Beginning Of WWII Flashcards
Beginning of WWII date
September 1st, 1939
Hitler becomes Chancellor
1933
Reich
Empire
Reichstag
German parliament
Anschluss
Union with Germany
War Guilt Clause
Treaty of Versailles; Germany should accept blame for starting WWI
Reparations
Treaty of Versailles; Germany must pay £6,600 million
Disarmament
Treaty of Versailles; Germany can only have small army and 6 naval ships— no air force or submarines. Rhineland was to be demilitarized
Territorial Clauses
Treaty of Versailles; land was taken away from Germany and divided. Union with Austria (Anschluss) was forbidden
Hitler’s Actions: breaking promise to disarm
When hitler became chancellor he began secretly building up army and weapons. He built warships, an Air Force, and he expanded the army
Orders troops to enter the Rhineland
Hitlers Actions: making alliances (Anschluss)
Rome-Berlin Axis Pact: Italy (Mussolini)
Anti-Comintern Pact: Japan
Hitlers Actions: breaking war guilt clause and territorial clauses
Hitlers begins to take back his land taken from him
Marched into Austria and forced an Anschluss
Hitler claims “No War Effot” and then demands Czechoslovakia to give him the Sudetenland
Munich Agreement
Stated hitler COULD have Sudetenland but he promised to not invade the rest of Czechoslovakia (Czech weren’t even invited!)
Hitler still invades Czechoslovakia and then Poland in 1939 starting the war
Causes of League of Nations failure
- Not all countries joined the league
-US, Russia, and Germany - The league had no power
- countries could still trade non-member countries and depression they were reluctant to drop them - League had no army
- soldiers to be supplied by other countries; other countries didn’t want to get involved with an aggressive country so nobody provides soldiers - Unable to act quickly
- only met 4x a year, decisions had to be made in unison = SLOW DECISIONS
Autocracy
A totalitarian political system with the goals of the nation more important than individual goald
Nazism
National socialism, a form of racism: anti-semitista, anti-communist, anti-pacifist, anti-liberal
Totalitarianism
Centralized government with absolute control over one political party
Aristocracy
A state ruled by a privileged class (determined by wealth or birth). Elite man know how to rule better than common man
Dictators of WWII
Adolf Hitler- leader of nazi Germany
Benito Mussolini (Il Duce)- leader of fascist Italy
Emperor Hirohito- leader of imperial Japan
Joseph Stalin- leader of the Soviet Union (Russia)
Hitler
Followed a similar path to Mussolini
Had total nazi power in Germany
Know as “Der Fuehrer”
Took advantage of poor conditions to establish 3rd reich empire and planned for it to last 1000 years
Mein Kampf
“My struggle”- a book written by adolf hitler in jail
National socialists German workers party
Anti-semitism, German superiority
Hitler becomes chancellor of Germany 1933
Established totalitarian state
Rise of Hitler (in order)
Nazi party formed in 1920s
Nazi party larges in 1932
Hitler voted as chancellor in 1933
New parliament created— 450,000 members, began to illegally build of army
Other countries more afraid of communism- Hitler uses fear of communism for election
Benito Mussolini
Born Italy
Establish fascist party 1921
Known as “Il Duce” or the leader
Elected with the use of economic problems in Italy, fear of communism, and promise of national glory
Rise of fascism in Italy
Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922 and helped found the political ideology of fascism. He sided with the axis powers in 1940.
Joseph Stalin
Born in Georgia in 1879.
Last name means steel
Seized power in USSR after Lenin’s death
Rapidly industrialized the Soviet Union during the 1930s
Caused USSR to become a police state; people lost rights
Militarism
Glorification if war: nation strengthens its military and stockpiles weapons in preparation for war.
Incorporated into all levels of society
What does the League of Nations do?
Tells the Japanese army to leave
Stops trading with Japan
The invasion of Manchuria positioned Japanese as a major military power in Southeast Asia
British wanted to halt Japanese invasion because they had strong trade relations with the chinese
Why appeasement?
Many Britains believed Versailles punishments of Germany were too harsh.
A stronger Germany stopped the spread of communism
Non-Agression Pact
Germany and Soviet Union 1939
Shocked the world because fascists and communists worked together
Secretly was dividing Poland
Hitler knew he would eventually invade soviets though
Nazi-Soviet Pact
Hitler and Stalin
August 23, 1939
Hitler hated communism but to keep the Lebrendraum he needed more land
He promised if Stalin invaded Poland he would eliminate the undesirable and give Stalin the eastern portion of the country
Hitlers three aims
Abolish treaty of Versailles
Expand German territory
Defeat communism
Characteristics of fascism
Supremacy of the military- militaristic society
Rampant sexism- people weren’t free to express their identities
Controlled mass media- propaganda: media is controlled by the government (radio, news etc)
Obsessed with national security: fear used as a motivational tool
Labor power is suppressed: no labor unions allowed
Corruption: government can cheat
