Road to WWII

Isolationism to Pearl Harbor

Peace attempts

Treaty of Versailles punished

Germany severely
League of Nations sought
collective security but without
support from the US, USSR, and
Germany, the League was
crippled.
Ultimately did not stop Japanese,
Italian, or German aggression.
Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) -(Pact of Paris)
Ratified by 62 nations: made war
illegal except for defensive
purposes.
Major flaws: No enforcement
mechanism; aggressors could use
"defensive purposes" argument
when attacking.
Gave Americans a false sense of
security in the 1930s.

War debts and reparations

US the largest creditor nation after WWI; Allies
owed US $16 billion
Allies couldn't pay; depended on Germany's
reparation payments to pay back the US
U.S. tariff policies hurt European recovery
German economy couldn't handle pressure and
collapsed in 1923
Dawes Plan (1924)
U.S. bankers gave Germany loans; Germany
paid Britain and France, who in turn paid back
the U.S

Great Depression
major cause of totalitarianism
in Japan and Germany
Stock Market Crash in US
triggered world wide
depression.
Germany ravaged by 50%
unemployment & enormous
inflation.
Japan exports fell by 50%;
blamed West for protectionist
trade policies.
Military took control;
assassinated prime minister
in1930.

FDR Recognizes U.S.S.R.

(late 1933)

Soviet Union had already

received recognition from other
great powers.
FDR believed recognition of
Moscow might bolster
U.S.S.R. against Japan.
Americans also hoped trade
with U.S.S.R. would help U.S.
economy.
Soviets formally promised to
refrain from revolutionary
propaganda in U.S.
Soviets broke that pledge
when huge U.S. loan to USSR
was not granted as U.S.S.R.
seen as bad credit risk.

Philippines: Tydings-McDuffie Act

(1934)
Islands to become free after 10-year period of
economic and political support.
U.S. would relinquish military establishments but
naval bases would remain.
Had granted Philippines territorial status and
promised independence as soon as a "stable
govt" could be established.
U.S. isolationists eager to be rid of a political
liability in Asia.
Japan encouraged by U.S. unwillingness to
maintain Asian possessions.

Failure of collective security

Rise of totalitarian regimes

(Govts sought to control every
aspect of people's lives)
fascism: glorified the state
and sought to expand
("survival of the fittest")
Italy -- Mussolini (1922)
Japanese military dictatorship
(early 1930s)
Germany -- Adolf Hitler (1933)
Communism takes hold under
ruthless dictatorship of Josef
Stalin in USSR (1924-1953)
Estimated 30 to 60 million will
die in USSR during this time

Clip
Complete History of WWII
Disc 1, Ep 2
10 min.

Reasons for Japanese aggression

Badly needed raw materials (coal,

oil, & iron)
Wanted more space for its large
population
Angry at US, Australia, & Canada
for limiting immigration
National Origins Act (1924)
banned Asians from immigrating to
U.S.
High tariffs of other nations
reduced Japanese exports by 50%
Anger at U.S. for refusing to
recognize "Manchukuo"
(Manchuria)

1931 -- Japan invades Manchuria

League of Nations condemns action; no enforcement

Japan violated Kellogg-Briand Pact
Japan withdraws from League of Nations
started massive naval buildup
1936, signed Anti-Comintern Pact with Germany
(anti-communism,
USSR)
1940, signed Tripartite Pact: Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis

1935 -- Italy invades Ethiopia

Use bombers and tanks
Ethiopians do not have
either
Mussolini sought to
reestablish the glory of
the Roman Empire.
League of Nations hit
Italy with economic
sanctions except oil.
July, League lifts
sanctions: seen as end of
League of Nations

American Isolationism

Americans concerned with

their own economic depression
Sought to avoid involvement in
Europe in the face of rising
dictatorships
Not immediately alarmed at
totalitarianism.
It might bring stability to
Europe
American sentiment cried for a
constitutional amendment to
forbid a declaration of war by
Congress -- except in case of
invasion

Nye Committee

headed by ND Senator Gerald P.

