5. Totalitarianism A totalitarian government is one that exerts total control over a nation It dominates all aspects of life Uses terror to: Suppress individual rights Silence all forms of opposition
6. Fascism Emphasizes the importance of the nation or an ethnic group and the supreme authority of the leader Fascist leaders of WWII Adolf Hitler (Germany – Axis) Benito Mussolini (Italy – Axis) Joseph Stalin (USSR – Allied)
8. Stalin’s Soviet Union Lenin’s death (1924) Fight for power – Stalin vs. Trotsky Trotsky fled to South America Stalin sends thugs over Trotsky assassinated
9. Stalin’s Five-Year Plan Goal – modernize USSR Agriculture Industry Collective Farms Soviet farmers to combine small family farms into big ones Owned & operated by the state Did this go over well? Why? (30 seconds)
18. Mussolini Attacks Ethiopia Italy was defeated by Ethiopia in the 1890s October, 1935 Italy invaded & easily conquered the African nation (aka Abyssinia)
19. League of Nations Reacts Condemned but did nothing Britain and France hoped to keep the peace in Europe “God and history will remember your judgment…It is us today. It will be you tomorrow.” - Haile Selassie, Ethiopian Emperor
21. 1936 Rome – Berlin Pact Hitler & Mussolini form an alliance
22. Formation of Axis Powers November 1936 – Japan allied with Italy & Germany Axis Powers
23. German Expansion Hitler pushed for “Anschluss” (political union) with Austria March 1938 – Austrian Chancellor said no Hitler sent in German troops Britain & France protested – Hitler said…
27. Reactions to Expansion France – shocked Britain – policy of appeasement Giving into a competitor’s demands in order to keep peace PM Neville Chamberlain met with Hitler twice
30. 1938 Munich September 1938 – Meeting in Munich Hitler (Germany) Mussolini (Italy) Chamberlain (Britain) Daladier (France) France & Britain not prepared for conflict What do you think they did?
32. In the End… Sudetenland was sacrificed No one consulted Czech leaders France was bound by treaty to defend Czech Hitler allowed to annex Sudetenland Chamberlain hailed as peacekeeper
33. Closure What is appeasement and how did it play a role in the spread of fascism during the 1930s?
40. America’s Reaction Neutrality Act – 1937 (isolationism) Attracted the attention of many (Hemingway, Orwell) Small brigades from across the country (and the world) volunteered Which side do you think they took? Spanish Civil War “The Lincoln Brigade”
42. Guernica April 26, 1937 Hitler’s Condor Legion Forces (Luftwaffe) bombed the Spanish city of Guernica
43. The Story of Guernica It was market day in Guernica when the church bells of Santa Maria sounded the alarm that afternoon in 1937. People from the surrounding hillsides crowded the town square. "Every Monday was a fair in Guernica," says José Monasterio, eyewitness to the bombing. "They attacked when there were a lot of people there. And they knew when their bombing would kill the most. When there are more people, more people would die."
44. For over three hours, twenty-five or more of Germany's best-equipped bombers, accompanied by at least twenty more Messerschmitt and Fiat Fighters, dumped one hundred thousand pounds of high-explosive and incendiary bombs on the village, slowly and systematically pounding it to rubble.
45. "We were hiding in the shelters and praying. I only thought of running away, I was so scared. I didn't think about my parents, mother, house, nothing. .. …just escape. Because during those three and one half hours, I thought I was going to die." (eyewitness Luis Aurtenetxea)
46. Those trying to escape were cut down by the strafing machine guns of fighter planes. "They kept just going back and forth, sometimes in a long line, sometimes in close formation. It was as if they were practicing new moves. They must have fired thousands of bullets." (eyewitness Juan Guezureya)
47. The fires that engulfed the city burned for three days. Seventy percent of the town was destroyed. Sixteen hundred civilians - one third of the population - were killed or wounded.
48. News of the bombing spread like wildfire. The Nationalists immediately denied any involvement, as did the Germans. But few were fooled by Franco's protestations of innocence. In the face of international outrage at the carnage, Germany claimed publicly that the target was a bridge over the Mundaca River on the edge of town, chosen in order to cut off the fleeing Republican troops.
49. Although the Condor Legion was made up of the best airmen and planes of Hitler's developing war machine, not a single hit was scored on the presumed target, nor on the railway station, nor on the small-arms factory nearby.
50. Guernica is the cultural capital of the Basque people, seat of their centuries-old independence and democratic ideals. It has no strategic value as a military target. Yet some time later, a secret report to Berlin was uncovered stating, "...the concentrated attack on Guernica was the greatest success," making the dubious intent of the mission clear…
51. The all-out air attack had been ordered on Franco's behalf to break the spirited Basque resistance to Nationalist forces. Guernica had served as the testing ground for a new Nazi military tactic - blanket-bombing a civilian population to demoralize the enemy.
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53. Spanish Civil War - Movies Pan’s Labrynth Butterfly (La Lengua de las Mariposas)
55. Winston Churchill Regarding the Munich Conference in 1938: “Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They Chose dishonor. They will have war.”
