the middle
1930’s?
– Nazi
• What year did WWII Start?
– 1939
• What 2 countries were first to declare war on Germany in WWII?
– Great Britain and France
REVIEW 3
• Who was Prime Minister of Great Britain during WWII?
Winston Churchill
• Who was the Dictator of the Soviet Union during WWII?
Joseph Stalin
• Who was the Dictator of Germany during WWII? Adolf
Hitler