Aggression, Appeasement, and War

 

The Big Idea- During the 1930s, dictators under-mined peace by committing acts of aggression and taking foreign lands.

 

In the 1930's, Italy Germany, and Japan wanted to build new empires. The three nations formed an alliance known as the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis. They agreed to let each other attack and take over new lands. The League of nations had no power to stop them. Most other countries avoided conflict out of fear of war. The world was busy recovering from the Great Depression. No one halted the acts of aggression that led to World War II.

 

In 1936, civil war broke out in Spain. Italy and Germany helped General Franco gain control. Bothe sides used new weapons and committed horrible acts of violence. The brutal war showed how mch destruction a modern war could cause.

 

German aggression continued. Britain and France still tried to keep peace through a policy of appeasement, or giving in to the demands od an agressor. The United States remained neutral. By 1939, Hitler had taken all of Austria and Czechoslovakia. It was clear that appeasementhad failed. Britain and France promised to protect Poland from Nazi attack.

 

In August of 1939, Hitler made a pact with Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union. The long-time enemies agreed not to fight each other. One week later, German armies invaded Poland. Britain and France kept their promise. On September3, 1939, they declared war on Germany. Worl War II had begun.

 

Aggressive Steps to World War II

 

1939 Germany invades Poland; Britain and France declare war.

1939 Italy takes over Albania

1938 Germany takes Sudetenland (a border region of Czechoslavakia

1938 Germany makes Austria part of its empire.

1937 Japan takes over much of eastern China

1936 Germany sends troops into Rhineland just outside French border.

1935 Italy invades Ethiopia.

1931 Japan invades Manchuria

 

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