Waging Global War

1. Waging Global War World War II

2. Key Questions • How did the American people and government respond to the international crises of the 1930’s? • How and to what extent can WWII be considered a total war? • How did war mobilization transform the American economy and government? • What were the major aspects of allied military strategies in Europe and Asia? • What were the major effects of WWII on American society including minorities and women? • What new issues did the U.S. government confront in defeating Germany and Japan in 1945?

3. Rise of Fascism in Europe and Asia • Mussolini takes control in Italy in 1922 • Hitler becomes Chancellor in Germany in 1933 • Preaches racism, aggressive nationalism & anti-semitism • Establishes absolute dictatorship over Germany • Emperor Hirohito in Japan • Builds up militaristic power • Fascist Dictators worry U.S. but isolationism increases

4. Nazi Party rallies, such as this one in Nuremberg in 1935, were emotive displays of group solidarity that also indicated to the world the full strength of Hitler's power

5. America dooms Loyalist Spain • Civil War in Spain between Fascists and left-leaning government (supported by Soviets) • Due to Neutrality Acts, US could NOT help in the fight against the Fascists

6. A. Prologue to War Britain and France agree to the transfer as a way to appease Hitler 1936 – Hitler’s troops occupy the Rhineland 1938 – Germany annexes Austria Mussolini invades Ethiopia Germany takes the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia without firing a shot after the Munich Conference

7. The Rhineland was demilitarized by the Treaty of Versailles, but in March 1936 the German army moved in, to the evident delight of the inhabitants. Video: Triumph of the Will – Nazi Propaganda Film

8. Munich Conference Gives Germany the Sudetenland, Hitler promises not to take over more land, Chamberlain promises the world that war has been avoided

9. Asian Front • 1931-1933 • Japan invades and conquers Chinese province of Manchuria and sets up a puppet state • 1937 • Japan begins conquest of rest of China

10. 1936 –Germany, Italy and Japan sign the alliance known as the Axis

11. B. American Mood: No More War • Concerned with rising fascism but determined not to be pulled into another war • Viewed involvement in WWI as a mistake • Congress passes the Neutrality Acts 1935-1937

12. Neutrality Acts 1935, 1936, 1937 • If there’s a war, restrictions automatically take effect • Americans could not: • sail on belligerent country’s ships, • sell weapons • lend money (regardless if aggressor or victim nations)

13. Appeasing Japan and Germany • Quarantine Speech • In response to Italy and Japan • Felt countries should quarantine aggressive nations (“embargoes”) • Isolationists feared this could lead to war • Japan furious about embargo - Panay Incident • American gunboat sunk by Japanese • Germany violates Treaty of Versailles

14. C. Hesitant Responses to the Fascist Challenge

15. D. 1938-1939 The Gathering Storm • 1939 Hitler seizes the remainder of Czechoslovakia • Threatens to attack Poland • Signs Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact to ensure Russian neutrality during German invasion of Poland • Americans grow alarmed, some push for more active American role • FDR agreed but not Congress

16. Hitler occupies all of Czechoslovakia March 15, 1939 • Even in Czechoslovakia there are supporters. There are few Czech fascists but ethnic Germans are a substantial minority and some support the Nazis.

18. Growing Alarm in U.S. • After invasion of Czechoslovakia and Albania, FDR sends request that Hitler and Mussolini pledge to not invade any other nations • Dictators respond with ridicule • FDR asks Congress to appropriate much more money to build up US defenses

19. The JewishPersecution • 1935 Nuremburg laws in Germany stripped German Jews of citizenship and rights • 1938 Kristellnacht Nazis unleashed wave of violence against Jews attacking them in their homes, synagogues and businesses • Tens of thousands of European Jews fled for countries that would admit them

20. On "Kristallnacht", November 9-10, 1938, thousands of Jewish properties were attacked: these are the ruins of a Berlin synagogue

21. F. America and the Jewish refugees • Among them distinguished musicians, architects, writers, scholars who enriched the cultural life of their adopted nation • Refugee physicists like Enrique Ferme contributed to developing the atomic bomb for the U.S. • Discriminatory Immigration laws in place at time • Congress refused to change the quotas for Jews • FDR would not exert pressure on lawmakers to do so • Majority of Americans opposed letting in more Jews (isolationist, anti-immigrant, anti-semitic sentiments)

22. Jewish refugees on board MS St Louis in 1939 while docked in Havana, Cuba Stopped by US Authorities and forced to return to Europe

23. War Begins – Hitler’s Belligerency and US’s Neutrality • September 1, 1939 - Hitler invades Poland • WWII begins • Britain and France in need of weapons • US passes Neutrality Act 1939 • European democracies can buy weapons on a Cash & Carry basis • US is no longer truly neutral

26. The Fall of France • June 1940, France falls to Hitler • England stands alone in Europe • US begins building its military • September 6, 1940 • 1st Peace-time conscription law passed in the U.S.

27. Marshal Petain, head of the French state established at the spa town of Vichy, shaking hands with Hitler.

28. Charles de Gaulle accompanies King George VI in an inspection of Free French troops, summer 1940.

29. Bolstering Britain with the Destroyer Deal (1940) • Germany bombs England in preparation for an invasion • “Fortress of America” or Help to Britain? • Committee to Defend America • Favors aiding allies (Weapons, money, etc.) • America First Committee • Against American involvement • September 1940, Roosevelt gives UK ships from WWI in return for bases • Most Americans favored any aid necessary, short of war

30. Congress passes the Lend Lease Act • What was it? • March, 1941 • Send supplies to victims of aggression • “Billions not bodies” • FDR: like lending a neighbor a garden hose Video: isolationism, FDR and lend lease • Seen as an economic declaration of war • Officially marked the end of neutrality • Germany begins sinking US ships

32. The Battle of Britain - The Blitzkreig • Summer/Autumn 1940 • V1 and V2 bombers used to gain air superiority over Britain • German tactic to weaken Britain first by air in order to prepare for a land invasion • Military, strategic targets then terror bombing strategy used in cities • Londoners built air raid shelters • Many Children evacuated and sent to the countryside • Video: People’s Century Total War 53’ Video: People’s Century Total War 53’

33. When Churchill was asked what should be done with "enemy aliens", German and Italian citizens in England at the outbreak of war (many of them refugees, Jewish and non-Jewish), his reply was characteristic: "Collar the lot." Here on May 29, women and children, escorted by police and officials, board a train which will take them to internment on the Isle of Man

34. HOMEWORK FOR APRIL 2 Reading Material Mastering Modern World History Part I. War and International Relations Chapter 6 The Second World War, 1939-1945 (pp. 89-120) The Unfinished Nation Chapter 28 America in a World War (pp. 720-749) Videos People’s Century Total War + Questions The Century America’s Time Civilians at War (5 parts) Over the Edge (3 parts)