1. The War Was in Color
World War II
What do you think
the artists are trying
to convey through
their song?
2. THREATS TO WORLD
PEACE
Essential Questions:
did the Treaty of Versailles lead to World War
•How
II?
were the dictators that arose after World War
•Who
I?
did Adolf Hitler rise to power?
•How
•How did the U.S. respond to the rise of Adolf Hitler?
3. After the Great War
For many nations the
peace of World War I
had brought revolution
fueled by economic
depression
It also brought the rise
of powerful dictators
They were driven by a
belief in nationalism
Loyalty to ones country
above all else
4. The Treaty of Versailles
Treaty caused anger and
resentment
The Germans saw nothing fair in
a treaty that blamed them for
starting the war
The Soviets also resented the
carving up of parts of Russia
People turned to authoritarian
leaders to solve their economic
and social problems
The democracies that were setup
after World War I collapsed
Dictators seized power
5. Joseph Stalin
In Russia a civil war broke out
It resulted in the creation of the communist
state, known as the Soviet Union
The Revolution was led by Lenin, but Joseph
Stalin took over when Lenin died in 1924
Stalin began creating an ideal communist state
All economic activity was placed under
state management
Stalin eliminated anyone that stood in his
way
Stalin was responsible for the deaths of 8
to 13 million people
By 1938 Stalin had created a strong totalitarian
government
A government that maintained complete
6. Benito Mussolini
In Italy unemployment and inflation
was producing bitter strikes
Mussolini took advantage of this
He played on the fears of economic
collapse and the spread of
communism to take power
He created a Fascist state
Fascists believed that power must rest
with a single strong leader and a small
group of devote party members
Mussolini and his Fascist party
marched on Rome
The Italian King appointed Mussolini
head of the government
7. Adolf Hitler
After World War I Hitler joined a
group called the National Social
German Workers’ Party
Known as the Nazis
With his powerful speaking
abilities Hitler soon became the
leader of the party
Nazism was a German brand of
Fascism which three general
goals:
1. Hitler dreamed of uniting all
German-speaking people in a
great German empire
2. Hitler wanted to enforce “racial
purification”
To him Germans were the “master
race”
3. Hitler wanted to expand
territorially
8. Hitler’s Rise to Power
The Great Depression helped the
Nazis come to power
Due to German dependence on
American loans and investments the
German economy was hit hard
By 1932, some 6 million Germans
were unemployed
Many joined Hitler's private army,
known as the storm troopers
By 1932 the Nazis were the strongest
German political party
In January 1933 Hitler was appointed
Chancellor of Germany
He quickly dismantled Germany’s
democratic Weimar Republic
He created the Third Reich (Third
German Empire)
9. The U.S. Response
Initially the United States took
a policy of isolationism
When Roosevelt took office in
1933 he felt comfortable
reaching out to the world
He recognized the Soviet
Union in 1933 and exchanged
ambassadors with Moscow
The Neutrality Acts
Were passed in 1935 in an
attempt to keep the U.S. out
of future wars
It outlawed the sale of arms or
loans to nations at war
