The Rise of Fascism &

Militarism in Italy, Germany

& Japan;
& Prelude to War: American
Policy of Neutrality

Benitio Mussolini:
"What is Fascism?" (1932)

1922-Mussolini & the Fascist

Party came to power in Italy
1932-Mussolini wrote a definition
of Fascism for the Italian
dictionary
Rejection of Pacifism, Marxism &
Democracy
Life=duty, struggle & conquest
Humans=inherently unequal
State=superior to the individual
Territorial
Expansion=manifestation of a
nations vitality

Raymond H. Geists letter to

Moffat (1934)

Geist = U.S. Consul in Berlin

Moffat=chief of the division of
Western European Affairs
Letter of Sept. 15, 1934
Describes the newly established
Nazi state
Germany is remilitarizing

Building up its air force &

mechanized divisions
The German youth is glorifying
military heroism

Predicts war by the end of the

decade

Nuremberg Laws (1935)

Proclaimed during the 1935 Nuremburg Rally

Laws severely restricted the freedoms of German Jews
the Jim Crow Laws in the American South= a model for
segregation
Forbade Marriage & Sexual Relations between
Germans & Jews
Stripped Citizenship from German-Jews

Haile Selassies Appeal to the

League of Nations
(June 1936)

October 3, 1935, Mussolini

launched an invasion of Ethiopia
Haile Selassie I =Emperor of
Ethiopia
League had promised Ethiopia
assistance against Italian
aggression
Outlines Italian policy of targeting
civilians
Exposes Italian diplomatic
treachery
Exposes the Leagues goal of
collective security as a sham
Argues that, by its inaction, the
League is establishing a deadly
precedent of bowing before
force
ultimately, the League does
nothing
Other states like Germany &
Japan are encourage to pursue
expansionist aims

Hossbach Memorandum
(BERLIN, November 10,
1937)
Since his seizure of power in 1933,
Hitler demanded a fair but peaceful
revision of the Versailles Treaty.
Hitler exploited widespread
international pacifism
In 1937, Hitler held a secret meeting
in Berlin with his top generals
Germanys Problem=lack of living
space
autarky, participation in the world
economy and overseas colonies are
rejected as possible solutions
Goal of German Foreign
Policy=Expansion at the expense of
Germanys neighbors
War must come by 1943-1945,
because Germanys enemies will
have caught up with German
rearmament

World Defense Spending

Hitler's Defiance of the

Western Powers

German Expansion 19351939

Japanese Expansion

Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928

Named after the

American secretary of
state, Frank B. Kellogg &
French Foreign minister
Aristide Briand
Treaty renounced war as
a means of national
policy
International Disputes
should be solved by
peaceful means
helped to formulate later
international law
especially notions of
crimes against peace.
Pact lack an efficient
enforcement mechanism

Message to the Nations of

the World appealing for
Peace by Disarmament and
the end of Economic Chaos,
(May 16, 1933)

To solve the global financial crisis, Franklin

Roosevelt urges economic cooperation and an
international agreement for disarmament.
Considers Armaments to be unnecessary
Proposes that all govts reduce their militaries
Urges Govts to adopt transcend domestic needs
& create lasting international economic reform

The Nye Report

(February 24, 1936)

In 1934, Senator Nye headed an

investigation of the munitions
industry.
he charged the industry with
corruption by connecting
wartime profits of the banking &
munitions industries to
America's involvement in World
War I
Many Americans felt betrayed
perhaps the war hadn't been an
epic battle between the forces of
good (democracy) and evil
(autocracy)
The report bolstered sentiments
for isolationism

"Is Neutrality Possible?"

By Gerald Nye

World War I led to an unacceptable loss of life &

caused grave economic consequences
The U.S. should focus its energies at home
U.S. should avoid European entanglements
Neutrality is the preferred policy over collective
security
Munitions manufacturers stir up animosities
between Japan & the U.S. to ensure profits
Money wasted on the military could be used for
the publics benefit
The spread of Fascism can be checked by building
up a better societal model in the United States

"Neutrality Act" of August

31,
1935
spurred by the growth of isolationism
after WW1
Goal=to ensure that the US would not
become entangled again in foreign
conflicts
Prohibited

Further amended in 1936, 1937 &

1939
Allowed the President to decide when
nations were at war

Sale of arms to nations at war

The transport of arms on American
vessels
Americans from traveling on
belligerent vessels

This provided a loophole that FDR

carefully exploited to assist American
allies from aggressor states

Legacy

Made no distinction between Aggressor

states & states being attacked
they limited the US government's
ability to aid Britain vs. Nazi Germany

