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The treaty that ended World War I required Germany and other to pay for war damages. As the "guilty" party, Germany was required to pay the Allies 33 billion dollars in reparations. Germany, however, did not have enough money to pay this debt, so its economy suffered. By 1923, inflation was so bad that a suitcase full of money would barely buy a loaf of bread. The reparations caused great bitterness among the Germans. Economic problems made citizens willing to accept the rule of a strongman who promised economic recovery. |
| In the 1920s, Adolf
Hitler began giving speeches in which he said that Germany had not been
treated fairly after World War I and that Germans were better than all
other peoples. He blamed the Jewish people for the country's problems. He
promised to restore prosperity and end unemployment in Germany. In 1933,
his party, the Nazi Party took control and Hitler ruled as a dictator.
Fascist leaders stress nationalism and militarism. Hitler flooded the radio airwaves with propaganda about Germany's military might. He rebuilt the army and helped the economy recover by building plants, tanks, etc. This restored Germany's confidence. Once in power, fascist leaders ban rival parties, impose censorship, and strip lawmaking assemblies of power. They want total power. Jews were Hitler's main target. In 1935, the Nuremburg laws stripped Jews of their rights. |
| Mussolini, who came to power in Italy in 1924, solved unemployment problems by building up the armed forces. He promised to make Italy great like in the days of the Roman Empire. |
| In
1941, expansionist Tojo became Prime Minister of Japan. During the depression, millions of Japanese workers lost their jobs. The leaders decided to make the economy more self-sufficient by invading Manchuria and China and seizing resources of grain , metals, and oil. After Japan used up the resources there, it invaded French Indochina. |
| On September 1, 1939,
German invaded Poland and soon after German forces stormed across much of
the rest of Europe. Americans were shocked by the German invasion, but few
wanted to be involved in any way. In 1940, Roosevelt, promising to keep
American out of war, was elected to a third term.
When World War I began, the U.S. remained neutral. Most Americans felt entering World War I was a mistake, and they didn't want the U.S. to get tangled in another war. Americans felt safe because they were so far from Europe. Congress passed laws banning the sale of arms to nations at war. American did start to prepare for war, in case attacked. A draft was instituted, planes and tanks were manufactured, etc .
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| Roosevelt felt that Hitler must be stopped. After France fel in 1940, Roosevelt started sending massive aid to Great Briatin to help it defend itself. He transferred 50 old warships to Britain in return for the right to use British bases in the western hemisphere. In early 1941, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to enact the Lend-Lease program so the U.S. could give more aid. Roosevelt remained cautious, however, because most Americans still did not want to abandon isolationism. |
| The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor convinced Americans that war was inevitable. Congress quickly declared war. Ninteen warships were sunk in the harbor, and 150 planes were destroyed. Americans were outraged, and the decision to enter the war in Europe was an easy one. |
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Causes of World War II |
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The treaty that ended World War I required Germany and other to pay for war damages. As the "guilty" party, Germany was required to pay the Allies 33 billion dollars in reparations. Germany, however, did not have enough money to pay this debt, so its economy suffered. By 1923, inflation was so bad that a suitcase full of money would barely buy a loaf of bread. The reparations caused great bitterness among the Germans. Economic problems made citizens willing to accept the rule of a strongman who promised economic recovery. |