The World at War:1920-1941

Mr. Phipps

Santa Teresa High School

Part I:The Background

The “Interwar Period” was considered an era of American

isolationist policy.

The Age of American Isolationism

• Senate refused to ratify Treaty of Versailles

• Congress rejected treaty with France

• 1921-Congress passes independent resolution ending The Great War

• World disillusioned with the horrors of war

• People wanted a “return to normalcy”

Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, passed the “Lodge Reservations” an angry and rousing indictment of Wilson’s postwar policy.

Multi-Lateral Peace Agreements

The early 1920s witnessed a profusion of peace accords, each of which was designed to prevent

another global military catastrophe.

The Treaty of Versailles• Brokered at the Paris

Peace Conference in the fall of 1918

• Started prior to the end of the war by Woodrow Wilson

• Britain and France wanted revenge, reparations, and complete disarmament from Germany and Austria-Hungary

Conspicuously absent from the Paris Peace Conference was Germany

and Austria-Hungary, neither of whom were invited because they were the belligerents in the war.

The League of Nations

The Fourteen Points• Abandon secret diplomacy,

treaties, and alliances• Reduce arms and ensure

freedom of the seas• Decolonize and recognize

sovereignty of nations• Establish League of Nations

The League of Nations• Voluntary membership• No enforcement or peace-

keeping troop force• Non-binding resolutions• Nice idea, but totally ineffective

Wanting “Peace without victory” and to “Make the world safe for democracy”, Wilson alienated Congress while pushing his agenda for an international peace-keeping body.

The Results

For Germany• Germany lost all colonies• Forced to sign war-guilt

clause• Complete disarmament• Map of Germany redrawn• Forced to submit to the

League of Nations• Forced to pay war

reparations to England and France

Consequences• German economic

collapse• Inability to pay debts

contributes to the Great Crash

• Destroyed German middle class

• Built resentment toward the Allies

• Woodrow Wilson discredited

Global Disarmament• Four Powers Pact (Dec. 1921)

– Britain, France, Japan, and the U.S.A.– Pledged mutual respect for territorial possessions– Created a forum for international diplomacy

• Five Powers Naval Treaty (Feb. 1922)– Britain, France, Japan, Italy, and the U.S.A.– Limited number of naval vessels (1 U.K. :3 Japan: 5 U.S.)– Americans get more because they had two coasts– Established submarine use and banned use of poisonous

gas

• Nine Powers Treaty (Feb. 1922)– Pledged support of Open Door Policy, Chinese

sovereignty, and open trade

Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928)

• Outlawed war as an “Instrument of national policy”, except in cases of “defensive wars”

• Signed by more than 60 countries

• U.S. Congress ratified treaty, because it did not contradict Monroe Doctrine As excellent an idea as the League of

Nations, the Kellog-Briand Pact had no enforcement body nor any binding force.

The Dawes and Young PlanGoals

• To assist Germany in repaying war debt to England and France

• To promote circulation of money and credit between Europe and the U.S.

Problems• Money didn’t circulate• High trade tariffs kept

England and France from buying American goods, thereby stopping the circulation of money

Part II:The Players

The 1930’s marked the rise of very powerful individuals. Each individual responded to the global depression, widespread poverty, and internal political divisions by consolidating

their authority, expanding the role of government, and using the media to influence

public opinion.

The Rise of Totalitarianism

Causes• Economic--high

unemployment and rampant inflation

• Political--governments could not solve economic problems

• Fear and uncertainty

The 5 Qualifications for Dictatorship

• Big personality

• Big easy plan

• Power (secret police kind)

• Scapegoat

• Righteousness

Germany: Adolf Hitler• Viennese bastard--• Early artist, rejected by the

Vienna Academy of Fine Art

• Blamed Jews for his failure• Enlisted in German army

during WWI, where he was honorably discharged because of blinding by chlorine gas

• Joined the National Socialist German Workers Party in 1919 (NAZI)

The Beer Hall Putsch

• Blamed England and the United States for the Treaty of Versailles and the problems of Germany

• Tried to seize power in a failed coup (the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923)

