Unit Six: World War Two

London Economic Conference

June 12-July 27, 1933 in London - 66 nations participated (including major world powers) - primary goal was to address the global Great Depression - discussed stabilizing world currencies, reducing tariffs/trade barriers, and addressing WWI debts - Roosevelt was initially supportive but unexpected rejected the conference’s main proposal for currency stabilization - this “torpedoes” the conference and leads to its failure - reveals naivete in Roosevelt’s foreign policy with his “do it alone” approach” - strengthened the global trend toward nationalism

Good Neighbor Policy

Introduced by FDR in 1933 - aimed to improve US relations with Latin American countries with a goal to protect the Western Hemisphere - marked a shift from previous interventionist policies to “consultation” - involved nonintervention in Latin American domestic affairs, mutual respect for national sovereignty, and economic cooperation and trade agreements - very successful

Washington Naval Treaty

Signed in 1922 by major naval powers (US, UK, Japan, France, and Italy) - aimed to prevent a naval arms race after WWI - set limits on the number and size of capital ships - Japan abandoned it in 1934 (they also walked out of the London Conference)

Mussolini Attacks Ethiopia

In 1935, Mussolini attacked Ethiopia - the League of Nations failed to take effective action against the aggressors

WWII Causes

• WWI Peace Treaty - weak League of Nations

• Economic and Political Factors - Depression, anti-communism

• Hitler’s Leadership - reclaimed lost territory, Anti-Semitic scapegoating

• Diplomatic Factors - appeasement, Neutrality Acts, isolationism, Axis Alliance

Fascism

Stresses nationalism, authoritarianism, and the needs of the state above the individual - typically restricts civil liberties in exchange for “security” - often also prioritizes racial purity/racial discrimination - Mussolini, Hitler, Franco

Fascism in Italy

Unemployment, inflation, bitter strikes (some led by communists) - middle/upper classes want stronger leaders - Benito Mussolini plays on fears of economic collapse, communism (supported by government, police, army) - in 1932, he is appointed head of government, establishes a totalitarian state, and invades Ethiopia in 1935 - 1938 Leggi Razziali

1938 Leggi Razziali

Italian racial laws that discriminate against Italian Jews and Africans - barred from professions, education, public life, and civil liberties - social segregation, citizenship restriction, and prohibited from intermarriage and other relations

Adolf Hitler - The Third Reich

Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party - Mein Kampf and Lebensraum - in 1932, 6 million are unemployed and many jobless men join his private army (paramilitary) - in 1932, Nazi Party gained the most seats in Reichstag (not majority) - Prez. Hindenburg appoints Hitler Chancellor of Germany in January 1933 - Reichstag Fire - Enabling Act - Rearmament - Nuremburg Laws - Rome-Berlin Axis - Overall, Hitler transformed the Weimar Republic into Nazi Germany, a one-party dictatorship based on the ideology of Nazism (a form of fascism)

Mein Kampf

Basic beliefs of Nazism, based on extreme nationalism - Lebensraum or “living space”

Paramilitary

A force/organization that is structured and operates similarly to a military force, but is not part of a country’s official armed forces - Hitler’s private army is an example

Reichstag Fire

4 weeks after Hitler was appointed Chancellor - German parliament building set on fire in Berlin and state of emergency is declared - civil liberties suspended (speech, assembly, press, private property, etc.)

Enabling Act

3 weeks after Reichstag Fire - German government has the power to enact laws without approval of the Reichstag

Hitler Rearmament

Hitler defied the Treaty of Versailles through Rearmament - Luftwaffe (planes) and Panzerwaffe (tanks), armed forces (sworn allegiance to Hitler)

Nuremburg Laws

Laws based on hatred of the Jew that promote the Aryan race

• Reich Citizenship Law defined Reich citizens as only those with “German or related blood” (not Jews)

• Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor - forbade Jewish relationships with non-Jews, women below 45 can’t work in Jewish homes

Rome-Berlin Axis

Formed in October 1936 between Germany and Italy - strengthened ties between two major European fascist powers - laid groundwork for the Tripartite Act with Japan

1934 Nye Committee

Investigated the ties between munitions manufacturers and WWI

Neutrality Acts of 1935-37

No American could:

• Sail on a belligerent ship

• Sail/transport arms to belligerents

• Make loans to belligerents

The flaw is that it’s designed to prevent America from being pulled into a war like WWI (not WWII)

Militarists gain control of Japan

Commanders Fumimaro Kanoe and Hideki Tojo strengthen power of military, likely to the detriment of the emperor’s power - Mukden incident where Japanese officers detonated a small explosion on a Japanese railway and falsely blamed Chinese nationalists - this was used as justification to seize Manchuria - League of Nations condemns this so Japan quits the League

Appeasement of Japan

In 1937, Japan invaded China but FDR didn’t call it a “war” which allowed China to still get arms from the US - FDR’s “Quarantine Speech” with economic embargoes placed on Japan - History notes this as the start of the second Sino-Japanese War

The Panay Incident

December 12, 1937 - a Japanese aircraft bombed and sank the USS Panay (gunboat) during the Sino-Japanese war

