The World at War: 1920-1941

1. The World at War:1920-1941 Mr. Phipps Santa Teresa High School

2. Part I:The Background The “Interwar Period” was considered an era of American isolationist policy.

3. The Age of American Isolationism • Senate refused to ratify Treaty of Versailles • Congress rejected treaty with France • 1921-Congress passes independent resolution ending The Great War • World disillusioned with the horrors of war • People wanted a “return to normalcy” Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, passed the “Lodge Reservations” an angry and rousing indictment of Wilson’s postwar policy.

4. Multi-Lateral Peace Agreements The early 1920s witnessed a profusion of peace accords, each of which was designed to prevent another global military catastrophe.

5. The Treaty of Versailles • Brokered at the Paris Peace Conference in the fall of 1918 • Started prior to the end of the war by Woodrow Wilson • Britain and France wanted revenge, reparations, and complete disarmament from Germany and Austria-Hungary Conspicuously absent from the Paris Peace Conference was Germany and Austria-Hungary, neither of whom were invited because they were the belligerents in the war.

6. The League of Nations The Fourteen Points • Abandon secret diplomacy, treaties, and alliances • Reduce arms and ensure freedom of the seas • Decolonize and recognize sovereignty of nations • Establish League of Nations The League of Nations • Voluntary membership • No enforcement or peace-keeping troop force • Non-binding resolutions • Nice idea, but totally ineffective Wanting “Peace without victory” and to “Make the world safe for democracy”, Wilson alienated Congress while pushing his agenda for an international peace-keeping body.

7. For Germany Germany lost all colonies Forced to sign war-guilt clause Complete disarmament Map of Germany redrawn Forced to submit to the League of Nations Forced to pay war reparations to England and France Consequences German economic collapse Inability to pay debts contributes to the Great Crash Destroyed German middle class Built resentment toward the Allies Woodrow Wilson discredited The Results

8. Global Disarmament • Four Powers Pact (Dec. 1921) • Britain, France, Japan, and the U.S.A. • Pledged mutual respect for territorial possessions • Created a forum for international diplomacy • Five Powers Naval Treaty (Feb. 1922) • Britain, France, Japan, Italy, and the U.S.A. • Limited number of naval vessels (1 U.K. :3 Japan: 5 U.S.) • Americans get more because they had two coasts • Established submarine use and banned use of poisonous gas • Nine Powers Treaty (Feb. 1922) • Pledged support of Open Door Policy, Chinese sovereignty, and open trade

9. Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) • Outlawed war as an “Instrument of national policy”, except in cases of “defensive wars” • Signed by more than 60 countries • U.S. Congress ratified treaty, because it did not contradict Monroe Doctrine As excellent an idea as the League of Nations, the Kellog-Briand Pact had no enforcement body nor any binding force.

10. The Dawes and Young Plan Goals • To assist Germany in repaying war debt to England and France • To promote circulation of money and credit between Europe and the U.S. Problems • Money didn’t circulate • High trade tariffs kept England and France from buying American goods, thereby stopping the circulation of money

11. Part II:The Players The 1930’s marked the rise of very powerful individuals. Each individual responded to the global depression, widespread poverty, and internal political divisions by consolidating their authority, expanding the role of government, and using the media to influence public opinion.

13. The Rise of Totalitarianism Causes • Economic--high unemployment and rampant inflation • Political--governments could not solve economic problems • Fear and uncertainty

14. The 5 Qualifications for Dictatorship • Big personality • Big easy plan • Power (secret police kind) • Scapegoat • Righteousness

15. Germany: Adolf Hitler • Viennese bastard-- • Early artist, rejected by the Vienna Academy of Fine Art • Blamed Jews for his failure • Enlisted in German army during WWI, where he was honorably discharged because of blinding by chlorine gas • Joined the National Socialist German Workers Party in 1919 (NAZI)

16. The Beer Hall Putsch • Blamed England and the United States for the Treaty of Versailles and the problems of Germany • Tried to seize power in a failed coup (the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923) • Sentenced to prison, where he wrote Mein Kampf Mein Kampf is Hitler’s blueprint for a new Germany. In it, he contends that Germany must rebuild itself to its former glory, and create the Third Great Empire, or the Third Reich. Also, Mein Kampf outlines Hitlers race policy: the supremacy of the Aryans and the inferiority of the Jews, Slavs, and Gypsies

17. The Big Easy Plan: Lebensraum Goals for Living Space • Germany too overcrowded • Unite all German speaking people • Conquer Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Urals as a “buffer zone” against future invasion

18. Hitler’s Rise to Power • Granted Chancellorship in 1933 • Won slim majority in Reichstag (the German congress) • Asked for dictator power for four years (to combat the Communists in Germany Herman Goering, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler were Hitler’s top advisors. Goering, a former WWI ace and morphine addict, was Chief of the Luftwaffe. Goebbels, a failed actor and writer, became Minister of Propaganda. Himmler, a former part-time chicken farmer, was Chief of the Schutzstaffel, the SS secret police.

19. Nazi Progress • Banned labor unions • Gave authority over business • Dropped unemployment from 6 million to 1.5 million • Controlled all media • Burned controversial literature, including Freud, Mann, and all Jewish works • Initiated Hitler Youth Movements to further indoctrinate the German youth

20. Postwar Italy • Italy denied territorial gains in the Treaty of Versailles • Cost of living increased 500% • High unemployment The Fascist symbol, an axe bundled in reeds. This was a symbol of power used during the Roman Empire.

