WWII Part 1

WWII - Part IThe World in the 1930’s

Monday, May 10, 2010

Economic Nationalism

• National policies that place your country’s economic well-being ahead of all other concerns.

• Throughout the 1930’s the US and countries throughout Europe practice Economic Nationalism.

• US raises tariffs, Europeans continue to demand German reparations for WWI.


Totalitarianism

• Strong centralized government.

• Citizens have no individual rights.

• Government suppresses all opposition.


Fascism

• Strong Centralized government headed by a dictator.


Stalin Controls the Soviet Union

• Stalin takes control of Soviet Union in 1924.

• 1928 Stalin launches series of Five-Year Plans.

• By 1939 USSR has third largest industrial output in the world.


Hitler takes command

• Leader of the Nazi party elected by a plurality in 1932.

• 1932 - 6 million Germans are unemployed.

• 1934 - Germany stops paying its war reparations obligations.


Mussolini controls Italy

• Benito Mussolini - takes control of Italy in 1922 as leader of Socialist party.

• 1935 invades Ethiopia.

• 1936 aids Fascists in Spanish Civil War


US Neutrality Act

• 1935 - Outlawed the sale of weapons to nations at war.

• Outlawed giving loans to nations at war.

• Outlawed loans and weapons sales to countries engaged in Civil Wars.


1937 Neutrality Act

• Cash and Carry policy for non-military purchases by warring nations.

• Those making purchases must pay cash and use their own ships for transport.

• US Citizens forbidden to travel on foreign ships.


Appeasement

• British and French policy of allowing Germany to take pieces of land as long as it wasn’t their land.

• First example of appeasement: 1936 Germany invades Rhineland.


Failure of Appeasement

• 1938 - Hitler invades Austria.

• 1939 - Hitler invades Czechoslovakia

• 1939 - Hitler invades Poland. Britain and France declare war on Germany, September 3, 1939.


Repeal of the Arms Embargo

• After Britain and France declare war on Germany, US repeals arms embargoes.

• Allows cash-and-carry sales of weapons to French, British, and their allies.


Lend - Lease Act

• Britain and its allies were broke.

• March 1941 - US Begins “lending” weapons and supplies to Britain.

• June 1941 - US Begins “lending” to USSR.

• Roosevelt orders US Navy to patrol halfway across Atlantic for the safe delivery of weapons.


Attack on the Greer

• September 1941 - German submarine fires on, but doesn’t hit USS Greer.

• Greer had been following submarine for hours and relaying locations to British.


Sinking of Reuben James

• October 1941 - US Destroyer Reuben James sunk by Germans.

• Roosevelt authorizes transport of weapons on armed US merchant ships.


WWII Part 1

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Transcript of WWII Part 1