Knowt
AP World Unit 7
Will add links to Unit Review videos soon
7.1 Shifting power after WWI
The Ottoman Empire
By the end of the century, many maritime and land-based empires would fall apart and give rise to new states
By the last period, the Ottoman Empire had already gained the nickname of “The Sick Man of Europe
Even though they enacted a form of defensive industrialization under the Tanzimat reforms, even that didn’t get the empire out of its decline
A group emerged during that era known as the Young Ottomans
Educated in Western ideas called for massive liberal political reforms
Would bring the Ottoman Empire into line with Democratic Western powers
To their great shock, the authoritarian Sultan actually agreed to some of those demands and allowed for the creation of a parliament and a constitution
As soon as they were threatened with war from Russia, the sultan put his “authoritarian pants back on” and rules like a proper dictator
In response to the revival of authoritarianism, another reform-minded group arose, namely the Young Turks
They called for a complete modernization of the Ottoman Empire in the image of Western European nations
After being influenced with nationalism, they envisioned the Ottoman state as Turkic, to the exclusion of many ethnic minorities that live there
In 1908, the Young Turks overthrew the Sultan and enacted their reforms
Secularization of schools & law codes
Establishment of political elections
Imposition of Turkish Language
By implementing these nationalistic policies, they alienated many of the other minorities within the empire, not least the Arabs
As a result, those groups experienced their own waves of nationalism, which only further fractured the empire
After WW1, the “sick man of Europe” would become the “dead man of Europe” as victorious powers would carve up their empire into several independent states
The Russian Revolution
Russia had made some progress in industrialization by the end of the 19th century under the hand of the absolutist Tsar, namely Alexander II
His successor, Nicholas II continued that trend
But, as it turns out, the growing middle class that industrialization had created began to resent the Tsar’s authoritarian policies and demanded more of a voice in government decisions
But as the grievances of the middle class rose the grievance of the working class, who had suffered the brutal effects of state-sponsored industrialization
In the beginning of the 20th century, all those grievances boiled over, resulting in the Russian Revolution of 1905
The Tsar smacked it down with brutal force
However, Nicholas did enact some of their demands
Introduction of a constitution
Legalization of labor unions and political parties
However, Nicholas largely ignored those reforms and carried on as he always had
Therefore, all those tensions that had erupted in the 1905 revolution began to boil yet again
The war and the continued difficulties of industrialization then led to the Russian Revolution of 1917
Led by a Marxist visionary Vladimir Lenin who was the leader of a political group known as the Bolsheviks
This time, the revolution was successful
Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power, established a communist state, and the Soviet Union was born
Collapse of Qing China
Qing Problems
Taiping Rebellion(Internal)
Put down by Qing authorities
Cost millions of lives and enormous amounts of money
Left China depopulated and broke
Loss of Opium Wars(external)
Loss of Sino-Japanese War(external)
China was no match for industrialized Japan
At the end of the 19th century, a group known as the “Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists” led an insurrection known as the Boxer Rebellion against the Qing authorities
Viewed the Qing as foreigners, which they were
The Qing was really broke, so it was the British, French, Japanese, German, and the Americans who sent troops to put down the rebellion
Because of their participation in restoring order in Qing China, foreign powers imposed further demands on a weakened China to their own benefit
It was that point that a revolutionary movement gained steam under the western educated Sun Yat-sen
Resulted in the abdication of the Qing emperor and the end of 2,000 of imperial rule in China
A new provisional government was established under Sun’s leadership, but it was short-lived
After a series of power struggles and a civil war, China emerged as a communist state under the leadership of Mao Zedong
The Mexican Revolution
In the last part of the 19th century and into the first part of the 20th century, Mexico was ruled by a dictator, namely Porfirio Diaz
His policies angered nearly every social class that existed in Mexico
Largely banded together to oust him
Chief political rival Francisco Madero was elected in 1910, but was assassinated 2 years later
Followed by a decade of Civil War which included passive peasant armies led by charismatic figures like Poncho Villa and Emiliano Zapata
Neither of them were successful in seizing any meaningful state power
By 1917, the revolution was completed and Mexico emerged as a republic with a newly drafted constitution
Enacted widespread reforms that addressed the grievances that had led to the revolution in the first place
