Knowt
AP European History Unit 8
8.1 Contextualizing 20th Century Global Issues
Germany
Otto von Bismark was successful in unifying Prussia and 25 smaller states into the German Empire
Bismark used wars to help unify
Danish War
Austro-Prussian War
Seven Weeks War
Franco-Prussian War
Began social welfare programs
Social security
National sickness institution
Old age pensions
Retirement benefits
Strong national government, Bismark was a powerful chancellor
King of Prussia became emperor after dismissal
Prussian Protestants with some Catholic states
Bismark’s attack on the Catholic Church was unsuccessful
Jews were made important intellectual contributions but also provoked anti-Semitism
Elementary and secondary schools were open to all classes
New ideas in physics and philosophy
Plank
Einstein
Nietzsche
After unification it became a strong, modern, industrial state
Railroads
Telephone lines
Industrialization helped to grow the economy
More steel and iron production
Bismark was dismissed in 1890
All of this is under Bismark
Austro-Prussian War was in 1866
1867 Austria became Austria-Hungary
Russia
Classes are experiencing changes associated with moving to an industrial economy
Previously women played important roles in agriculture
Romanov family ruled for over 300 years
Empire was multi-ethnic
The Duma had little to no influence on the Tsar
The majority of the people were Christian Eastern Orthodox also known as Russian Orthodox
There were also other religions like Muslims and Buddhists
Jews experienced anti-Semitism
The majority of people were not formally educated
Middle class is becoming more intellectual
Dissidents are becoming more vocal about the old regime
Marxist ideas become common
“Used the West, to catch up to the West
Used to improve Russia’s “industrial backwardness
Had a mostly agricultural economy which put Russia behind other European nations
Turned to the gold standards to strengthen finances
Resource rich but technology poor
Industrialization was noticeable when the Trans-Siberian Railroad was put into place
The Duma is the Parliament
Spans 11 time zones
Serfs were released in 1861
France
Had a series of fortifications along their border with Germany
Colonial holdings in Africa in the late 1800s led to minor disputes with European Powers, mostly Great Britain
After 1871 free compulsory elementary school for children
France declared their Third Republic after losing the Franco-Prussian war
Restored national unity and stability
Socialism became more popular
Dreyfus affair led to distrust of the Catholic Church
Catholic Church lost a third of their students
People are well educated in literature and art
Made contributions to the Realist and Impressionist movements
Industrialized in the traditional sense
Expanded into Asia to get luxury goods
Strong economy with both agriculture, industry, and luxury goods
There was some competition with other European powers
Majority of the people are Catholic
Great Britain
Great Britain had the largest empire in the world
South Africa
China
India
Reforms gave suffrage to almost all men
Schools were free for children
National old age pensions were created
In the early 20th century, Emmeline Pankhurst promoted women’s suffrage.
Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901
Had a parliamentary democracy
Conservatives
Liberals
The majority of people were Anglican except for Ireland which was Catholic
Ireland wanted home rule
Applied “survival of the fittest” to class and race
White Man’s burden published because of this
Technology was important to British development
Revolutionized transportation and communication
Telegram allowed Britain to communicate with Africa and Asia
Improved guns were used for colonial conflicts
Britain was the world’s largest trader of raw materials, agricultural products, and finished goods
Sun never sets on the British Empire
Reforms took place around the beginning of the 20th century
Austria-Hungary
Dual monarchy started after the Austro-Prussian war
Nationalism was on the rise creating greater tensions
Empire was long ruled by the Habsburg empire
Some local government control, though normally it functioned along monarchical models
Multi-ethnic tensions grew
The majority of people were Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, or Eastern Orthodox
Free school was available in the children’s native languages
It was hard to get this education in places of economic hardship
Education came from music, literature, and art
Most of this came from Vienna, Prague, Krakow
The empire was highly industrialized
This was mostly in Austria, Bohemia, and around Budapest
The second industrial revolution helped to grow the economy in Eastern Europe
8.2 World War I
Events Leading to War
Long-term Cause: Rising Militarism
Technology
The industrial revolution had a profound effect on means of war-making
Military values
