WS Unit 6

What is a depression?

Recession lasting longer than 3 years OR resulting in a drop in production of at least 10%.

What effects does a depression have on economic activity?

A significant downturn in economic activity:

• Unemployment rises

• Production falls

• Prices may also fall

What are the causes of depression?

Overproduction

Banking falls

Stock practices

How did overproduction cause the depression?

Roaring 20's in US resulted in rising household consumption:

Buying on credit, American industries building large inventories of goods to keep up with demands, and farmers overproducing and financing through borrowing all led to over consumption.

Eventually, production exceeded consumption, causing prices to plummet

How did banking fall cause the depression?

Banking system extended many loans to households, businesses, and farmers who needed them for inventive projects because they could profit off the additional interest.

Federal Reserve Bank pulled money out of economy to protect the gold.

This led to runs on banks and bank failures.

How did stock practices cause the depression?

Investors bought on margin at 10%

You could buy $100 worth of stock with only $10, the rest was borrowed from bank. The collateral for the loan was the stock bought.

"Crash" was a drop in stock prices that caused loans to be called in.

What happened in 1929 in the US?

Stock market crashed --> US financial markets collapsed

Did the US economy affect the rest of the world?

YES

What did the US decide to do after the stock market crashed?

Created Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930:

raised tariffs on US imports

What was the result of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930?

It ignited a trade war:

Foreign nations stopped buying American goods

Trade fell to a 1/3 of its 1929 level

What was Germany up to when depression first hit US?

Due to WWI's Treaty of Versailles, they had huge war reparations to pay.

John Maynard Keynes (English economist) argued against reparations believing Germany wouldn't be able to pay them, leading to the economic downfall of other countries.

Germany couldn't pay the $33 billion dollar bill (1921), so France occupied the industrial region called the Ruhr Valley to force Germany to pay. So, Germany started printing money to do so, causing inflation.

What was The Dawes Plan?

The Dawes Plan was the US plan to stabilize economic situation in Europe through massive loans and placing reparations on sliding scale.

Brought a shaky but somewhat stable result

What was the social impact from financial insecurity?

Birth rates declined

Marriage rates declined

Divorce rates increased

Suicides increased

Mental illness increased

Crime increased

How did US and Europe respond to the depression?

US created The New Deal: Federal programs to stimulate economy.

Europe: Countries moved either right or left on political spectrum

Define Totalitarianism.

A system of government that is centralized, dictatorial, and requires complete subservience (willingness to obey) to the state.

What does "Cult of Personality" mean?

Using propaganda, patriotism, and government-organized demonstrations to create an idealized, heroic, and worshipful image of a leader.

* Through unquestioning flattery and praise

* Used to support leaders of a single-party state

* Disagreement with leaders is considered "unpatriotic"

Anti-elite and pretends to uphold the interests of the common people

Define Socialist Realism.

A form of modern realism imposed in Russia by Stalin in 1924, characterized by rigorously optimistic pictures of Soviet life painted in a realist style.

(AKA PROPAGANDA)

List the 10 points of the The Dictator's Handbook.

1) Wait for when country is poor & ppl suffering

2) Make sure the gov. is weak & not dealing with ppl's problems

3) Place the state above the individual (fascism)

4) Make sure you make it look like you gain power using legitimate methods

5) Have some thugs do your dirty work

6) Create an enemy so that ppl have someone to hate

7) Propaganda, propaganda, propaganda

8) Ensure your appearance is powerful: Military uniform, snappy title, flags, etc.

9) Make ppl feel good about themselves by promising future glory

10) Eliminate any possible future threats (purge

When was the Holocaust?

The Nazi Assault occurred 1933-1939

What happened March 1933?

Chancellor Adolf Hitler addressed the first session of the German Parliament.

What was the Enabling Act?

Passed at the first session of the German Parliament

Gave Hitler the power to rule by emergency decree

^ = (ability to enact laws even against Constitution)

Members of the German Communist Party and German Socialist Party vote against Adolf's Act

These and other political opponents are jailed

As a result of Enabling Act, Hitler puts these Antisemitic rules in place:

April 1-June 14, 1933

1) Jewish owned businesses are boycotted

2) German universities limited Jewish students to 1.5% of admissions

3) Jewish immigrants are denied citizenship

What is ethnic profiling?

