The Gathering Storm: The Road to WWII

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The Gathering Storm The Road to WWII

• An Interactive Internet Activity

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The Objective

1. This Power Point takes you through a timeline of
   events in the 1930s that lay out the road to
   Americas eventual entrance into WWII.
2. White slides explain events occurring in the
   world blue slides depict what was going on at
   the same time in the United States.
3. Some of the information should be familiar to
   you. However, this activity is designed to help
   you put everything together in context and
   chronological order, combining world events with
   what was happening back home in America.
4. When you get to slides with RED text, you will
   find small additional tasks designed to add to
   and more fully develop the timeline. Answer each
   of the questions as thoroughly as possible in
   bullet point form. You will be called upon to
   share your slides in class.

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1930 In the World

• Great Depression has hit Germany hard
• 1930 was a Reichstag (parliamentary) election
  year
• Hitler and the Nazi Party promises work to the
  unemployed, prosperity to failed business people,
  profits to industry, expansion to the Army,
  social harmony and an end of class distinctions
  to idealistic young students, and restoration of
  German glory to those in despair.

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Hitler Promises Work
Hitler visits a factory and is enthusiastically
greeted. Many Germans were grateful for jobs
after the misery of he depression years.
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1930 In the World

• On election day September 14, 1930, the Nazis
  received 6,371,000 votes, over 18 of the total,
  and were thus entitled to 107 seats in the German
  Reichstag.
• Overnight, the Nazi party went from the smallest
  to the second largest party in Germany.

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1931 In the World (Japan)

• Japan was growing overpopulated
• Manchuria was rich in minerals, forests, farm
  land the perfect solution to their problems
• Sept. 18 Japanese army invades the Chinese
  territory of Manchuria, establishing a puppet
  government and renaming it Manchukuo

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1932 In the World

• Hitler runs for President against 85 year old
  Paul von Hindenburg his slogan was Freedom and
  Bread
• Hitler got over 11 million votes or 30 of the
  total Hindenburg got over 18 million votes or
  49, leading to run-off.
• April 10, 1932 run-off Hitler won 36, and
  Hindenburg won 53, winning another 7 year term.
• Hitler LOST!

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1933 In the World

• Adolf Hitler appointed Chancellor on January 30
• Why? Look at the last few paragraphs of this
  page http//www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseof
  hitler/collapse.htm
• Massive fire at the Reichstag (Parliament)
  building, February 28, 1933
• Enabling Act passed on March 23, 1933

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How did these two laws help Hitler?

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reichstag_Fire_Decree
  
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enabling_Act_of_1933

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How did life change for Germanys Jews when
Hitler came to power? What laws were instituted?

• http//www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/index.php?ModuleId100
  05681

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1933 in America

• March 4 Franklin D. Roosevelt sworn in as
  President of the United States
• We have nothing to fear but fear itself.
• Unemployment rate over 25 in the U.S.

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1934 In the World

• Hitler begins a massive arms build-up, in
  violation of the Treaty of Versailles
• August 19 Hitler becomes Fuhrer of Germany
• September Nuremberg Nazi Party Day

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1934 In America

• A special committee led by Senator Gerald Nye
  begins Senate hearings into the involvement of
  banks and corporations in financing WWI and
  supplying arms to Allies hearings continue for 3
  years
• The majority of Americans begin to believe that
  weapons makers and bankers were primarily
  responsible for getting the U.S. into WWI
  weapons makers are called merchants of death
• Widespread isolationist sentiment grows in America

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1935 In the World

• Hitler announces a plan to build a 500,000 man
  army, also in violation of the Treaty of
  Versailles

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1935 In the World

• Hitler and the Nazis announce the Nuremberg Laws
• October 3 Italy invades Ethiopia in the hopes of
  building Mussolinis New Roman Empire it takes
  Italy seven months to conquer a country fighting
  with spears and 19th century rifles!
• Hitler and Mussolini believe that the democracies
  are weak and powerless to stop them!

