World War Ii

World War II 1939-1945

Dictators and War

Causes of World War II •Treaty of Versailles (WWI) •League of Nations failure •World Depression •Totalitarianism / Fascism •Territorial Expansion (Germany / Japan) •United States Isolationism

Problems from WWI peace settlement and worldwide depression brought dictators to power in Germany and Italy

Adolph Hitler

Benito Mussolini

Totalitarianism 

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Single-party dictatorship controls citizen’s lives / no individual rights or freedoms Strong, charismatic leader State controls economy / all media Use of police, spies, & terror to enforce will of state Strict censorship / propaganda Fascism- importance of nation placed above value of people (Germany & Italy)

Appeasement 

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Hitler invades Rhineland / demands Sudetenland France / Great Britain give in to Hitler’s demands to keep peace- APPEASEMENT WHY? Both countries remember costs of WWI / neither prepared for war / underestimated Hitler U.S. still ISOLATIONIST / more worried about Soviet Union than Germany

WWII in Europe Sept. 1, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland (immediate cause) France & Great Britain declare war

AXIS POWERS Germany, Italy, Japan ALLIED POWERS France, Great Britain, United States, Soviet Union, China

ALLIES

LEADERS

Great Britain

Winston Churchill, prime minister

France

Charles de Gaulle, leader of French not under German control

Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin, communist dictator

United States

Franklin D. Roosevelt, President

AXIS POWERS

LEADERS

Germany

Adolf Hitler, Nazi dictator

Italy

Benito Mussolini, facist dictator

Japan

Hideki Tojo, Army general & prime minister Hirohito, emperor

Japanese Imperialism

America & Isolationis m Do we fight in Europe again?

American Isolationism America First Committee-isolationists (1 million strong) / enough problems at home (Lindbergh)  Congress passed Neutrality Acts -no weapons or loans to nations at war  Lend-Lease Act – President Roosevelt can aid any nation vital to our security / wants to help Great Britain fight Germany “If your neighbor’s house is on fire, you don’t sell him a hose. You lend it to him and get it back after fire is out.” FDR 

The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor America declares war

Pearl Harbor-December 7, 1941 “a day which will live in infamy” Franklin D. Roosevelt

2,403 Americans were killed and many ships and aircraft were lost. Fortunately aircraft carriers, which would turn the war later in the Pacific, were out on patrol at the time and saved from certain destruction.

Major World War II Battles Europe & Pacific Theaters

Major European Battles 

D-Day June 1944, France -largest sea landing

in history / 4400 ships involved  General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded attack at Normandy beaches  More than 1 million troops landed “You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of the Nazi war machine, and security for ourselves in a free world” - General Dwight D. Eisenhower

D-Day Normandy, France-June 1944

Americans land at Omaha & Utah

Hitler CounterattacksBattle of the Bulge        

Largest battle in Western Europe during WWII Largest battle ever fought by U.S. Army Eisenhower & Patton lead troops to victory U.S. loses 80,000 troops Germany loses 100,000 troops Nazi’s realize war is lost May 8, 1945 Germany surrenders V-E Day (Victory in Europe)

War in the Pacific United States vs. Japan Battle of the Coral Sea -keeps Japan from advancing & establishing new military bases  Battle of Midway -Japan cannot be offensive anymore/ stopped Japanese dominance of islands in the Pacific  Island-hopping strategy – capturing key islands to close in on Japanese mainland 

Japanese Resistance Battle of Iwo Jima  Battle

of Iwo Jima, Feb.

1945 -700 miles from Japan

Takes 100,000 U.S. troops to defeat 25,000 Japanese (0nly 216 taken prisoner)  25,000 U.S. soldiers died  One of bloodiest battles during WWII 

Americans March to Japan Battle of Okinawa  Battle

of Okinawa, June 1945

300 miles from Japan-vital air base  Japanese know Okinawa is last stop before mainland is invaded  kamikaze & banzai attacks  U.S. WINS! / 50,000 U.S casualties / Japan now open for attack

The Manhattan Project Building the “A-Bomb”

Einstein suggested to Franklin D. Roosevelt in a letter that the United States should build an atom bomb. He hinted the Germans were already at work on such a weapon.

J. Robert Oppenheimer, who headed the building of the bomb, quoted from a Hindu holy book as he watched a test bomb in New Mexico. “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”

FDR died in April of 1945, shortly before the Nazi’s surrendered in Europe. Harry Truman had to make the decision to drop the atomic bomb after only being in office three short months.

“I asked General Marshall what it would The Decision to Drop the cost in lives to land…in Japan. It was his Bomb opinion that 250,000 casualties would be the minimum cost…I asked Secretary of War Stimson which cities in Japan were devoted exclusively to war production. He…named Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We sent an ultimatum to Japan. It was ignored. I ordered atomic bombs on the two cities… Dropping the bombs saved lives and gave the free nations a chance to face the facts.”