Some of these reforms included universal male suffrage, minimum wages for workers, decoupling of the Catholic church from political and economic power, etc
This revolution was largely confined to Mexico and didn’t have the significant international effects of the Chinese and Russian revolutions
7.2 Causes of WWI
Militarism
Definition: States ought to build up their militaries and employ them aggressively to protect their own interests
Thanks to the incredible productivity of industrial manufacturing that began in the last period, states were able to create military weapons at a far greater pace than ever before
Bonus: They were also way deadlier than before
In decades leading up to WW1, the big concern, with respect to militarism, was Germany
They became unified in the last period, which led to rapid industrialization and a rapid buildup of the military
In the 20th century, those developments merged and resulted in Germany possessing arguably the most powerful military force in Europe
All of this made France nervous because, due to several internal problems, France’s military was pretty pitiful in comparison
However, Great Britain had a giant military, on account of their gigantic world-wide empire
However the difference is Britain’s commitment to militarism drained their natural resources at a far greater pace than did Germany’s
Alliance System
In the beginning of the 20th century, the balance of power on the European continent was expressed in terms of two major alliances
Triple Alliance: Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungarian Empire
Triple Entente: Britain, France, and Russia
These alliances were created in the interest of national security or to isolate rival states
Both sides, in addition to participating in the warfare buddy system, also devised an elaborate military mobilization plan in case war did break out
With everyone using militarism, war was definitely going to break out
Each state involved in these alliances have built thousands of miles of railroads and these will be the main vehicle to mobilize their troops in the event of war
In order to enact mobilization on such a massive scale, these states had to devise incredibly precise timetables for railroad operations
That means once mobilization had begun, it would be very difficult to stop it without throwing those countries into chaos
Imperialism & Its Effects
One of the most potent causes for imperialism was the desire to project power on the world stage
Getting bigger and better empires was how states achieved great power status and that led to plenty of competition and conflict
One of the main agitators was Germany, who under the influence of its national unit and powerful military sought to expand its own empire at the expense of other European powers
Once imperial holdings were secure, and there was very little additional territory to conquer, European powers began to experience conflict of existing colonial holdings
It was this conflict that led to the creation of the Alliance System
Nationalism
Carried over from the 19th century
Under its influence, many nation states emphasized glory and commonality of their own people while identifying other nation states as enemies
As Europeans across the continent embraced nationalistic messages through school, military service, and mass media, this had the effect of convincing them that their national identities and loyalties were the most important thing about them
Nationalistic fervor had a way of convincing them that their national identities were under threat from rival states
Because nationalism was such a powerful and unifying force, that meant that any conflict that began with other powers had to be met with force instead of compromise
A Minor Assassination
A Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip shot Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austria-Hungarian Empire over a little regional spout
Here is where all those major reasons come together to cause a catastrophic war out of what should have been a much smaller regional dispute
Nationalism: Caused the Serbian assassination and ensure that the Austrians would view it as an unconscionable act that demanded retaliation
Alliance System: Serbia was allied with Russia, who was allied with Britain and France, while Austria-Hungary was allied with Germany, who was allied with Italy
Therefore when the Serbian Austro-Hungarian conflict erupted, the entire Alliance system lit up as did the inflexible process of mobilization and the result was World War 1
7.3 How WWI was fought
How World War I was FOUGHT [AP World History Review—Unit 7 Topic 3]
How the War was Fought
This was the world’s first total war
Definition: A war which required the mobilization of a country's entire population, both military, and civilian, in order to fight
In the past, there was a distinct line between what soldiers were doing out in the battlefield and what civilians were doing back home
But in total war, literally everyone had to contribute in some way to the war effort
In a total war, even civilians were considered as viable targets for military efforts
Governments used various methods to keep morale up in soldiers on the battlefield and civilians back home
