hitler’s aggressions

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Hitler’s Aggressions WWII

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Hitler’s Aggressions . WWII. Hitler’s Aggressions. (1933)Adolf Hitler announced that he would rearm the country. He also took Germany out of the League of Nations. (1936)German troops marched into the Rhineland. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Nazi Germany and Hitlers Aggressions

Hitlers Aggressions WWIIHitlers Aggressions(1933)Adolf Hitler announced that he would rearm the country.He also took Germany out of the League of Nations. (1936)German troops marched into the Rhineland.Rome-Berlin Axis- In October 1936, Hitler and Mussolini created an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.

Anti-Comintern Pact Shortly after the Axis Powers were formed, Japan and Germany promised to work together.They signed an agreement called the Anti-Comintern Pact, pledging to stop the spread of communism (on paper).

Annexation of Austria(March 1938)Hitler declared Austria to be part of the Third Reich, which was a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles. No union between Austria and Germany was to be permitted. Great Britain and France sent protests to Hitler, but he ignored them. The League of Nations took no action.

SudetenlandMore than 3 million Germans lived in the Sudetenland, a region around the western rim of Czechoslovakia.

Crisis in the Sudetenland Many Germans living in this area wanted a union with Germany. As a result, the Nazi Party grew in strength there. September 1938-Riots broke out and Czechoslovakia placed the region under martial law.Hitler then announced he would invade and annex the Sudetenland to protect fellow Germans.

Munich Conference(September 1938) Hitler invited British prime minister Neville Chamberlain and French premier Edouard Daladier to meet with him in Munich (Mussolini was also present). The meeting was designed to ease tensions in Europe.

Policy of AppeasementChamberlain and Daladier accepted Hitlers demand that the Sudetenland be joined with Germany. Britain and France feared Germanys military strength and were presently suffering through an economic depression.Appeasement- The policy of trying to keep the peace by accepting some of the demands of the aggressor.

Czechoslovakia and AlbaniaGermany began to occupy the Sudetenland.Abandoned by its allies, Czechoslovakia was left defenseless. The U.S. also tried to avoid the conflict. (March 1939)German troops invaded Czechoslovakia, six months later it was wiped off the map. (April 1939)Mussolini invaded Albania.The League of Nations failed to be effective.

Preparations for War After Hitler took over Czechoslovakia, British and French leaders could no longer ignore the fascist dictators. Britain and France began preparing for war. Nazi-Soviet Pact (German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact)-This agreement publicly stated that Germany and the Soviet Union would not attack each other. Each would remain neutral if the other went to war. A Secret Pact Secretly, Hitler and Stalin had agreed to divide eastern Europe into spheres of influence. Germany was to take western Poland, while the Soviet Union was to have a free hand in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as eastern Poland. The Western nations had lost a possible ally in the East, while Germany had arranged for the Soviet Union to be neutral. Danzig and the Polish CorridorDanzig was a free city protected by the League of Nations. Poland and Germany both had rights to use the port of Danzig. A strip of land about 90 miles long and 55 miles wide, (Polish Corridor) this territory allowed Poland access to the port of Danzig (formally part of Germany prior to WWI).

September 1, 1939Hitler announced the annexation of Danzig to the German Reich. At the same time, his air force began a massive attack on Poland. Nazi tanks sped across the border and swiftly drove toward Warsaw and the Polish heartland.Two days later Great Britain and France kept their promises to Poland and declared war on Germany.

The Phony WarBlitzkrieg- lighting war (Hitlers invasion of Poland)Europes Reaction British forces landed on the northern coast of France and blockaded Germanys ports. French forces fortified the Maginot line. The Allies increased troop movement and arms production, but were relatively weak against Nazi Germany.

A New Kind of War in FranceThe French army expected stationary battles (like in World War I). However, German planes bombed and machine-gunned civilians who tried to escape the attack on France.

Fall of French Government June 14, 1940-Germans entered Paris and the French armed resistance fell, causing the cabinet to resign German troops were to occupy northern France and a strip of territory along the coast, extending into Spain. The French navy was to be disabled as well.

Free French Government

The French who continued to fight the Germans formed the Free French Government. The organization set up headquarters in London and the United States.Headed by General Charles de Gaulle

Battle of Britain The Luftwaffe (German Air Force) tried to soften up Britain for an invasion.During September 1940 and May 1941 fighting continued between the Luftwaffe and the RAF (Royal Air Force). 43,000 British civilians died in nighttime air raids.

RAF Success Germany was unable to win the Battle of Britain. However, Germany still continued to blockade British trade. There was still a chance that Britain could be starved into surrendering (war of attrition). United States InvolvementNeutrality Acts- passed between 1935 and 1937, the United States had stated its wish to remain neutral in future warsAmericans could not sell war equipment to warring nations or sail on their ships. American ships were restricted from entering war zones.

IsolationistsMany people worried that Nazi Germany would destroy not only Europe, but also civilization itself. On the other hand, most Americans believed that Europes wars should not concern the United States. Their opinion began to change as fears grew that the Nazis could potentially take over the world. Cash and Carry1939-A revised Neutrality Act allowed American firms to sell munitions to warring nations on a cash-and-carry basis.Great Britain still controlled sea routes between the U.S. and Britain, therefore the effect of this law was to allow the sale of arms only to Great Britain.

Lend-Lease Act September 1940 FDR moved 50 old American warships to Great Britain. Congress passed the first national draft law in the United States during peacetimeMarch 1941Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act, allowing the president to supply war materials to Great Britain on credit.

The Atlantic Charter In August 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill met aboard a British battle ship off the coast of Newfoundland (Canada). They created a statement of British and U.S. democratic goals.