Tomasetti
AP World P.6
3/25/18
ID #25 A
1. Anschluss (620)
Anschluss was the “union” with Germany and Austria in March of 1938. Hitler made his basis of the seizure of Austria on uniting the Germans together. However, it is important to note that this is also symbolically meaningful. Specifically, it generated the momentum for the Nazis attempting to expand their influence in territories like the Sudetenland.
2. Fascism (591-595)
Fascism was a new form of politics that prioritized hyper-nationalism and attempted to craft a new society against liberal democracy, socialism, and communism. Benito Mussolini was the first political leader to officially adopt fascism, but it spread extremely slowly. Only Germany and Italy in Europe replaced their parliamentary procedures with fascism, although other select nations like Japan, South Africa, and Brazil also adopted fascism. The primary appeal of this ideology was its ability to inspire national unity. By scapegoating leftist politics as the root cause of their social and political problems, fascists like Hitler …show more content…
and Mussolini were able to attract solid support bases in their respective countries.
3. Kristallnacht (595)
Kristallnacht refers to the mass wave of Jews leaving Germany in response to Nazi anti-semitic ideology. 250,000 in the 1930’s left, including Germany’s best artistic and intellectual figures. This occured in the wake of Nazis destroying Jewish institutions like stores and synagogues.
4. Munich Conference (620-621)
The Munich Conference was held in 1938. Leaders from European nations came together and decided on an appeasement policy towards Germany. Essentially, Britain and France appeased Hitler in exchange for Hitler promising to stop expanding German influence. However, this was a mistake. Hitler cheated on his promises made at Munich and he betrayed this trust to invade Czechoslovakia. As he threatened to attack Poland, Britain and France realized that their appeasement policy was doomed and abandoned it.
5. Nuremberg Laws (594)
The Nuremberg Laws were laws passed by the Nazis that discriminated against Jews. Specifically, it stripped Jewish people in Germany of citizenship status and prohibited marriage or sexua lcontact betrween a Jew and a German. This symbolized a broader turn towards anti-semitism as agencies, firms, and banks attempted to economically destroy Jews.
6. Rape of Nanjing (618)
The Rape of Nanjing refers to Japan’s war in China.
Specifically, it references an event where Japan invaded Nanjing and raped thousands of Chinese women. Japan’s brutal behavior helped stimulate sentiments of nationalism in China and resulted in communism becoming highly popular. Japan’s expansionist efforts were widely disapproved of by other nations, but they wouldn’t face determined opposition until the U.S. challenged them in 1941.
7. Tripartite Pact (619)
The Tripartite Pact was Japan creating allied relationships with Germany and Italy in 1940. Japan did this to create support for their expansionism. Coupled with the fact that Europe was incapable of effectively resisting Japanese expansion, this pact created a clear, relatively uninterrupted path for Japan to spread their territorial control into new areas in Asia and the Pacific Basin.
1. Explain the origins and course of the Holocaust.
(628-630)
The Holocaust originated from three things. First, Hitler’s anti-semitic agenda - he used Jews as a diversionary scapegoat for Germany’s ills in order to rally support for the Nazi party. Second, anti-semitism was already culturally ingrained in European countries which made people particularly receptive to Nazi propaganda. Third, the Nazis originally wanted to just deport the Jews, but they decided that was infeasible and could result in an independent Jewish nation. Thus, they decided on a more violent approach. All of these resulted in the final solution, manifesting itself in violent extermination and concentration camps in places like Auschwitz. This caused the death of 5.7 million of Jews via starvation and gas chambers.
2. Identify and analyze Japanese war aims in the Pacific and southeast Asia.
Japan’s war aims in the Pacific and southeast Asia were driven by economic interests. Militarists decided to expand into Manchuria - Chinese land - to secure the Manchurian Railroad. They were bent on reviving Japan’s economy after their economic decline following the Great Depression. Specifically, Japan wanted control over southeast Asia to secure commodities such as oil, tin, and rubber. This resulted in the U.S. imposing an oil embargo on Japan, which prompted Japanese militarists to engage in naval warfare with America in the Pacific. Tensions began with a strike on Pearl Harbor, where waves of bombers and planes destroyed the majority of America’s naval assets in the Pacific. Japan proceeded to take control over many areas like Burma and Borneo under the agenda of securing “Asian independence” against the Europeans. However, other Asian nations quickly realized that Japan was more interested in their own national hegemony than benefits for Asia writ large.
3. Identify key causes of World War II and the motivations of aggressive powers such as Italy and Germany.
There were two main causes of World War II and the behavior of aggressive powers like Italy and germany. First is economic stability. Nations like Italy, Japan, and Germany were driven to expand into new territories in order to resuscitate their economies. For example, Japan was bent on gaining natural resources like petroleum that they could not secure domestically. Specifically, these countries had been experiencing economic downturns which made stability particularly important in the eyes of both the public and political leaders. Second is the desire for nationalist hegemony. For example, these nations like Japan wanted to become a superpower. This is shown in the way that leaders mobilized their people - for instance. Italy was upset that they weren’t compensated for their damages from the first World War. This “disrespect” enabled Mussolini to promise to revive Italy’s glory via Empire-building expansion projects. Additionally, Germany used nationalist sentiments and Europe’s preexisting anti-semitic beliefs to justify their expansionism.