Governments used all sorts of propaganda to motivate everyone to keep making the necessary sacrifices
These propaganda campaigns demonized enemies and often exaggerated the atrocities that the enemies were committing
Goal: Remind everyone involved in the war that their own cause amounted to a righteous struggle against evil forces
Therefore whatever sacrifice was demanded was worth it
For all the states involved in WW1, they went bonkers in producing this kind of material in the form of art, and various media, including new reals, posters, etc
One aspect of these propaganda is that they used intensified forms of nationalism to get their message across
People in various states began to view the world as kind of like a collection of enemy rivals, and that their national identities were the most important thing about them
Propaganda capitalized on these nationalist sentiments in order to generate fear of foreign enemies and pride in a nation’s own people
Total War Strategies
New military technologies made WW1 one of the deadliest wars in human history
Some of those technologies included machine guns, chemical, gas, and tanks, just to name a few
But it wasn’t just the technology that made this war deadly, but in the nature of how they were used
The main feature of fighting was trench warfare
At the beginning of the war, French and British armies used old war strategies by just charging with spirited attacks
However they were met with thousands of rounds of machine gun fire which led to massive casualties
This is when generals switched strategies to avoid these massive casualties, and this resulted in the use of trench warfare
Each side dug miles of trenches opposite of each other and hunker down for protection
It was precisely fighting from those trenches that caused so many casualties
Each side hid in their trenches which were fortified with machine guns and barbed wire
If one side came out of their trenches and charged, they will be mowed down with machine guns, or caught in the barbed wire
This situation led to years od stalemates where casualties mounted but neither side made much progress
So, what everyone believed would be a quick war turned into a yearslong effort
With so many men dying on the field, that’s when this war became truly global in scope
States(Great Britain, Germany, France) fighting this war had spent a great deal of effort over the course of the last period building massive colonial empires
These various imperial powers mustered troops from Africa, India, China, SE Asia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc
Many more colonial men were conscripted as porters in the war, whose job was to carry military equipment to various locations
Colonial people didn’t necessarily want to fight this war for their imperial overlords, yet they did it in hopes that such sacrifices would help them gain independence or at least greater self-rule
Didn’t really work out and will cause lots of problems for imperial problem
The End of the War
The War dragged on for 4 years and left a lot of destruction in its wake
But a key turning point was the entry of the U.S on the side of the Allied powers(Britain, France, Russia)
Initially, when the war broke out, the U.S wanted to remain neutral
But Germany’s U boats sinking the Lusitania, which had innocent Americans, and the Zimmerman letter to Mexico to start a war with the U.S to keep them otherwise occupied
All of these factors dragged the U.S into the war and with the fresh set of troops, backed by the might of American industry, the tide turned against Germany and the Central Powers
The war officially ended in 1918 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
Despite Woodrow Wilson’s attempts to forge peace without victory among the belligerent of the war, France and Britain used the treaty to punish Germany, which would play a major role in the causes of WW2
7.4 Global Economy between World Wars
This was the world’s first total war
Definition: A war which required the mobilization of a country's entire population, both military, and civilian, in order to fight
In the past, there was a distinct line between what soldiers were doing out in the battlefield and what civilians were doing back home
But in total war, literally everyone had to contribute in some way to the war effort
In a total war, even civilians were considered as viable targets for military efforts
Governments used various methods to keep morale up in soldiers on the battlefield and civilians back home
Governments used all sorts of propaganda to motivate everyone to keep making the necessary sacrifices
These propaganda campaigns demonized enemies and often exaggerated the atrocities that the enemies were committing
Goal: Remind everyone involved in the war that their own cause amounted to a righteous struggle against evil forces
Therefore whatever sacrifice was demanded was worth it
For all the states involved in WW1, they went bonkers in producing this kind of material in the form of art, and various media, including new reals, posters, etc
One aspect of these propaganda is that they used intensified forms of nationalism to get their message across
People in various states began to view the world as kind of like a collection of enemy rivals, and that their national identities were the most important thing about them