21. Italy: Benito Mussolini • Head of Fascist Party • Former editor of an inflammatory newspaper, criticizing the Italian government • Promised to revive the economy and rebuild military • Motto: Believe, Obey and Fight

22. Mussolini’s Rise • King appointed Mussolini as Prime Minister • Used executive authority to abolish political parties, Parliament • Censored all media Mussolini strikes against law. Teachers were ordered to compare him to Aristotle, Michelangelo, and Napoleon. Nicknamed “Il Duce.”

23. Japan: Hirohito and Tojo • Divine Imperialism and Militarism--The Cult of the Emperor • Dreamt of Asian territorial expansion (through China, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific) • Hoped to create an Industrial Revolution • Required enormous amount of raw materials, especially oil

24. Josef Stalin • Gained control of the U.S.S.R. in 1924, following Lenin’s death • Responded to the economic depression of the post-war, post-Revolution • Began collective farms--a way of organizing Russian industry and emphasizing communal production • Started series of 5 Year Plans • Began purges of Slavics, Cossacks, and political dissidents--approx. 12 million killed or deported to Siberia

25. Franklin Delano Roosevelt • Elected in 1932 in response to the American Great Depression • Would be re-elected in 1936, 1940, and 1944 • Expanded the federal government to increase its authority in dealing with the Depression • Established series of government spending programs called “The New Deal”

26. The Axis Powers Germany (Hitler) Italy (Mussolini) Japan (Hirohito/Tojo) Spain (Franco) U.S.S.R. (Stalin)*** Until 1941 The Allies Great Britain (Chamberlain, Churchill) U.S.A (FDR) U.S.S.R (Stalin)*** After 1941 China (Chaing Kai Shek, Mao) France (in exile, De Gaulle) The Sides

27. Part III: The Path to War The degeneration of the world into war was precipitated by acts of violence and aggression by the Germans, the Italians, and the Japanese. It is also marked by the policy of appeasement by England and public proclamations of neutrality.

28. 1931

29. Japan Invades Manchuria September 1931 • Japan invades Manchuria, a province of China, to take natural resources • Invasion is a violation of the Treaty of Versailles • League of Nations does nothing, except strong reprimand

30. 1932 Japan firebombs Shanghai, prompting NO international reaction.

31. 1933 Hitler elected Chancellor

32. Hitler Elected Chancellor • Hitler elected as Chancellor of the German people, nominated as the National Socialist Party (Nazi) • Later given powers of Dictator, emergency authority to alleviate the stress of the Depression • Opens Dachau, as a forced labor camp initially for political enemies

33. 1934 Night of the Long Knives Hitler becomes Fuhrer

34. Night of the Long Knives A Hostile Takeover • June 30, 1934 • Hitler, with the Gestapo (the Secret Police) and the SS (the Nazi special forces) murdered 60 political enemies • Historians argue that over 400 were murdered • Illustrates Hitler’s absolute power

35. Hitler As Fuhrer Hitler assumes broad dictatorial powers • Censors the media • Mobilizes German industry • Rebuilds the German military • Withdraws Germany from the League of Nations U.S. signs trade treaty with England, lowering tariffs to boost trade.

36. 1935 Invasion of Ethiopia Nuremberg Laws

37. Italy Invades Ethiopia • Italy invades Ethiopia, a part of North Africa • To gain access to Egypt and the Suez Canal • Purpose to exploit natural resources • Uses modern machinery, tanks, chemical warfare, and machine guns • Total slaughter of native Ethiopians • Prompts no response from League of Nations • Highlights that the League is entirely ineffective

39. Nuremberg, Sept. 1935 Nuremberg Laws • Forbids Jews to • Hold office • Teach • Practice medicine • Fly the German flag • Inter-marry • Forced registration • Forced to wear the Star of David ***The U.S. issues its First Neutrality Proclamation, a formal expression of its isolationism.

41. 1936 Rome-Berlin Axis formed Summer Olympics Spanish Civil War Second Neutrality Act

42. Rome-Berlin Axis • Hitler and Mussolini formalize their alliance in Rome-Berlin Axis • Each promise mutual defense and neutrality in the other’s military action

45. The Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics • Opportunity for Hitler to showcase Aryan athleticism • Promoted by Leni Reiffenstahl, Hitler’s filmographer • To not offend, the U.S. did not send any of its premier Jewish athletes • Allowed black Americans to participate, because Hitler presumed their inferiority

47. Jesse Owens, the son of a poor black sharecropper from Alabama, won 4 gold medals for Track and Field Events. After the first event, Hitler, in attendance, stormed out of the stadium in disgust.

48. The Spanish Civil War The Fascists • Francisco Franco led Fascist takeover of Spain • Asked Hitler for German military support and funding • Hitler granted both, as long as he could experiment with his new technology on Franco’s Spanish enemies The U.S. issues 2nd Neutrality Proclamation.

50. Painted by Pablo Picasso, the painting Guernica illustrated the horrors of Franco’s betrayal of his own people. Innocent Spaniards were butchered, using Hitler’s weaponry. The town of Guernica, for which this painting is named, was destroyed: man, woman, and child.