World tensions were rising in the late 1930s as several dictators sought to expand their territory. Joseph Stalin had consolidated power in the Soviet Union and established a brutal communist regime. In Italy, Benito Mussolini rose to power on a nationalist platform of fascism. In Germany, Adolf Hitler gained control of the Nazi party and dreamed of creating a greater German empire while pursuing racist policies. Japan also took steps to expand its territory. Hitler annexed Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia through aggression and appeasement by Western nations. In 1939, Hitler signed a non-aggression pact with Stalin and invaded Poland, starting World War II in Europe.

1. World War LoomsWWII

2. Dictators Threaten World PeaceEconomic struggles after WWI fueled revolution, not peace.Gave rise to nationalism- loyalty to one’s country above else.Dreams of territorial expansion also grew

3. Failures of the Treaty of VersaillesGermans mad at being blamed for WWI.Economic struggles to repay reparationsLost all oversea coloniesOverwhelmed the Weimar RepublicRussians upset at the carving up of Russia.

4. Worth 1 cent!!!5,000,000 German mark

5. After WWIBefore WWI

6. Joseph Stalin: Soviet UnionHopes for Democracy gave way to civil war.V.I. Lenin started a communist state in 1922Joseph Stalin took control in 1924 after Lenin’s deathFocused on creating a model communist state, using a totalitarian gov’tMaintains compete control over citizens. Citizens have no rightsMade agricultural and industrial growth prime economic goalsAbolished all private farms and replaced with collectives- gov’t owned farmsAll industry under gov’t controlAlthough successful (2nd industrial power in world by 1937), had a brutal reignEstimated between 8-13 million people died by the gov’t’s handsMillions more died of starvation

7. Benito Mussolini: ItalyUnemployment and inflation produced bitterness in Italy, which led to strikesUpper and Middle-class called for stronger leadershipMussolini established the Fascist PartyFascism stressed nationalism and the interests of the states over individualismIl Duce- the leaderSlowly extended fascism over all aspects of Italian life.

8. Adolph Hitler- GermanyHitlerA jobless soldier drifting around GermanyIn 1919, joined the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, aka, The Nazi Party.Great public speaker and organizerSoon became the Nazi leaderNazism=fascismDreamed of uniting all German speaking people into one German empireWanted to enforce racial “purification”Blonde-hair, blue-eyed Aryans= master raceJews, Slavs, non-whites were “inferior races”

9. Believed the Germany needed more lebensraum, or living spacePreyed upon peoples emotions and the hard times of the age.Third Reich- The 3rd German Empire would be a “1000 year Reich”

11. JapanNationalist military leaders were trying to take control in Japan.Believed that Japan needed more living space.Took control of Manchuria

12. SpainCivil War, led by Francisco Franco, broke out in Spain.Rebelled against the Spanish republicSome (3000) Americans traveled to Spain to help against Franco.It was not enough to match the help given by Hitler and Mussolini to Franco

13. America stays NeutralAmericans cling to Isolationism, despite their alarm.Americans believed that the US was dragged into WWI by greedy merchants and bankers.Determined to stay away from war.Neutrality Acts- outlawed arms sales or loans to nations at war.Still, FDR found it difficult not to get involved.

16. Union with AustriaMajority of Austria’s 6 million citizens were Germans who favored unification with GermanyMarch 12, 1938 German troops marched into Austria unopposed and 1 day later announced its union with AustriaThe US and the rest of the world did nothing.

17. Czechoslovakia nextUsing false propaganda- Hitler amassed troops on the Czech border.France and Great Britain promised to protect CzechoslovakiaHitler meets with Britain's Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and promises that Sudetenland (western part of C’vakia) would be his “last territorial demand.”Somehow Chamberlain believed him and signed over Sudetenland without a conflictWinston Churchill, Chamberlain’s political rival, publicly opposed this idea of appeasement, or the giving up of principles to pacify an aggressor.

18. The German Offensive BeginsHitler eyes PolandStalin and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact with GermanyAgreed never to attack one anotherSecret, 2nd pact to split Poland once takenBlitzkrieg, or lightning war, in Poland.Fast tanks and powerful aircraft attacked before the opposition could raise an army.

19. France and Britain Fight OnFrance falls to the Axis PowersThe Luftwaffe, or German Air Force, begins bombings in EnglandNew technologies, such as Radar, help the British fend off the Germans.