Nye
Many believed US entered WWI so
weapons makers could profit
Nye Committee investigated this
charge.
Munitions manufacturers dubbed
"merchants of death"
Committee claimed bankers wanted
war to protect loans to Europe and
Wilson had provoked Germany by
sailing in to warring nation's waters.
Today, many believe the committee
was too liberal and excessively antibusiness
Resulted in the Neutrality Acts
between 1935 & 1937

Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, and

1937

Prohibited sale of arms to belligerent nations

Prohibited loans and credits to belligerent nations
Forbade Americans to travel on vessels of nations at war
Non-military goods must be purchased on a cash and
carry basis--pay when goods are picked up
Banned involvement in the Spanish Civil War
America declined to build up its armed forces where it
could deter aggressors.
Navy declined in relative strength.
Believed huge navies caused wars.
Did not want to burden taxpayers during the depression

Spanish Civil War (1936)

Nationalists, led by Francisco

Franco, fought democratic
Republican Loyalists
Franco sought to restore power of
church & destroy socialism &
communism in Spain
Called for creation of a fascist state
Democracies of the world stood by
as the Loyalist democracy in Spain
was killed by fascist aggressors.
Italy sent troops to help Franco
Hitler sent air force to bomb cities
held by Republicans
Both Mussolini & Hitler use Spain as
testing ground for future aggression
Rome-Berlin Axis help Nationalists
win (1939)
Franco imposes fascism in Spain
Weakness of democratic countries
encourage Hitler & Mussolini

Japan attacks Southern China

Invaded from northeastern

China moved south & west
Established "new order in
Asia" in which Japan had
commercial supremacy in
China
Further expansion: French
Vietnam; Dutch East Indies
Chang-Kai-shek, Chinese
nationalist leader, heads
Chinese resistance to
Japanese militarism in China.

The Rape of Nanking

Begins in December of 1937 and
lasts through Spring of 1938
Japanese soldiers massacre over
300,000 Chinese civilians in
Nanking
Japanese soldiers also brutally
raped an estimated 20,000+
women, from toddlers to the elderly
Victims would usually then be
bayoneted
Atrocities committed in broad
daylight, often with the
encouragement of Japanese
officers
The extent of the atrocities is still a
hot issue of debate between the
Chinese and Japanese
governments

Roosevelts "Quarantine Speech"

(1937)
Condemned Japan and
Italy for their aggressive
actions.
Urged democracies to
"quarantine" the
aggressors by economic
embargoes.
Criticized by isolationists
fearing FDR might lead
US into war.
FDR forced to retreat and
seek less direct means to
address totalitarianism.

German aggression

Hitler withdrew from League of Nations

in 1933
1937, withdrew from the Treaty of
Versailles.
Germany absorbs Austria in March
1938 ("Anschluss")
British Prime Minister, Neville
Chamberlain, adopted policy of
appeasement toward Germany; sought
to avoid war.
Appeasement: Giving in to an
aggressor in order to preserve peace
Rejected joining alliance with France &
Russia claiming it would destroy
possibility of future negotiations.
Pacifism: Refusal to fight in a war
Widespread in Britain & France;
memories of WWI still deep

Germany takes Czechoslovakia

Hitler demands Sudetenland

Munich Conference (Sept. 1938): Attended
by Germany, France, Britain & Italy.
Czechoslovakia & its ally USSR not even
invited!
Czechoslovakia lost the Sudetenland (could
have waged successful defense)
If Czechoslovakia refused, Britain and
France would not come to her aid in the
future.
Hitler guaranteed independence of
Czechoslovakia
Hitler claimed he would not make any more
territorial demands in Europe.
Europeans thought threat of war was now
over
Chamberlain triumphantly declares Peace
in our time!
March 1939, Hitler invaded rest of
Czechoslovakia (6 months later)

Peace in our Time!

Clip

Complete History of WWII

Disc 1
Episode 2, Chapter 1
12 mins

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

World shocked by treaty: fascists and

communists traditional enemies.
Hitler wanted to prevent a 2-front war if
he invaded Poland.
Stalin was afraid of Hitler and wanted
assurances.
Public clause: Non-aggression
agreement between the 2 countries.
Secret clause: Division of Poland
between Hitler & Stalin
USSR would sell Germany raw
materials for Nazi war machine.
Pact allowed Germany to invade
Poland without Soviet interference.
Sept. 1, 1939, German troops invade
Poland
Two days later, Britain & France
declared war on Germany

AXIS

Germany
Italy
Japan
Hungary
Romania
Bulgaria

v.

