Aggression and Conflicts
Leading to World War II
Text pages 763-764; 809-813
SSWH17 The student will be able to identify the major political and
economic factors that shaped world societies between World War I and
World War II.
e. Describe the nature of totalitarianism and the police state that existed
in Russia, Germany, and Italy and how they differ from authoritarian
governments.
f. Explain the aggression and conflict leading to World War II in Europe and
Asia; include the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, the
rape of Nanjing in China, and the German annexation of the Sudetenland.
Authoritarian States versus
Totalitarian States
• A number of states were authoritarian,
but not totalitarian.
• Used police powers but did not strive
to create a new mass society—rather
they sought to preserve the existing
social order
• Particularly in Eastern Europe, such as
Austria, Poland, Ukraine, etc… they
had tried democracy but failed to
maintain and authoritarian governments
Totalitarianism & the Police State
• Commonly applied to Fascist & Communist
regimes
• Police operate without constraint of laws &
regulations
• Pursuit of state’s goal means overthrowing all
old political & social institutions
• Police state- restrictions on mobility, freedom
to express political or other views, which are
subject to police monitoring
• Common in Russia under Stalin, Germany
under Hitler, and Italy under Mussolini
Steps Toward War
• March 9, 1935- Hitler announces
creation of a new air force
• March 1935- Military draft reinstated
expanding army from 100,000 to
550,000 – a direct violation of the
Treaty of Versailles
• March 7, 1936– sent troops into the
demilitarized zone of the Rhineland
• Beginning of appeasement – policy
based on the ideas of satisfying
reasonable demands to keep peace
Italian Invasion of Ethiopia
• Mussolini had long dreamed of a new
Roman Empire in the Mediterranean
• October 1935 invaded Ethiopia
• Angered by French & British
opposition, Mussolini welcomed
Hitler’s support
• November 1936 Signed Rome-Berlin
Axis –an alliance with Germany
Spanish Civil War
• General Francisco Franco led Spanish
military forces to revolt against the
democratic government in 1936.
• Brutal & Bloody Civil War
• Fascist regimes of Italy & Germany aided
Franco
• Hitler used as opportunity to test his
new weapons
• In April 1937, German bombers destroyed
Guernica which has been immortalized in
the painting by Pablo Picasso
Guernica by Pablo Picasso
Spanish Civil War Continued…
• Soviet Union aided the Spanish
republican government
• Franco captured Madrid in 1939 and
established a dictatorship
• Because he favored traditional
groups (businesspeople, landowners,
clergy) and did not try to create a
new social order, his regime is
considered authoritarian rather than
totalitarian
Rape of Nanjing
• Period of wartime atrocities committed by
Japanese forces in the Chinese capital of
Nanjing during a six week period December
1937- January 1938
• Estimated 200,000 people killed
• Atrocities included murdering civilians &
soldiers, beating civilians, setting fire to
homes, and raping women before they
murdered them
• Survivors describe the atrocities as killing for
sport – finding new & creative ways to kill
people including burial alive & decapitation
Hitler’s Goals…
• By 1937, according to Hitler, Germany
was once more a world power.
• In 1938, decided to pursue one of his
goals: union with Austria
• Hitler threatened to invade Austria
so chancellor put the Austrian Nazi
Party in charge of government.
• They invited German troops in to
“help” maintain order
• March 13, 1938– Germany annexes
Austria
Destruction of Czechoslovakia
• September 15, 1938 Hitler demanded Germany be
given the Sudetenland, an area in NW
Czechoslovakia that was inhabited primarily by
Germans
• Expressed his willingness to risk war to achieve his
objectives
• Munich Conference- British, French, German, and
Italian reps did not object to Hitler’s plans and made
an agreement virtually meeting all of Hitler’s
demands
• High point of western appeasement
• Prime Minister of Great Britain thought along with
many others that Hitler would keep his promise to
make no more demands & truly believed this would
keep peace!