Propaganda capitalized on these nationalist sentiments in order to generate fear of foreign enemies and pride in a nation’s own people
New military technologies made WW1 one of the deadliest wars in human history
Some of those technologies included machine guns, chemical, gas, and tanks, just to name a few
But it wasn’t just the technology that made this war deadly, but in the nature of how they were used
The main feature of fighting was trench warfare
At the beginning of the war, French and British armies used old war strategies by just charging with spirited attacks
However they were met with thousands of rounds of machine gun fire which led to massive casualties
This is when generals switched strategies to avoid these massive casualties, and this resulted in the use of trench warfare
Each side dug miles of trenches opposite of each other and hunker down for protection
It was precisely fighting from those trenches that caused so many casualties
Each side hid in their trenches which were fortified with machine guns and barbed wire
If one side came out of their trenches and charged, they will be mowed down with machine guns, or caught in the barbed wire
This situation led to years od stalemates where casualties mounted but neither side made much progress
So, what everyone believed would be a quick war turned into a yearslong effort
With so many men dying on the field, that’s when this war became truly global in scope
States(Great Britain, Germany, France) fighting this war had spent a great deal of effort over the course of the last period building massive colonial empires
These various imperial powers mustered troops from Africa, India, China, SE Asia, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc
Many more colonial men were conscripted as porters in the war, whose job was to carry military equipment to various locations
Colonial people didn’t necessarily want to fight this war for their imperial overlords, yet they did it in hopes that such sacrifices would help them gain independence or at least greater self-rule
Didn’t really work out and will cause lots of problems for imperial problem
The War dragged on for 4 years and left a lot of destruction in its wake
But a key turning point was the entry of the U.S on the side of the Allied powers(Britain, France, Russia)
Initially, when the war broke out, the U.S wanted to remain neutral
But Germany’s U boats sinking the Lusitania, which had innocent Americans, and the Zimmerman letter to Mexico to start a war with the U.S to keep them otherwise occupied
All of these factors dragged the U.S into the war and with the fresh set of troops, backed by the might of American industry, the tide turned against Germany and the Central Powers
The war officially ended in 1918 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
Despite Woodrow Wilson’s attempts to forge peace without victory among the belligerent of the war, France and Britain used the treaty to punish Germany, which would play a major role in the causes of WW2
German Hyperinflation
Focus on how governments got involved in trying to solve economic crises
Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to pay reparations for the damage they caused, ended up being a lot of money
Germany also borrowed a lot of money for the war effort
They assumed that by winning the war and annexing resources rich lands, they were going to be able to pay that back
Since Germany didn’t win the war, on top of their reparations, they also had massive debt to pay off
Faced with this situation, the German government started printing more money
Plummeted the value of the German Mark precipitously
Led to the German economy into hyperinflation
By November of 1923, 1 USD = 4.2 trillion marks
By 1922 a German could buy a loaf of bread for 160 marks
By 1923, that same loaf of bread cost 200B marks
Germany still owed money to Britain and France in reparations
When Germany couldn’t pay off its reparations, Britain and France struggled to repay their own war debts to the U.S
The Soviets weren’t paying back their war debts either
After the Communist Revolution, they decided that old war debts didn’t apply to the new Bolshevik government
Colonial governments suffered too because they had come to depend on the economies of their parent countries
By 1924, the economic situation was stabilized and Germany borrowed money from US banks to make their reparation payments to Britain and France
Led to the rapid economic recovery all the nations and colonies involved
Soviet Economics
Russia had exited WW1 during the Russian Revolution of 1917
However, their involvement in the war still devastated their economy
In response, Vladimir Lenin got the new communist government involved and instituted the new economic policy in 1923
Introduced some limited free market principles into the Soviet economy
The biggest institutions still remained under state control
At the time, words like free market and capitalism were seen as evil and dirty in the Soviet Union
Ex: When Heimler said “free market” in the video, it probably would’ve been censored in the Soviet Union
But Lenin still got involved in capitalism because he needed the economic breathing room to complete the Communist Revolution
