QUIT
24
World War Looms
CHAPTER OBJECTIVE
INTERACT WITH HISTORY
TIME LINE
MAP
GRAPH
SECTION
1 Dictators Threaten World Peace
SECTION
2 War in Europe
SECTION
3 The Holocaust
SECTION
4 America Moves Toward War
VISUAL SUMMARY
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24
World War Looms
CHAPTER OBJECTIVE
To trace the rise of dictators, the beginnings of war,
and the American response in the 1930s
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World War Looms
INTERACT
WITH HISTORY
In the summer of 1939, President Franklin Roosevelt addresses an
anxious nation in response to atrocities in Europe committed by Hitler’s
Nazi Germany. Roosevelt declares in his broadcast that the United States
“will remain a neutral nation.” He acknowledges, however, that he
“cannot ask that every American remain neutral in thought.”
Why might the United States try to remain
neutral?
Examine the Issues
• How might involvement in a large scale war influence the United States?
• How can neutral countries participate in the affairs of warring
countries?
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World War Looms
TIME LINE
The United States
The World
1931 The Empire State Building opens in New
York City.
1931 Japan conquers Manchuria, in northern
China.
1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected
president.
1933 Prohibition ends.
1933 Adolf Hitler is appointed German
chancellor and sets up Dachau concentration
camp.
1934 Stalin begins great purge in USSR.
Chinese communists flee in the Long March.
1936 Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at
Olympics in Berlin, Germany. Roosevelt is
reelected.
1936 Ethiopia’s Haile Selassie asks League of
Nations for help against Italian invasion.
General Francisco Franco leads a fascist
rebellion in Spain.
1937 Amelia Earhart mysteriously disappears
attempting solo round-the-world flight.
continued . . .
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World War Looms
TIME LINE
The United States
The World
1938 Orson Welles broadcasts The War of the
Worlds, a fictional alien invasion.
1938 Kristallnacht—Nazis riot, destroying
Jewish neighborhoods.
1939 Germany invades Poland. Britain and
France declare war.
1940 Roosevelt is elected to a third term.
1941 United States enters World War II.
1941 Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
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1
Dictators Threaten World Peace
KEY IDEA
The United States remains isolated from
world affairs as economic and political
factors lead to the rise of nationalist leaders
in the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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1
Dictators Threaten World Peace
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
The rise of rulers with total power
in Europe and Asia led to World
War II.
Dictators of the 1930s and 1940s
changed the course of history, making
world leaders especially watchful for
the actions of dictators today.
TERMS & NAMES
• Joseph Stalin
• fascism
• Benito Mussolini
• Adolf Hitler
• Nazism
• Francisco Franco
• Neutrality Acts
• totalitarian
ASSESSMENT
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Dictators Threaten World Peace
ASSESSMENT
1. Identify the main ambitions of each dictator listed in
the web diagram.
Stalin:
Create a model
Communist state and
transform the Soviet Union
into a great industrial
power
Dictator’s
Ambitions
Hitler:
Unite the German
“master race” into an
empire destined to rule
the world
Mussolini:
Franco:
Make Italy a great world
power
Become Spain’s supreme
military leader
continued . . .
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Dictators Threaten World Peace
ASSESSMENT
2. How did the Treaty of Versailles sow the seeds of
instability in Europe? Think About:
• effects of the treaty on Germany and the Soviet Union
• effects of the treaty on national pride
• the economic legacy of the war
ANSWER
Germany and the Soviet Union’s resentment of the treaty
contributed to their renunciation of democratic values. The
treaty did little to halt the rise of totalitarian governments.
continued . . .
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Dictators Threaten World Peace
ASSESSMENT
3. Why do you think Hitler found widespread support
among the German people?
ANSWER
Germany was devastated by the effects of World War I.
The nation suffered from severe economic depression.
Hitler promoted the Nazi party as a way to restore
national pride.
continued . . .
1
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Dictators Threaten World Peace
ASSESSMENT
4. Would powerful nations or weak nations be more
likely to follow an isolationist policy? Explain.
ANSWER
Strong, self-sufficient nations can afford to adopt
isolationist policies. Weaker nations are often too
dependent on foreign powers.
End of Section 1
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MAP
2
War in Europe
KEY IDEA
A series of bold moves by Adolf Hitler—and
weak countermoves by other leaders—
triggers World War II in Europe.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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MAP
2
War in Europe
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
Using the sudden mass attack
called blitzkrieg, Germany
invaded and quickly conquered
many European countries.
Hitler’s actions started World
War II and still serve as a
warning to be vigilant about
totalitarian government.
TERMS & NAMES
• Charles de Gaulle
• blitzkrieg
• nonaggression pact
• Winston Churchill
• appeasement
• Neville Chamberlain
ASSESSMENT
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2
War in Europe
ASSESSMENT
1. Trace the movement of German expansion from 1937
to the end of 1940 by supplying events to follow the
dates shown on the time line.
1937
1939
Hitler plans
expansion.
World War II begins after
Germany invades Poland.
1938
1940
Germany annexes
Austria and
Sudetenland.
Germany invades France
and fights the Battle of
Britain with England.
continued . . .