When law enforcement targets individuals based on race, ethnicity, religion rather than evidence of criminal conduct.

How did Hitler ethnically profile Germans?

German blood vs. Mixed blood vs. Jews

What were the Nuremburg Laws?

Created September 15, 1935

Jewish people lost citizenship

Marriage/dating between Jewish & non-Jewish = forbidden

Jewish people couldn't fly German flag

Jews required to wear a Star of David

Nazis divided the world's population into superior and inferior races. What was the top race?

The Aryan race (white; blond, blue eyes)

What further discrimination did Jews face between March 28, 1938 and Kristallnacht?

Jews deprived of property rights (can't sell/buy)

All Jewish males are called "Israel" and females are called "Sarah" (Loss of individual identity)

Jewish German passports are marked with a "J"

What occured on Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)?

Synagogues are burned

Jewish businesses looted

91 Jews killed

30,000 Jewish men are sent to concentration camps

Nazis sent the people to concentration camps who they did not want to reproduce--not just Jews. What were the groups sent to these camps?

Jews

Roma (Gypsies) - (Travelers/thieves)

The disabled (physical or mental)

Poles (Polish people)

Homosexuals

Jehovah's Witnesses

Soviet Prisoners of War

Political dissidents (oppose gov.)

What did Jews do March, 1938?

Jews attempted to flee Nazi occupied Austria, & forced to pay large fees for exit visas

US policies made it hard on refugees. For example:

May, 1939 - St. Louis sailed from Germany to Cuba with 937 people on board. What happened after they arrived?

Cuba turned them away

US turned them away

St. Louis returned to Europe

Later, 250 of the passengers died in camps

BACKGROUND REFRESHER

We left Japan at the Meiji Restoration.

What was the Meiji Restoration?

The end of dynasties in power (still an emperor, but he's just a figurehead)

BACKGROUND REFRESHER

What was the Russo/Japanese War? How did it lead to imperialism?

Growing and industrializing Japan clashed with Russia's imperial ambitions creating competition and war. After Japan surprisingly defeated Russia, it was untouchable in Asia, allowing it to imperialize lots of land.

What was the Russo/Japanese War? How did it lead to imperialism? How did it impact Japan?

Growing and industrializing Japan clashed with Russia's imperial ambitions creating competition and war. After Japan surprisingly defeated Russia, it was untouchable in Asia, allowing it to imperialize lots of land.

Japan was now an Asian superpower with extreme loyalty to the Emperor.

Japan wanted an Empire: what steps did they take to attain it?

Moved toward democracy in 1920’s, joined League of Nations, and militarists took charge when the Great Depression hit.

Militarists used Emperor as the face of their rule

Called for foreign expansion

Emperor Hirohito and Hideki Tojo, Militarist Prime Minister

Called their territory in Asia the “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”

How and did Japan invade China in 1931?

Japan colonized Manchuria and exploited their resources

How did the League of Nations react to Japan’s invasion of China?

The League of Nations protested, but took no action

What did Japan do as a result of the League of Nation’s protests?

Japan quit the League in 1933 and launched a full-scale invasion of China in 1937

Result of Japan’s 1937 invasion of China?

Chinese military (Nationalists & Communists) couldn’t beat Japan so China surrendered

How did Japan view China’s loss?

To the Japanese, surrender was an act of cowardice, so they viewed Chinese prisoners of war with absolute hatred

Bushido (“Way of the warrior” - honor, loyalty, duty, courage; when faced with disgrace or failure = ritual suicide)

Invasion/Siege/Rape of Nanking (1937 Japanese invasion) : When, who, what?

Lasted 6 weeks

Between 240k-300k Chinese citizens were killed

Chinese soldiers were beheaded

After killing the soldiers, the Japanese focused on women and children

Considered one of the worst cases of military aggression against a civilian population

What is Fascism?

A political philosophy based on 2 principles:

All citizens exist to serve the needs of the state

The state wants to return to a glorious post

REACTIONARY

Who was Benito Mussolini?