Patriotic national press, and popular notions that war is manly, and heroic were well cultivated values
Policy making
Secular leaders relied on generals and military experts to help shape public policy
Long-term Causes: Diplomacy and Alliances
Three Emperors League: 1873 agreement between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Russia
Russia withdraws in 1878
The Dual Alliance was between Germany and Austria-Hungary to aid each other against Russia, or if Russia assisted a nation one was at war with
Triple Alliance: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy
Dismissal of Bismarck 1890
Alliances made during Bismarck’s tenure are undone
German alliance with Russia (Reinsurance Treaty) ends, allowing Russia to sign an alliance with France
Entente Cordiale: Britain and France sign an agreement resolving colonial disputes and promising diplomatic support
Triple Entente: France, Russia and Great Britain
Russia supports Serbia if attacked by Austria-Hungary
Long-term Cause: Imperialism
Conflicts over imperial issues were not an immediate cause of WWI, but rather increased tension and provoked some countries to seek out and strengthen alliances
Moroccan Crises of 1905 and 1911: In 1905, Germany, fearing an alliance between France and Britain, supported Morocco in order to provoke France and drive a wedge between the two countries. Again in 1911, Germany and France came into conflict over the region foreshadowing the conflict that would arise in 1914
Long-term Cause: Rising Nationalism
Identity formation
Unifying characteristics, e.g., customs, language, traditions, religion
National belonging
Extending voting rights, social welfare, and universal military conscription
After 1871, more exclusionary
Race and Social Darwinist ideologies become more prominent
“Us vs. them” leads a belief in national superiority and ultimately to the denigration of “other” groups
Domestic Distraction
Leading statesmen had practical reasons for promoting militarism and nationalism to help distract from domestic conflicts:
Great Britain – civil war in N. Ireland, increasingly radical women’s movements, and workers strikes
Russia – defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and the revolution of 1905
Germany – rising strength of the Marxist Social Democratic Party
France– labor strikes and government budget problems
Sarajevo
A Timeline from Assassination to Mobilization
Archduke Francis Ferdinand is assassinated on June 28th, 2014 by Bosnian nationalist (Black Hand)
Germany extends “blank check” assurance to Austria – July 5
Austria issues ultimatum to Serbia – July 23
Austria declares war on Serbia. - July 28
Russia mobilizes – July 29
Germany declares war on Russia – August 1
Germany declares war on France – August 3
German troops invade Belgium – August 4
Great Britain declares war on Germany – August 4
Total War: The Western Front
Because of the failure of the Schlieffen Plan, Germany was forced to fight a war on two fronts
The Western Front was a 400-mile stretch of land weaving through France and Belgium
The front was characterized by trench warfare and stalemate and turned the conflict into a war of attrition
To break the deadlock, both sides tired new military technology, such as poison gas, aircraft, machine guns and tanks
Total War: The Eastern Front
On the Eastern Front, the Germans repulsed the initial Russian attacks and won major victories at the Battles of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes in August and September 1914
By 1915 a staggering 2.5 million Russian soldiers had been killed, wounded, or captured, and German armies occupied huge swaths of the Russian empire; yet, Russia continued to fight
About one-third of the civilian population was killed or became refugees under this brutal occupation, which was characterized by an anti-Slavic prejudice
The entry of the Ottoman Turks on the side of the Central Powers (Austria and Germany) in October 1914 carried the war into the Middle East
In 1915, when some Armenians welcomed Russian armies as liberators, the Ottoman government ordered a mass deportation of its Armenian citizens; in this example of modern ethnic cleansing, about one million Armenians died from murder, starvation, and disease
Total War: The Home Front
Total War involved all of a country’s citizens and resources
Conscription sent millions of men to the front, leaving a vacuum of positions for workers
This need for workers gave labor unions greater power
Transportation systems and industries were often nationalized
Governments often resorted to propaganda to generate and maintain enthusiasm for the war
Women often left the home and entered the workforce for the first time
Women’s roles changed dramatically and ideas about gender roles were transformed as women stepping into jobs formerly held my men
Rationing of food and resources was often required
Ending the War: Versailles
Signed in June 1919, The Treaty of Versailles ended WWI.
