Today, we had blog discussion over countries. Yippee.
I. Treaty of Versailles
-know what it specifically did and how it helped lead to WWII
*Land lost by Axis powers, especially Germany & Soviet Union. Germany lost land to France Belgium Denmark and Czechoslovakia. Land lost by Germany after WWI was regained by Hitler shortly after. League of Nations agreed not to get involved because it wasn't a big deal. Germany's army reduced to a hundred thousand men; army not allowed tanks or an airforce. West of the Rhineland and 50 km east of the River Rhine was made into a demilitarized zone. No German weapons allowed here. Germany had to pay 33 billion dollars and had to accept the War Guilt Clause. They were forbidden to join with Austria. League of Nations set up to keep the peace. United States never joined because they feared it would drag us into war constantly. It required unanimous vote for things to get passed.
II. League of Nations
-define and explain it's weaknesses
-Why didn't the US join
didn't want to constantly be pulled into war
Germany
-reduced military, paid 33 billion, accepted war guilt clause. had a Weimar Republic, after war.. people often blamed their problems on the government. Hitler became dictator, rebuilt military. Told people what they wanted to hear.. gave them jobs.. got people on his side. Took away rights from Jews. Jews pushed to ghettos, concentration camps, then death camps. Genocide. Hitler wanted to send all Jews to Madagascar. Hitler's goals were to make Germany strong again, militarily.. reunite German-speaking peoples, land lost in WWI.. Creation of the Arian race. Blitzkrieg; lightning war.. German advance. Lost millions in WWII. Cities bombed and destroyed. Remaining Nazi's were put on Nuremburg trials; war-crime trials.
Soviet Union
-Were not in league of nations, lost a lot of land b/c of Paris Peace Conference. Was given to Poland. They became communist. Bolshevic revolutions. Vladimir Lenin was the first leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin military leader, wanted to build up military, get back lost land. Got rid of people he couldn't trust. Able to do this because he was dictator. Five-year plans: improve agricultural and industrial output. Collectivization: Process where government takes over farms. Nationalization: Government taking charge of economy. 10 million people died. Secure borders; made sure countries surrounding them liked them. Military strategy; defensive. Scorched-earth policy; burning everything as they retreated so Germans couldn't use it. After WWII, U.S. and Soviets became 2 most powerful nations in the world.
Japan
-wanted to expand to China, but Treaty of Versailles didn't allow that, rather they were granted land from Germany. Wanted China because Japan lacks natural resources, tarriffs were high. Hirohito emperor; main goal was to strengthen military power. Tojo military leader. Came to power because previous leader didin't want war.. people of Japan disagreed and followed Tojo. Japan wanted to control islands and trade, U.S. stood in the way of both. Japan built up military and invaded China. Yamamoto; Pearl Harbor.. bombed us b/c they wanted oil and to trade with us. Rape of Nan King; 40-80,000 women raped by Japanese soldiers.
Great Britain
-had many war reclamations. Nevil Chamberlain; prime minister.. not popular. Winston Churchill. Battle of Britain, bombing every night. Wanted to stop Hitler. Last country not allied by Hitler or controlled by Hitler. Lost many battles because they weren't prepared for war on land. Eventually controlled the air. Held ground until U.S. entered war.
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