Monday - WWII movie reviews
Benito Mussolini - He was a pacifist until WWI. He started to get swept into nationalism.
Italy after WWI - They were very displeased with the treaty of Versailles. They wanted more land than what they got. Italy joined the League of Nations and was a member from 1919 until the withdrew in 1937.
Washington Naval Conference -
Five Power Pact - Signed by Great Britain, United States, France, Japan, 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. There was a ratio for each country.
Nine Power Pact - Guaranteed Chinese independence and upheld the Open Door Policy. Signed by 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 someone that could accomplish these things.
Mussolini and the Catholic Church - He hated the Catholic church but needed to make deals with them to get people to support him. In 1929 the Lateran Accords were signed. This 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. Mussolini received official support from the Catholic church.
Tuesday -
Established Fascism in Italy - A government led by a strong dictator. Stresses strong nationalism, militarism, and imperialism. Use intimidation to get what they want.
Ethiopia invaded by Mussolini 1935 - Italy lost its Ethiopia colony in Africa at the 1896 Battle of Adua. One of the worst colonial disasters in modern history. in 1935. Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia.
Italy/Ethiopia Invasion - Nov. 18, 1935, League of Nations sanctions begin. Arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation of Italian goods. February 29, 1936 FDR signed the 1936 Neutrality Act. No trading with countries at war. May 5, 1936 Italy defeated Ethiopia and annexed it.
Spanish Civil War - Generalissimo Francisco Franco had a war against the communists. 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 and eventually Japan joined in 1940.
Italy's Goals - Make a new Roman Empire. Make the Mediterranean an "Italian Lake". Take over northern African colonies of Britain and France-especially Egypt. Take over southeastern Europe-Greece and Albania. Take over parts of the Middle East.
War - Italy invades Albania and Greece in 1939 and 1940.
Wednesday -
Operation Torch - The invasion of northern Africa by America.
Operation Avalanche - In September 1943, America invaded Sicily and Italy.
Mussolini - He and his mistress Claretta Petacci were hanged in Milan, 1945.
Italy & Holocaust - In 1938, Mussolini instituted laws discriminating the Jews. 46,000 Jews in Italy at the time. After the fascist government fell when the United States, the Germans moved in and started to ship Jews to other places to concentration camps.
Why did Italy lose - Italy was not prepared for a prolonged war, Germany had to constantly bail them out, Italian troops were spread too thin - Africa, Mediterranean, Albania, Greece, Soviet Union, France, Battle of Britain. The people of Italy weren't into in and weren't motivated. They were forced to fight. Italy was a weak country.
Impact of WWII on Italy - 410,000 dead people. 330,000 military deaths. 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 United Nations member in 1955.
Japan - Controlled parts of China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Papa New Guinea, Philippines, Guam, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), Malaysia, parts of India, Singapore, parts of Australia.
Areas that they attacked but did not conquer - Canada, Sri Lanka, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Australia, parts of India.
Japan in the 1920's - Joined the League of Nations, signed the 4, 5 and 9 power pacts. Signed the Kellogg-Briand Pact. The great depression changed Japan.
4 power pact - US, GB, France, Japan would respect the possessions in the Pacific.
Invasion of Manchuria 1931 - Japan needed a lot more raw materials such as iron, coal, aluminum, and oil. They had a growing population. Japan would also use this as a base to launch an attack on China. The League of Nations condemned the action and Japan dropped out.
China Incident in July 1937 - They did well early on and moved in closer.
Thursday -
Rape of Nanking 1937-1938 - A mass killing of Chinese people (300,000). A mass raping of Chinese women and girls. Mass looting and arson. Some in Japan have denied that the military killed civilians for no reason. Still causes tension between the two countries today. There was a war crimes trial after the war to try Japanese soldiers for participation. Overall throughout WWII, Japan killed almost 6,000,000 people--Chinese, Indonesians, Koreans, Filipinos, Indochinese, Western prisoners of war.
Quarantine Speech - FDR gave a speech in 1937 about how the peaceful nations needed to quarantine the more aggressive countries in the world.
Panay Incident - In December of 1937, an American gunboat was attacked on a river in China by Japan. 3 United States troops killed, 45 wounded. Japan said it was an accident and paid damages.
Soviet-Japanese Neutrality Pact - The USSR and Japan signed an agreement to not fight one another in April of 1941. Japan considered breaking this once Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The USSR broke this treaty when they declared war on Japan on August 9, 1945.
Japanese leaders - Hideki Tojo, Emperor Hirohito, Admiral Yamamoto (came up with the Pearl Harbor plan).
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