From Appeasement to War

1
From Appeasement to War

• Chapter 14
• Section 1

2
Aggressive Dictators

• Throughout the 1930s, dictators took aggressive
  action
• Yet, they met only verbal protests and pleas for
  peace from Western powers (e.g., slap on the
  wrist response)
• Example When the League of Nations condemned
  Japans invasion of Manchuria in 1931, Japan
  simply withdrew from the League (What could the
  League do to Japan??)
• A few years later, Japanese armies invaded China,
  starting the Second Sino-Japanese War
• Mussolini invaded Ethiopia in 1935 to show the
  world its fascist supremacy and military strength
  against a weaker nation
• Ethiopia was no match for Italys tanks, guns,
  airplanes, poison gas, etc.

3
Asia
4
Manchuria
5
Aggressive Dictators

• The League of Nations voted sanctions (economic
  penalties) against Italy, but the League had no
  military power to enforce its punishment of
  Mussolini
• Hitler, too, defied the Western democracies by
  building up the German military and sending
  troops into the de-militarized Rhineland
• Marching troops into the Rhineland violated the
  terms of the Treaty of Versailles
• The Western democracies denounced Hitler but
  adopted a policy of appeasement

6
Appeasement

• A policy of giving in to the demands of an
  aggressor nation (e.g., Germany, Italy, Japan,
  etc.) in order to keep the peace and avoid war

7
German Soldiers Marching Into the Rhineland
8
Hitler and Mussolini
9
Rhineland (region between France and Germany)
Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was
forbidden to have any troops in the Rhineland,
the area between Germany and France.
10
Appeasement

• Definition to yield or concede to the
  belligerent demands of (a nation, group, person,
  etc.), such as Hitler
• Appeasement developed for a number of reasons,
  including widespread pacifism (opposition to war
  or violence of any kind)
• The United States did NOT want to get dragged
  into another European conflict like World War I
• The USA responded with a series of Neutrality
  Acts whose goal was to avoid involvement in a
  war, rather than to prevent one
• Neutrality Acts 1) prohibited sale of weapons
  to warring nations, 2) prohibited loans to
  warring countries, and 3) Americans could not
  travel on ships of warring nations (Remember the
  Lusitania in WWI??)

11
Leaders of the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, Japan)
While the Western democracies sought to avoid
war, Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance
called the Axis Powers.
12
Spain

• In Spain, a new more liberal government came into
  power and passed reforms that upset conservatives
  and military leaders
• General Francisco Franco, who was opposed to the
  new government, ignited a civil war (1936-1939)
• Franco commanded the Nationalist (pro-Fascist)
  forces
• Hitler and Mussolini supported Franco, their
  fellow fascist
• The USSR sent troops to support the
  anti-fascists, or Loyalists

13
Spain

• The British, American, and French governments
  remained neutral, although individuals from these
  countries fought alongside the Loyalists
• By 1939, Franco had triumphed and defeated the
  loyalist forces
• Spain became a fascist country like Italy and
  Germany
• Hitler and Germany used the Spanish Civil War as
  a dress rehearsal for Germany and Italy who
  were preparing for World War II

14
Spain
15
General Francisco Franco
16
German Aggression

• German aggression continued throughout Europe
• In 1938, Hitler forced the Anschluss, or union
  with Austria because Austrians are
  German-speaking to become part of the Third Reich
• Next, Hitler demanded the Sudetenland
• The Sudetenland was a part of Czechoslovakia
  where three million ethnic Germans and
  German-speakers lived
• At the Munich Conference (1938), which was held
  to discuss the tense situation, British and
  French leaders chose appeasement and allowed
  Hitler to annex the territory
• In March 1939, Hitler broke his promise and took
  over the rest of Czechoslovakia

17
Sudetenland
18
Sudetenland
19
Germany Adds Territory (Anschluss)
20
Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Months later, Hitler and Stalin signed the
  Nazi-Soviet Pact (non-aggression pact)
• 1) They agreed not to fight if the other went to
  war
• 2) Stalin and Hitler secretly agreed to carve up
  Poland after WWII began
• This paved the way for Germanys invasion of
  Poland on September 1, 1939, which triggered the
  beginning of WWII

21
Nazi-Soviet Pact

• The Nazi-Soviet Pact stunned the world because it
  was an agreement between arch enemies Fascist
  Germany and Communist Soviet Union
• However, both sides were simply using each other
  to buy time
• In June, 1941, Hitler, without advanced warning,
  broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact and invaded the Soviet
  Union

22
Signing of the Nazi-Soviet PactAugust 23, 1939
23
Powerpoint Questions (13 points)

• 1. What country did Italy invade in 1935?
• 2. What was the response of the League of Nations
  toward the aggressive countries in the 1930s?
• 3. What area did Japan invade?
• 4. What is appeasement?
• 5. How did Hitler defy the Treaty of Versailles?
• 6. What is pacificism?
• 7. Why did the United States pass the Neutrality
  Acts?

24
Powerpoint Questions (13 points)

• 8. Who was the fascist leader of Spain who
  ignited the Spanish Civil War?
• 9. What is the term for the union of Austria and
  Germany?
• 10. What part of Czechoslovakia did Hitler demand
  to annex?
• 11. What were the key elements of the Nazi-Soviet
  Pact? (2 points)
• 12. On what date did World War II begin?

25
The End