Leader of Italy:

1st fascist to seize control of a major European nation in 1922

Rebuilding the military, created Italian jobs

Bring back the glory of Rome

Reactionary

Who was Adolf Hitler?

Leader of Germany:

In jail, he wrote “Mein Kampf” (“My Struggle”)

Basis for Germany’s race policies

The National Socialist Party or Nazi party

Became Chancellor in 1933

Furious at the Treaty of Versailles

Claimed Germany was ruined by foreigners and Jews

How did Hitler view people?

Believed in Aryan superiority and Jewish inferiority

Aryan race = The Übermensch (Super-Human race)

Started to rearm Germany, violating the Treaty of Versailles

What was the plan/result of the 1936 Olympics?

Hitler wanted to show the world the superiority of his Aryan race, but it backfired when American Jesse Owens beat his “supermen”

What is “One People, One Reich, One Fuhrer”?

Nazi slogan that demanded absolute national, racial, and political unity under Hitler

What is Lebensraum?

Nazi ideology meaning “Living space” justified violent German expansion, directly causing WWII

What German expansions did Hitler make in 1930’s?

1936 – Hitler reclaimed the Rhineland (border between Germany, France, and other countries)

1938 – Annexed Austria

Made claim on the Sudetenland (German-speaking northern, southern, and western border regions of Czechoslovakia)

What was the Munich Conference?

September 1938 – Hitler met with representatives from Britain, France, and Italy

“Appeasement” = give in to demands to satisfy or relieve.

Neville Chamberlain (Prime Minister of Britain) gave Hitler the Sudetendland in return for his promise to stop invading countries

March 1939 – Hitler took the reset of Czechoslovakia

Mussolini invaded Ethiopia & Albania

Chamberlain replaced by Winston Churchill

What was the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of 1938?

Hitler could not risk a two front war so he met with Stalin

September 1939 – Germany invaded Poland

Hitler occupied ½ of Poland, Stalin occupied the other ½

What was Blitzkrieg?

Blitzkrieg = (offensive strategy to win quick through surprise, speed, and overwhelming force)

Britain & France declared war, but mobilized slowly

April-June 1940 – Hitler conquered

Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, France

Hitler vs. Churchill? (mentality quote)

“We have just one more battle to win” - Hitler

“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the field and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall NEVER surrender” - Winston Churchill

Hitler vs. Churchill? (Battle strat)

Hitler attacked using over 200 bombers per night

Churchill asked the US for help

What was the Battle of Britain?

Britain vs. Germany

Britain had superior technology (like radar, better planes)

Nazis lose a large chunk of their air force

During Britain vs. Germany, how was US?

Isolationism

Neutrality Acts – Won’t sell arms to anyone

Cash and Carry – Will sell arms, but only if paid in cash and transported on foreign ships

What was the Lend-Lease Act?

Congress allowed the US President to lend or lease any defense item

Primarily aided Allied Powers (Britain, Soviet Union, China)

July 1941 – Frustrated, Hitler left Britain and decided to invade the U.S.S.R. (Russia)

What was happening between US and Japan? Why?

Because US supported China:

US froze Japanese assets in US

US put sanctions (penalties/restrictions) on oil and metals

Prime Minister Tojo turned to Germany and Italy for supplies

Formation of the Axis Powers

What event marked the US’s entrance into the war?

Pearl Harbor

What was Pearl Harbor?

December 7, 1941 – Japanese aircraft launched an attack on the US Military bases at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii

During Pearl Harbor:

18 ships sank (8 battleships)

200 airplanes destroyed

2,403 dead

Congress declared war on Japan

Why did Germans invade Soviet Union?

Unable to gain air superiority over England, so UK invasion was put on hold

Hitler regarded the Soviet Union and Communism as the greatest threat to Germany

He wanted to eliminate this threat (by conquering SU)

What was German invasion of Soviet Union called?

Operation Barbarossa

What was Operation Barbarossa?