The Paris Peace Conference opened on January 18, 1919 on the anniversary of the coronation of Wilhelm I after the Franco-Prussian War.
Meeting included the Big Four:
Woodrow Wilson of the United States
David Lloyd George of Great Britain
Georges Clemenceau of France
Vittorio Orlando of Italy
Wilson’s idealistic Fourteen Points proposed a League of Nations, but was weakened by lack of participation by US, Germany and the Soviet Union
Main Provisions of the Treaty
Harsh reparations for Allied losses under the “War Guilt clause”
Territorial losses for Germany both in Europe and surrendering of its overseas colonies
Demilitarization and occupation of the Rhineland
Downsizing of Germany’s army and navy
Germany forbidden to have an air force
This settlement at Versailles, particularly the War Guilt Clause and incredibly harsh reparations, would hinder the post-war government, the Weimar Republic’s, ability to establish a stable and legitimate political and economic system
8.3 The Russian Revolution
Contextualizing Russia Under Nicholas II
Alexander II
1856-1881
Tsar Liberator, this was used mockingly
Ended serfdom in Russia in 1861
Had to pay to get out of serfdom
Nobles disliked it
Created zemstvos to increase political participation
Assassinated in 1881
Russia would need outside money in order to industrialize
These outside countries did give Russia the money to industrialize because they saw it as a great resource
Nobles used to have extreme power over the serfs, so when serfs were liberated they felt that chaos would beginning
Russia did not have a parliament so the zemstvos were seen as so
Russia did not have a representative government
Alexander III
1881-1894
Believed in an autocracy (autocrat)
total power for the ruler
Worked to establish a uniform Russian Culture
Sergei Witte = industrialization
Totalitarians use modern technology to enhance their power
Rapid industrialization led to poor working conditions and massive overcrowding
People continued to have no representation in the government and Nicholas II would dismiss the Duma
WWI led to horrifying military causalities on the Russian side
Causalities were the people that were not able to fight anymore
Troops lacked adequate supplies and were led by incompetent officers
Russia could not compete militarily with the industrialized Germany
Russian causalities continued outnumbering every previous war
Russian economy was still outdated
Focused on peasants farming who owned more modern equipment
There were widespread food shortages and extreme inflation
After the defeat of the Russo-Japanese War there was a great deal of discontent with the government
Bloody Sunday (January 1905)
Imperial soldiers open fire on a crowd of workers demonstrating
Took place at the winter palace
Strikes continued to sweep through the country
Organized by soviets
In a general strike Nicholas II was forced to create a Duma
Still in full control
The regime proved unwilling to change its repressive ways
The Bolsheviks continued to gain strength, along with other radical groups
Zemstvos were local courts of law, made sure that peasants were under control
Nicholas I came before Alexander
Russia never had a middle class
The Fall of Imperial Russia
Creation of the Kulaks
Create a stable conservative political force in the countryside
Counter-revolutionary support for the Tsar
These people were wealthy peasant land owners
Peter Stolypin (Russia’s Prime Minister from 1906-1911)
Responsible for creating Kulaks and hunting down revolutionaries
Hung revolutionaries
Russia embraced war with patriotic enthusiasm
Stood behind Nicholas II and the Duma voting in favor of the war
Enthusiasm decreased as the German armies stared defeating them
When the country needed strong leadership Nicholas relied on the old bureaucracy, excluding the Duma
September 15th ranging from conservative to socialist made the Progressive bloc
This called for a completely new government
Nicholas left and left his wife with Rasputin
Rasputin was eventually murdered
The Provisional Government
The February Revolution
In March violence and demonstration broke out
The Duma declared a provisional government
Duma shared powers with the military, workers, and intellectuals
Military was called to stop it, but it ended up joining the crowd
On March 15th Nicholas II was abdicated
The provisional government granted free speech, assembly, and religion, along with equality before the law
After March 1917 ****the provisional government wasn’t able to recognize how war-weary the people were
Alexander Kerensky was the prime minister in July of 1917
Believed that continuing to fight in WWI was a national duty.