• Sentenced to prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf

Mein Kampf is Hitler’s blueprint for a new Germany. In it, he contends that Germany

must rebuild itself to its former glory, and create the Third Great Empire, or the Third

Reich. Also, Mein Kampf outlines Hitlers race policy: the supremacy of the Aryans and the

inferiority of the Jews, Slavs, and Gypsies

The Big Easy Plan: Lebensraum

Goals for Living Space• Germany too

overcrowded• Unite all German

speaking people• Conquer Eastern

Europe, Russia, and the Urals as a “buffer zone” against future invasion

Hitler’s Rise to Power

• Granted Chancellorship in 1933

• Won slim majority in Reichstag (the German congress)

• Asked for dictator power for four years (to combat the Communists in Germany

Herman Goering, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler were Hitler’s top advisors. Goering, a former WWI ace and morphine addict, was Chief of the Luftwaffe. Goebbels, a failed actor and writer, became Minister of Propaganda. Himmler, a former part-time chicken farmer, was Chief of the Schutzstaffel, the SS secret police.

Nazi Progress

• Banned labor unions• Gave authority over business• Dropped unemployment from

6 million to 1.5 million• Controlled all media• Burned controversial

literature, including Freud, Mann, and all Jewish works

• Initiated Hitler Youth Movements to further indoctrinate the German youth

Postwar Italy

• Italy denied territorial gains in the Treaty of Versailles

• Cost of living increased 500%

• High unemploymentThe Fascist symbol, an axe bundled in reeds. This was a symbol of power used during the Roman Empire.

Italy: Benito Mussolini

• Head of Fascist Party• Former editor of an

inflammatory newspaper, criticizing the Italian government

• Promised to revive the economy and rebuild military

• Motto: Believe, Obey and Fight

Mussolini’s Rise

• King appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister

• Used executive authority to abolish political parties, Parliament

• Censored all media Mussolini strikes against law. Teachers were ordered to compare him to Aristotle, Michelangelo, and Napoleon. Nicknamed “Il Duce.”

Japan: Hirohito and Tojo• Divine Imperialism and

Militarism--The Cult of the Emperor

• Dreamt of Asian territorial expansion (through China, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific)

• Hoped to create an Industrial Revolution

• Required enormous amount of raw materials, especially oil

Josef Stalin• Gained control of the U.S.S.R.

in 1924, following Lenin’s death

• Responded to the economic depression of the post-war, post-Revolution

• Began collective farms--a way of organizing Russian industry and emphasizing communal production

• Started series of 5 Year Plans• Began purges of Slavics,

Cossacks, and political dissidents--approx. 12 million killed or deported to Siberia

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

• Elected in 1932 in response to the American Great Depression

• Would be re-elected in 1936, 1940, and 1944

• Expanded the federal government to increase its authority in dealing with the Depression

• Established series of government spending programs called “The New Deal”

The Sides

The Axis Powers• Germany (Hitler)• Italy (Mussolini)• Japan

(Hirohito/Tojo)• Spain (Franco)• U.S.S.R. (Stalin)***

– Until 1941

The Allies• Great Britain

(Chamberlain, Churchill)• U.S.A (FDR) • U.S.S.R (Stalin)***

– After 1941

• China (Chaing Kai Shek, Mao)

• France (in exile, De Gaulle)

Part III: The Path to War

The degeneration of the world into war was precipitated by acts of violence and

aggression by the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese. It is also marked by the policy

of appeasement by England and public proclamations of neutrality.

1931

Japan Invades Manchuria

September 1931• Japan invades

Manchuria, a province of China, to take natural resources

• Invasion is a violation of the Treaty of Versailles

• League of Nations does nothing, except strong reprimand

1932

Japan firebombs Shanghai, prompting NO international

reaction.

