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- After the first world war and the challenges of economic problems at home, Americans wanted to avoid another war. President Franklin Roosevelt took no action against aggressive dictators in Asia and Europe. However, he spoke out against aggression in principle.
- American Isolationism
- He vowed that the United States would be a “good neighbor” who “respects the rights of others.” This was a message meant for aggressor nations. It also reflected his desires to end U.S. involvement in Latin America.
- Mussolini’s Invasion of Ethiopia (October 1935)
- Mussolini wanted to make Italy a strong military power and to carry out an imperialist policy. Ethiopia was one of Africa’s three independent nations. The Ethiopians were able to resist an Italian attempt at conquest during the 1890s.
- To avenge defeat, Mussolini ordered an invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935. The Ethiopian emperor appealed to the League for their help, but the members did nothing. In May 1936, Italy annexed Ethiopia. Hitler and Mussolini joined a treaty of friendship that formed an alliance.
- Spain was a monarchy until 1931, when a republic was announced. The government was run by liberals and socialists who held office amid crises.In July 1936, army leaders favored a fascist-style government, they joined General Francisco Franco in a revolt. This began a civil war that dragged on for three years.
- The Spanish Civil War (July 1936)
- Germany Reclaims the Sudetenland (September 1938)
- Hitler announced his plans to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich, or German Empire. The treaty of Versailles prohibited Anschluss, or union between Austria and Germany.
- Hitler knew that many Germans lived in Austria. They supported unity with Germany. Hitler sent his army into Austria and annexed it. France and Britain ignored their pledge to protect Austrian independence.
- The Nonaggression Pact/Nazi-Soviet Pact (August 1939)
- Britain and France asked the Soviet Union to join them in stopping Hitler’s aggression. Joseph Stalin talked with Britain and France while bargaining with Hitler. They reached an agreement. Once enemies, they now publicly pledged to never attack each other again. On August 23, 1939, they signed a nonaggression pact.
- The Invasion and Fall of France (May-June 22, 1940)
- Hitler began sweeping through the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. This was his strategy to strike at France. Hitler sent a large force of tanks and troops south to go through the Ardennes.
- The Allies considered some geographical places of the Ardennes a hindrance to the Nazi offensive, so it was lightly defended. German forces moved through those lands, and fought their way around the Maginot line. They moved across France, reaching the country’s northern coast in ten days.
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