The atomic bomb “Little Boy” that was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, August 6, 1945

The atomic bomb “Fat Man” that was dropped on the city of Nagasaki, August 9, 1945

Japan SurrendersWorld War II Ends 

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August 14, 1945 Japan accepts American terms for surrender V-J Day (Victory in Japan) 140,000 Japanese died in atomic attacks World War II is the most costly war in history 60,000,000 people, mostly civilians, died in the conflict

The Soviet Union lost over 22 million soldiers and civilians in World War II

The Holocaust Nazi Germany’s systematic extermination of European Jews and other groups

Hitler blamed all of the problems in Germany on the Jews. His anti-Semitism began when all Jews were forced to wear yellow stars with the word “Jew” on them and denied citizenship rights.

Acts of violence against Jews were common. The most serious happened on November 9, 1938 and is known as Kristallnacht or “Night of the Broken Glass.”

The Final Solution In 1933 Hitler opened the first Nazi concentration camp, where specifically designated groups were confined. Millions were starved, died of disease, medically experimented on, or simply put to

Genocide is the willful annihilation of a racial, political, or cultural group

soldiers. 5 million others were killed by the Nazi’s including Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, beggars, physically disabled, and the mentally ill.

American newspapers reported atrocities as early as 1942. The American public denied these reports could be true. Allied resources and strategies were focused on stopping Hitler, not his genocidal campaign.

The American State Department blocked Jewish immigration or more would have been saved. Why did the U.S. do this? Anti-Semitism, apathy, Great Depression problems, and a tendency to underestimate Hitler’s genocidal plans were probably to blame.

Nuremberg Trials 

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November 1945 Allies placed 24 Nazi’s on trial for crimes against humanity 12 received death sentences Established that individuals were responsible for their own actions in time of war War criminals cannot escape punishment by saying they were “only following orders”

World War II at Home America becomes the “arsenal for democracy”

By 1943, the economy was stimulated with war production, unemployment had fallen dramatically, and wages in manufacturing increased 27% in just over 3 years.

The War Production Board (WPB) was set up in 1942 to direct the conversion of peacetime business to war goods production.

The Office of Price Administration (OPA) regulated prices and rationing

Although they had money to spend, Americans lived with shortages throughout the war

Victory gardens were planted at home to replace produce sent to feed the soldiers

war. The government borrowed the rest from banks, private investors, and the public through the sale of war bonds.

The deficit spending started during the 1930’s Great Depression skyrocketed during World War II, creating a huge national debt for later generations.

Women and the War

350,000 women enlisted in the military during WWII. They were nurses, radio operators, control tower operators but were NOT allowed in combat.

Between 1940 and 1945, the female labor force grew by 50% or 6.5 million workers. Women began to work in jobs previously held by men.

America’s working women were praised during the war, but when the war ended they were encouraged to return to homemaking.

Internment of Japanese Americans Internment -confinement, especially during wartime

Americans faced hatred, hostility, and prejudice. As a result the government decided to remove all “aliens” from the West Coast.

President Roosevelt signed

Executive Order 9066, which forced Japanese Americans into internment camps. Many lost their businesses, homes, farms, and other property.

All the interment camps were in desolate areas, with families sharing toilet, bathing, and dining areas. Barbed wire and armed guards surrounded all the camps.

Fred Korematsu, a defense-plant worker, was arrested for refusing to report to a relocation center. Mr. Korematsu sued the government claiming he was denied equal protection under the law simply because he was

In Korematsu v. United States (1944), the Supreme Court ruled the

government’s actions were constitutional and not based on race.

Korematsu v. United States Supreme Court Majority Opinion

Supreme Court Dissenting Opinion

“the military urgency of the situation demanded “an obvious racial discrimination” that all citizens of Japanese ancestry be segregated from the West Coast temporarily”

Effects of the War A New American Identity

Yalta Conference-Feb.1945 

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U.S., Soviet Union, Great Britain set postwar goals before end of WWII Agreed to divide Germany & create United Nations Stalin promised to help U.S. invade Japan (did not keep his word) Soviet Union also agreed to selfdetermination for Eastern European countries, especially Poland (does not keep his word again)

Churchill, Roosevelt, & Stalin at Yalta The faces say potential enemies, not victors

The Age of Imperialism would be over within a few decades of the end of World War II. Most of Great Britain’s, France’s, and Spain’s colonies would be on the road to independence. What continent is most affected?

The Decline of Imperialism in Africa

In April 1945, the United States led 50 nations to form the United Nations (UN). The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved the charter. It was hoped the United Nations would succeed where the League of Nations had failed.

The United Nations was organized on the basis of cooperation between the Great Powers, not the absolute equality of all nations. The 5 major World War II Allies- United States, Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, and China were assigned permanent seats on the powerful UN Security Council.

Few Americans called for a return to ISOLATIONISM after World War II. America’s national and economic security is now connected to the world around us.

What will the future bring for America? The Cold War was global competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to shape and control the post-World War II global economic and political systems.

The Cold War Era 1945-1975

United States vs. Soviet Union Democracy vs. Communism

“duck and cover” nuclear air raid drills