Not-yet-edited notes on...

WW II

Generalization that period between two world wars,
totalitarianism seemed to be the wave of the future, that
democracy seemed to be on its last legs. In Russia, Communist regime
that tried to dominate every aspect of life in an attempt to create
Marx's dream of a proletariat dictatorship. In Italy, Mussolini
imposed fascism on his people, again insisting that only through
giving unlimited power to the state what Italy again become a great
power. In Germany, Hitler and his Nazi party took control of the
government, the economy, the schools--promising the German
people a thousand year reich, an empire in which the superior Aryan
race would have the preeminence it deserved.

Now what was particularly alarming about all this is that
these totalitarian powers were not content to simply dominate
their own people. Each was committed to a philosophy of expansion.
Communism: world wide proletarian dictatorship (starteed
Comintern to that end). Fascism: advance or die--Mussolini already
attacked Ethiopia and wanted more--and Hitler? He, too, was
committed to a philosophy that said that nations either expand or
die. And he was determined that Germany was going to expand.

I. German expansion/democractic inaction

II. Japanese expansion/democratic inaction

III. German/Russian non-aggression pact

IV. Attack on Poland--democracies finally act

V. Axis/Russian advances

VI. Battle of Britain

VII. Axis mistakes

VIII. Where was America?

IX. America gets its act together--sort of

X. The bad guys get beat--at least, most of them

STALIN, HITLER, CHAMBERLAIN, CHURCHILL, BLITZKRIEG, BATTLE OF BRITAIN,
PEARL HARBOR, NEUTRALITY ACTS, LEND-LEASE, NORMANDY INVASION