World war II

1. By: Matthew S. Russell M.D. World war II

2. Overview • 1939-1945 • Allied Powers vs. Axis Powers • Key Leaders: • Franklin D. Roosevelt: USA • Harry S. Truman: USA • Joseph Stalin: USSR • Winston Churchill: UK • Emperor Hirohito: Japan • Benito Mussolini: Italy • Adolf Hitler: Nazi Germany

3. 1920s: Time of Change • After the conclusion of the Great War in 1919, most of Europe fell into a great economic depression • Germany -> Weimar Republic • Facism • Italy • Germany

4. What is Fascism? • It is a radical form of totalitarianism • It relies heavily on a vanguard party to keep the citizens at bay • Mussolini – Blackshirts • Hitler – SS, Gestapo • Believed in the mass mobilization of the population • Specifically, Hitler modeled his form of Fascism with anti-jewish tendencies • Developed ghettos, concentration camps, and eventually extermination camps in order to “cleanse” the world of the Jewish menace

5. Adolf Hitler • Born in Austria • Was an aspiring artist • Was injured during the Great War • Hitler attempted to overthrow the Weimar Republic in 1923 during the Beer Hall Putsch • He was imprisoned • Greatly exaggerated his experiences in the war in his book Mein Kampf, which he wrote while in prison • His foreign and domestic policies revolved around the idea of Lebensraum (living space) • He diplomatically seized power from President Hindenburg and became chancellor of Germany in 1933 • Upon doing so, he began to rearm Germany

6. Benito Mussolini • One of the Founders of modern fascism • Mussolini became the 27th prime minister of Italy in 1922 • He seized total control in 1926 and became known as “Il Duce” • He also created the supreme military rank Field Marshal of the Empire, ruling along side the monarch Victor Emmanuel III • He ruled the Italian population through the use of propaganda and fear, utilizing his Blackshirt party to great effect.

7. 1930s: Military Conquest • Italy invades Ethiopia • Ethiopia was one of the only free African nations • Spanish Civil War • Hitler and Mussolini supported Franco (fascist) • Stalin supported the existing republic • Proved to be a battleground on which the various nations could tryout their new and improved military tactics • Japanese invasion of China: • Japanese captured Nanking • Nanking Massacre • Inconclusive victory • Japanese invasion of Mongolia and USSR: • The Japanese attempted to invade the Soviet Union, but they were beaten back and eventually gave up their conquest in the North

8. Appeasement • “is a diplomatic policy aimed at avoiding war by making concessions to an aggressor” • Adolf Hitler’s European Claims: • Annexed Austria • Annexed the Sudetenland • Invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia • Provoked Various treaties • Franco-British Pledge (British-French) • Pact of Steel (German-Italian) • Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (German-Soviet)

9. War Breaks Out • Germany and Soviet Union invade Poland September 1, 1939 • Poland quickly falls and is divided up between 4 nations • USSR • Germany • Lithuania • Slovakia • 2 Days later, on September 3, France and Britain (along with its commonwealth nations) declare war on Germany • Poles continue to fight back for the rest of the war, with their HQs located in various Allied nations

10. Further Conquest • Germany went on to invade: • Belgium • France • Netherlands • Luxembourg • The Netherlands and Belgium fell in a few weeks • France was officially occupied on June 22, 1940 • The remaining Allied troops were evacuated at Dunkirk

11. Axis Oppression • Phoney war (Sitzkreig) • Battle of Britain • They German Luftwaffe attempted to establish air superiority over Britain • Vichy France • Puppet State set up by Hitler in Southern France, that was not considered occupied • Tripartite Pact • Stated that any country, except the USSR, not in the war that attacked any Axis country, would be forced to go to war with all 3 • Japan seized control of Indochina