The Road to WWII

1. Japan Italy Spain United States The Road to WWII USSR Germany Munich Conference Pacts

2. Japan • 1910 Japan annexes Korea • Utilize its iron ore & natural resources • Invasion of Manchuria (China’s Northeastern Province) • 1931, Japans Military occupied the province of Manchuria (renaming it Manchukuo). China was having their own civil war & Japan used that to their advantage. The Road to WWII

3. Japan • Japan invades China 1937 • In less than 6 months Beijing and Nanking are captured by Japan • When Japanese troops reached the city of Nanking, The Rape of Nanking occurred, where 300,000 to 600,000 civilians were killed by the Japanese Army for fun The Road to WWII

4. Italy • Mussolini attacks Ethiopia 1935 • Why? Revenge for Italy’s loss in the 1889 and to build an empire • Ethiopian army put up a good fight and held off the Italians for 8 months weakening them The Road to WWII • Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, asks League of Nations for help • League does next to nothing, Selassie warns “It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.” * Goal = expand colonial possessions

5. SPAIN • Spanish Civil War • Civil war raged in Spain; Nationalists vs. Republicans (1936 – 1939) • Mussolini and Hitler provided military support & supplies to Franco’s Nationalists • Franco’s Nationalists won which motivated Hitler and Mussolini to challenge other countries The Road to WWII

6. United States • United States Isolates itself from the World • Many in the US argued that it was a mistake to enter WWI • Passed 3 Neutrality Acts that banned loaning or selling weapons to nations at war • Non-intervention was the key The Road to WWII

7. Germany Lebensraum: Living Space Rhineland: In 1936 Hitler reestablished his military & sent troops into the Rhineland defying the Treaty of Versailles. Britain and France took no action. • Left League of Nations in 1933 • Took back the Saar Basin in 1935 The Road to WWII Anschluss: The Union of Germany and Austria. In 1938 Hitler annexes Austria, Britain does nothing.

8. Germany Sudetenland: In 1938 Hitler is willing to risk a world war to take over the mountainous area in northern Czechoslovakia (German speaking people in Czech). The Road to WWII

9. Munich Conference • Britain, France, Italy and Germany met in Munich to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia on September 30, 1938 • They agreed to give the German-speaking part of Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland) to Germany The Road to WWII • Chamberlain thought he was giving in to Hitler’s final request and adverting a future war (appeasement). “Peace in our time” • Hitler promises to be satisfied with the Sudetenland • In less than six months Hitler occupies the rest of Czechoslovakia Appeasement: to pacify, especially by granting demands.

10. USSR • Stalin was looking for a political and military agreement between the Soviet Union and Britain and France • Britain and France denied an alliance • Hitler wants to invade Poland But Invading Poland would anger the Soviet Union and might even risk war The Road to WWII

11. Pacts Rome/Berlin Axis: In October 1936 Germany & Mussolini signed an agreement that recognizes their common political and economic interests. Rome/Berlin/Tokyo Axis AKA: ANTI-COMINTERN (COMMUNIST) PACT: In November 1936 Hitler and Mussolini invited Japan to join their pact The Road to WWII Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact • Hitler and Stalin signed the Pact on August 23, 1939 • It guaranteed Hitler that an invasion of Poland would not result in a war with the USSR