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Map of Mussolinis Conquests
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What were the Nuremberg Laws, and how did they
change life for German Jews?

• http//www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holoca
  ust/nurlaws.html

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1935 in America

• FDR reluctantly signs the first Neutrality Act,
  preventing U.S. companies and banks from selling
  arms or loaning money to warring nations (this
  act was a direct response to Italys invasion of
  Ethiopia)
• A best-selling book in the U.S. The Road to War,
  1914-1917 first in a long line of books arguing
  that the U.S. was dragged into WWI by banks and
  corporations other anti-war books are
  best-sellers (All Quiet on the Western Front,
  etc.)

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1936 In the World

• May 7 Germany remilitarizes the Rhineland, which
  borders France, in violation of the Treaty of
  Versailles
• Berlin-Rome Axis created alliance between
  Germany and Italy
• Germany hosts the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin

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Germany and the Rhineland
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The Spanish Civil War

• Mussolini and Hitler send troops, weapons, and
  money to Fascist Francisco Franco
• Fascists engage in massive bombing of civilian
  populations (the first time in human history)
• Loyalists supporting the democratic government in
  Spain receive no help from U.S. due to Neutrality
  Act!

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What were the Abraham Lincoln Brigades that
fought in the Spanish Civil War?

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_Briga
  de

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Famous Spanish painter Pablo Picassos most
famous painting was called Guernica. Here it is!
Why did Picasso make this painting, and what
connection does it have to this era of history?

• http//www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/guernica/gm
  ain.html

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What was the outcome of the Spanish Civil War
when it ended in 1939?

• http//www.answers.com/topic/spanish-civil-war

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Watch this entire online exhibit. Explain how
Hitler used the 1936 Olympics to his benefit.
Videos in upper tight corner.

• http//www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/olympic
  s/

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1936 In America

• FDR reluctantly signs The Neutrality Act of 1936,
  closing the loopholes in the 1935 Act by
  prohibiting trade in war materials (steel and
  oil) as well as loans or credits to belligerents.

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1937 In the World

• Japan invades China, murdering 300,000 in The
  Rape of Nanking. The U.S. sends loans to China
  but does not get militarily involved (7 million
  total Chinese killed)
• Japan attacks an American ship the Panay

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1937 In the World

• Hitler declares his desire for lebensraum, or
  living space for his master race. He announces
  his intention to get it through territorial
  expansion.

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What was the U.S. response to the Panay incident
in 1937?

• http//www.answers.com/topic/panay-incident

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1937 In America

• 70 of Americans polled believed that the U.S.
  should have stayed out of WWI and felt it was a
  mistake.
• Neutrality Acts of 1937 further tightened
  restrictions on aiding warring nations and made
  it illegal to travel on the ships of nations at
  war FDR signs it, once again, reluctantly.
• FDR gives his famous quarantine speech (see
  next slide)

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What did FDR mean by quarantine?

• http//www.wwnorton.com/college/history/archive/re
  sources/documents/ch29_03.htm

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1938 in the world

• Mar. 28 Germany annexes Austria peacefully in
  the Anschluss (union) without a single shot
  fired!
• Sept. 29-30 Munich Conference Great Britain,
  France, Italy, and Germany sign a pact allowing
  Hitler to annex the Sudetenland region of
  Czechoslovakia- Hitler promises that he will make
  no further demands for territory
• Nov. 9-10 Kristallnacht

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How did Hitler take control of Austria, without
firing a single shot?

• http//www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-a
  ustria.htm

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Why was British Prime Minister Chamberlain blamed
for appeasement? What does this word mean in
reference to Munich?

• http//www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWappeasemen
  t.htm

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What was Kristallnacht? Why was it considered a
turning point? Write a summary and find two
pictures.

