Unit 5 Lesson 1: Aggression and Appeasement

Question 1

Many European countries had been suffering even before the Great Depression began. Elaborate

Answer 1

A postwar recession and inflation had hurt economies. A decrease in agricultural prices made it harder for farmers to buy equipment or pay off bank loans.

Question 2

What kind of govrnemnt did the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, or “fighting Italian bands,” call for

Answer 2

It called for a totalitarian form of government

Question 3

What is a totalitarian government

Answer 3

It called for a totalitarian form of government—one led by a dictator—and a strong focus on national unity, militarism, and loyalty to the state.

Question 4

In 1919, Mussolini created the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, or “fighting Italian bands,” what was the philosphy of this organization.

Answer 4

whose members were bound closely by their beliefs, as were the bundled sticks (or fasces) that were a symbol of ancient Rome. Hence, the organization’s philosophy came to be known as fascism.

Question 5

In Italy, many people blamed their hardships on the harsh terms of the

Answer 5

Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I.

Question 6

What theory did the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento, or “fighting Italian bands support

Answer 6

social Darwinism

Question 7

social Darwinism

Answer 7

This theory proposes that in human societies, as in nature, the strong inevitably triumph over the weak.

Question 8

Mussolini gained the support of Italy’s king and major Italian industrialists. Why did they support Mussolini

Answer 8

They saw fascism as a defense against growing socialist and communist movements that were gaining popularity in Europe.

Question 9

Describe Mussolini rise in power 1922-1927

Answer 9

In 1922, Mussolini became Italy’s prime minister. Between 1925 and 1927, he transformed Italy into a single-party state and removed all restraints on his power.

Question 10

Why did the king of Italy ask Mussolini to form a new government?

Answer 10

He feared that there might be a revolution if he didn’t give power to Mussolini.

Question 11

Why did Mussolini seek to conquer Ethiopia?

Answer 11

He dreamed of building an Italian empire.

Question 12

What led to Germans to turn to communism

Answer 12

. The severe economic problems that faced Germany through the 1920s caused political divisions to grow deeper and wider. The German Communist Party grew in strength. which frightened many wealthy and middle-class Germans.

Question 13

Who rised admist Germans unstable eniboment

Answer 13

Adolf Hitler

Question 14

What was Hitler’s party called

Answer 14

anti-communist National Socialist Party

Question 15

The Great Depression hurt Germany tremendously, plunging it further into economic crisis. By 1932, nearly 30 percent of the German labor force was unemployed. Not surprisingly, the political mood was angry and sullen. Who did they start to supprt during this time

Answer 15

The Nazis gained many new members during this time. Hitler, a World War I veteran, promised to return Germany to greatness.

Question 16

By the beginning of 1933 what was the largest party in Germany

Answer 16

By the beginning of 1933, the Nazis had become the largest party in the country.

Question 17

Germany’s president appointed Hitler to the high position of

Answer 17

chancellor

Question 18

Desrble how Hitler became a dictaor and how Germany became a totalitarian state, similar to Italy.

Answer 18

The Nazis gained legislative power in the German elections of March 1933. They used this power to pass an act that enabled Hitler to make all laws for the next four years, and Hitler became dictator of Germany. He remained so long after the four-year term passed. Germany became a one-party totalitarian state, similar to Italy.

Question 19

Nazi Germany was an anti-Semitic nation. What does this mean

Answer 19

Hitler blamed Jews for Germany’s problems.

Question 20

The Nuremberg Laws of 1935

Answer 20

The Nuremberg Laws of 1935 deprived Jews of German citizenship and the rights that citizens enjoye

Question 21

Once in power, Hitler began the process of rearmament whats that

Answer 21

Once in power, Hitler began the process of rearmament by rebuilding and resupplying the German military.

Question 22

What did Hitler do about the league of antions in 1933

Answer 22

He withdrew Germany from the League of Nations in October 1933

Question 23

In 1936, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, he sent German troops into the

Answer 23

Rhineland

Question 24

Where is Rhineland

Answer 24

a region near Germany’s border with France that had been controlled by the French since the end of World War I.

Question 25

In March 1938, Germany invaded and annexed

Answer 25

Austria, its German-speaking neighbor to the south.

Question 26

What was Hitlers exuse for invading all these places

Answer 26

Hitler claimed that he desired only to reunite ethnic Germans within the borders of one country.

