USH Weekly Blog 3-20/3-24

Monday: WWII movies summaries 

Italy's WWII Story- Benito Mussolini- II Duce 

1919

  • Italy after WWI
    • Italy was very displeased with the Treaty of Versailles 
      • Wanted to get more land than they got 
    • Italy joined the League of Nations and was a member from 1919 until they withdrew in 1937
  • 5 Power Pact 
    • Signed by Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy 
    • Designed to prevent an arm's race 
    • It limited the construction of battleships, battle cruisers and aircraft carriers 
    • Did not restrict cruisers, destroyers or submarines 
  • 9 Power Pact 
    • Guaranteed Chinese independence and upheld the Open Door Policy 
    • Signed by the United States, Japan, China, France, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Portugal 
  • Kellogg-Briand Pact 
    • Countries pledged not to use war as a way to settle disputes
  • March on Rome- October 1922 
    • A march by Benito Mussolini's National Fascist Party 
    • Mussolini and the Fascists won and took over Italy 
  • King Victor Emmanuel 
    • Did not fight Mussolini's take over in Italy 
    • Wanted to avoid a civil war and also wanted to keep communists out of Italy 
    • Saw Mussolini as the person that could do these things 
  • Mussolini and the Catholic Church 
    • In 1921, the Lateran Accords were signed
      • Gave the Vatican specific territories in Rome 
      • Catholicism became the state religion- 
      • Separation of church and state was stopped 
      • Recognition of religious marriages for the first time since 1870 
      • Catholic church was given a lot of money 
    • What did Mussolini get? 
      • Official support from the catholic Church

Tuesday:

  • Established Fascism in Italy 
    • A government led by a strong dictator 
    • Stresses strong nationalism, militarism, and imperialism 
    • Uses intimidation to get what they want 
      • "All within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state." Benito Mussolini
  • Ethiopia invaded by Mussolini 1936 
    • Italy lost it's Ethiopia colony in Africa at the 1896 Battle of Adua 
    • One of the worst colonial disasters of modern history 
    • Feb. 23, 1935, Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia 
  • Italy/ Ethiopia Invasion
    • Nov. 18, 1935, League of Nations sanctions begin 
      • Arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation for Italian goods 
    • Feb. 29, 1936, FDR signed the 1936 Neutrality Act 
      • Mandatory arms embargo with warring nations 
      • Mandatory ban on leans to warring nations 
    • May 5- Italy occupied Addis Ababa- annexed all Ethiopia on May 9

Wednesday: 

  • Generalissimo Francisco Franco and the Spanish Civil War- 1936
    • Hitler and Mussolini send troops and weapons to help Franco win the civil war against the communists 
    • This war served as an important training ground for Hitler's and Mussolini's troops 
  • Rome- Berlin Axis- 1936 
  • Tripartite Pact is signed forming the Axis Powers- 1940 Germany, Italy and Japan 
  • Axis Powers 
    • Main Powers: 
      • Germany, Italy, Japan
    • Other Powers: 
      • Albania, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Thailand, Hungary 
  • Italy's Goals in WWII 
    • Make a new Roman Empire 
    • Make the Mediterranean an "Italian Lake' 
    • Take over northern African colonies of Britain and France- especially Egypt 
    • Take over southeaster Europe- Greece and Albania 
    • Take over parts of the Middle East
  • Italy Invasion of Albania- 1940
  • Italy's Invasion of Greece- 1940
  • Italy's Mediterranean and North African Plan
  • Italy's defeat- 1943
  • Mussolini & his mistress, Claretta Petacci, are hanged in Milan- 1945
  • Italy and the Holocaust 
    • In 1938, Mussolini instituted laws discriminating the Jews 
      • 46,000 Jews in Italy at the time 
    • After the Fascist government fell when the US invaded, the Germans moved in and took control and started shipping Jews to camps outside of Italy 
  • Why did Italy lose? 
    • Italy was not prepared militarily to fight a prolonged war 
      • Germany had to constantly bail Italy out 
    • Italian troops were spread to thin- Africa, Mediterranean, Albania, Greece, Soviet Union, France, Battle of Britain
    • The people of Italy were not prepared to fight or motivated to fight. They were forced to fight
    • Overall, Italy was just a weak country 
  • Impact WWII had on Italy 
    • 410,000 dead- 330,000 Military death 
    • Spent $94 billion 
    • Italy had joined the Allies by 1943 so the big concern for the US was making sure Italy became a democracy after the war and not fall to communism 
    • US gave millions of dollars to Italy(Marshall Plan) to help rebuild after the war 
    • Became a member of NATO in 1949 
    • Became a member of the United Nations in 1955

Thursday: Japan in WWII

  • Areas Controlled by Japan during WWII 
    • Several regions in China- 1938-1945 
    • French Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos)- July 15, 1940-August 29, 1945 
    • Hong Kong (UK)- December 12, 1940, August 15, 1945
    • Thailand- as an "allied" state although induced- December 8, 1941- August 15, 1941 
    • British New Guinea- December 27, 1941- September 15, 1945 
    • Philippines (USA)- January 2, 1942- November 27, 1944 
    • Guam (USA)- January 6, 1942- October 24, 1945 
    • Dutch East Indies- January 18, 1942- October 21, 1945 
    • Portuguese Timor- February 19, 1942- September 2, 1945
    • Malaya (UK)- March 27, 1942- September 2, 1945 
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands (India)- March 29, 1942- September 9, 1945 
    • Straits Settlements (Singapore)- March 29, 1942- September 9, 1945 
    • Kingdom of Sarawak (UK)- March 29, 1942- September 9, 1945
    • Brunei (UK)- March 29, 1942- September 9, 1945 
    • North Borneo (UK)- March 29, 1942- September 9, 1945 
    • Nauru- August 26, 1942- September 31, 1945 
    • Imphal (India)- November 4, 1942- August 15, 1945 
    • Wake Islands (USA)- December 27, 1942- January 18, 1944
    • Gilbert and Ellice Islands (UK)- February 22, 1943- January 22, 1944 
    • Christmas Island (Australia)- May 5, 1943- January 25, 1944
    • Attu and Kiska Islands (Alaska)- June 6, 1943- September 27, 1943
  • Areas Attacked but Not Conquered
    • Air raids on Australia: 
      • Broome (Western Australia) 
      • Darwin (Northern Territory) 
      • Newcastle (New South Wales) 
      • Sydney (New South Wales) 
    • British Columbia (Canada) 
    • Kohima and Manipur (India) 
    • Colobo and Trincomalee (Sri Lanka) 
    • Dornod (Khalkhin Gol, Mongolia) 
    • United States: 
      • Santa Barbara (California) 
      • Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) 
      • Midway Atoll 
      • Fort Stevens (Oregon) 
  • Japan in the 1920's 
    • Joined the League of Nations 
    • Signed the 4, 5 and 9 Power Pacts 
      • 4 Power Pact- US, GB, France and Japan would respect each other's possession in the Pacific 
      • 5 Power Pact- US, GB, France, Italy and Japan would limit naval size 
      • 9 Power Pact- US, GB, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium, Netherlands, Portugal, and China agree to the Open Door Policy and guarantee Chinese independence 
    • Signed the Kellogg- Briand Pact 
  • Japanese Invasion of Manchuria- 1931

Friday: No School

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