After a losing ****in against the Germans, peasants were deserting the army and returning to seize land
This started a revolt
This chaos paved the way for Vladimir Lenin who had returned from his exile
This set the stage for the October Revolution
Lenin and the Bolshevik Revolution
Lenin studied Marxist Socialism, and used it to address the problems Russia was experiencing
Lenin believed that revolution was dependent on human leadership
Wanted a highly disciplined workers’ party strictly controlled by a small
Wanted dedicated elite of intellectuals and professional revolutionaries.
Bolsheviks were the majority group
The opposing Mensheviks, or “minority group,” who wanted a more democratic, reformist party with mass membership
After the February Revolution of 1917, the German government provided Lenin with safe passage across Germany and back into Russia in the hope that Lenin would undermine the sagging war effort of the provisional government.
Lenin’s radical slogan, “Peace, Land, and Bread” spoke to the expectations of suffering workers, peasants, and soldiers alike and earned the Bolsheviks substantial popular support.
Trotsky and the Seizure of Power
Popular support for the Bolsheviks continued to increase throughout the summer, and in October they gained a fragile majority in the Petrograd ****Soviet. [St. Petersburg was renamed, Petrograd]
Claiming danger from German and counter-revolutionary plots, Trotsky convinced the Petrograd Soviet ****to form a special military-revolutionary committee in October and make him its leader, which placed military power in the capital in Bolshevik hands
On November 6, 1917 militants from Trotsky’s committee joined with Bolshevik soldiers to seize government buildings and arrest members of the provisional government; the Bolsheviks declared that all power had passed to the soviets and named Lenin head of the new government
Lenin and Trotsky succeeded in bringing the Bolsheviks to power because they recognized that power was there for the taking and used their determined superior leadership to appeal to ordinary Russians, who were exhausted by war, weary of tsarist autocracy, and eager for radical changes.
Dictatorship and Civil War
The Bolshevik takeover prompted a protracted civil ware between communist forces and their opponents
Opponents were aided by foreign powers
The wars was fought mainly between the Red Army and the Whites
Lenin won the vote to accept the harsh Treaty of Brest-Litovsk allowing Russia to exit WWI, and with this peace, he would continue to try and consolidate power for his Bolsheviks, also now called Communists.
The Whites had backing from nations such as the UK, France, USA and Japan, who sent troops to try and stop the spread of communism
Bolsheviks used war communism and the Cheka By 1921, the Russian civil war over and the Bolsheviks had won.
Formation of the USSR
With the end of civil wars it became possible to unite and create the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
The goal of the USSR was to eliminate nationalism
100 different languages were spoken and 50 distinct nationalities were recognized
This allowed for cultural autonomy
In practice the Russian ‘republic’ predominated over the others – all political and economic rights were limited by the one-party central government in Moscow.
As the years passed, Communists in the U.S.S.R. became less revolutionary. They represented the privileged and satisfied, not the put-down and dissatisfied.
Lenin’s N.E.P.
During the civil war, the Bolsheviks had seized grain without payment. Now the New Economic Policy (NEP) would include a free market and capitalism, both subject to state control.
This produced a mixed economy which allowed private individuals to own small enterprises, while the state continued to control banks, foreign trade, and large industries.
At the same time, local nationalities who had been forced to follow a strict Communist line were allowed to bring back their own language and customs. Churches, mosques and bazaars were re-opened.
