The Build-up to World War II

From left to right (front): Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini, and Ciano pictured before signing the Munich Agreement

The 1920s• The decline of democracy:

– Italy under Mussolini (fascism)– Russia under Stalin (totalitarian communism)– Germany: The Weimar Republic - hyper inflation

in 1923 undermines the Gov’t and leads to the rise of Hitler

Stalin

Mussolini in 1903

Hitler and the Nazis• The Beer Hall Putsch: Nov. 9, 1923

– A Nazi military coup is crushed– Hitler spends 9 months in prison, writes Mein Kampf

• Political organizing– 1929: 12 of 550 seats in the Reichstag– 1930: 107 seats– 1932: 230 seats (the largest party)– 1933: Jan. 30: Hitler becomes chancellor and seizes control

of Germany through the Enabling Act

Marienplatz in Munich during the Beer Hall Putsch 1923

Adolf Hitler• Born April 20, 1889 (Charlie Chaplin was born

April 16, 1889)

• His step-father was violent and abusive• High school drop-out at age 16• Aimless and directionless youth

(tried art, but failed)

• WWI: fought at Ypres and Passchendale• Awarded Iron Cross (1st and 2nd Class) for

bravery

• One of Hitler's Speeches

An example of Hitler’s Art:The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich - By Adolf Hitler

German Military ExpansionismGermany:• 1933: walks out of disarmament talks• 1934: Germany and Poland sign a non-aggression pact• 1935: repudiates the Treaty of Versailles• 1936: re-occupies the Rhineland • 1930s: Germany rebuilds its’ military and begins domestic projects for

employment opportunities. • By 1938 > 50% of Germanys budget

is spent on the military

• All of these things violated the terms of the “Treaty of Versailles” • However the countries of the world were following a policy of appeasement: The

practice of giving an aggressive person or nation what they want in the hopes that their aggression will stop as they achieve their goal(s). To yield or concede to the belligerent demands of a nation/group/person in a conciliatory effort, sometimes at the expense of justice or other potentially nice things.

In Germany . . .The Nazis:• Outlaw other political parties• Create concentration camps• Strip Jewish people of their rights• Total state control of society

(Hitler Youth, propaganda)• Under Gov’t control the economy

improves• Unemployment: 1932 at 6 million, 1938

at 164,000

Members of the Hitler Youth 1933

Nazi Anti-Semitism• Nazi Decrees denied Jewish people the

right to:• Hold public office• Be employed in the media• Work in farming or high schools• Citizenship• To marry those of “German blood”

Razing of the Warsaw Ghetto, May 1943

The Nuremburg Laws• Part of a campaign of terror• Passed to strip the Jewish people of their

civil, political and human rights• Encouraged public attacks on Jewish people• 1938: Nov. 9: Kristallnacht: The Nazis

attack synagogues and Jewish people(the night of broken glass)

The interior of the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue in Berlin after Kristallnacht

Fascism Elsewhere• 1936: Under Mussolini Italy conquers Ethiopia (a

member of the League of Nations)

• 1936 – 39: The Spanish Civil War– Fascist Italy and Germany aid the Spanish Fascists

to defeat the existing Left wing government. – A volunteer group from Canada called the

Mackenzie-Papineau battalion went to fight the fascists in Spain, many of them were members of the On-to-Ottawa –Trek. Most of them died there

• The World Powers do not intervene many are following a policy of “isolationism” and want to protect their interests at home.

Italian artillery in Ethiopia in 1936

Republican volunteers, 1936

Asia: Japan’s Quest for Empire

• 1931: Japan defeats Chinese forces and captures Manchuria (for resources) This is known as the Manchurian Crisis

• 1937: Japan attacks China near Peking (The start of WWII in Asia)

• The World Powers choose not to intervene

Japanese troops invade Manchuria 1931

Lebensraum• Lebensraum German for "habitat" or "liferoom") was a component of Nazi

ideology. The Nazis supported expansionism to gain Lebensraum ("living space") • The Nazis believed this was natural for peoples of superior races (which they

believed they were) to displace people of inferior races (i.e. everyone else)• They believed they were justified in this because they were facing overpopulation

in their given territories.• The German Nazi Party claimed that Germany inevitably needed to expand

because it was facing an overpopulation crisis within its Treaty of Versailles-designed boundaries

• Adolf Hitler justified lebensraum by saying: "We are overpopulated and cannot feed ourselves from our own resources“

• The desire for living-space for the Nazis led to a number of violations of the Treaty of Versailles. Unfortunately the Allies did not respond to this as the terms of the Treaty demanded, instead they appeased Hitler and his desire to expand the territory of the German people.

German Conquests pre WWII

• March 1938: Germany forces the annexation of Austria (Anchluss: the connection of Germany and Austria, strictly forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles)

• Sept. 1938: In one of the biggest examples of the policy of appeasement the Allies give the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany in the Munich Agreement. Neville Chamberlain (PM of Britain) claims he has achieved “peace for our time”. Clearly he was mistaken.

• Aug. 1939: The Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact is signed between Hitler and Stalin

• Sept 1939: Germany invades Poland

FascismIdeas:1. The State is absolute and supreme:

the individual is completely subordinate to the state

2. A destiny to dominate other nations/peoples3. The cult of the leader

(“Only what Adolf Hitler, our Fuhrer commands allows, or does not allow, is our conscience.”)

4. Glorification of War: as a test of strength

as proof of destiny

Italian Fascist Flag

Nazism• Fascism

+• Racial hatred and

belief in racial superiority

Overview of the mass roll call of SA, SS, and NSKK troops. Nuremberg, November 9, 1935

Assignment:Buildup To War Timeline

• First: Read through your notes on the build up to WWII.• Second: Take out a fresh sheet of lined paper and draw

a timeline.• Third: Fill in the timeline with all of the events in which

an act of aggression was committed by either Germany, Italy or Japan. When information is provided please include a one sentence summary for the event.

• Think/Pair/Share: Could WWII have been avoided? How did the appeasement policy play a role in the outbreak of WWII. What should have been done to avoid this global conflict? How has the outcome of WWII affected the world as you see it?