World War II Leaders

Franklin D. Roosevelt:  1933-1945  President of Democracy in America  Faced a great deal of economic crisis-given credit for helping America recover from the Great Depression  Created the New Deal  Excellent speaker-used the radio for his fireside chats to communicate with Americans  Claimed America’s neutrality at the beginning of WW II

Winston Churchill  Became Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1940  Considered to be Britain’s greatest weapon in WW II  Early on, Britain fought alone against Germany  Used his gift as a speaker to arouse Britons against Germany  Communicated through radio; provided hope and said that victory could be achieved

Adolf Hitler  1933-1945  Named German Chancellor (PM)-called Der Fuhrer-“The Leader”  Elected democratically by the German people-became Totalitarian dictator  Very imperialistic-expansionist-Lebensraum  Dismantled the Weimar Republic  Leader of the Nazi Party- o German form of fascism o Extreme nationalism and racism (Master Aryan Race, The Holocaust) o Private property with strong govt control  Wrote Mein Kampf-My Struggle  Spoke of his “Third Reich”-German Empire; 1,000 year reign  Faced economic crisis-put many men back to work-signed up for military service- known as the “Brown Shirts”-Hitler’s private army-Storm Troopers  Started WW II by invading Poland in 1939

Benito Mussolini  Led the fascist party in Italy-Totalitarian Dictator-early 1920’s  Played on fears of economic collapse and communism  Fascism-stressed nationalism-need of state above the individual; single strong leader needed; private ownership of property with strong govt controls  “Black shirts”-his followers  Il Duce-the leader  Militaristic expansionist-Ethiopia-1935 Joseph Stalin  Communist totalitarian dictator in Soviet Union-1924-1953  Succeeded Lenin, the founder of the Communist Party in Russia  State ownership of property; no civil liberties  “Man of Steel”  Stalin’s Purges-8-13 million killed  U.S. opponent at the beginning of the Cold War after World War II  Collective Farming-large govt controlled farms

Hideki Tojo  Militaristic Prime Minister of Japan-1941  Emperor Hirohito-powerless figurehead  Tojo promised peace with Americans openly, but secretly planned to attack America  Expansionist and Imperialist  Invaded Manchuria and China  Oil needed to fuel expansion and the Japanese war machine