However, when Lenin died in 1924, his economic policies sort of died with him
The authoritarian Joseph Stalin assumed power in place of Lenin
Wanted the Soviets to industrialize quick, fast, and in a hurry
Introduced a series of Five Year Plans
Aimed to multiply Soviet industrial capacity by five in five years
This was a very short time period for such large goals
The only way to accomplish these goals was with a strong armed state bent on brutality
In order to supply the newly created and rapidly growing industrial centers with food, Stalin enacted the Collectivization of Agriculture
Merging small privately owned farms into large sprawling collective farms owned by the state
Nearly all the produce of the land would be shipped to feed industrial workers in the cities
The wealthy land-owning classes, known as the Kulacs, resented this collectivization bitterly
But, Stalin ordered them arrested about 8 million of them and either executed them or sent them to hard labor camps
After this, all that was left was the peasantry, who didn’t possess the managerial skills of the Kulacs, and therefore were unable to match production quotas set by the state
Ukraine felt these effects of collectivization the most
Most significant producer of grain in the whole Soviet Union
1932 - 33 harvest was only half of what it had been in previous years
However, Stalin’s obsession with feeding industrial centers meant what Ukrainian farmers did produces, was exported to feed urban workers
This led to practically no food for Ukraine themselves, and Stalin’s policies prohibited them from leaving their homes
Result was millions starved to death and the event became known as the Holodomor(Death by Hunger)
The Great Depression
The one bright glimmer of hope in all this darkness was the booming economy of the US
Helped prop up a lot of other economies recovering from WW1
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 plunged America in to the Great Depression
Several European economies were relying on investment from America in order to rebuild after WW1
The US’s inability to continue that funding meant the Great Depression would become a worldwide phenomenon
For the most part, the U.S government didn’t really take part in the economy, but the mounting woes of the Great Depression changed all of that big time
Occurred under the newly elected president, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Worked quickly to rollout the New Deal program
Consisted of hundreds of government sponsored policies
The government put people to work on infrastructure projects
Introduced a government sponsored retirement program
Created government medical insurance for elderly and children
Whether the New Deal program would have worked to turn the economy around is up for debate, because by 1939, WW2 would break out and solve all of the U.S’s economic hardships overnight
7.5 Unresolved Tensions after WWI
The Mandate System
Even though colonial powers fought during WW1 for their imperial parents, those imperial powers did not see fit to reward those sacrifices with independence and self-rule
European powers and the Japanese maintained their colonial holdings in the interwar period, and in some cases, states gained colonial territory as a result of the war
While some new states did form, mainly the Republic of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kamal, but in many places, colonial territories just switched hands from one imperial power to another
At the Paris peace conference that ended WW1, victorious powers aimed to dismantle the Ottoman and German Empires and divided those colonial territories among themselves as just spoils for war
However, US president Woodrow Wilson kept insisting that self-determination ought to be the guiding principle of a post-war world
He meant that states should have the right to govern themselves
Many colonial people around the world took this to mean that the outcome of the peace conference would lead to the freedom and independence of colonial holdings everywhere
However, the British and French wanted no part in giving up their colonial territories, so they largely rejected Wilson’s ideas
The compromise they made in the Middle East was known as the Mandate System
Middle Eastern territories would become mandates administered by the League of Nations
Three-tiered structure to classify these territorial holdings
Class C Mandates
Smallest population and least developed
Treated as colonies
Several islands in the Pacific fit this category and were taken over by the British and the Japanese
Class B Mandates
Larger populations but still underdeveloped
Still would be ruled by victorious powers because they weren’t ready for self-determination
Most of Germany’s colonies in Africa fit this category and were divided among the victorious powers
Class A Mandates
Large populations and sufficiently developed
Deemed suitable for independence and self-rule
British occupied Israel and Iraq, French occupied Syria and Lebanon, treating them no different than colonies
The people in these colonial holdings had interpreted the end of WW1 as their ticket to freedom
So when they just transferred from one imperial power to another, it led to fierce anti-colonial resistance
Japan Expands
