CHAPTER 23 WORLD
WAR II ERUPTS
The Big Picture: The Treaty of Versailles
ending World War I created an uneasy peace.
Germany, Italy, and Japan fell under the sway
of leaders promising order and glory. By the
end of the 1930s, their aggression would
plunge the world once more into war.
CHAPTER 23 SECTION 1:
THE RISE OF DICTATORS
Main Idea: The shattering effects
of World War I helped set the
stage for a new aggressive type of
leader in Europe and Asia
Europe After World War I
• The Treaty of Versailles was unable to satisfy all parties involved,
many European nations wanted it to go farther.
• Germany suffered the most as a result of the Treaty, they were
humiliated and suffered severe economic blows.
• The Treaty’s demands for German reparations helped bring about a
period of inflation in Germany, German money had no value.
• Germany established the Weimar Republic, a democratic
government, but it was not very strong.
Totalitarian Leaders Arise
• Benito Mussolini was the first of the
totalitarian leaders to emerge.
• Founded the Fascist party.
• Created a system of government that
stressed the glory of the state, rights of
individuals were second to the greatness
of the state.
• Mussolini established a dictatorship, a
government in which a leader holds
all the power.
• Established a totalitarian regime,
controlled all aspects of Italian life.
• Adolf Hitler emerged as the leader of
Germany.
• In his early career he joined the Nazi Party, as
a part of this party he discovered his talent
for public speaking.
• While imprisoned for attempting to take over
the German government by force he wrote
Mein Kampf that outlined Hitler’s major
political goals:
• Make Germany a world power.
• Blamed jews for Germany’s problems and
believed they threatened the purity of the Aryan
(white) race.
• Hitler gained support through his optimistic
goals for Germany. Started moving to
establish himself as a dictator.
• Started to build up the German military which
went against the Treaty of Versailles.
• Francesco Franco emerged as the
fascist leader of Spain following
the Spanish Civil War.
• Joseph Stalin emerged as the
communist leader of the Soviet
Union (previously called Russia).
• Communism and Fascism were
political opposites but used similar
techniques to achieve their goals.
Totalitarian Governments and Military Force
• Totalitarian leaders were not afraid to use violent force against
their opponents and military force against other nations.
• In Japan the civilians were growing dissatisfied with the
government.
• Japanese nationalists in the military, supported by the Japanese people,
began to assert their power without approval of the government.
• Wanted to expand Japan, moved into the Chinese province of Manchuria.
• League of Nations tried to stop the spread of Japan but they did not have the
power to do so.
• Italy invaded Egypt and conquered the country.
• The Ethiopian leader asked the League of Nations for help but the
international community was unwilling to make a strong stand against
aggression.
Hitler Takes Action
• After Hitler took power in Germany he began building up the German
military which went against the Treaty of Versailles, convinced France and
Britain to allow him to do so – called appeasement.
• Also Germany moved troops into a territory along the French border at
Rhineland, France was still unwilling to take military action against Germany.
• Hitler’s next move was to attempt to force Austria to unite with Germany,
when they refused he sent in troops.
• Broke the Treaty of Versailles further, were not permitted to expand their
empire. He was allowed to do this too.
• Hitler was confident that no one would stop him, Hitler made moves to
take over the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia called the
Sudentenland.
• Hitler met with French and Great Britain’s leaders about the violations of the
Treaty of Versailles and they agreed to allow him to do so.
• Called it a “peace for our time.”
CHAPTER 23 SECTION 2:
EUROPE ERUPTS IN WAR
Main Idea: Far from being satisfied
by the actions of France and Great
Britain, Germany turned to force and
triggered the start of World War II.
World War II Starts
• British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed that his policy
of appeasement, or giving in to aggressive demands to maintain
peace, had prevented war.
• Hitler moved troops into the rest of Czechoslovakia, then he started
creating alliances that would help him.
• Signed an alliance with Italy and the Soviet Union.
• Germany claimed that Poland had attacked them and used it as an
excuse to invade Poland.
• Used blitzkreig, or a combination of air attack and fast moving strikes, to
take over Poland.
German Forces Turn to the West
• In 1939 France and Great Britain declare war on Germany and
become the known as the Allies.
• Waited for Germany to make the first move.
• In May 1940 German troops invaded Belgium, they were met by
Belgian, British, and French troops.
• The Allies were unable to stop the German assault.
• German forces took over much of France except for a small area called
Vichy France.
• Great Britain stood alone against Germany, Hitler prepared to
invade Great Britain.
• The British Royal Air Force was able to inflict heavy damages on German
planes to prevent an attack.
• German planes began bombing London in an attack called Luftwaffe.
• Britain continued to hold out against the Germans.
Tensions in East Asia
• Japan wanted to expand their influence in Asia.
• Joined an alliance with Germany and Italy to become the Axis Powers.