ALLIES

England
France
USSR
US (1941)
China
Canada
Australia
42 Others

Germany invades Poland--Sept. 1, 1939

Hitler stages a fake Polish attack on

border
Fit German prisoners in Polish
uniforms get filmed attacking a
German radio station
Hitler tells public Poland attacked.
Justifies an invasion.
Blitzkrieg--"lightning war"--new type of
warfare
Combined Luftwaffe, tanks, artillery,
and mechanized infantry.
Pierced holes in enemy line & quickly
cut it off;
Luftwaffe strafed civilian roads and
bombs cities.
Poland unable to successfully defend
itself; surrendered Sept. 27, 1939
Britain & France could not aid Poland
in time

Soviet Union expansion

USSR invaded Poland from the east about
a month after Germany.
Stalin annexed Estonia, Latvia, &
Lithuania (1940)
Believed Hitler would one day attack
USSR
Fortified defenses in Baltics
Conquered Finland (November 1939)
"Winter War"

Neutrality Act of 1939

Britain and France desperately needed U.S. airplanes and other weapons.
84% of public supported Britain and France.
FDR persuaded Congress to allow U.S. to aid European democracies in
limited fashion.
Sale of weapons on a "cash-and carry" basis.
U.S. would avoid loans, war debts, and torpedoing of U.S. ships
FDR proclaimed danger zones which citizens could not enter
Democracies benefited as they controlled the Atlantic

U.S. economy improved as European demand for war goods helped bring
the country out of the recession of 1937-1938.
Unemployment crisis solved.

German expansion

April 1940: conquered

Denmark & Norway
May 1940: Netherlands,
Belgium, & Luxembourg fall
French & British troops
unsuccessful
German troops swept through
Ardennes Forest, instead of
through Belgian plains
Fall of France (June, 1940)
German troops occupied 2/3 of
France & took control of its
gov't.
Vichy gov't installed as puppet
gov't "Vichy France"

Fall of France

Dunkirk Miracle
Hitler halts his advance
as allied troops trapped
on shores of Belgium
No one is sure why
338,000 British and
French troops rescued
Civilians, anybody,
pitch in with whatever
crafts they could find
Left all materials behind
on beaches for Nazis

Clip
Complete History of WWII
Disc 2
Episode 4, Chapter 2 (7)

Churchills Finest Hour Speech

to British People after fall of France

Battle of Britain

Hitler's demands to Britain:

a. Return of German colonies
b. Agree to Germany's domination of continental Europe.
c. Britain refuses
Hitler orders German bombers to attack Royal Air Force (RAF)
Reason: Soften Britain for German invasion
Germans accidentally bomb London (beginning Sept.7)
Change of bombing tactics(from bombing RAF airfields to now
bombing cities) major mistake: first of Hitlers fatal blunders
RAF recovered from exhaustion; waves of German planes lost
Results
a. RAF defeated the Luftwaffe
b. Plans are cancelled for German invasion of Britain
c. British morale increased: Winston Churchills leadership
rallied the allied cause

Clip
Complete History of WWII
Disc 2, episode 5, chapter 3

U.S. response to fall of France and

Battle of Britain
U.S. would probably have to
fight in the war; not just be a
"great warehouse
FDR called on America to build
a huge air force and 2-ocean
navy.
Sept. 1940, Congress passed
Selective Service and Training
Act
Americas first peace-time draft
Men 21 to 35 were registered
and many were called for one
year of military training.
Act later expanded when U.S.
entered the war

Tripartite Pact (September, 1940)

Japan added to RomeBerlin axis for mutual
defense and military
support.
U.S. policy toward Japan
increasingly grew more
confrontational.
Germany & Italy expand
into Balkans, N. Africa,
Greece, Yugoslavia,
Egypt.

 Operation Barbarossa
Lebensraum: Hitler sought "living space" for Aryans
Germanys advance halted on outskirts of Moscow in
late 1941 (winter set in)
Siege of Leningrad lasted two years
Citizens of Leningrad reduced to eating rats, dogs, etc.
U.S. eventually sent $11 billion of Lend-Lease aid to the
Soviets
Defense of USSR seen as a defense of the United
States
Russian invasion was Hitlers second fatal error: opened
a second front before Britain was subdued.