1933

Hitler elected Chancellor

Hitler Elected Chancellor

• Hitler elected as Chancellor of the German people, nominated as the National Socialist Party (Nazi)

• Later given powers of Dictator, emergency authority to alleviate the stress of the Depression

• Opens Dachau, as a forced labor camp initially for political enemies

1934

•Night of the Long Knives

•Hitler becomes Fuhrer

Night of the Long Knives

A Hostile Takeover– June 30, 1934– Hitler, with the Gestapo

(the Secret Police) and the SS (the Nazi special forces) murdered 60 political enemies

– Historians argue that over 400 were murdered

– Illustrates Hitler’s absolute power

Hitler As Fuhrer

Hitler assumes broad dictatorial powers

• Censors the media• Mobilizes German industry • Rebuilds the German

military• Withdraws Germany from

the League of Nations

U.S. signs trade treaty with England, lowering tariffs to boost trade.

1935

•Invasion of Ethiopia

•Nuremberg Laws

Italy Invades Ethiopia• Italy invades Ethiopia, a part of

North Africa– To gain access to Egypt and the

Suez Canal– Purpose to exploit natural

resources– Uses modern machinery, tanks,

chemical warfare, and machine guns

– Total slaughter of native Ethiopians

• Prompts no response from League of Nations– Highlights that the League is

entirely ineffective

Nuremberg, Sept. 1935

Nuremberg Laws• Forbids Jews to

– Hold office– Teach– Practice medicine– Fly the German flag– Inter-marry– Forced registration– Forced to wear the

Star of David***The U.S. issues its First Neutrality Proclamation, a formal expression of its isolationism.

1936

•Rome-Berlin Axis formed

•Summer Olympics

•Spanish Civil War

•Second Neutrality Act

Rome-Berlin Axis

• Hitler and Mussolini formalize their alliance in Rome-Berlin Axis

• Each promise mutual defense and neutrality in the other’s military action

The Berlin OlympicsThe 1936 Summer

Olympics• Opportunity for Hitler to

showcase Aryan athleticism

• Promoted by Leni Reiffenstahl, Hitler’s filmographer

• To not offend, the U.S. did not send any of its premier Jewish athletes

• Allowed black Americans to participate, because Hitler presumed their inferiority

Jesse Owens, the son of a poor black sharecropper from Alabama, won 4 gold medals for Track and Field Events. After the first event, Hitler, in attendance, stormed out of the stadium in disgust.

The Spanish Civil WarThe Fascists• Francisco Franco led

Fascist takeover of Spain• Asked Hitler for German

military support and funding

• Hitler granted both, as long as he could experiment with his new technology on Franco’s Spanish enemies

The U.S. issues 2nd Neutrality Proclamation.

Painted by Pablo Picasso, the painting Guernica illustrated the horrors of Franco’s betrayal of his own people. Innocent Spaniards were butchered, using Hitler’s weaponry. The town of Guernica, for which this painting is named, was destroyed: man, woman, and child.

1937

•Japan takes Nanjing

•Soviets purge Red Army

•Germany begins pogroms

•Third Neutrality Act

The Rape of Nanjing• Japanese military takes over

the rest of Manchuria• Chinese government flees to

the mountains to pursue defense– Chang Kai Shek, leader of the

Chinese Nationalist Party– Mao Zedong, leader of the

Chinese Communist Party

• 200,000 women estimated to have been brutally raped and murdered by the Japanese army– Considered to be one of the

worst war-time atrocities of the 20th century

1938

•Anschluss Announced

•Munich Conference

•Kristallnacht

The Anschluss Announcement

• Hitler promises to reunify German speaking countries– Divided by the Treaty

of Versailles– Considered lost

brothers, torn by English and American aggression after World War I

The Takeover of Austria

March 1938• Hitler forces Austrian

chancellor to abdicate his authority

• Nazis enters Austria to “maintain order”

• Hitler subsequently annexes Austria and “re-unified” German

• Greeted with open arms by the Austrian people

Hitler AppeasedThe Munich Conference, Sept.

1938• Is prompted by Hitler’s vow to

take over the Sudetenland, a chunk of German-speaking Czechoslovakia

• The territory was another section “lost” at the Treaty of Versailles

• Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, and the French P.M. meet to discuss the future of Czechoslovakia

“Peace in Our Time”• Hitler allowed to keep the

Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia

• Hitler promises not to take any other European territory

• Chamberlain considers it a victory for peace

• Chamberlain would lose reelection campaign to Winston Churchill because Munich Conference didn’t stop Hitler

KristallnachtThe Night of Broken Glass• Caused by the death of a

minor German diplomat in Paris by a Jew

• Used as an example of Jewish barbarity

• Nazi Germans rioted in the streets of Germany, destroying thousands of businesses, killing hundreds, and arresting over 20,000 German Jews

1939

•Germans Take Czechoslovakia

•Soviet-Nazi Non-Aggression Pact

•German Invasion of Poland

•DECLARATION OF WAR!