By 1926, industrial output surpassed pre-war levels
Europe Between the Wars
In General
1917 - Communism
1917 Fascism created
Turned to dictators to relieve the anxiety
This period is often referred to as one experimentation
Old government types
Failing
Evolving
New ideologies
New governmental experiments
The USSR (Bolsheviks) believed they were creating a new kind of civilization based on communism
Created a brutal, authoritarian, police state
Liberal democracies incorporate large electorates
Women and men without property
Liberal democracies were the most common government style in Europe
Like today leaders and governments were responsible to mass electorates
The Fascist movement was ultra conservative, nationalistic, and often racist movement
Fascism preys on the fears of communism and painting democracy as slow moving and corrupted
Fascism appealed to the middle class
Paris peace treaties including the Treaty of Versailles caused endless conflict between the people that wanted to stick to the status quo and the people that wanted revisions of the state
Most people wanted the revisions
France wanted to stick to the status quo
Economic hardship became the rule, before the war prosperity was the norm
Europe had cannibalized itself to fight and pay for the Great War
Europe ceased to dominate world trade
USA and Japan gained footholds in Asia and Latin America
USA became the largest creditor in the world
Labor and organized labor made huge political gains as their services were in demand during the war
The middle class could not keep up
Political result would be a shift for the middle class from the vanguard of liberalism (mid 18th century and on) to a conservation slant
This was too maintain the status quo and guard against the Communist movement
The Fascist movement was evolving
Liberal democracies were evolving
The USSR was an experiment
1918 to 1939, age of anxiety, interwar years
The Fascist Experiment in Italy
Fascism is difficult to construct as an easy definition
Anti-Democratic
Anti-Parliamentary
Anti-Marxist
Racist
Ultra Conservative
Supported by the middle class
business owners
small farmers
property owners
Very nationalistic
“The fascist concept of the state is all-embracing, and of the state no human or spiritual values can exist, let alone be desirable.” - Mussolini
Middle class was afraid of Communism
Germany
Extreme hyper-inflation
Inflation was caused by the government printing more money during and after the war
People began bargaining instead of using money
Created different marks
The money was worthless
Kids would play with it
People would burn it to heat their house
The Beer Haul Putsch was Hitler’s attempt to over through the government
Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle) in prison
Outrage at the Treaty of Versailles
Anti-Semitism (Hatred of Jews)
Need fro Lebensraum (Living space for the German peoples)
Hitler drew from Social Darwinism for his racial ideology
Best
Aryans (Germans)
2
Scandinavians
3
France and Britain
Worst
Slavs and Jews
Hitler became popular during the Great Depression in Germany
The Dawes Plan was an international financial system
America
Germany
Allies
Money would circle back to America
The Maginot Line, made trenches around a boarder to help them win wars in the future (In France)
Germany went around it during WWII
8.4-8.6 Versailles, Depression, Totalitarianism
Versailles Treaty and Peace Conference
Signed in June 1919, The Treaty of Versailles ended WWI.
Harsh reparations for Allied losses under the “War Guilt clause”
Territorial losses for Germany both in Europe and surrendering of its overseas colonies
Demilitarization and occupation of the Rhineland
Downsizing ****of Germany’s army and navy
Germany was forbidden to have an air force
The Search for Peace and Political Stability
To Germans, the Treaty of Versailles represented a harsh, dictated peace. French politicians, on the other hand, believed that massive reparations from Germany were vital for economic recovery
The British soon felt differently, recognizing that a healthy, prosperous Germany was essential to the British economy
This analysis was articulated by English economist John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946), warned that astronomical reparations and harsh economic measures would impoverish Germany, encourage Bolshevism, and increase economic hardship in all countries
The German Weimar Republic made its first payment in 1921 but announced in 1922 its inability to pay more and proposed a moratorium on reparations for three years, which the British were willing to accept but not the French
In early January 1923, armies of France and its ally Belgium began to occupy the Ruhr district, the heartland of industrial Germany, with the intention of using occupation to paralyze Germany and force it to accept the Treaty of Versailles