Clip?
Complete History of WWII
Disc 3, Episode 6, Chapter 5

Isolationists

America First Committee

Slogan: "England will fight to the last American."
Advocated U.S. protection of its own shores if Hitler defeated Britain.
Charles Lindbergh most famous of isolationists.
Senator Robert A. Taft: urged "Fortress America"; defense not
intervention

FDRs "Four Freedoms" speech

to Congress (January 6, 1941)
Re-elected in 1940 3rd
term
FDR asked Congress for
increased authority to help
Britain
Four Freedoms:
Speech and expression
Religion
Freedom from Want
Freedom from fear
Congress responded with
Lend-Lease

Lend-Lease

Authorized President to give military

supplies to any nation he deemed "vital to
the defense of the US."
British rapidly exhausting their cash
reserves
FDR: "Loan a neighbor your hose to save
his house from fire; worry about the hose
later."
Isolationists and anti-Roosevelt
Republicans saw it as "the blank check
bill."
U.S. even closer to involvement in the war.
in effect, an economic declaration of war
against Germany
U.S. war production immediately
increased
Hitler began sinking U.S. ships with
German submarines
Convoy system between U.S., Britain and
Canada began in July.

Atlantic Charter

Accepted by FDR and

Churchill and endorsed by
Stalin later that year.
No European territorial
changes contrary to wishes of
the inhabitants (selfdetermination)
Govts abolished by the
dictators would be regained.
Called for "a permanent
system of general security"
Foundation for the United
Nations.

Escalating tensions with Japan

Japans conquest of Asia
resulted in tensions with U.S.
US refused to recognize
Manchukuo when Japan
invaded Manchuria in 1931.
U.S. concerned Japan signed
Anti-Comintern Pact
Condemned Japanese attack
on China in 1937
Roosevelt's famous
"Quarantine speech" in 1937
largely aimed at Japan.

Japans Greater East Asia Co Prosperity Sphere

Sought a vast empire in east Asia and Western Pacific.
forced out American and other business interests from
China.
Embargo of 1940 passed by Congress against Japan
Japan got the right from Vichy France to build air bases
and to station troops in French Vietnam.
U.S. placed embargo on export of aviation gasoline,
scrap iron, and steel to Japan
In December, extended embargo to include iron ore and
chemicals, machine tools, and other products

Japan signed Tripartite Pact: Rome-Berlin-Tokyo

Axis

All agreed to support each other if attacked by the US

FDR moved U.S. Pacific Fleet from West Coast to Pearl
Harbor to demonstrate military readiness
U.S. froze Japanese assets in the U.S., closed the
Panama Canal to Japan,
activated the Philippine militia
placed tougher embargo on export of oil and other vital
products to Japan.

Japanese-U.S. negotiations
Japan offered withdrawal from southern Indochina if US
resumed economic relations
Japan insisted on remaining in China
US demanded Japanese withdraw from Indochina &
China, promise not to attack any other area in western
Pacific, and withdraw from Tripartite Pact.
Were we buying time?
Surprisingly, No agreement reached.
October, 1941 Hideki Tojo, outspoken expansionist,
became Prime Minister
Japanese decided if no agreement by November 25,
Japan would attack U.S.

Japanese decision to attack

Made during unsuccessful

negotiations with U.S. on
December 1.
Felt war with US inevitable
Tried to seize initiative rather than
wait and later be in weaker position.
Felt surprise attack would cripple
US
Japanese war plan:
Take Dutch East Indies, Malaysia,
and Philippines to gain oil, metals
and other raw materials.
Attack on Pearl Harbor would
destroy U.S. Pacific fleet and keep
it from interfering with its plans
U.S. thought Japan would avoid
direct attack on U.S. to avoid
provocation.

Clip
Battlefront
Pacific Campaign Disc 1
Pearl Harbor

FDR Day of Infamy Speech

Pearl Harbor--Dec. 7th, 1941

Japanese sank or badly damaged all 8 battleships inside the Harbor

including the Oklahoma and the Arizona.
Damaged 10 other ships; destroyed 188 planes
Over 2,500 Americans killed; 1,100 wounded
3 aircraft carriers escaped destruction--out at sea
Japanese losses much smaller
Roosevelt asked Congress for Declaration of War against Japan

"a date that will live in infamy." Speech (asking for Declaration)
Congress quickly complies
Germany & Italy declare war against U.S. (three days later)
Hitler's 3rd fatal blunder: Germany didn't have to declare war on U.S.;
FDR and Churchill now agreed to defeat "Germany first"