Japan was an outlier in the world imperial powers, since it was the only non-western state to make themselves equal to western powers
Japan decided to make an empire, starting by invading Manchuria in 1931
Did so to expand its empire
Also to gain access to valuable natural resources
This was a flagrant violation of the rules of the League of Nations
Unfortunately, the League didn’t have much power to enforce its rules
Japan quit the League of Nations and continued with its program of conquest in the pacific
By 1932, Japan had taken over part of China, and had created a puppet state called Manchukuo
Throughout the interwar period, Japan would continue to seize territory throughout the Pacific and dubbed its area of influence, the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere
Anti-Imperial Resistance
Indian National Congress
Formed before the war in the late 19th century
Created originally for formally petitioning the British government for greater degrees of self rule in India
Despite some weak concessions to the congress’s requests, British domination continued basically unchanged in India even after millions of Indian soldiers fought for the British cause in WW1
In the 1920s, Mohandas Gandhi became a significant leader in the congress
Would lead Indians in various act in potent but peaceful protests against British policies
These acts of resistance would ultimately result in independence, though not until after WW2
African National Congress
Founded in South Africa by western-educated lawyers and journalists
Dedicated itself to obtaining equal rights for colonial subjects in South Africa
Influenced by the ideas of Pan-Africanism
Definition: Amed for the equality and unity of all Black people across the world
The African National Congress did admirable work in opposing, especially imperial racial policies, but they wouldn’t be fully successful until after WW2
7.6 Causes of WWII
Cause #1: Unsustainable Peace
WW1 officially ended with the Treaty of Versailles
The victorious powers, like Britain and France, wrote the terms of it with vengeance
Turned out to be real upsetting to both Italy and Germany
WW1 Grievances
Italy
Bitter because they didn’t receive promised land grants in Austria and the Ottoman Empire
Before war broke out, Italy was allied with Germany, but when the Allied powers offered these land grants to switch slides, Italy broke the alliance and fought against Germany
However, the Allied Powers almost immediately regretted the offer, as Italy turned out to be useless
Were always asking for more resources
Botched some of their most crucial engagements
Therefore, in the peace settlements, Britain and France decided to withhold all that land promised to Italy
Germany
Required Germany to pay various reparations to the victorious powers
Played a significant role in plunging Germany into hyperinflation and general economic disaster
Forced demilitarization
Left them vulnerable to other militarized powers
War guilt clause
Germany forced to accept entire blame for the war
Engineered by the British and French
Only had one purpose: to humiliate Germany on the world stage
Cause #2: Continued Imperialism
Japan started expanding into China and various islands in the Pacific
This upset the League of Nations, but they really had no power to stop them
Italy, having been denied any territorial gain after WW1, started expanding its empire on its own
Invaded Ethiopia and conquered it
Consolidated all other colonial holdings on the African continent into a formal Italian empire
Germany, under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, deciding to start expanding as well
Started by taking lands that were taken from them in the Treaty of Versailles and beyond
Germany first took back the Rhineland, which the Treaty set up as buffer zone between them and France
Then expanded into Czechoslovakia and Austria, all in the name of getting lebensraum
Lebensraum = Living space
As Hitler took over most of the European continent with his aggressive militarism, Britain and France weren’t doing anything to stop it
This policy of appeasement backfired, as it proved to Hitler that he could do anything he wanted without retaliation from western powers
Cause 3#: Economic Crisis
The Great Depression
Started in the US and spread to much of the worlds
Meant that the populations in many countries were unemployed and hungry
When people were in this state, they were perfect to be swept away by authoritarian strongmen who made promises to make everything better(Hitler, Mussolini, etc)
Cause #4: Fascism/Totalitarianism
Soviet Union
In 1917, the Russian Revolution successfully turned Russia into a communist state, namely the Soviet Union
After Vladimir Lenin died, a brutal dictator named Joseph Stalin rose to power
Like Lenin before him, he wasn’t satisfied for communism to remain a Soviet reality
Stalin would not rest until the whole world was made in the image of Communism
Made Western powers concerned
Italy
Fascism: A political philosophy characterized by extreme nationalism, authoritarian leadership, and militaristic means to achieve its goals
As a result of their dissatisfaction after WW1 and their profound suffering during the Great Depression, Benito Mussolini rose to power and established a fascist state in Italy