Strengthened by a wave of patriotism, the German government ordered the people of the Ruhr to stop working and passively resist the occupation
The German government began to print money to pay its bills, causing runaway inflation and soaring prices as German money rapidly lost all value
In August 1923, Gustav Stresemann (1878–1929) assumed leadership of the German government and tried to compromise, calling off passive resistance in the Ruhr and agreeing in principle to pay reparations if the Allies would re- examine Germany’s ability to pay
In 1924 an international committee of financial experts met to re-examine reparations, and the resulting Dawes Plan (1924) reduced Germany’s yearly reparations and linked them to the level of German economic output
Germany would receive private loans from the United States in order to pay reparations to France and Britain, thus enabling those countries to repay the large war debts they owed the United States
Global Economic Crisis
Causes of the Great Depression in Europe
Debt from WWI was high as many countries borrowed money at very high interest rates
Many countries had depreciated currencies and extremely high inflation. Countries also enacted high tariffs to protect domestic economies
European countries involved in WWI were replaced by other competitors in different markets, resulting in disrupted global trade patterns
The US cuts off capital flows to European countries after the stock market crash in 1929, crippling European economies that had depended on post-WWI American investment
Effects of the Great Depression in Europe
Mass unemployment created many social problems with a huge increase in poverty. Homelessness increased, marriages were postponed, birthrates fell and mental illness and suicide rates increased
Keynesian economics emerged as well-established economic policy. It had called for increased spending and lower taxes to pull the global economy of the depression
The Popular Front in France emerged as an alliance between Communists, Socialists, and Radicals
Despite attempts to rethink theories and forge alliances, Western democracies were weakened by extremist movements
Stalin’s Soviet Union
After Lenin died in 1924 and Stalin consolidated his power, Stalin ended Lenin’s N.E.P and undertook a centralized program of rapid economic modernization that had severe repercussions
Five-year plans started in 1928 aimed at creating a modern infrastructure of electricity, factories, and roads and increasing both industrial and agricultural output
Stalin implemented collectivization of agriculture, forcing the wealthy peasants, or kulaks, onto collective farms. Millions were killed for resisting and in the famine that occurred in the Ukraine because of high grain quotas
Stalin imposes a totalitarian regime and begins a series of Great Purges of political rivals, arresting more than 6 million people. One to two million people were executed or died in prison or forced-labor camps
Mussolini and Fascism
Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) and his supporters were the first to call themselves “Fascists”—revolutionaries determined to create a new totalitarian state based on extreme nationalism and militarism
In the early 20th century, Italy was a constitutional monarchy with civil rights and a parliament elected by universal male suffrage and appeared to be moving toward democracy
However, the papacy, conservatives, and landowners remained strongly opposed to liberal institutions, and relations between church and state were often tense
Much of the Italian population was poor, and class differences were extreme, leading to the development of a powerful revolutionary socialist movement
Into these crosscurrents of unrest and fear stepped Mussolini, he returned home after WWI and began organizing bitter war veterans like himself into a band of Fascists (from the Italian word for “a union of forces”)
Mussolini and his private militia of Black Shirts grew increasingly violent, destroying Socialist Party newspapers, local headquarters, and union halls, while pushing Socialists out of city governments in northern Italy
In October 1922 a band of armed Fascists marched on Rome to threaten the king, Victor Emmanuel III (r. 1900–1946), and force him to appoint Mussolini Prime Minister of Italy
Mussolini trumpeted his famous slogan—“Everything in the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state”—and by the end of 1926, Italy was a one-party dictatorship headed by Mussolini
Hitler and Nazism
Hitler served in World War I and was shattered by the German defeat, believing that Germany had been “stabbed in the back”
After WWI, Hitler joined the National Socialist or Nazi Party
He attacked the Treaty of Versailles, Jews and the Weimar Republic, and in 1923, attempted the failed Beer Hall Putsch.