MAP
2
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War in Europe
ASSESSMENT
2. To what extent do you think lies and deception played a
role in Hitler’s tactics? Think About:
• William Shirer’s diary entry about headlines in the
Nazi newspapers
• Soviet-German relations
• Hitler’s justifications for military aggression
ANSWER
Hitler’s deceptions included: charging the Czechs with abusing Sudeten
Germans; claiming that Sudetenland was his last territorial demand; accusing
Poles of brutalizing Germans; signing a secret pact with the Soviet Union
dividing Poland; justifying the invasion of Denmark and Norway
as necessary to safeguard his plans.
continued . . .
MAP
2
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War in Europe
ASSESSMENT
3. If you had been a member of the British House of
Commons in 1938, would you have voted for or against
the Munich Agreement?
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
For: Appeasement would help avert war; compromise is
not a sign of weakness.
Against: Appeasement would feed Hitler’s military
aggression; Great Britain should defend its honor and
declare war.
continued . . .
MAP
2
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War in Europe
ASSESSMENT
4. Review Germany’s aggressive actions between 1938
and 1945. At what point do you think Hitler concluded
that he could take any territory without being stopped?
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
After taking Austria—France and Britain ignored their
pledge to protect Austria.
After Munich Conference—Britain and France let
Germany take Sudetenland.
End of Section 2
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The Holocaust
KEY IDEA
Hitler’s plans for conquering the world
include the killing of Jews and other ethnic
groups, which is carried out with frightening
determination.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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3
The Holocaust
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
During the Holocaust, the
Nazis systematically executed
6 million Jews and 5 million
other “non-Aryans.”
After the atrocities of the Holocaust,
agencies formed to publicize human
rights. These agencies have remained
a force in today’s world.
TERMS & NAMES
• Holocaust
• ghetto
• Kristallnacht
• genocide
• concentration camp
ASSESSMENT
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The Holocaust
ASSESSMENT
1. List four events that led to the Holocaust.
Causes
Effect
The removal of non-Aryans from
government jobs.
Nuremberg Laws
The Holocaust
Kristallnacht
“Final Solution”
continued . . .
3
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The Holocaust
ASSESSMENT
2. Do you think that the United States was justified in not
allowing more Jewish refugees to emigrate? Think About:
• the views of isolationists in the United States
• some Americans’ prejudices and fears
• the incident on the German luxury liner St. Louis
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
Justified: The United States had to protect the national security
and the welfare of its citizens, including job security.
Not justified: The United States was obligated to provide
political asylum for victims of prejudice.
continued . . .
3
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The Holocaust
ASSESSMENT
3. Why do you think the Nazi system of systematic
genocide was so brutally effective?
ANSWER
There was no effective opposition in Germany to
Hitler’s plan for mass extinction. Nazis propaganda
loudly proclaimed that the Germans were a superior race
destined to rule the world. At the same time they
preached that Jews, Poles and other groups were inferior
races. Hitler used the Jews as scapegoats for Germany’s
problems following World War I. He stripped them of
their rights and then used terror and propaganda to
coerce them into giving up their freedom.
continued . . .
3
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The Holocaust
ASSESSMENT
4. How might concentration camp doctors and guards
have justified to themselves the death and suffering they
caused other human beings?
ANSWER
They believed that their prisoners were subhuman, thus
they were not actually killing or torturing human beings.
They might claim that they were simply following orders
and had no choice.
End of Section 3
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4
America Moves Toward War
KEY IDEA
The United States provides aid to nations
resisting Hitler and enters World War II after
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
OVERVIEW
ASSESSMENT
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GRAPH
4
America Moves Toward War
OVERVIEW
MAIN IDEA
WHY IT MATTERS NOW
In response to the fighting in
Europe, the United States provided
economic and military aid to help
the Allies achieve victory.
The military capability of the
U. S. became a deciding factor in
World War II and in world affairs
ever since.
TERMS & NAMES
• Lend-Lease Act
• Allies
• Hideki Tojo
• Axis powers
• Atlantic Charter
ASSESSMENT
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4
America Moves Toward War
ASSESSMENT
1. List the key events leading to America’s entry into World
War II. Use the dates below as a guide.
Congress passes
Lend-Lease Act.
Roosevelt and Churchill
draw up the Atlantic Charter.
March 1941
August 1941
September 1940
June 1941
Japan, Germany, and Italy,
sign the Tripartite Pact.
Germany invades Soviet
Union; Roosevelt orders U.S.
Navy to protect lend-lease
shipments.
December 1941
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor.
continued . . .
GRAPH
4
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America Moves Toward War
ASSESSMENT
2. Do you think that the United States should have waited
to be attacked before declaring war? Think About:
• the reputation of the United States
• the influence of isolationists
• the events at of Pearl Harbor
ANSWER
POSSIBLE RESPONSES:
Waited: An attack by Japan would swing public opinion away from isolationism
and allow Roosevelt to enter the war with the support of the American people.
Not waited: An earlier declaration of war might have prevented the attack on
Pearl Harbor.
continued . . .
GRAPH
4
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America Moves Toward War
ASSESSMENT
3. What problem would the Japanese attack on Pearl
Harbor solve for Roosevelt? What new problems would
it create?
ANSWER
The attack would unify public support behind the war
effort, but it would cripple the fleet needed to fight the
war.
continued . . .
GRAPH
4
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America Moves Toward War
ASSESSMENT
4. Although the U.S. Congress was still unwilling to
declare war early in 1941, Churchill told his war cabinet,
“ We must have patience and trust to the tide which is
flowing our way, and to events.”
What do you think Churchill meant by this remark?
ANSWER
Churchill believed that the United States entry into World
War II was inevitable. The United States was edging closer
and closer to war.
End of Section 4