• Japan started attacking aggressively towards French colonies in
Asia called French Indochina.
• United States reacted to the move by punishing Japan economically.
• Japan tried to meet with American government to compromise, Japanese
leader Hideki Tojo convinced the Japanese government not to
compromise.
CHAPTER 23 SECTION 3:
THE UNITED STATES
ENTERS THE WAR
Main Idea: Isolationist feeling in the
United States was strong in the
1930s, but Axis aggression eventually
destroyed it and pushed the United
States into war.
American Isolationism
• Isolationism: the desire to avoid involvement in foreign wars.
• Americans would have gone to war to advance American interests
but they wanted to choose when and where to do so.
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt was not an isolationist, but
Congress was.
• Passed the Neutrality Act in 1935 that would keep America out of
conflicts by barring the sale of goods or making loans to countries in
war.
• Roosevelt wanted to do more to interfere with the conflicts
going on in Europe, could only support the Neutrality Act.
• American isolationists wanted America to remain neutral.
• Remaining truly neutral meant allowing Fascist governments to have
the advantage (such as Italy or Spain).
• After Japan invaded China Roosevelt could no longer stay quiet
about his views on world events.
• Compared the spread of war to a contagious disease, urged
Americans to “quarantine” aggressive nations.
• Became known as the “quarantine speech.”
Preparing for War
• Isolationists did not want to support Roosevelt in taking a stance
against aggressive nations.
• Hitler’s actions in Europe strengthened Roosevelt’s position,
appeasement was not working.
• Roosevelt got Congress to change the Neutrality Act to a policy
called cash and carry under which countries were allowed to
purchase American goods as long as they paid cash and picked up
their orders in American ports.
• As Germans gained more victories this policy turned to “all aid short
of war” to help the Allies fight off the Germans.
• Roosevelt decided to seek a third term as President, he was reelected.
• After his re-election Roosevelt approved the lend-lease program
that would send weapons to Great Britain despite their ability to
pay for them.
• The ties between Great Britain and America were further
strengthened by the Atlantic Charter that proclaimed the shared
goals of the two nations against Hitler and his allies.
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
Pearl
Harbor
Attack
Scene
• Japan was hostile towards the United States for previous conflicts
in Indochina and present views of the United States.
• American officials were determined not to fire the first shot and tried to
negotiate with the Japanese.
• Japanese led a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
• The American base took heavy casualties and damage.
• Attack lasted barely two hours.
• Americans were fearful and angry at the attack on their own soil.
• On December 8th Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war against
Japan.
• Three days later Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States.
CHAPTER 23 SECTION 4:
MOBILIZING FOR WAR
Main Idea: The outbreak of World
War II spurred the mobilization of
American military and industrial
might.
Mobilizing the Armed Forces
• The attack on Pearl Harbor ended most of the isolationist
feelings that Americans still had.
• Now that America was entering the war we had to mobilize the
country, or bring it into readiness.
• Starting in 1940 the US increased military spending, this spending had
increased the profits of businesses and helped bring workers back to
the factories.
• Mainly responsible for ending the Great Depression.
• Following Pearl Harbor President Roosevelt reinstated the draft,
but many volunteered eager for the chance to defend their
country.
• Women, while they could not participate in combat, took on
many vital jobs in the military effort freeing men for combat.
• Took clerical jobs or helped build aircrafts and repair equipment.
• Some women joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs)
testing and delivering aircrafts.
• With all the new soldiers in the war the United States had to
build lots of new army bases.
Mobilizing Industry and Science
• Many factories that created
consumer goods were
converted into factories that
built weapons or airplanes.
• Not only had to develop lots
of war supplies but also had
to ship them overseas.
• Government created new
agencies to help mobilize the
war effort – helped regulate
what factories produced,
what prices they could
charge, and how the nation’s
raw materials would be used.
• Key American business
leaders led these agencies.
• Women moved into
the factory jobs
that men left
behind, working
women began
to be represented
by the symbolic figure known
as Rosie the Riveter.
• Government spending during
WWII helped end the Great
Depression, as workers went
back to the factories Roosevelt
established the National War
Labor Board to help settle
labor disputes.
• The Manhattan Project was
started to begin developing an
atomic bomb.
• Technology would play a major
role in WWII.
Fighting for Freedom at Home
• African Americans were allowed to serve in WWII but they were still
discriminated against.
• Their bravery and contributions often went unrecognized.
• As white males vacated their factory jobs for enlistment, thousands
of African Americans found opportunities for them in the factories.
• Often forced to take the lowest-paying jobs.
• Hispanic’s also saw increased opportunities during WWII.
• The US established the Bracero Program that gave Mexican workers the
opportunity to work temporarily in the United States
• Arrival of Hispanic workers led to increased tensions and race riots.
• Hispanics also served in the armed forces.