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Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf (My Struggle) was written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler whilst he was in jail. His book articulates "a vicious anti-Semitism and a political psychology for manipulating the masses" (Hunt 834).
The creation and publication of Hitler's book set the stakes for war. His strong opinion towards anti-Semetics and the influential power of his words led the readers into believing that the Jewish population was responible for every misfortune that occured caused vicious Jewish hate crimes. -
Stock Market Crash
The crash was the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries and did not end in the United States until 1947. This was the biggest financial crisis of the 20th century and lead to the creation of wellfare states all across the globe. -
The Great Depression
The Depression was a worldwide economic depression the hit countries at different times, but in the same decade. The Great Depression lead to war because people wanted a way out of the economic crisis and facist leaders had promises to do this. The facist leaders gained power because more people had hope invested in them, giving them the surge they need to take power (such as Hitler). -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Japan's army made an attack look like a Chinese plot in order to take over the ruined territory and push farther onto China's soil. These attacks on China angered the USA, which Japan depended on for natural resources and markets. -
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Japanese Expansion
Expansion began during the Invasion of Manchuria. By the end of the expansion, Japan had a hold in Korea, Taiwan, and Manchuria (about the size of Russia and the USA in the 19th century). In the long run, Japanese Expansionism lead to the dropping of the atomic bomb, ending the war with the USA. -
Enabling Act
The Enabling Act suspended the constitution (Germany) for 4 years and allowed Nazi laws to take effect without Parliamentary approval.
This act helped spread along the dictatorialship fo Hitler and his Nazi followers with the creation of concentration camps which would later be used in the Holocaust. -
Hitler Comes to Power
Hitler came into power during the Great Depression thanks to the backing of big financial companies. Hitler's followers made Parliamentary look terrible and the Nazi party won wide approval.
Hitler's responsability in the war is great. He passed many anti-Semetic laws and aimed to destroy democracy so he could be sole leader of Germany, and in time, Europe as a whole. -
Nuremburg Laws
The Nuremburg Laws were a series of laws created by the Nazi party that deprived the Jewish population of their citizenship and refused to allow (or recognize) marriage between a Jewish person and a non-Jewish person.
Many other countries surrounding Germany followed suit by passing thier own form of Nuremburg Laws. The laws were the beginning of that which was the Holocaust. -
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The Ethiopian War
A war that was fought between Italy and Ethiopia. The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa. This war is important beacause it showed a weakness in the League of Nations. This war is significant to WWII because it took just enough of Europe's attention away from Hitler and his plans for him to be able to Remilitarize the Rhineland. -
Remilitarization of the Rhineland
The remilitarization by the German Army took place when German military forces entered the Rhineland. This violated the terms of the Locarno Treaties and was the first time since the end of World War I that German troops had been in this region. -
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Spanish Civil War
Democratic pariets were already fighting one another to get their way, and the republic had a difficult time gaining support for itself. The Popular Front (pro-republicans) wanted to prevent the republic from completely crashing by gaining votes. In response to this, Fansisco Franco staged an uprising. Final Result: a civil war where rep. had Barcelona, Madrid and other indust. areas, demo had west&south.
Spain became a training ground for WWII; Hit. and Muss. tested new weapons there. -
Rape of Nanjing
The Rape of Nanjing was a massacre of hundreds of thousands of Chinese during Japan's "first step towards liberating the region from Western imperialism". It was so named because of the brutality towards females. FDR placed an embargo on the exportation of airplane parts to Japan and later greatly cut the flow of crucial raw materials to the Japanese industry. -
Anschluss
A political union between Germany and Austria won through annexation by Hitler. The Appeasement played a part in the war when the union was rejected during that same year. Austrian Nazis were ordered to not resist the Germans when they came. However, Germany invaded and successfully annexed Austria (March 13). -
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Appeasement
Czechoslovakia was created, taking the Sudetenland (an area Hitler wanted for his 'superior' race). Hitler threatened war if he could not claim this area. The group (Germany, GB, Italy and France) peacefully agreed. However, in March of 1939, Hitler invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. -
Munich Conference
The conference held in Munich involved Great Britain, France, and Italy; these countries agreed to allow Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia. Five months after this occured, Hitler dismembered the rest of the country and his intentions were made clear to the European nations.
