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The Road to World War II

The Road to World War II. Ch. 17. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini had practiced totalitarianism . Gov’t controls every aspect of a nation. Suppresses & silences all opposition. Stalin (USSR) practiced Communism, while Hitler (Germany) & Mussolini (Italy) practiced fascism .

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The Road to World War II

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  1. The Road to World War II Ch. 17

  2. Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini had practiced totalitarianism. • Gov’t controls every aspect of a nation. • Suppresses & silences all opposition. • Stalin (USSR) practiced Communism, while Hitler (Germany) & Mussolini (Italy) practiced fascism. • The nation is most important. • The leader has supreme authority. • No respect for individual rights & freedoms.

  3. Stalin & the USSR • 1924-Lenin died, Josef Stalin took over as Premier of USSR. • Began series of Five-Year Plans to modernize USSR. • Forced farmers to combine properties into huge collective farms owned & controlled by gov’t. • Forced peasants of their lands. • Confiscated most of food produced, causing millions to starve; millions more sent to labor camps in Siberia. • Pursued rapid industrialization with forced building of factories, high production goals. • Money went to production, standard of living dropped sharply.

  4. Stalin purgedgov’t. • Removed any opposed to him from power. • Great Purge began in 1934-show trials, all found guilty; executed or sent to gulags (labor camps). • Removed most of top gov’t officials not loyal to him, removed all top military leaders. • By 1939, Stalin had complete unopposed control of USSR.

  5. Mussolini & Italy • 1919-Benito Mussolini formed Fascist Party. • By 1922, Mussolini, called Il Duce, & his Black Shirts had beaten all opposition & were most powerful group in Italy. • Forced king to name him Prime Minister. • To preserve order, Mussolini suspended elections, outlawed other political parties, created dictatorship. • Work programs, military buildup pulled Italy out of Depression. • October 1935-Italy invaded Ethiopia. • By May 1936, Ethiopia fell to Italy.

  6. Hitler & Germany • 1919-Adolf Hitler joined National Workers’ Party, which became National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or Nazi Party. • Unhappy with Treaty of Versailles, especially war-guilt clause. • Obsessed with German nationalism & racial superiority. • 1923-Nazis tried to overthrow gov’t in Munich Beer Hall Putsch; failed, served 9 months in prison. • In prison, wrote Mein Kampf, or My Struggle; outlined Germany’s problems & his solutions. • Blamed German Jews for WWI defeat.

  7. When Depression struck, Nazis promised to stabilize Germany. • 1932-Nazis became largest political party in Reichstag (Congress). • 1933-Hitler becomes Chancellor (2nd in command). • Used Brown Shirts, or Nazi thugs, to suppress opposition to Hitler. • 1933-Reichstag burned; Communists blamed. • Parliament gave Hitler dictator’s powers. • President Hindenburg died 1934, Hitler takes total control. • Called Der Fuhrer (“The Leader”).

  8. Germany began rearming, in violation of Treaty of Versailles. • Hitler claimed Germany needed lebensraum (living space) & planned to expand. • 1936-Miliatrized Rhineland(treaty violation). • Signed alliance with Italy-Axis Powers. • 1938-Anschluss-annexed Austria into German Empire. • 1938-Hitler annexed Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia. • England, France did not want war; PM Neville Chamberlain used appeasement. • Giving in to an enemy to keep peace. • Germany expanded, no opposition.

  9. Axis Propaganda

  10. Spanish Civil War • Civil War in Spain over control of gov’t. • Liberal gov’t called the Republicans V. Nationalists, led by General Francisco Franco. • Nationalists formed their own gov’t(military dictatorship). • Germany, Italy sent planes, tanks, troops to help Franco & Nationalists. • 1937- German Condor Legion bombed town of Guernica, killing hundreds of civillians. • USSR sent troops to aid Republicans. • Thousands of foreigners joined at International Brigade. • 1939-war ended; Franco won, ruled Spain until 1975.

  11. Condor Legion

  12. Start of World War II • 1939-England realized appeasement would fail, began war preparations. • Hitler signed Nonaggression Pact with Stalin. • September 1, 1939-Hitler invades Poland. • England, France allied with Poland, declare war Sept. 3, 1939. • In Poland, Hitler perfected blitzkreig (lightning war) tactics. • Fast, overwhelming combined air & land attack. • Poland fell to Nazis in 4 weeks. • Roundup of Polish Jews and undesirables began. • Stalin seized eastern half of Poland, per treaty.

  13. After Poland, period of peace called sitzkreig(phony war). • French fortified series of defenses called Maginot Line; protected only Franco-German border. • April 1940-Nazi blitzkreig Demark, Norway. • May-attack Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg. • Luxembourg fell 1 day, Netherlands fell 5 days, Belgium fell 3 weeks. • May 1940-Nazis attack France around Maginot Line. • British & French driven back to English channel. • Evacuation at Dunkirk-340,000 British evacuated by sea.

  14. Nazis in Norway Nazis in the Netherlands

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