Germans launched three-pronged attack in hopes of capturing: Leningrad, Moscow, Kiev

Siege of Leningrad (Sept. 1941-Jan. 1944) = 872 days Red Army: 330,000+ Civilian: 1,000,000+

Battle of Moscow (Oct 1941 - Jan 1942) Germans: 1,000,000 men 1,700 tanks

Battle of Stalingrad (Aug. 1942 - Feb 1943) Soviet forces eliminated German Sixth Army by surrounding it, and end of German advance to Moscow

What was the turning point of the war?

Stalin refused to allow a retreat from ‘his’ city

Fighting was intense (Germans had not enough equipment)

Eventually the Germans captured 90% of the city

The battle cost around a million Soviet lives

The Red Army trapped the Germans inside the city (cut off from resources —> surrender)

Hitler loses the best parts of his army (most experienced troops=6th army)

What was Germany’s next strategy?

Tries going through North Africa

What occured during the continuation of Eastern Front battle?

Through June of 1944 the Soviet Union bore the main thrust of the Germany army

10 million dead soldiers

13 million dead civilians

26 mil = 14% of the population!

Stalin pressed the UK and US for a second front

What did Hitler call the Holocaust?

The Final Solution (Yuck!)

What was the Unconditional Surrender in May of 1945?

Poland was occupied by the Germans in 1939

1942, Soviets began driving the Germans out

Nazi Germany surrendered and agreed to stop fighting World War II in Europe without any set conditions or promises from the Allied forces

What is a ghetto?

Ghettoes were enclosed city districts with the purpose of segregating the population

Any community with a high concentration of Jewish people; any non-Jewish people are moved out and Jewish people from other places are brought in

What was life like in a ghetto?

Highly guarded; people are trapped inside these areas

Anything coming into the community is monitored by Nazis

Survival was a daily challenge; sanitation issues

What active deportation was there?

1942 to 1944, deportation to 1/6 killing centers in Poland

80 - 100 people per train car

Some died during the journey

What did mobile killing squads do?

Brought Jewish people to fields and lined them up; then killed them and pushed them into holes

Would bring Hitler Youth onto field trips to watch the killings of Jewish people

Normalized killing “inferior” races among kids

What would occur upon arrival at concentration camps?

Were just told that they were being relocated; had little to no knowledge of concentration camps

All personal belongings were confiscated

Jewelry, even gold or silver fillings in teeth

Some people swallowed their valuables to avoid getting their possessions stolen

Most were processed & executed in a gas chamber within hours

After their bodies were cremated, Nazis could access the valuables that were left behind

Soviet troops discovered tens of thousands of shoes in the Majdanek concentration camp, yet there were no people

What acts of resistance did Nazis face from other countries?

Denmark ferried 90% of their Jewish population to Sweden (around 7000)

Used codes like “Helsingør Sewing Club” to get on these ferries

Denmark was conquered first 6 weeks of the war

Historian Emanuel Ringelblum established a secret archive to document Jewish life and Nazi crimes in the ghetto

Put these in milk jugs and buried them

List of families taken and list of names of Nazi officers

What were Death Marches and how did it lead to Liberation of Concentration Camps?

Germans evacuated camps as Allied troops advanced

SS guards shot prisoners who could no longer walk or travel

Germans began executing prisoners as the Allies got close

Eisenhower visited the Ohrdruf Camp in Germany

Many others didn’t believe that these gruesome events actually happened

What were the Post war trials?

Nuremberg, Germany

Military Tribunal

22 war criminals were tried

Charged with “crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and conspiracy to commit such crimes”

What did the UN establish in 1948 after Holocaust?

In 1948, the UN established genocide as an international crime;

Genocides continue to this day: Rwanda, Bosnie, Darfur, Rohingya, Uyghurs

What was the North African Campaign?

Mussolini sent an army to the Italian colony of Libya to attack the Allies

What was the strategic importance of Africa?

Axis powers wanted control of Africa

Oil fields in the Middle East

Second front against the Soviet Union

BUT Allies wanted to stop the Axis advance to pull pressure off of the Soviet Union, and to avoid a second European front

What was the result of Italy’s invasion of Egypt? Why?

9/13/40 - 200,000 soldiers of the Italian 10th army attack Egypt

They failed due to:

Old equipment, Bad leaders, Lacked air superiority, Lacked supplies

What was Operation Compass?