While imprisoned, he would write Mein Kampf (My Struggle), where he laid out his basic ideas on territorial expansion and racial superiority
During the Great Depression, Hitler promised economic rebirth and his message had widespread appeal, with the Nazis winning 37% of the vote in 1932
Hitler is appointed Chancellor in 1933 and quickly consolidates his power
Other political parties are declared illegal and the S.S. are used as a weapon of terror
Existing institutions such as professional organizations, charities, and civic groups were put under Nazi control and socialist and Jewish literature were banned
The economy improved due to public works such as work on highways, public housing, and sports stadiums. Unemployment had fallen to less than 2 percent by 1939
Kristallnacht in 1938 was a well-organized wave of violence where over 7000 Jewish-owned shops and homes were destroyed
Pacts
8.7-8.9 Interwar Period, WWII, Holocaust
German Great Depression
1932
43% of the German labor force was unemployed
This is more that any other factor what contributed to Hitler’s success
Communists made huge gains in popularity
This frightened many religious Germans
1933 (Important year)
Hitler is appointed Chancellor
Behind the aging Paul Von Hindenburg
Hitler outlaws the Communist Party
Reichstag fire, Hitler blames the Communists
The Enabling Act passed, giving Hitler absolute dictatorial power for 4 years
He was a legally a dictator
Hitler uses democracy to destroy democracy
1934
President Paul Von Hindenburg dies
Hitler’s last constitutional obstacle to total control is gone
Brown Shirts or SA taken out by the Black Shirts of SS
Black Shirts would become Hitler’s secret police
Triumph of the Will is shown in movie theaters
Timeline
1935 begins rearming
1936 reoccupies the Rhineland
1938 annexes Austria
1939 wants the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia
Munich Conference
Italy
Germany
Britain
France
1938 takes the Sudetenland
1939 takes Czechoslovakia
1939 Non-aggression pact signed with USSR
1939 Makes it known that it wants Poland
Pact agreed so Germany and USSR can split Poland
Germany had a thriving film industry
Fascists vs. Communists
Chancellor was second in command
Aggression and Appeasement
Germany’s withdrawal from the League of Nations indicated the Gustav Stresemann’s policy of peaceful cooperation was dead
In March 1935 Hitler proclaimed the Germany could no longer abide by the disarmament clauses of the Treaty of Versailles
After this Hitler began to build up the German army
Britain appointed a policy of appeasement
This granted Hitler everything he would reasonably want and more
This was mostly because of pacifism because of WWI
March 1936 Hitler brought his armies into the demilitarized Rhineland
This violated the Treaty of Versailles
France could not stop it unless they had British support
Hitler created powerful allies, creating the Rome-Berlin Axis with Italy and them including Japan in the alliance later that year
Hitler followed his plans to seize Austria and Czechoslovakia
Hitler wanted more land in the East
Hitler initiated the Austrian Anschluss in March 1938, as German armies moved in unopposed and Nazis took control of the government
September 1, 1939, German armies and warplanes smashed into Poland
Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany
Declared war because Germany would not remove their troops from Poland
Appeasement, to a aggressor to avoid problems
Neville Chamerlain is the leader that gave Hitler what he wanted
The War Begins - Germany Victories in Europe
New military technology was important as it was in WWI
Industrialized warfare and and genocide possible
New weapons such as planes, tanks and trucks allowed Germany’s blitzkrieg warfare to bring the Axis powers to an early victory
Polish campaign of 1939 where Hitler’s armies conquered Poland in only 4 weeks
By the spring of 1940 Germany occupied multiple nations
Denmark
Norway
Holland
France (Soon to come)
Hitler began to bomb British airfields and factories
In September 1940 they began the indiscriminate bombing of civilian targets
In June 1941 Hitler broke the pact with Stalin
Launched German armies into the Soviet Union
Conquered Ukraine
Poised to take Leningrad (St. Petersburg) and Moscow
A severe winter forced the Germans to retreat
1936 Spanish Civil War, built up the German Air Force
The pact between Germany and Russia was most likely not going to work because Communism and Fascism are opposites
Europe Under Nazi Occupation
Hitler’s New Order was based firmly on the Nazis’ guiding principle of racial imperialism
Occupied peoples were subject to harsh policies that were dedicated to ethnic cleansing
Germany divided France into two parts: the German army occupied the north, and the southeast remained nominally independent under the aging Marshal Henri-Philippe Pétain, who formed the Vichy regime, which adopted many aspects of National Socialist ideology
Nazi administrators stole goods and money from local Jews and set currency exchanges at favorable rates, while soldiers were encouraged to steal and to purchase goods at cheap exchange rates and send them home; thus, a flood of plunder reached Germany and helped to maintain high living standards and preserve morale at home
