Chapter 11

A World in Flames
1931-1941
Americans were so
preoccupied with
their own struggles
that little attention
was given to non-
democratic forms of
government around
the globe.
CH 11 Main Ideas
This chapter examines the rise of dictatorships in
Europe, specifically Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party,
U.S. resistance to being involved in European conflict,
the atrocities of the Holocaust, and finally Japan’s
attack on Pearl Harbor.
 Lesson 1 Main Ideas
• Hitler and the Nazis, which believed in an all-powerful state, territorial expansion,
and ethnic purity.
• Hitler believed Germany needed more living space and invaded Austria,
Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Russia,
• At the Munich Conference, Britain and France appeased Hitler and agreed to his
demands to avoid war.
• Germany used new and bold warfare to invade Poland and France. Britain and
France declared war on Germany after its invasion of Poland.
 Lesson 1 Main Ideas (cont'd)
• Mussolini’s Fascist Party believed in the supreme power of the state and in 1922
Mussolini threatened to march on Rome; the King appointed him as the Premier.
• Japan’s military leaders pushed for territorial expansion. Japan attacked
Manchuria in 1931.
• Hitler began airstrikes on Britain; Churchill vowed never to surrender.
 The Rise of Dictators
• After World War I, some European countries moved to antidemocratic
governments.
• Benito Mussolini of Italy founded the Fascist movement in 1919.
• The Communist party was formed in Russia by Vladimir Lenin, then continued
by Joseph Stalin. Use of concentration camps and slave labor contributed to the
deaths of up to 20 million people under Stalin.
• Adolf Hitler led Germany’s Nazi party and became chancellor in 1933.
• In Japan, aggressive military leader Hideki Tōjō took over as prime minister in
1941.
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• Hitler defied the Treaty of Versailles expanding his
army and taking foreign territory.
• Hitler’s army invaded Austria and Czechoslovakia,
but European leaders agreed to a policy to appease
Hitler.
• When Germany invaded Poland, Britain and France
declared war, beginning World War II. (Sept. 1939)
• France surrendered in 1940, but Britain vowed
never to surrender and kept Germany from invading. Hitler annexed Austria in March 1938
The Rise of the Dictators Packet
In 1939, 20,000 Americans rallied in New York's Madison Square Garden to celebrate the rise of Nazism -- an event largely
forgotten from U.S. history. A NIGHT AT THE GARDEN, made entirely from archival footage filmed that night, transports
audiences to this chilling gathering and shines a light on the power of demagoguery and anti-Semitism in the United States.
 Lesson 2 Main Ideas
• War weary Americans became isolationists.
• Congress passed the Neutrality Act of 1935.
• President Roosevelt favored internationalism, believing trade would create prosperity and
avoid war. The Nye Committee documented HUGE profits from WW1.
• Although neutral, the United States supported Britain by sending destroyers and supplies.
• The Lend-Lease Act let Britain to receive weapons if they paid for them after the war.
• Japan became a member of the Axis powers and attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
• The United States declared war on Japan.
• Hitler declared war on the United States.
 American Neutrality
• Americans gained an increased sense of
isolationism regarding foreign affairs.
• Congress passed the Neutrality Acts of 1935
and 1937. The 1935 Act banned the selling of
arms to belligerent nations and warned Americans
not to travel by ship. The 1937 Act forbade loans
to belligerent nations and forbade Americans from
traveling on belligerent ships.
• Roosevelt supported increased trade between
nations, or internationalism. He felt trade
promoted prosperity and helped prevent wars.
 Neutrality Tested
• U.S. neutrality was tested when
Roosevelt allowed Britain to use ships in
return for use of British bases in the
Atlantic.
• The Cash and Carry/Neutrality Act of
1939 allowed for cash and carry of arms to
help Britain defend itself. Additionally, the
US neutrality shifted toward aiding the
Allies from German Aggression.
 Neutrality Tested
• The Lend-Lease Act allowed the U.S.
to lend arms to countries “vital to the
defense of the United States.”
• Roosevelt used other methods to
defend allied forces while remaining
officially neutral, such as the
Hemispheric Defense Zone and the
Atlantic Charter. The US became the
"Arsenal of Democracy."
The Fight for Freedom
Committee
In 1940 this group pushed for a
stronger action against
Germany and the repeal of all
neutrality laws.
 Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
• Despite the U.S. efforts to stay out of the war, Japan
responded to America’s aid to Britain by becoming
aggressive.
• The United States applied economic pressure in the form
of embargos, preventing Japan from receiving key materials
needed in the war. (blocking sales)
• On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes attacked the
U.S. military base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii.
• The next day, Congress declared war on Japan and
entered World War II.
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
 Foreign policy in the 1930s Worksheet
The worldwide economic depression of the 1930s took its toll in
different ways in Europe, America, and Asia.
In Europe, political power shifted to totalitarian and imperialist
governments in several countries, including Germany, Italy, and
Spain.
In Asia, a resource-starved Japan began to expand aggressively,
invading China and maneuvering to control a sphere of
influence in the Pacific.
The United States, on the other hand, chose to withdraw from
world affairs and concentrate on its own economic problems.
 Lesson 3 Main Ideas
• In 1935 the Nuremberg Laws were passed.
• In 1938 half of Germany’s Jews were unemployed.
• Anti-Jewish violence called Kristallnacht erupted, destroying hundreds of homes,
businesses, and synagogues.
• Between 1933 and 1939, thousands of Jews left Germany.
• Many countries limited immigration, and many Jews were turned away.
• The SS St. Louis was forced to return to Europe.
• During the Holocaust Germany killed an estimated six million Jews.
Nazi Persecution of the Jews
• The Nazis took a systematic approach to persecuting the
Jews and other racial and ethnic groups. The
Nuremberg Laws removed the rights and citizenship of
Jewish Germans. 1935 Chart defining German citizenship
and image from Kristallnacht
• Kristallnacht was an event in 1938 in which Nazi storm
troopers destroyed property and terrorized Jewish
families in Germany and Austria. 7k destroyed!
• Many Jews tried to flee to the U.S., but their numbers
were too great and there were strict limits on immigration
during the Great Depression. (About 3k per day!)
 Attempts to
Escape
•The St. Louis Affair (we denied
access and the ship, it returned
to Europe.) In the case of this
ship, Cuba revoked the landing
certificated of thousands of Jews.
•Ultimately the 900 plus Jewish
refugees on the SS St. Louis were
sent back to their country of
origin and many died in the Nazi’s
Final Solution.
 The Final Solution
• Concentration camps and death camps were built in
Germany and throughout Europe to exterminate Europe’s
Jewish population. (Other groups as well-homosexuals,
disabled, Roma and Slavs.)
• Populations were sent by trains to the camps, many
unaware of their fates.
• At the camps healthy prisoners were used as slave laborers
until they died of exhaustion, disease, or malnutrition.
• Most others were sent to extermination camps to be
executed in gas chambers, some of which could hold and gas
up to 2,000 people at a time.
Nazi Persecution of the Jews
• The Nazis took a systematic approach to persecuting the Jews and other racial and ethnic
groups. The Nuremberg Laws removed the rights and citizenship of Jewish Germans.
• Kristallnacht was an event in 1938 in which Nazi storm troopers destroyed property and
terrorized Jewish families in Vienna, Austria.
• Many Jews tried to flee to the United States, but their numbers were too great and there were
strict limits to immigration during the Great Depression.
The Development of the Final Solution
Why would
the Allies
insist on
bringing
German
citizens to
the camps?
 Primary Sources, The Holocaust
Pages 350-351

•Read the four parts to the primary