Organized all Italy to serve hsi vision
Lowered standards of living
Offered social security and public services
To people suffering the effects of the Great Depression, this was a welcomed relief
Additionally, Mussolini used his rousing oratorical skills to deliver rousing nationalistic speech, glorifying the Italian people and Italian culture
Organized massive nationalistic parades and use mass communication technologies to effectively rouse public support for his policies, and make Italy great on the world stage
Germany
Fascism took hold under the Nazi party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler
Like Mussoline, Hitler was a spell-binding orator
Used mass communication technologies to spread his ultra nationalistic messages of German greatness
In these species, Hitler defined for the German people a common enemy that was the root of all their problems
Socialists
Communists
Jews
Before the Nazi party became evil, their policies did improve standards of living for many Germans suffering the effects of unemployment and hunger
It was precisely Hitler’s ability to put language to Germany’s humiliation and suffering that made his cure so compelling
Hitler’s Policies
Cancel reparations payments
Since the payments had sunk them into economic hardship
Remilitarize Germany in violation of the Treaty of Versailles
Would allow them to project power again and solve their economic problems by focusing on war production
Territorial Expansion(lebensraum)
Eliminate “impure” races
All people that went against Hitler’s racialist ideology
The group that suffered the most under this effort were the Jews
7.7 Conducting WWII
Another Total War
Definition: A war that requires the mobilization of a country’s entire population, both military and civilian, in order to fight
Civilians were also considered every bit a legitimate target as the military targets
WW2 had the similar total war ideas as WW1, but more so because it was bigger and more devastating in every way
The most immediate cause of WW2 was Hitler’s invasion of Poland
Hitler was determined to get the German people lebensraum(living space)
Conquered and annexed territory all over Europe
Not wanting to start another war, Britain and France let it happen under the policies of appeasement
But on September 1st, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland
Made Western Powers realize that Hitler would take over the whole world, if no one stopped him
So, the war began with the French and British declaring war on Germany
Alliance Systems
Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan(all fascist nations)
Allied Powers: Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the U.S
The Soviets and the Americans weren’t involved in the Allied side in the beginning, but they would enter later
In fact, the Soviets were somewhat allied with the Germany in the beginning as they signed a nonaggression pact
But late, Hitler ‘s anti-communist beliefs pushed him to break the pact and invaded the Soviet Union
This sent the Soviets into an alliance with Britain and France
The US was staying isolationist, but still providing money and munitions to Britain
But, Japan then bombed the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor at the end of 1941
This brought the US into the war on the side of the Allies
Mobilization
In general, there were many continuities from WW1 in how governments prepared for and waged this war
Most of the changes just had to do with the scope of the war and how deadly it was
WW2 Propaganda
Used to provoke nationalism in its people
Used to demonize its enemies
Used to sow fear
Assemble massive armies from more people being motivated to enlist
Keep civilians sacrificing on the home front
Ideologies of WW2
Fascism
All about the glorification of the state and the use of militaristic means to accomplish that glory
Japan and Germany and Italy all generally handled mobilization and waging war in similar way
Fascists states were organized politically and economically to serve the interests of the state
With its extreme nationalism and the glorification of military conflict, fascist states were able to marshal their whole economies and populations quickly and effectively in order to mobilize for war
Ex: Hitler used all the people he conquered in his quest for lebensraum to serve the war effort
Set up labor camps all across the German Reich, where Jews and Slavs and other people that Hitler deemed subhuman were forced into brutal coerced labor projects to support the war
Communism
Before the war had even began, Joseph Stalin had organized the Soviet economy to serve his own interest
Consisted of his ideas of rapid industrialization through the 5 year plans
The 5 year plans led to catastrophic amounts of suffering
When it came time to mobilize for WW2, Stalin pressed these demands of collectivization and industrialization even further
Required munitions factories and farmers to increase their output in service of the war with brutal and unflinching demands
Democracy
By the time the war began, Britain had a new prime minister, namely Winston Churchill
Churchill was not going to keep up with the appeasement nonsense that the previous prime minister had, namely Neville Chamberlain