US government response:

• FDR demanded an apology and compensation

• Japan apologized, claimed it was a mistake, and paid $2.2 million in reparations

The US accepted the apology to avoid escalating the conflict

Increased German Aggression

In 1935, Hitler begins military buildup, sends troops into Rhineland without being stopped (Appeasement) - In 1938, Hitler quits the League of Nations - In 1938, he annexes Austria (the “Anschluss”) - the majority of Austrians were German and favored unification (Germany was unopposed)

Munich Conference/Agreement

September 1938 - 3 million German-Speakers in Sudetenland - Hitler claims Czechs abuse Sudeten Germans and masses troops on the border (he is their “savior”) - Allies let Hitler have Sudetenland of neighboring Czechoslovakia (Czechoslovakia is not consulted) - Six months later, in March of 1939, Hitler took over all of Czechoslovakia - appeasement didn’t work (Neville Chamberlain)

Soviet Union under Stalin

Stalin transforms the Soviet Union after taking over in 1924 - replaces private farms with collectives - creates the second largets industrial power (industrializes Russia) - manufactured famine kills millions (especially in Ukraine) - purges anyone who threatens his power (gulags where people produce work until they die) - 8-13 million killed (military killed first which is bad for WWII) - he is resentful due to US involvement in the Communist Revolution and not being included in the Treaty of Versailles

Totalitarianism

The government/state holds absolute authority over all aspects of public/private life - Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler

German Offensive Begins

Hitler claims the Poles mistreat Germans in Poland and wants to annex Poland - many think he’s bluffing because that would be a two-front war with France and the Soviet Union (they don’t know about the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact) - September 1939 Hitler overruns Poland in blitzkrieg (lightning war) - attack, penetrate, encircle - Britain and France declare war and WWII begins

Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

August 23, 1939 Stalin and Hitler sign this pact (aka the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact) - they won’t attack each other - they’ll also divide Poland between them - Germany needs Poland without a two-front war and Stalin needs to stall because he has no military (killed them all) - Germany gets west Poland, USSR gets east Poland

“Cash and Carry” Act

The new Neutrality Act of 1939 - Britain and France would have to provide their own ships and pay for the arms in cash - compromise that mitigated threat to US interests - the ban on loans remained in effect, and US ships were banned from transporting goods to belligerent ports

The Phony War

September 1939-May 1940 - aka Sitzkrieg or Twilight War - followed the German invasion of Poland - Characterizes by a lack of major military operations in Western Europe following the initial declaration of war - French and British soldiers on the Maginot line face Germans in Sitzkrieg - Stalin annexed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and defeats Finland (he expects the Nazi-Soviet Pact to last longer) - 1940 Hitler invades Denmark, Norway and then low countries

The Maginot Line - A Costly Miscalculation

Built by France in the 1930s along its border with Germany - named after the French minister of war Andre Maginot - massive system of concrete, subterranean fortifications, obstacles, and weapons fortifications - designed to deter an invasion and buy time for French forces to mobilize - Cost 3 billion Francs (about $9 billion today) - on May 10, 1940 the Maginot Line is a failure as the Germans bypass the line through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium - On June 22, 1940 France falls (within 6 weeks)

Dunkirk Evacuation

Operation Dynamo from May 26-June 4, 1940 - evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk, France - rescued the British army - over 338,000 troops were rescued from advancing German forces

Effects of the Fall of France

Hitler enjoyed the height of his popularity - the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 where Congress passed the first peacetime draft in US History (they are expecting war)

The Battle of Britain

July-October 1940 - first major military campaign fought entirely by air forces - Nazi Luftwaffe vs. British Royal Air Force (RAF) - Hitler’s goal was to gain air superiority before invading (the Blitz)

America First Committee

Isolationist group who argued against involvement in the war - feared being drawn into another European conflict - included Charles Lindbergh

Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies

Formed by the interventionist group in America - believed the Nazi threat would eventually reach America

FDR Response to WWII (Isolationism/Interventionism)

Publicly maintained neutrality - privately supported Britain through the Lend-Lease Program

Destroyer Deal

Britain needed escort ships to protect convoys - September 2, 1940 FDR moved to transfer 50 destroyers to Britain - Britain promised to give the US valuable defensive base sites (99 yr lease) - FDR was slowly starting to move toward war

Election of 1940

FDR shattered the two-term tradition in 1940 - defeated Republican Wendell L. Wilkie - FDR was the only man qualified to lead America through the war (according to voters)

Lend-Lease Act of 1941

March 11, 1941 - Allowed US to supply Allied nations with war materials - FDR claimed the US is a “great arsenal of democracy” - Garden Hose Analogy there the LL Act is “lending a garden hose to a neighbor whose house is on fire” - Lends arms/supplies needed by any country whose security was vital to the defense of the US - Primarily benefitted the UK, China, and later, the Soviet Union - praised as “an act to further promote the defense of the US” - critics called it the “Blank Check Bill” - Congress passed the act claiming to “send guns not sons” and “billions not bodies” - Marked the abandonment of neutrality and preparing for war while officially remaining “neutral”