Invasion of Czechoslovakia

March 1939• Hitler ignores

promises at Munich Conference and takes over Czechoslovakia

Non-Aggression Pact Signed

• Molotov-Rippentrob Treaty insured 5 year mutual neutrality• Neither side would prevent the other’s aggressions in Europe• Both agreed to divide Poland• Pledged mutual support in case of belligerent action• Hitler wanted the Danzig Corridor, land passage to the North Sea

The Lights Go Out

Germany Invades Poland, September 1939

• Prompts a declaration of war by England and France

• Polish government flees, in exile, to London

• Germany and Russia agree to divide Poland

***U.S. declares 4th Neutrality Act, but supports England with Cash-Carry Policy--money for guns, and the Destroyers for Bases exchange.

1940

•The Fall of France

•Battle of Britain

•Lend-Lease Act

The Fall of France• Hitler invades France

through neutral Belgium, bypasses French defenses (Maginot Line)

• Enters Paris in June• French Nationalists flee to

London (led by Charles de Gaulle)

• New French government established--Vichy Regime

• France surrenders in 6 weeks

The Battle of Britain

• Hitler uses France as base for the Luftwaffe to begin blitzkrieg of Britain

• Hitler besieges the main cities of England with constant air attack to erode their confidence

• Strengthens British resolve and galvanizes American support

The German invasion plan, called Operation Sea Lion, would prove to be a failure for Hitler. The British only lost 951 aircraft, to Germany’s loss of over 1,700 aircraft. The British Spitfire was more maneuverable than the German fighter planes. For every city Hitler bombed, Winston Churchill authorized the bombing of German cities like Hamburg and Dresden.

Tripartite Alliance Formed

• September 1940– Japan seeks better relations with Hitler’s

Germany– Germany orchestrates a mutual defense

treaty between Japan, Italy, and Germany– Soviet Russia not invited, thereby nullifying

the Molotov-Ribbentrop Treaty– Roosevelt actively fears a two ocean war

1941

•Invasion of Russia

•Atlantic Charter

•Pearl Harbor Bombed

Russia Invaded

June, 1941• Hitler invades Russia along a 2,000 mile front• Confident of success (because it was

unexpected), Hitler does not equip his army with winter gear

• Germans advance rapidly, taking the Ukraine and besieging Leningrad in September

• U.S. provides immediate aid in the form of Lend-Lease

Atlantic Charter• Formalized the alliance between

Great Britain and America• Established war-time

strategy--”Europe first”• Developed post-war plans

– No territorial changes– Self-Determination– Establishment of the United

Nations

• Facilitated free trade• Demilitarize• Russia not invited, leaves Stalin

upset

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A Day of Infamy

• December 7, 1941• Japanese response to

American 1940 embargo of steel and oil (a response to Japan’s aggression in China)

• American’s crack code indicating an attack on American soil, but no solid intel on location

America Attacked• American government and military caught off

guard and unprepared, attack even surprised Japan’s allies

• Japan officially declared war on America after the attack, later on Dec. 7

• U.S. navy lost nearly 20 ships, 170 planes, and sustained over 3,500 casualties

• Dec. 8--FDR asks Congress for a Declaration of War

• Dec. 11--Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S. (under the terms of the Tripartite Alliance)

Summary• Nazi Germany invades Austria --> Sudetenland -->

Czechoslovakia --> Poland --> France --> Britain• Italy attacks Ethiopia and joins in alliance with

Germany, and later Japan• Japan begins a war of conquest throughout China

and the Pacific• The U.S. diplomatically declares neutrality, but

helps Britain in the Cash and Carry Policy, Destroyers for Bases, and Lend-Lease

• The Atlantic Charter solidifies American-British alliance

• Pearl Harbor forces America’s involvement