56. Hitler’s Pact With Stalin Enemies – realize more to gain as allies August, 1939: Ten year Nonaggression Pact Secret clause: G & R to split states of E. Europe
57. Invasion of Poland March, 1939 – Britain & France promise aid to Poland (Is Hitler worried? Why?) September 1, 1939: Germany invaded Poland Blitzkrieg – “Lightening War” Fast, concentrated air and land attack Takes enemy’s army by surprise
58. Poland (cont.) Germany had overrun Poland in less than 1 month Where were Britain & France??
59. Helpless Allies Due to blitzkrieg, Britain & France could not mobilize quickly enough to come to the aid of Poland However, B & F declared war on G on Sept. 3, 1939
60. Soviet Union & Poland Sept. 17, 1939 - As per secret pact, Stalin invaded & seized Eastern Poland Sept. 19th – Poland surrendered
61. “Phony War” (aka Sitzkrieg) Silent period Oct. 1939-April 1940 Germany & Soviet forces held ground Britain & France mobilized troops
62. Maginot Line A series of fortifications along the French-German border Provided to troops: Housing Recreational areas a/c Underground rail
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64. General Patton’s Thoughts… “Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.” Why might he say this?
65. Two Major Problems Protected only the part of the French border that faced Germany Left France open to an attack through Belgium All heavy guns pointed east toward Germany If Germany got around the Maginot Line, the guns would be useless
66. Sitzkrieg ist Kaput April 9, 1940 – Germany took Denmark in days Norway was next Then blitzkrieg on: Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg
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68. German Invasion of France May 1940 – went through Belgium to invade Northern France Raced to English Channel…why?
69. Dunkirk May 1940 -Britain on edge of military disaster German army - advanced across northern France British & French forces trapped Retreated to French port of Dunkirk
70. Bell Ringer When the French & British were trapped between German forces and the English Channel, to where did they retreat?
71. Dunkirk Hitler’s tanks were just 10 miles away 400,000 troops backed to English Channel Constant air raids from Luftwaffe Death or capture seemed imminent Clip from the movie Atonement
73. Operation Dynamo “On 26 May, the British Admiralty responded by launching Operation Dynamo - the evacuation of the BEF by sea. This enormous rescue mission was led by Vice Admiral Ramsay, who rounded-up a huge fleet of vessels - from tiny tugs and barges, to lifeboats and navy destroyers - to send to Dunkirk.” Source: BBC News, Dunkirk Remembered
74. Miracle of Dunkirk 850 vessels – from destroyers to tugboats to fishing boats – sailed the English Channel through mines and air raids Smaller boats transported soldiers to ships Despite the loss of 235 vessels, it was a miracle By June 4th, over 338,000 men had been evacuated to England in one of the greatest rescues of all time
77. France Falls After F & B retreated from Dunkirk to B, G headed southward June 10, 1940 – French gov’t abandoned Paris June 14 – G took Paris June 22 – France surrendered
78. Negotiations in Paris Surrender terms: Germany occupied: Northern 3/5ths Atlantic Coast French gov’t supervised unoccupied zone in south – Vichy
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80. Vichy, France Unoccupied Puppet government General Henri-Philippe Pétain Many helped Germans - collaboration
81. Why Collaborate?? Many French thought that they were under German rule forever Accepted it as their fate – save self, families, homes Did all French people just give in?
82. Free France French gov’t exiled London French-African colonies Goal = liberate France
84. The French Resistance Underground movement Literally met in the catacombs & tunnels beneath Paris Backed by Free France & De Gaulle Made up of French citizens Propaganda distribution Sabotage Helping Allies
87. Resistance (cont.) Citizens who joined the Resistance did so at their own risk Captured resistance members were often executed or sent to Natzweiler-Struthof Concentration Camp
88. Agence France-Presse A few years after his death, French leftists marched to honor the legacy of Guy Môquet,a 17-year-old Communist and a participant in the French Resistance, who was executed by the Nazis in 1941.
89. The Battle of Britain Once France fell, Hitler amassed troops on the French coast Britain was clearly his next target It was then that Winston Churchill made his famous “We Shall Never Surrender” speech
90. Churchill’s Famous Speech “We shall not flag nor fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France and on the seas and oceans; we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on beaches, landing grounds, in fields, in streets and on the hills. We shall never surrender and if, which I do not for the moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, will carry on the struggle until in God's good time the New World with all its power and might, sets forth to the rescue and liberation of the Old. . “
91. Battle of Britain Only thing in the way of Hitler’s path to England – British Navy Because the B Navy was so strong, G had to use Luftwaffe first August 1940 – G launched on B greatest air assault world had ever seen Continued into September 1,000+ planes dropped bombs on Britain daily
92. London Blitz What began as attacks on military targets soon turned to civilian attacks Late August 1940 – G bombed London Two nights later – B bombed Berlin
93. London Blitz By early Sept., Hitler ordered massive bombing raids on London & other B cities Used incendiary bombs Goal = break people’s will Where have you heard this before??
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96. London Blitz Each time the Luftwaffe approached, air raid alarms would sound Civilians would run to the nearest bomb shelter Many went to “The Underground” (subway)
99. London Blitz The Blitz would go off & on through May 1941 Read p. 795-6 “The London Blitz”
100. In the End… 18,000 tons of high explosives dropped on B over 8 months 375,000 Londoners homeless Death Toll: 18,629 men 16,201 women 5,028 children 695 unidentified charred bodies Source: The History Place
