world war ii and the cold war 1937 - 1949

Chapter

Fourth Edition

THE WORLD’S HISTORYTHE WORLD’S HISTORY

Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.All rights reserved.

The World’s History, Fourth EditionHoward Spodek

World War II and the World War II and the Cold WarCold War

1937 - 19491937 - 1949

20



World War II and the Cold WarPortents of Disaster

• Economists predict disaster soon after signing of Versailles Treaty– Disruptions of food & coal supply– Weight of reparation payments

• Poet William Butler Yeats points to cultural sickness of Europe

• Onset of Depression ten years after treaty



Contest of the “Isms”: Fascism & Communism

• Italy– Mussolini & followers unsuccessfully seek

electoral wins amidst post-war instability– Fascist thugs then attack a variety of

nationalist enemies, declare a national emergency and “March on Rome”

– Mussolini wins 1924 election with fraud– Support from those who like society without

turmoil




• Germany– Hitler was virulent racist before WWI– Adopted Mussolini model for party after war– Weimar government popular with no one– France reinvades after 1923 reparations

default Hitler attempts putsch to overthrow government Failure leads to jail and manifesto Mein Kampf Blames Jews for German misery




• Germany [cont.]– Nazi party gains votes, 1928-32– Hitler and Nazis asked to join ruling coalition

in 1933 Elitist parties believed they could control Hitler

– Reichstag building burns but new elections leave Nazis short of a majority Declares national emergency and turns thugs

loose to silence opponents and wins desired majority




• Germany [cont.]– Creation of totalitarian state includes

propaganda and paramilitary organizations Racial “science” and worship of pre-Christian gods

– Citizens were intimidated but also attracted to territorial expansion & return of German glory

– Germany and Italy proclaim “axis” in 1936




• Japan– Japan was one of five great powers at

Versailles Gross national income grew 40% 1914-1918 Advanced rapidly by leap-frogging technology Successfully maintained “dual economy”

– Food riots at end of war show vulnerability “Need” colonies for numerous resources

– Zaibatsu control economy by 1920s




• Japan [cont.]– Path to democracy undermined by political

power of zaibatsu– Constitution requires ministries of war and

navy to be in hands of the military– Shinto emphasized divinity of emperor and

importance of samurai– Military seeks to protect resource-poor nation



The Descent Toward War

• 1920s a time of peace (?)– League of Nations serves as an annual forum– Negotiated limits on navies at Washington– Locarno modifies German debt payments– Pact of Paris (1928) outlaws war– Great Depression and relative ability of

communist and fascist nations to survive while democracies struggle




• Steps toward war in the 1930s– Japanese seize Manchuria (1931)

Establish Manchuria as puppet state (1932) Opposition at home silenced violently

– Italy invades Ethiopia (1935) League of Nations does not respond

– Civil War in Spain (1936)– Japan invades China proper (1937)




• Steps toward war in the 1930s [cont.]– Germany rises under Hitler

Withdraws from League of Nations (1933) Saar region forced into pro-German stance (1935) Rearming of Germany begins (1935) Militarization of Rhineland (1936) Formal seizure of Austria (1938) Takeover of Czechoslovakia (1938) Invasion of Poland (1939)




• The Early Cost of War Technology– National budgets reflect militarization of the

1930s Germany, Japan and USSR spend about 1/4 of

total national income on defense 1938 70% of the Japanese national budget goes to

the military

– Aircraft production skyrockets



World War II

• The War in Europe, 1939-45– “Phony War” to Spring, 1940--then blitzkieg of

Germans into France– French fall followed by aerial assault on

Britain– USSR-German non-aggression pact ended in

1941 with broad assault into Russia– Germany directs attack to oil fields, 1942– US neutral but implements Lend-Lease plan



World War II

• The War in the Pacific, 1937-42– Severity of war seen in Rape of Nanjing & the

use of scorched earth tactics by Russia & China

– Tripartite Pact forms “Axis Powers” (1940)– US stays neutral but helpful until December

7th



World War II

• The War in the Pacific, 1937-42 [cont.]– Churchill: Entry of US “seals” Axis fate– Japanese spread rapidly after Pearl Harbor– Japanese hopes fade--colonies can’t produce

enough for Japan to prosper



World War II

• Turning the tide, 1942-5– Allied counter-offensive begins in 1942– “2nd Front” for Russia deferred by West– Role of “underground” symbolic not decisive– Bombing of German cities begins (1943)

Dresden hardest hit--necessity of attack debated

– Allied invasion of Sicily (1943)– 2nd front opened on D-Day, June 6, 1944



World War II

• War in Asia & the Pacific, 1942-5– 1st naval victory in Pacific--Midway Island– Fire bombings of Japan begin (March, 1944)– Atomic bombs end war amid controversy

about necessity of their use 3 million Japanese die in the war 1/4 of national assets were destroyed Industrial production 10% of pre-war levels



World War II

• Assessing the Results of War– “Total War” meant 50 million dead including

30 million civilians– Japanese model taught Asian colonies that

resistance was not futile

• Technology in the War– Victory tied to ability of victors to produce

more goods in their factories



World War II

• Women and the War– Mobilization of women in World War II varied

by country Hitler & Mussolini offered women “emancipation

from emancipation” “Rose the Riveter” symbol of women workers in

US

– Return of soldiers brought pressure on women to give up their factory jobs Laid groundwork for “new feminism”



World War II

• Horrors of War– Holocaust and atomic warfare

Genocide built on anti-Semitism to seek obliteration of a people

Atomic bomb was a new, higher level of destructive power in world history• Necessity of dropping the bombs remains controversial

today. – Racist? – Saved lives?



The Image of Humanity

• World War challenged idea of West as region of progress through rationalism– Gandhi– Freud– Picasso– Eliot– Wiesel– Japanese Peace Memorials



United Nations, Postwar Recovery & Origins of Cold War

• The United Nations– Goal: “to save succeeding generations from

the scourge of war”– General assembly gives every nation a voice– Security Council can dispatch peace keepers – Other organizations provide variety of

humanitarian services– Founded 1945 by 50 countries




• Resettlement– Millions of individuals, displaced by war, had

to be returned to their home nations Surrendered/captured soldiers were far from home Civilians had followed armies, settled new lands or

fled in the face of war

– US developed GI Bill of Rights to ease return of soldiers to civilian life and to reward them for their service




• Political Reconstruction: Japan & Germany– Japan

Emperor remains power but no longer sacred Colonial empire was dissolved Land redistribution in Japan Zaibatsu were dissolved Promotion of worker rights Restructured the educational system Economic recovery aided by Korean War




• Political Reconstruction: Japan & Germany– Germany

Divided into four regions of administration Russian occupation harsher than that of others Major war criminals tried at Nuremberg Democracy promoted in western sectors Berlin blockade marked opening of the Cold War




• Economic Reconstruction & the Cold War– Despite devastation, some factories and much

production knowledge remain intact– Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan– Western foreign policy goal of containment– Fear on both sides leads to NATO and other

economic & defensive alliances



Entering the Second Half of the 20th Century

• World attracted to FDR idea of the Four Freedoms and the Atlantic Charter

• Racism and imperialism a troubling legacy of Europe

• Creation of United Nations offered hope



Post-war Europe. Western and eastern bloc competition, following their alliance in crushing Nazi Germany, crystallized in the Cold War. The Soviet Union annexed territories in the Baltic states and eastern Poland and set up a string of puppet communist states later known as the Warsaw Pact alliance, from East Germany to Bulgaria. The Western Allies formed the countervailing NATO alliance. The stalemate continued for forty years.

world war ii and the cold war 1937 - 1949

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