Address Delivered by
President Roosevelt Before
the Congress, January 3,
Points
1936

International tensions have steadily increased over

the past 3 years
By contrast, Western Hemisphere enjoys a good
neighbor policy
The U.S. must take note of the rise of aggression
abroad

These states lack democratic channels for change

Bellicose states have blocked disarmament efforts

Although it reaffirms American isolation, FDRs

speech is notable for its markedly pessimistic
tone

Roosevelt's "Quarantine"
Speech (October 5, 1937)

Hopes for global peace are

undermined by aggressor
states
foundations of civilization
are threatened
The U.S. & the Western
Hemisphere also in danger
Complete isolation from the
world isnt possible
U.S. must reestablish
international law & morality
War is like a disease, it must
be quarantined to protect
the world
With the speech, FDR
sounds the alarm that
American must now take
notice of global problems

Depiction of U.S.
Isolationism

America First Party

Est. September 1940

Pressure group to keep the U.S.
out of the war
Peak membership=800,000
April 23, 1941 Charles Lindbergh
speech in New York

U.S. shouldnt enter war unless it

can win
Britain nor the U.S. can defeat
Germany
Fall of the democracies in Europe
can be blamed on the
interventionists in those countries
(effectively blames the victims)
Britain is trying to lure the U.S.
into the war
FDR is leading the U.S. into war
but the majority is against it
U.S should follow the Monroe
Doctrine & Washingtons advice to
avoid entangling alliances

Lindberghs Des Moines

Speech
(Sept. 11, 1941)
Propaganda has led the
Propaganda has led the
American public from
isolation toward being on
the verge of war
3 groups are responsible

The British
The Jews
The Roosevelt Administration

According to Lindbergh,
these groups control the
media & are brainwashing
the public
Lindberghs speech with its
anti-Semitic connotations
enraged many

Bibliography

Slide #1:

Mussolini/Hitler: http://www.provincia.torino.it/cultura/rosanero/im/27.jpg

Roosevelt: http://history.acusd.edu/cdr2/WW2Pics/04629.GIF

Lindbergh: http://staff.imsa.edu/socsci/jvictory/isolationism/lindbergh_amerfirst.jpg
Slide #2

Photo of Mussolini: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/haywardlad/famous/heads-mussolini.jpg

Slide #3

Photo of Hitler: http://www.digischrift.nl/lessen/adolfhitler1/index.3.jpg

Photo of Nuremberg Rally: http://history.acusd.edu/cdr2/WW2Pics/58806.jpg

Slide #4

Photo of Nazi Eugenic Test: http://cla.calpoly.edu/~lcall/eugenics.jpg

Photo of Jew Only Bench: http://sorrel.humboldt.edu/~rescuers/book/Pinkhof/yaari/sophpix/jewonly.gif

Photo of Jewish Shop: http://mayoramber.esmartdesign.com/windowbig.jpg

Slide #5
Time Cover of Haile Selassie: http://img.timeinc.net/time/magazine/archive/covers/1936/1101360106_400.jpg
Slide #6

Photo of German Troops: http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/ww2/1939/images/63-579.jpg

Slide #7

Defense Spending Chart: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5c/Graph_top7_def_expd_1930-38.png

Slide #8

David Lowe Cartoon: http://www.history.ucsb.edu/faculty/marcuse/classes/honsem/theses/mkravetz03/SpinelessBg.jpg

Slide #9

German Expansion: http://www.msubillings.edu/history/NaziExpansion.jpg

Slide #10

Slide #11

Slide #13

Slide #15

Slide #17

Slide #18

Slide #19

Slide #20

Japanese Expansion Before Pearl Harbor: http://www.shsu.edu/~his_sub/map--imperial%20japan.jpg

Kellogg-Briand: http://history.acusd.edu/cdr2/WW2Pics3/01115.jpg
The Nye Committee: http://history.acusd.edu/cdr2/WW2Pics/00811.jpg
Political Cartoon: http://www.beyondbelief72.com/hello/27/1105/1024/011140_parrish.jpg
Roosevelt: http://www.theconnection.org/photogallery/fdr/images/1.jpg
Political Cartoon: http://spartans.sstx.org/~wgoodman/WWIIisolationismcart.jpg
Lindbergh America First: http://staff.imsa.edu/socsci/jvictory/isolationism/lindbergh_amerfirst.jpg
Dr. Suess Cartoon: http://orpheus.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dspolitic/pm/10602cs.jpg