Ch. 24 - WW2

What was fascism? How was it different from communism and democracy? What does each one value? Which countries had fascist governments in the 1930s?

far-right, authoritarian political ideology and system of government, characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, extreme nationalism, and the rejection of democracy. Different by believing in supremacy of the nation. Communism values equality, collective ownership, and abolition of class distinctions. Democracy values participation, equality, and freedom. Italy and Germany.

What occurred during the 1930s that led to World War II? Which countries were acting aggressively?

Germany, Japan, and Italy; Their aggression had gone unchecked because Europe and America wanted peace and weren’t willing to back up their condemnations with war. Military buildups and acts of aggression against other countries; Italy’s Musulin became a dictator, Hitler capitalized on the idea of pan Germanism.

What was the direct result of the Japanese invasion of Chinese Manchuria (the ‘Rape of Nanjing’)?

September 18,1931; After a six-month investigation, Bulwer-Lytton found the Japanese guilty of inciting the September 18 incident and demanded the return of Manchuria to China. The Japanese withdrew from the League of Nations in March 1933. Japan isolated itself from the world. Its diplomatic isolation empowered radical military leaders who could point to Japanese military success in Manchuria and compare it to the diplomatic failures of the civilian government. The military took over Japanese policy.

Which countries/territories did Hitler and Nazi Germany invade successfully in the late 1930s and 1940s, during World War II?

Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, Italy, Greece, USSR, Yugoslavia, North Africa, The Baltics, Belgium, and the Netherlands,

What was Pan Germanism?

refers to a political and cultural ideology that advocates for the unification of all German speaking people across national boundaries into a single Greater Germany

What happened at the Munich Conference in 1938? Why was it significant?

it represented a critical turning point in the prelude to WW2 The decision by Britain and France to appease Hitler, allowing him to annex the Sudetenland, was based on the hope that it would prevent a larger war, but it ultimately emboldened Nazi Germany and made war more likely.

What was “appeasement”? Who was known for it?

“giving in to a bully”; Hitler seized many countries. The Munich Conference (Sept 1938)

What was the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact (also known as the MolotovRibbentrop Pact)? Why did it matter?

August 1939; Nazi Germany & Soviet Union pledged to not attack each other, Russia got half of Poland, and did this because they just went on political purge. Mattered because it eventually got broken and contributed to a global conflict.

Why did Congress pass the Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937)?

It was all about responding to mistakes people thought the US made that led to WW2. It came as a result of the Senate Nye Committees Investigation.

Which side was the USSR on during World War II?

Originally on the side of the Axis powers in 1941, then switched over to the Allies in late 1941.

How and when did World War II start?

September 1, 1939; Germany invaded Poland and GB and France declared war on Germany as a result.

What was the significance of the Selective Service Act of 1940? (Why does it matter?)

It was the very 1st peacetime draft in US history.

What was the Lend-Lease Act? Why was it controversial? (Hint: how does it fit with the Neutrality Acts?)

1941; plan for how to help the British, loaned GB military weapons & GB didn’t have any means to pay for it, and after war GB will “return the favor”. Controversial because Americans didn’t think it was smart.

Why did the US enter WW2?

The Attack on Pearl Harbor, caused Americans to be determined to fight & protect American honor and defeat the Japanese. Congress held a vote to go to war, and decided to go to war.

Who was Jeanette Rankin?

Congress held vote to go to war in WW2, she was the only person in congress to vote no, got kicked out again.

What was Executive Order 9066? Who was defined as “dangerous”? What did the Supreme Court think about this?

Feb 1942; conspiracy theory emerged that Japanese Americans had to have helped Japan in attack on Pearl Harbor. Dangerous persons was someone who was 1/16th Japanese in ancestry or more. The order authorized the military to remove all dangerous persons from coastal areas and to confine them behind barbed wire in relocation centers for the rest of WW2.

What were the Nuremberg Laws? What were some of the ways in which Jews were treated differently under the law in Nazi Germany?

1935; they stripped Jews of civil and political rights. They set up racial classifications, exclusion from public life and employment, and property confiscation.

What was Kristallnacht?

1938; “night of the breaking glass”; gov sponsored attack on all Jews communities in Germany-after this, 50,000 jews were sent to concentration camps.

What was D-Day? Who did it, and did it succeed?

June 6,1944; Normandy Invasion; the day the American army entered Rome, American, British and Canadian forces launched Operation Overlord, the long-awaited invasion of France(the largest amphibious assault in history). Yes it succeeded.

What was the Holocaust? What was “the Final Solution” of the Nazis? How many people died due to the Holocaust?

Most known genocide, the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II, from 1941 to 1945. The Final solution was in 1941, where the Germans wanted to exterminate all Jews. 12 million people died (6 million jews & 6 million undesireables)

How does the US internment of Japanese-Americans compare with the Holocaust? Are there ways in which they are similar? Are there ways in which they are different?

they compare because both were dealing with the dislike of a specific race/culture. They are similar in both being put in some sort of camps. They are different because Jews were dying in horrific ways in the camps.

How did World War II end? (Hint: name two cities in Japan that were involved.)

President Roosevelt died, Hitler committed suicide, In May Germany finally surrendered. Atomic Bomb attacks on Japan by US, hit the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing Japan to surrender on August 14,1945.

What were some of the legacies of World War II?

55 million people died, tremendous devastation & dislocation of people worldwide, US great depression ended, US was largely unscathed, and the rise of the Soviet Union as a global power.