The Holocaust
The ultimate abomination of Nazi racism was the condemnation of all European Jews and of other peoples considered racially inferior to extreme racial persecution and then annihilation in the Holocaust
Between 1938 and 1940 as Germany began the war 70,000 people with physical and/or mental disabilities, who might pollute the German race were murdered
The German victory over Poland in 1939 brought under Nazi control 3 million Jews
Forced to moved to urban districts (ghettos)
Highly crowded
Unsanitary
No real work or adequate sustenance
Over 500,000 people died as a result of these conditions
In 1941 Hitler and the Nazi leadership ordered the SS to implement the final solution of the Jewish question
This was the mass murder of all Jews in Europe
The Germans established an extensive network of concentration camps, industrial complexes and railroad transport lines
This was to imprison and murder Jews and other so-called undesirables and to exploit their labor before they died
The surviving residents of the ghettos were loaded onto trains and taking to camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau where over 1 million people—the vast majority of them Jews—were murdered in gas chambers; Jews in Germany and occupied western and central Europe followed
By 1945 the Nazis had killed about 6 million Jews and some 5 million other Europeans, including millions of ethnic Poles and Russian POWs; the murderous attack on European Jews was the ultimate monstrosity of Nazi racism and racial imperialism
The War in the Pacific
Fascist government in Japan was highly nationalistic and militaristic
Japan was determined to continue expanding
Japan had racially-inspired warfare
Had extreme anti-Western views
Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and by 1939 conquered most of Eastern China
In 1940 Japan entered and alliance with Italy and Germany
In 1941 they occupied parts of French Indochina, promising to “free” the territory from its Western oppressors
December 7, 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, bringing the Americans into the conflict. Japan sank or crippled American battleships, but aircraft carriers were out to sea and were spared
War in the Pacific was brutal and filled with dehumanizing racial stereotypes
Europe First
The Grand Alliance (Britain, U.S. Soviet Union) agreed on a policy of Europe first
Only after Hitler was defeated would the Allies mount an all-out attack on Japan
A mutual commitment to forcing the unconditional surrender of Germany and Japan cemented the Grand Alliance and denied Hitler any hope of dividing his foes
For the Soviets and Anglo-American forces this meant they would almost certainly have to invade and occupy all of Germany and that Japan would fight to the bitter end
After driving the Axis of Power out of North Africa, U.S. and British forces invaded Sicily in the summer of 1943 and then mainland Italy
Mussolini was overthrown by a coup d’etat and the new Italian government publicly accepted unconditional surrender
Facing stiff German resistance they Allies battled their way up the Italian peninsula, though the Germans still held Northern Italy, they were clearly defensive
The spring of 1943 brought crucial Allied victories at sea and the air
As new antisubmarine technologies allowed hundreds of ships to bring much-needed troops and supplies from the United States to Britain
With almost unchallenged air superiority, the United States and Britain mounted massive bombing raids on German cities to maim industrial production and break civilian morale
The German campaign of 1942 against the Soviet Union turned disastrous when, at the Battle of Stalingrad in November 1942, the Soviets surrounded and systematically destroyed the entire German Sixth Army
Stalingrad represents the bloodiest battle in the history of warfare with 1.8 – 2 million killed, wounded, or captured
Hitler, who had refused to allow a retreat, suffered a catastrophic defeat, and for the first time, German public opinion turned decisively against the war
D-Day and Allied Victory
Victory in Europe
After Stalingrad, the Balance of Power had shifted to the hands of the Allies
On June 6th 1944 British and American forces landed at Normandy France and broke through the German lines
By the spring of 1945 the Allies reached Germany and forced the Germans out of Italy and captured Mussolini
The Soviets advanced into Poland and then Romania, Yugoslavia, and Hungary
They also entered Berlin in April 1945
Hitler killed himself on April 30th and on May 7th 1945 the Germans surrendered, ending the war in Europe
Victory in the Pacific
Despite US victories, Japan continued to fight, willing and determined to die for a hopeless cause
The American capture of Iwo Jima on March 27, 1945 brought the US within 700 miles of Japan. Long-range bombers destroyed 40 percent of Tokyo, but it was clear that an invasion of Japan would have incredible loss of life
The United States made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. In Hiroshima, 70,000 buildings were flattened, 140,000 people died with another 50,000 dying later from effects of radiation
On August 14, the Japanese surrendered