Question 27

Where in Germany was the Siegfried Line?

Answer 27

the Rhineland

Question 28

Germany’s invasion of Austria was the first step in its plan to conquer what larger region?

Answer 28

eastern Europe

Question 29

After taking over Austria, Hitler shifted his focus to Czechoslovakia. Why

Answer 29

He sought to annex a region of that country called the Sudetenland. Germans formed the majority of the Sudetenland’s population, and they increasingly aligned themselves with Hitler and Nazi ideology.

Question 30

In September 1938, Great Britain’s prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, and France’s prime minister, Édouard Daladier, met with Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, Germany, to discuss the issue. The conference resulted in the **Munich Pact**

Answer 30

an agreement allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland in exchange for assurances that Hitler had no plans to move his military any farther outside Germany’s borders.

Question 30

After taking over Austria, Hitler shifted his focus to Czechoslovakia. How did Great Britain and France react to this

Answer 30

In September 1938, Great Britain’s prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, and France’s prime minister, Édouard Daladier, met with Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, Germany, to discuss the issue

Question 31

Did the Munich pact work

Answer 31

. But not long after the agreement, Germany invaded and occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia.

Question 31

Munich Pact represented a policy of **appeasement**

Answer 31

compromise against principle, on the part of Great Britain and France. The British hoped Germany’s appetite for expansion could be satisfied without war. They also hoped there would be no more expansion after the Sudetenland.

Question 32

In the Soviet Union, Premier **Joseph Stalin** realized that Poland was Hitlers next target. Why would that be his next target and why would the Union care

Answer 32

In the Soviet Union, Premier Joseph Stalin realized that Poland—situated between Germany and the Soviet Union—was most likely Hitler’s next target. Part of Poland had once belonged to Germany and was home to many people of German ancestry. If Hitler gained control of Poland, Stalin feared the Soviet Union would be his next target.

Question 33

After the British appeasement and the subsequent German invasion of Czechoslovakia, Stalin decided that the best way to protect the Soviet Union was to reach a compromise with the German dictator. What was the **German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact**

Answer 33

In August 1939, Stalin and Hitler signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. It was an agreement to divide Poland between them and not go to war with each other.

Question 34

Who was Emperor Hirohito

Answer 34

In 1926, Emperor Hirohito took the throne following the death of his father. He began his rule in the midst of a period of modernization, industrialization, and social change.

Question 35

In the 1930s, Japan’s parliament came under the control of politicians who favored aggressive military policies. ELaborate

Answer 35

The Japanese had worked hard for decades to modernize. They built their military power, a process known as militarization, and became a prosperous, respected nation

Question 36

Japanese militarists were greatly concerned about what?

Answer 36

Japanese militarists were greatly concerned about the rise of communism in the Soviet Union. They were even more concerned about its rise in China, where it was fueling a civil war. They feared that the Soviet Union would gain influence in Asia by helping China’s communists.

Question 37

In 1936, Japan and Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact. What did this do

Answer 37

This agreement pledged them to defend one another against the Communist International, an organization created by the Soviet Union to promote communist revolution around the world. In 1937, Italy joined the pact

Question 38

Like their European allies, Japanese leaders were intent on building an empire. In 1931, they created a state called Manchukuo. What was Manchuko

Answer 38

. The state was made up of three provinces that Japan had taken control of in northeastern China. A

Question 39

In 1937, a clash between Japanese and Chinese troops, now known as ?, led to war between the two countries

Answer 39

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

Question 40

out come of the Japense Chinese war

Answer 40

The war began with a full-scale Japanese invasion of China. By the end of the year, the Chinese had suffered serious defeats.

Question 41

One of these defeats was the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing (called Nanking by Westerners). Waht happned there

Answer 41

There, Japanese soldiers massacred hundreds of thousands of civilians. The Nanjing Massacre sparked outcry around the world.

Question 42

What factors led to the rise of fascism in Germany during the 1920s?

Answer 42

Germany faced serious economic problems, and these problems caused the country to become more divided politically. The people were angry about their situation, and they wanted a powerful leader who could make their lives better and elevate the status of the nation.

Question 42

How did Japan’s aggression mirror that of Germany’s in the years prior to World War II?

Answer 42

Japan was expanding its control into China with an eye toward taking over the entire region, just as Germany was expanding its control into neighboring nations in Europe.