The Road to World War II
• Definitions:
– Totalitarian: a political regime based on subordination of
the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of
the life and productive capacity of the nation esp. by
coercive measures (like censorship & terrorism)
– Fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime that
exalts nation and often race above the individual and that
stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a
dictatorial leader, severe economic and social
regimentation, and forcible suppression of the opposition.
• Anti-Semitism: hostility toward or
discrimination against Jews as a religious,
ethnic, or racial group.
• Scapegoat: one that bears the blame for
others.
• WWII saw the rise to power of three
militaristic, totalitarian states:
– Germany under Adolf Hitler
– Japan under Hirohito
– Italy under Benito Mussolini
– Spain under Francisco Franco also had a
Fascist & Totalitarian government
• Adolf Hitler was one of the most powerful dictators of
the 20th century. His attempts to conquer territory for
German Lebensraum (living space) brought about
World War II (1939-1945). He caused the slaughter of
millions of Jews, Sinti and Roma (Gypsies), Slavic
peoples, and others in the name of racial purification.
• Benito Mussolini led Italy from 1922 to 1943. He founded
the first fascist political group and later allied his country
with Germany in World War II. Mussolini took the title Il
Duce (The Leader). His clenched fist, jutting jaw, fiery
speeches, and dramatic poses became his trademarks.
•
A skirmish between Japanese and Chinese troops near Beijing in 1937
soon boiled over into a full-scale war between the two countries.
Japanese Emperor Hirohito is seen here reviewing Japanese troops in
1938. Hirohito allowed a militaristic party to dominate his government
from 1926 until the end of World War II in 1945, when Japan’s
expansionist policies were ended with his unconditional surrender to the
Allies.
• 1922: Mussolini is elected Prime Minister
of Italy.
• 1925: Mussolini installs himself as head of
a single party state he called facismo.
• 1933: Hitler is appointed Chancellor of
Germany.
• 1935: Nye Commission investigates US
involvement in WWI and decides that
weapons deals helped to draw the US into
WWI.
• 1935: Italy invades Ethiopia. (Ethiopia
bordered Italian Somaliland in Africa.)
• 1936: Rome – Berlin axis announced.
• 1936: Germany invades the demilitarized
zone in the Rhineland in direct violation of
the Treaty of Versailles.
• 1935, 1936, 1937: Neutrality Acts passed
in Congress. These acts prevented the
United States from
– 1. Sailing on “belligerent” ships
– 2. Selling or transporting arms to hostile
nations
– 3. making loans to hostile nations.
– (These acts were an attempt to avoid a repeat
of the Lusitania.)
• 1936-1939: Spanish Civil War begins.
Fascist General Francisco Franco takes
over.
• 1937: Japan invades China.
• 1937: President Roosevelt delivers the
Quarantine speech encouraging the free
countries of the world to avoid trading w/
hostile, aggressive, militaristic nations (like
Japan, Italy, and Germany).
• 1937: US responds to events overseas w/
“storm-cellar isolationism”.
• 1937: US Gunboat The Panay is sunk by
Japan in Chinese waters.
• 1938: Germany “annexes” Austria.
• March 1938: Hitler demands return of the
Sudetenland which was incorporated into
Czechoslovakia after 1918.
• March 1938: At the Munich Conference
European leaders give the Sudetenland
back to Germany to “appease” Hitler.
• Early 1939: Germany annexes the rest of
Czechoslovakia.
• August 1939: Hitler and Stalin sign a
“Non-Aggression” Pact.
• Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland to
officially begin WWII. As a result of this action,
both Great Britain and France declare war on
Germany.
• Following the invasion of Poland, Germany
quickly invades Denmark, the Netherlands,
Belgium, Norway, and France using the
blitzkreig attack. Blitzkreig means “lightning war”
and included air attacks followed by invasion
with troops and tanks. By the summer of 1940,
Hitler controlled most of western Europe.
• Oct. 1939: Neutrality Act of 1939, also called the
Cash and Carry Act passed by Congress.
• Oct.11, 1939: A letter written by Albert Einstein
is delivered to President Roosevelt. In the letter,
Einstein discusses the implications of a nuclear
chain reaction and the powerful bombs that
could be created using that knowledge.
Roosevelt immediately begins a secret military
undertaking (later known as the Manhattan
Project) that will result in the creation of the
atomic bomb.
• Early 1940: USSR invades Finland.
• March 18, 1940: Mussolini and Hitler announce
Italy’s formal alliance with Germany against
England and France. Mussolini calls this the
“axis” on which Europe will revolve.
• April 9, 1940: Germany invades Denmark and
Norway.
• May 10, 1940: Germany invades Luxembourg,
Belgium, and the Netherlands.
• June 5, 1940: Germany invades France. 10
days later Paris falls.
• June 22, 1940: France surrenders. A proGerman government is set up in Vichy.
• “Preparedness” Program begins in the US
with the goal of building huge airfleets and
a two-ocean Navy.
• July 10, 1940: The Battle of Britain
begins. For four months, German
bombers pound London and other
strategic points. England destroys 1700
German planes.
• Sept. 1940: Congress passes a
conscription law. This is the first
peacetime draft in US history.
• Sept. 2, 1940: Bases for Destroyers Deal:
FDR gives 50 old destroyer ships to Great
Britain in exchange for the rights to build 8
military bases on British lands around the
world.
• Dec. 1940: Congress passes the LendLease Law. This allowed the United
States to “loan” arms and supplies to
victims of aggression. (Germany sees that
act as the official end of US neutrality.)
The Lend-Lease Act is signed into law on
March 11, 1941.
• May 21, 1941: The Robin Moor an
unarmed US merchant ship is destroyed
by German submarines in the Atlantic
Ocean.
• June 22, 1941: Germany invades the Soviet
Union breaking the Non-Aggression Pact. The
United States eventually sends $11 billion in
Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
• August 1941: The Atlantic Conference: The
Atlantic Charter is signed by FDR & Winston
Churchill and endorsed by the USSR. Similar to
Wilson’s 14 Point Plan, it outlined a plan for
lasting peace after the war.
• Sept. 1941: US Destroyer The Greer is attacked
but not sunk by a German submarine.
• The USS Greer
• Oct. 1941: German U-boats attack but
don’t sink US destroyer The Kearney. 11
US soldiers die in the attack.
• Oct. 28, 1941: US destroyer The Reuben
James is sunk by Germany near Iceland.
• Nov. 1941: President Roosevelt
announces a “shoot-on-sight” policy
against German submarines. Congress
repeals the Neutrality Act of 1939 and
allows US merchant ships to be armed.
• Dec. 1940-Dec. 1941: US enforces an embargo
against Japan. US refuses to sell oil, scrap iron,
and gasoline to Japan to protest Japanese
aggression in the Pacific.
• Dec. 7 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in
Hawaii.
• Japan also attacks Malaya, The Philippines,
Guam, Wake Island, and French Indochina.
• Dec. 8, 1941: The United States declares war
on Japan.
• Dec. 11, 1941: Germany and Italy declare war
on the United States.
The U.S.S. West Virginia, Pearl Harbor
The stricken U.S.S. West Virginia was one of the eight battleships
caught in the surprise Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, Hawai'i, on
December 7, 1941. In this photograph, sailors on a launch attempt to
rescue a crew member from the water as oil burns around the sinking
ship. (U.S. Army)
"DAY OF INFAMY"
Franklin D. Roosevelt - December 8, 1941
Full audio speech, "Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 - a date which will live in
infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately
attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan." ...