British forces counterattacked = Italians surrendered

What were the Afrika Korps & Rommel and what did they do?

Afrika Korps = German expeditionary force in North Africa

Erwin Rommel = Field Marshal (highest possible military rank)

Hitler sent the Afrika Korps under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel to assist the Italians

Ordered to prevent the British from advancing any farther

Instead, Rommel took his troops on the offensive

What was the First Battle of El Alamein?

Afrika Korps pushed the British back to the city of El Alamein (close to Cairo)

What was the Second Battle of El Alamein?

British counterattack

British struck the northern front (Huge casualties on both sides)

The British destroyed the Afrika Korps and forced Rommel into retreat

What was Operation Torch?

Allies conducted landings on the west coast of Africa to surround the Axis

General Eisenhower (US) commanded the invasion force

What was the Final Push?

By November 1942, the Axis had been pushed back

George S. Patton (US) was given command of the 2nd Corps

The Axis now had their backs to the sea

Rommel inflicted heavy casualties on the Americans

What were the final outcomes of North African battle?

The Axis in North Africa surrendered on May 13, 1943

The Suez canal remained in Allied hands

The oil fields in the Middle East were safe

Allowed for the invasion of Italy which pulled German troops away from the Soviet front

What was the Casablanca Conference?

January 1943, FDR and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco

Agreed to win the war in Europe before concentrating on the Pacific

Would only accept an unconditional surrender from the Axis

What was the Tehran Conference?

November 1943 - FDR, Churchill, and Stalin met in Tehran, Iran

Agreed to open a second front in France

Who invaded Italy in 1943? How?

July, 1943 US troops commanded by Patton attacked Sicily

38 days later, Sicily fell

Mussolini was overthrown and executed

Italian and German troops continued to fight in northern Italy

Who were Tuskegee Airmen?

African American pilots under command of Benjamin O. Davis (US)

Near perfect record escorting bombers in Italy

How did war turn in Italy

September 1943 - Southern Italy surrendered

Many Italians began to fight against Hitler, joined Allies

In January, the US landed forces behind the German lines at Anzio

What was the Battle of Anizo?

One of the longest battles of the war:

Over 25,000 casualties on each side

Northern Italy surrendered in April of 1945

190,000 Americans and 483,000 Germans died

What were the orders to Eisenhower that sparked the Race to Berlin?

“You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other United Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.”

What was Operation Overlord?

June 1944

Amphibious assault (attack from sea onto shore)

The invasion of Nazi-occupied Normandy, France

Hired actors to make it seem to the Nazis as if they were attacking from a different point (the closest coast) Took Nazi soldiers away from the beaches where they were actually going to attack

What was the invasion plan? What made it challenging?

Land 150,000 troops in 1 day on a heavily defended beach

Build to 350,000 troops within 5 days

Move 55,000 vehicles ashore

Move 100,000 tons of supplies ashore

What were the defense tactics Allies used?

Allied forces coming from the water had to wade through waist deep water and then run across the beach

Structures called “hedgehogs” prevented vehicles from driving past a certain point

Allied soldiers had to get to the bottom of a seawall in order to be safe from above-head fire

Soldiers that got to the Nazis on the top of the seawall would get rid of Nazis shooting down

What was the role of airborn soldiers?

Airborne (Parachuters & Gliders) Guarded the Flanks (edges of Normandy landing zone

5 beaches were attacked simultaneously: Utah (US), Omaha (US), Gold (UK), Juno (Canada), and Sword (UK)

Bloody Omaha (had to go through 400 yards to get to the seawall)

100 ft cliff

225 rangers climbed, only 75 were able to continue climbing

Shot at/grenades thrown at them as they were climbing

How did D-Day play out?

20,000 dead British on Day 1

Boats contained vehicles, and when the tide lowered, the vehicles could drive out

Goal #1 and 2: Secure the beaches and reclaim Paris

June 6, 1944

By the end of the five day cycle, 29,000 US lost, 11,000 UK lost, 5,000 Canada lost

What was August 17, 1944?

Liberation of Paris