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Chapter 20: World War II and the Cold War Portents of Disaster

Chapter 20: World War II and the Cold War Portents of Disaster. Economists predict disaster soon after signing of Versailles Treaty Disruptions of food & coal supply Weight of reparation payments Poet William Butler Yeats points to cultural sickness of Europe

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Chapter 20: World War II and the Cold War Portents of Disaster

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  1. Chapter 20: World War II and the Cold WarPortents of Disaster • Economists predict disaster soon after signing of Versailles Treaty • Disruptions of food & coal supply • Weight of reparation payments • Poet William Butler Yeats points to cultural sickness of Europe • Onset of Depression ten years after treaty

  2. Contest of the “Isms”: Fascism & Communism • Italy • Mussolini & followers unsuccessfully seek electoral wins amidst post-war instability • Fascist thugs then attack a variety of nationalist enemies, declare a national emergency and “March on Rome” • Mussolini wins 1924 election with fraud • Support from those who like society without turmoil

  3. Contest of the “Isms”: Fascism & Communism • Germany • Hitler was virulent racist before WWI • Adopted Mussolini model for party after war • Weimar government popular with no one • France reinvades after 1923 reparations default • Hitler attempts putsch to overthrow government • Failure leads to jail and manifesto Mein Kampf • Blames Jews for German misery

  4. Contest of the “Isms”: Fascism & Communism • Germany [cont.] • Nazi party gains votes, 1928-32 • Hitler and Nazis asked to join ruling coalition in 1933 • Elitist parties believed they could control Hitler • Reichstag building burns but new elections leave Nazis short of a majority • Declares national emergency and turns thugs loose to silence opponents and wins desired majority

  5. Contest of the “Isms”: Fascism & Communism • Germany [cont.] • Creation of totalitarian state includes • propaganda and paramilitary organizations • Racial “science” and worship of pre-Christian gods • Citizens were intimidated but also attracted to territorial expansion & return of German glory • Germany and Italy proclaim “axis” in 1936

  6. Contest of the “Isms”: Fascism & Communism • Japan • Japan was one of five great powers at Versailles • Gross national income grew 40% 1914-1918 • Advanced rapidly by leap-frogging technology • Successfully maintained “dual economy” • Food riots at end of war show vulnerability • “Need” colonies for numerous resources • Zaibatsu control economy by 1920s

  7. Contest of the “Isms”: Fascism & Communism • Japan [cont.] • Path to democracy undermined by political power of zaibatsu • Constitution requires ministries of war and navy to be in hands of the military • Shinto emphasized divinity of emperor and importance of samurai • Military seeks to protect resource-poor nation

  8. The Descent Toward War • 1920s a time of peace (?) • League of Nations serves as an annual forum • Negotiated limits on navies at Washington • Locarno modifies German debt payments • Pact of Paris (1928) outlaws war • Great Depression and relative ability of communist and fascist nations to survive while democracies struggle

  9. The Descent Toward War • Steps toward war in the 1930s • Japanese seize Manchuria (1931) • Establish Manchuria as puppet state (1932) • Opposition at home silenced violently • Italy invades Ethiopia (1935) • League of Nations does not respond • Civil War in Spain (1936) • Japan invades China proper (1937)

  10. The Descent Toward War • Steps toward war in the 1930s [cont.] • Germany rises under Hitler • Withdraws from League of Nations (1933) • Saar region forced into pro-German stance (1935) • Rearming of Germany begins (1935) • Militarization of Rhineland (1936) • Formal seizure of Austria (1938) • Takeover of Czechoslovakia (1938) • Invasion of Poland (1939)

  11. The Descent Toward War • The Early Cost of War Technology • National budgets reflect militarization of the 1930s • Germany, Japan and USSR spend about 1/4 of total national income on defense • 1938 70% of the Japanese national budget goes to the military • Aircraft production skyrockets

