Events Leading to World War 2 (WWII)
Aggression- any warlike action by one country against another country without just cause
Appeasement- the practice of giving in to aggression to avoid war
Annex- to take over
Blitzkrieg- Lightening war- Full attack used by Germany
Dictator- A ruler who has complete power over a country
I. A dictator for the Soviet Union- Joseph Stalin
A. Wanted to modernize the Soviet Union’s industry and farming. Ordered all peasants
to hand over their land to join collective farms
B. Set up a communist government. Everyone must obey or harshly punished
C. Stalin worked to increase oil and steel production to build a modern military and
increase power.
II. Italy under Fascist rule
A. Benito Mussolini becomes ruler in 1922
a. Used anger from WWI, fear of communism and the exploiting fears of
economic unrest to gain support for his Fascist party
b. Once in power he gained control of the press and banned criticism of the
government
c. Made kids in school recite, “Mussolini is always right” and learned total
obedience to “Il Duce” the leader.
B. Italy invades Ethiopia
a. Mussolini commits acts of aggression by invading Ethiopia
b. Ethiopians have no modern army
c. Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, calls to the League of Nations for help
but gets little response and falls to Italian invaders
III. Rise of Nazi Germany- National Socialist German Workers’ Party
A. Adolf Hitler- gains control by using anger about the Treaty of Versailles and the
economic problems.
a. He used propaganda techniques, powerful speaking to gain popularity and the
bad economy to gain power.
b. Once in power, he controlled the press, schools and religion
B. Attacks on Jewish people
a. Hitler and his followers preached a message of racial of religious hatred
b. Blamed Jews, Gypsies, communists and others for Germany’s troubles
c. Claimed Germans belonged to a superior “Aryan” race
d. Singled out and persecuted Jews who lost homes, rights and citizenship
i. Forced to wear a yellow star to signify religion
e. The Final Solution- Hitler’s plan to kill all European Jews
C. Germany Builds Up their military against the Treaty of Versailles
a. 1936 invaded the Rhineland near border of France and Belgium
b. 1938- Annexed Austria and then Czechoslovakia
i. France and Britain follow a system of appeasement
c. 1939- Seizes the rest of Czechoslovakia
d. September 1, 1939 invades Poland with a blitzkrieg and WWII begins
IV. Military Rule in Japan
A. In the early 1930’s military leaders seized control in Japan using economic unrest as a
way to gain power and told citizens that Japan could be an overseas empire
B. 1931- invaded Manchuria China for their rich coal and iron resources
C. China calls on League of Nations but got little response
V. The United States
A. Tried to remain neutral by limiting economic ties with nations at war
B. After the invasion of Poland, the U.S. did not want to enter the war but created the
Lend-Lease Act to help the Allies
D. Lend-Lease Act allowed the sales or loans of war materials to “any country whose
Defense the President deemed vital to the defense of the U.S.”
E. The U.S. became known as the “Great Arsenal of Democracy” The power that
provided weapons to people who allowed freedoms to their citizens
F. During this time Roosevelt RESTRICTS trade of oil, steel and iron to Japan
a. Japan bombs Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941 and the United
States officially enters the war.