Causes of WWII - Block 1 by Lisa Cunkelman

Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact

2015-03-26 12:38:50 UTC

Enemies Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union surprised the world by signing a pact where both agreed to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. Soviet Union leader Josef Stalin thought this pact would be a good way to keep peace with Germany while he built up his military. Hitler used the pact to make sure he could invade Poland without opposition. The pact contained a secret agreement where they agreed on how they would later divide up Eastern Europe. Pact fell apart in 1941 when Germany invaded Soviet Union.

Freezing of Japanese Assets

2015-03-26 12:39:03 UTC

Franklin Roosevelt seized all Japanese Assets in the United States in retaliation in for the Japanese occupation of French Indo-China. Britain and the Dutch East Indies followed Roosevelt's lead and also seized all Japanese Assets in their area. Japan lost access to three-fourths of its overseas trade and 88 percent of its imported oil. Japans oil reserves would only last three years.

Election-enabling act

2015-03-26 12:43:53 UTC

an amendment in 1933 that gave Hitler the power to enact laws without consent of the legislative body of Germany (Reichstag).

Nuremberg Laws

2015-03-26 12:48:27 UTC

The Nuremberg Laws were anti-Jewish statutes enacted by Germany on September 15, 1935, marking a major step in clarifying racial policy and removing Jewish influences from Aryan society. The laws issued on September 15, 1935, approved by Hitler personally, deprived Jews of German citizenship, prohibited Jewish households from having German maids under the age of 45, prohibited any non-Jewish German from marrying a Jew and outlawed sexual relations between Jews and Germans.

Olympics of 1936

2015-03-26 12:48:29 UTC

The olympic games of 1936 were held in Berlin. Hitler called for his propaganda among the streets and newspapers to be scaled back for the time. He put on an act to appear as a peaceful and tolerant ruler. US and other Western Democracies planned to boycott but it fell through when Spain was affected by war. Jesse Owens was the push factor in the games when he Won 4 Gold medals. Hitler felt that Whites should be shamed because a black beat them.

German invasion of Rhineland

2015-03-26 12:50:31 UTC

since the treaty of Versailles, Germany was not allowed to have a military. The Treaty of Locarno, four countries, including Germany, agreed to keep Rhineland free from militarism.

Despite this, German marched its army into Rhineland while France was in elections. When France looked to Britain for help, there was none. The people of Britain also did not favor another war.

Mussolini and the rise of Italian Nationalism

2015-03-26 12:53:15 UTC

Mussolini was the Prime Minister of Italy from 1922-1943. Mussolini eventually replaced his position of Prime Minister with a dictatorship in 1925. Mussolini was the creator of the Fascist party in Italy which was based on the idea of Italy's economic growth and success through the cooperation of the classes in order to strengthen the relation between consumers and business. Through the Fascist party, a sense of Italian Nationalism sprung up bringing a national outcry for the invasion of Rome, which Italy claimed was just by its legacy in Ancient Rome. This sense of Fascism and Nationalism supported the colonization of Mediterranean nations by Italy.

Japanese Invasion of China

2015-03-26 12:55:55 UTC

The Japan-China War started in July 1937 when the Japanese claimed that they were fired on by Chinese troops at the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing. Using this as an excuse, the Japanese launched a full-scale invasion of China using the conquered Manchuria as a launching base for their troops. The Japanese came up against little organized resistance. The Guomintang put up little resistance though they were up against a formidable enemy. In November 1937, China’s most important port, Shanghai, fell and Nanjing (Nanking), Chiang Kai-shek’s capital, fell in December 1937. Within 5 months, 1 million Chinese people were under Japanese control. All of the major cities in China were captured by the Japanese by the end of 1937 – so were the major communication systems of the nation.

Nazi Party of 1920s

2015-03-26 13:02:52 UTC

Hitler tried to overthrow local authorities in Munich in 1923 called the Beer Hall Putsch. This put him sentenced to jail. While having his hearing in court the Judge sympathized with him and only sentenced him to 5 years, but with good behavior he only got one year. After he reassembled the Nazi party in 1925 and grew in popularity. Hitler ran for president but lost with only 37% of the vote. The Party was rapidly growing and gaining power.

Embargo of Japanese Iron and Oil

2015-03-26 13:11:53 UTC

Japan was invading China at the start of WWII. Japan needed American iron and oil in order to fuel its war efforts and invasion against China. Roosevelt feared that in embargoing Japan they would start to invade other countries to get the resources. Japan eventually implemented a plan to do this anyway. The embargo against Japan started around 1940 in protest of this new plan to invade other southeast Asian countries.