• http//www.ushmm.org/museum/exhibit/online/kristal
  lnacht/frame.htm

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1938 In America

• Isolationist, anti-war organizations begin to
  form America First Committee, led by Charles
  Lindbergh
• Congressman Louis Ludlow proposes a
  constitutional amendment requiring a national
  vote before ever going to war!
• 75 of Americans do not want to allow more Jewish
  exiles into the US

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Why was Charles Lindbergh Americas most famous
celebrity? What were his beliefs about the war?

• http//www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lindbergh/sfeature/fa
  llen.html

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Please carefully examine each of the next five
slides, which each have a photograph. Study them
closely, and type in what you think is going on
in each picture.
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1939 In the World

• Mar. 15 Hitler takes over the rest of
  Czechoslovakia, in violation of the Munich Pact
• Aug. Hitler and Stalin sign a non-aggression
  treaty, agreeing to divide up Poland between the
  two powers
• Sept. 1 Germany invades Poland World War II
  officially begins.
• Sept. 3 Great Britain and France declare war on
  Germany, fulfilling treaty obligations.
• Sept. 17 Stalin marches into Poland from the
  east- he and Hitler divide it.

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Analyze this 1939 cartoon carefully. What is the
message of this cartoon?
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1939 In America

• FDR submits a 1.3 billion defense budget, saying
  that Hitler and Mussolini were madmen who
  respected force and force alone
• Neutrality Act of 1939 passed allowed sale of
  weapons to Britain, France, and China on a cash
  and carry basis (countries that want to buy
  weapons must use their own ships and pay cash- no
  credit!)

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1940 In the World

• May 10 German Blitzkrieg (lightning war) begins
  in Europe
• Winston Churchill becomes British Prime Minister
• Within ONE MONTH, Denmark, Norway, Holland,
  Belgium, and Luxembourg all fall to Nazis.
• June 22 France surrenders to Hitler.
• July 10 Battle of Britain begins. The Blitz
  unleashed on London and other major cities.
• Aug 1 Japan announces plan to build an Asian
  empire the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity
  Sphere Asia for Asians
• Sept 27 Japan, Italy, and Germany sign
  Tripartite Pact, creating the Axis

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What are the terms of the Tripartite Pact?
Summarize them below.

• http//www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/ww2/tr
  ipartite.html

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Hitler takes Paris
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The Blitz in London
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The Blitz Continues
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The Tubes
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1940 In America

• July Despite the raging war in Europe, FDR
  promises Americans that he will not send your
  boys to any foreign wars
• July Destroyers for bases deal gives 50
  destroyers to Britain in exchange for the rights
  to eight bases in the Caribbean
• Sept. Selective Service Act passed first
  peacetime draft ever 16 million registered
• FDR wins reelection
• Dec. 29 FDR calls upon Americans to become
  the arsenal of democracy

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1941 In the World

• Japan invades Indochina the U.S. embargoes metal
  and gas shipments to Japan (80 of Japans gas
  came from the US)
• Oct. 18 General Hideki Tojo becomes the Premier
  of Japan
• Will Japan stop plans to conquer Asia expansion
  or go to war with the U.S.? Plans are made for a
  Pearl Harbor attack!

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1941 In America

• Lend-Lease Act is passed FDR given the power to
  sell or lease arms to Britain and Soviet Union
  Germans use U-boats to attack ships
• July 26 FDR freezes trade with Japan, including
  oil
• Dec. 7 Japan bombs U.S. base at Pearl Harbor,
  Hawaii America is at war. The day that will
  live in infamy.
• U.S. and G.B. declare war on Japan, Germany and
  Italy declare war on the U.S.

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What were the Four Freedoms guaranteed in the
Atlantic Charter written by FDR and Churchill?
These were the four goals of the Allied forces in
the war, the four goals that they wanted to meet.

• http//www.wwnorton.com/college/history/ralph/work
  book/ralprs36b.htm
• Freedom of
• Freedom of
• Freedom from
• Freedom from

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Pearl Harbor Day of Infamy 12/7/41