  12. World War II • The War in Europe, 1939-45 • “Phony War” to Spring, 1940--then blitzkieg of Germans into France • French fall followed by aerial assault on Britain • USSR-German non-aggression pact ended in 1941 with broad assault into Russia • Germany directs attack to oil fields, 1942 • US neutral but implements Lend-Lease plan

  13. World War II • The War in the Pacific, 1937-42 • Severity of war seen in Rape of Nanjing & the use of scorched earth tactics by Russia & China • Tripartite Pact forms “Axis Powers” (1940) • US stays neutral but helpful until December 7th • Churchill: Entry of US “seals” Axis fate • Japanese spread rapidly after Pearl Harbor • Japanese hopes fade--colonies can’t produce enough for Japan to prosper

  14. World War II • Turning the tide, 1942-5 • Allied counter-offensive begins in 1942 • “2nd Front” for Russia deferred by West • Role of “underground” symbolic not decisive • Bombing of German cities begins (1943) • Dresden hardest hit--necessity of attack debated • Allied invasion of Sicily (1943) • 2nd front opened on D-Day, June 6, 1944

  15. World War II • War in Asia & the Pacific, 1942-5 • 1st naval victory in Pacific--Midway Island • Fire bombings of Japan begin (March, 1944) • Atomic bombs end war amid controversy about necessity of their use • 3 million Japanese die in the war • 1/4 of national assets were destroyed • Industrial production 10% of pre-war levels

  16. World War II • Assessing the Results of War • “Total War” meant 50 million dead including 30 million civilians • Japanese model taught Asian colonies that resistance was not futile • Technology in the War • Victory tied to ability of victors to produce more goods in their factories

  17. World War II • Women and the War • Mobilization of women in World War II varied by country • Hitler & Mussolini offered women “emancipation from emancipation” • “Rose the Riveter” symbol of women workers in US • Return of soldiers brought pressure on women to give up their factory jobs • Laid groundwork for “new feminism”

  18. World War II • Horrors of War • Holocaust and atomic warfare • Genocide built on anti-Semitism to seek obliteration of a people • Atomic bomb was a new, higher level of destructive power in world history • Necessity of dropping the bombs remains controversial today. • Racist? • Saved lives?

  19. The Image of Humanity • World War challenged idea of West as region of progress through rationalism • Gandhi • Freud • Picasso • Eliot • Wiesel • Japanese Peace Memorials

  20. United Nations, Postwar Recovery & Origins of Cold War • The United Nations • Goal: “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” • General assembly gives every nation a voice • Security Council can dispatch peace keepers • Other organizations provide variety of humanitarian services • Founded 1945 by 50 countries

  21. United Nations, Postwar Recovery & Origins of Cold War • Resettlement • Millions of individuals, displaced by war, had to be returned to their home nations • Surrendered/captured soldiers were far from home • Civilians had followed armies, settled new lands or fled in the face of war • US developed GI Bill of Rights to ease return of soldiers to civilian life and to reward them for their service

  22. United Nations, Postwar Recovery & Origins of Cold War • Political Reconstruction: Japan & Germany • Japan • Emperor remains power but no longer sacred • Colonial empire was dissolved • Land redistribution in Japan • Zaibatsu were dissolved • Promotion of worker rights • Restructured the educational system • Economic recovery aided by Korean War

  23. United Nations, Postwar Recovery & Origins of Cold War • Political Reconstruction: Japan & Germany • Germany • Divided into four regions of administration • Russian occupation harsher than that of others • Major war criminals tried at Nuremberg • Democracy promoted in western sectors • Berlin blockade marked opening of the Cold War

  24. United Nations, Postwar Recovery & Origins of Cold War • Economic Reconstruction & the Cold War • Despite devastation, some factories and much production knowledge remain intact • Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan • Western foreign policy goal of containment • Fear on both sides leads to NATO and other economic & defensive alliances

  25. Entering the Second Half of the 20th Century • World attracted to FDR idea of the Four Freedoms and the Atlantic Charter • Racism and imperialism a troubling legacy of Europe • Creation of United Nations offered hope

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