Churchill was nicknamed the Bulldog because of his aggressive ideas against the Hitler rule
However, Great Britain wasn’t a totalitarian state, so Churchill couldn’t control his people and Britain’s economy like a dictator
When it became time to mobilize for the war and keep the war effort going, Churchill had to rely more on persuasion and the cooperation of his people
Propaganda campaigns dubbed it as a “people’s war”
The government promised expansion of the welfare state in exchange for their wartime sacrifices
Repression of Basic Freedoms
Occurred in varying degrees across the communist, fascist, and democratic nations
U.S;
Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor, more than a 100,000 Japanese Americans(a large portion of whom were American citizens( were forced into internment camps
Government feared they were operatives for the enemy
Germany
Jews and other undesirables were, on account of the Nuremberg Laws, were forced into ghettos
Later forced into concentration camps, where they would be forced into hard labor or systematically killed
Strategies & Technology
Blitzkrieg
Pioneered by Germany
A shock and awe strategy that aimed to eliminate the enemy with incredible speed
Combined air assault from planes with quick infantry movement from tanks and other armored vehicles
The trench warfare that characterized WW1 was essentially obsolete
Firebombing
Small clusters of explosive devices that were meant to fall in urban areas
Not used to damage necessarily with a big blast, but by starting fires
The Allied powers firebombed many urban areas, but none more devastating than Dresden in Germany and Tokyo in Japan
Between these two campaigns, hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in massive fires
Fires were so hot that they created their own weather systems
Atomic Bomb
Developed by the US
By destabilizing particles at a molecular level, a single blast from this bomb could destroy an entire city
US dropped two bombs in Japan, one on Hiroshima and one on Nagasaki
Killed hundred of thousands of people
Result was the surrender of Japan and the end of the war in the Pacific
In the end, the Allied Powers prevailed in both Europe and in the Pacific
7.8 Mass Atrocities (20th Century)
Causes of Mass Atrocities
Humans found more ways to kill each other in the 20th century, than in any other century in world history
Two World Wars
Combined led to about 120 million deaths
50% were civilian deaths through bombings and famines
New Technologies
WW2 ushered in the perfection of aerial warfare
Included the horrible reality of firebombing
Set entire urban areas on fire and killed hundreds of thousands in their wake
Atomic bomb
Responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Most sinister cause of mass atrocities in the 20th century was the rise of extremist political ideologies
Aimed to destroy entire populations on account of race or ethnicity
The Armenian Genocide
In the period 1915 to 1916, the Ottoman Empire began a program of revisioning their status to primarily Turkic
From the influence of the Young Turks
Cast suspicion on the large Armenian Christian population
Additionally, since they were in WW1, Ottoman authorities feared that the Armenians might support invading enemy armies against the empire
Therefore, Ottoman authorities began a program of mass extermination
Included the outright slaughter of Armenians
Forcible relocation
People were malnourished and brutalized
In the end, somewhere from 600,000 to a million Armenians were killed in the genocide
The Holocaust
A key ingredient in Hitler’s extreme form of German nationalism was the desire to create a purified German race
He used his power to exterminate the races that he deemed tarnished that purity
It was a program known as the Final Solution
Though it targeted the Roma, homosexuals, disabled people, political enemies, and many others, by far the group that felt the hardest effect was the Jewish population
Before the war began, the Nazis enacted the Nuremberg Laws
Stripped the rights of Jews and forced them into ghettos where they were marginalized, abused, and brutalized
Once the war began, Hitler made use of industrial technologie for construction of camps
Concentration camps, Jews were sent here for hard labor
Extermination camps, Jews were sent here to be murdered with industrial precision and efficiency
Auschwitz
Largest and most brutal camp of them all
At its height, 12,000 people were killed everyday in the means of gas chambers
In the end about 6 million Jews were put to death in this way and about 5 million people that belonged to those other targeted groups died as well
The Cambodian Genocide
At the end of the 1970s, a communist group called the Khmer Rouge took power in Cambodia under the leadership of Pol Pot
With China’s support, Pol Pot began a program to transform Cambodia into an agrarian state and completely erase any remnants of Western influence
Emptied the cities
Forced people to work in labor camps and targeted the education population, who were most influenced by Western influence, for extermination
While Pol Pot’s program wasn’t as clearly racially motivated as the atrocities in Germany and the Ottoman Empire, it was still responsible for the death of about a quarter of the Cambodian population