From Versailles to Pearl Harbor
A: Germany Faces Economic Collapse
A Troubled Germany
• After WWI (1920s) Germany in state of economic despair &
political instability
• Provisions of Treaty of Versailles treated Germany harshly
• Germany printed more money to cure economic woes
creating hyperinflation & a worse situation
• 1930s Great Depression made things even worse
• Weimar Republic unable to deal which gave rise to Nazis
U.S. Response
• Maintained Isolationism and wanted to stay out of
European business
• Still insisted on war debt repayment
B: The Rise of Adolf Hitler
Hitler’s Early Years
• Born in Austria in 1889
• Failed artist
• Fought in WWI
• Became an extreme nationalist
Hitler & Nazi Party
• Became involved with Nazis in 1921 (made them official)
• Made it a super party
Hitler becomes dictator 1934-1945
• Nazis elected as largest single party
• Hitler appointed chancellor first
• When president dies he takes total power
• Anti-Semitic (anti-Jewish) policies
• Resulted in Kristallnacht: Nazi night attacks on Jewish homes
• Promised economic recovery
B: The Rise of Adolf Hitler
U.S. Response
• Remained focused on domestic concerns
• FDR & New Deal
• Low military spending
• Security through disarmament
• Americans and politicians wanted to stay out of European affairs
• Policymakers supported disarmament, arms control, & international
agreements to maintain world peace
• 1921-22: US, France, GB, Japan, & Italy negotiated treaty placing
limits on # of ships each country could build
• 1928: US joins 62 nations & signs Kellog-Briand Pact condemning
war as a solution to international conflicts & national policy
• Supporters: first step in outlawing war
• Critics: no enforcement provisions
C: Fascism in Italy
Turmoil in Italy – post WWI
• Severe economic & political problems
• Govt. not living up to promises
• Treaty of Versailles didn’t grant all land wanted
• Socialism gaining power but couldn’t stop worker revolts
Mussolini & Fascism
• Socialist when young; WWI became nationalist member of Fascist Party
• Goal to unite Italians reminding them of glories of ancient Rome
Mussolini’s Rise to Power
• 1922 led March on Rome led to king naming him prime minister
• Increased power & became totalitarian dictator
• Introduced economic programs to stimulate economy
Italian Imperialism
• Fascist policies didn’t solve many economic problems so blamed world economy
• Wanted to distract people through aggressive foreign policy by building an empire 
attacked Ethiopia
• League of Nations imposed sanctions which forbid arms sales & money lending to Italy
but didn’t cut off oil supplies to Italy (surely would’ve slowed the invasion)
• After fall of Ethiopia, League did not try to rescue it & later removed sanctions on Italy
C: Fascism in Italy
US Response
• Neutrality Acts (1935, 36, 37)
• Forbade sale of arms to military aggressive nations
• Prohibited Americans from traveling o nships of countries at war
• Disallowed loans to countries at war
• When Italy invaded Ethiopia, 1st of 3 acts (prohibiting
arms sales to either country) was invoked. Stopped
any arms support US might have given to Ethiopia
• Moral Embargo
• Called by FDR on essential goods to Italy
D. The Rise of Militarism in Japan
1. Dictatorship in Japan arose in the years prior to WW2
2. Even though Japan’s economy had not been adversely
affected after WWI, it was so dependent on world markets
that the Great Depression caused economic disaster.
3. Japanese dissatisfied with instability of their country and
resented their reputation. This enabled group of military
leaders to rise to power
- Built up Japan’s military & sought to expand its control in
Asia
- Within Japan, military-controlled government imposed
censorship, arrested government critics, and dismissed
liberal professors from universities
- Set up secret police to punish enemies of the state
- Total obedience to emperor preached in press and
schools
- Nationalist groups glorified war and the empire
Japanese Imperialism
D. Militarism in Japan
• Sought to expand empire
• 1931 Japanese army attacked Manchuria (region of NE China rich in coal & iron)
• Argued that needed a place to put growing population which was crowded in Japan
• Sought support from other fascist powers
• 1937 signed a military agreement with Italy & Germany = Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
• Hitler considered using Japan to attack Russian & British possessions in Asia
• Japan continued to prepare for continued aggression in Asia
U.S. Response
“Words Without Deeds”
• US was displeased to Japan’s invasion of Manchuria
• Responded in a moral lecture called the Stimson Doctrine but took no action
• Stimson Doctrine contained no economic or military sanctions and was shrugged off by
Japanese
• Japan continued its aggression in China throughout the 1930s, attempting to build an
empire in Asia, and heartened by the lack of response from the West
• 1937 Japan bombed innocent civilians in Shanghai, killing tens of thousands of people
• In response, US cancelled its commercial treaty with Japan but took no further action
D. Militarism in Japan
Quarantine Speech
• Following attacks in 1937, FDR became increasingly concerned
with increase in fascist aggression in Europe and Asia
• Had begun to sense a shift in public opinion, and sought to lead
country toward a more active approach
• 1937 FDR delivered his so-called “Quarantine Speech” in
Chicago, a hotbed of isolationist sentiment
• Argued persuasively for containing, or quarantining, fascist
aggression – presumably through the use of economic
embargoes
• His speech was met by a barrage of isolationist criticism
• Many Americans believed that the road FDR was proposing to
follow would result in American military involvement
• As a result from public opinion, FDR did not act
Opener 3/25/11
1. What would you consider to be the most important values (choose at
least two) that you follow and strongly believe in in your life? Why?
2. Why did the United States decide to put Japanese Americans in the US
into internment camps?
3. Right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, military officials began to
investigate the Japanese American community (which was mostly on the
West Coast) for signs of spying or illegal activity. They found no evidence
of wrongdoing. In addition, the investigation showed that a sizeable
number of Japanese Americans had been born in the United States, had
never been to Japan, and had had no first-hand contacts with anyone
there.
4. Under these circumstances, what would be on argument in favor of
interning Japanese Americans? What would be an argument against it?
What is YOUR opinion (keep in mind the top values you wrote about
above)?