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World War II – Part Two

The Holocaust, The Home Front

and Winning the War

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Vocabulary1. Internment: the imprisonment or confinement

of people, commonly in large groups

2. Hysteria: fear and panic, excessive or uncontrollable emotion

3. Aryan: of Christian German ancestry (blonde hair and blue eyes was typical)

4. Ghettos: a part of a city where one racial/ethnic group is confined to live.

5. Concentration Camps: Places where the Nazis brought the Jews of Europe to murder them

6. Civilian: Non-military person

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The Home Front

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Pearl Harbor Attacked

• December 7, 1941• U.S. citizens feared another

attack• War hysteria took over the

country• President Roosevelt was

pressured by State officials to take action against Americans of Japanese descent.

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Executive Order 9066

• February 19th, 1942• Issued by President Franklin D.

Roosevelt• 120,000 Americans of Japanese

descent in the US were removed from their homes and placed in internment camps, mostly along the west coast.

• Three years later (in 1945) internees were allowed to return to their homes.

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Moral & Legal Problems

• More than two thirds of those interned were American citizens and half of them were children.

• In some cases family members were separated and put in different camps.

• None had ever shown disloyalty to the nation.• During all of WWII only ten people were convicted of

spying for Japan and these were all Caucasian.• The constitution says you cannot jail an American citizen

without charging them with a crime, yet this was clearly done.

• The internment of Japanese Americans in WWII was ruled unconstitutional in 1983

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The 442nd Infantry Regiment

• All Japanese American Infantry Regiment during WWII

• They fought valiantly and many received medals for their bravery.

• The 442nd became the most decorated regiment (for its size) in WWII

• The United States “remains forever indebted to the bravery, valor, and dedication to country these men faced while fighting a two-fronted battle of discrimination at home and fascism abroad.” – President Barack Obama

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Women of WWII

• Women were a huge part of the War effort

• Many of them became factory workers

• Over six million women entered the work force for the first time during World War II

• Rosie the Riveter became a symbol of the strength of American Women.

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Quick Quiz

1. When was the Attack on Pearl Harbor? What was the response of U.S. citizens?

2. What was executive order 9066? Who ordered it? When?

3. What are FOUR facts that make this a sad part of our history?

4. What was the name of the all Japanese American group in the military during WWII? Tell me about them.

5. What were the contributions of women to the war? What changed for women during this time

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The Holocaust

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Nuremburg Laws

• Nazi Germany 1935• Anti-Jewish laws• Categorized Jewish people as a separate

race• Took away German citizenship of

Jewish People• Outlawed marriage between Aryan

Germans and Jewish Germans• By 1939 Jewish people were forced to

wear yellow stars to separate themselves

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The Ghettos

• 1939-1942• All over German

occupied Europe• Jewish people were

forced to move into separate parts of cities

• Leave behind many of their valuables

• Many thought life could not get worse

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Jewish Pop. of Europe 1941

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Concentration Camps

• Beginning in 1942 the Ghettos of Europe were emptied• The Jewish people of Europe were brought to various

“concentration camps” in railroad cars meant for cattle• People not able to work were murdered within days of

arrival, including the elderly, disabled and most children• The rest were separated by gender and worked hard

labor with VERY little food/sleep for the next 2-3 years• Many died from starvation & sickness; others were

burned and gassed to death.• Two famous “camps” – Auschwitz-Birkenau; Treblinka

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The Holocaust Ends

• Beginning in 1945 many of the Concentration Camps were liberated by Soviet and American Troops

• About 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust in only 3 years (2/3)

• Hitler committed suicide in order to avoid capture

• Many Nazi Political and Military Officers were put on trial for the crimes they helped commit

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Quick Quiz

1. What were the Nuremberg laws? When did they start? What did Jews have to wear starting in 1939?

2. Why do you think the Nazis made the Jews move to the ghetto? EXPLAIN.

3. Where did the Nazis take the Jewish people after the ghetto? Give FIVE facts about these places.

4. When/by whom were the camps liberated? How many had died?

5. What happened to Hitler and the Nazi Military and Political leaders?

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Winning the War

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Battle of Midway

• June 3rd, 1942• Led by Admiral Chester Nimitz• Midway Island was at the edge of Japanese

area of control of the Pacific• U.S. was able to defend U.S. island from

Japanese takeover• Major turning point in the war for control of

the Pacific Ocean.

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D-Day

• June 6th, 1944• The Allied invasion of mainland

Europe• Occurred on the beaches of

Normandy, France• Overseen by General Dwight

Eisenhower (34th Pres. of US)• Approx 2400 American deaths• Costly but successful

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Battle of the Bulge

• October 1944• After the Allies had

captured their first German City Germany retaliated

• German troops lunged into Allied territory creating a bulge

• Allies were eventually victorious

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Dresden

• February 1945• Allied (Soviet, American,

British) Bombing of important German City

• Most of the city was destroyed & many German civilians were killed

• Helped Allies defeat Hitler

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Iwo Jima

• February-March 1945• Major turning point in the

battle for control of the Pacific Ocean against Japan

• Long Battle in which both sides fought fiercely

• U.S. was victorious, made it easier to defeat Japan later

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Yalta Conference

• February 1945• Roosevelt (sick)

Churchill, Stalin• The allies believed they

would beat Germany soon

• Meeting to determine the future of Europe after the war

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Germany Surrenders

• May 8th, 1945• The Soviet Union had

pushed toward Germany from the east

• The United States and Britain had pushed toward Germany from the West

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Potsdam Conference

• July/August 1945• Truman (Roosevelt had

died), Stalin, Churchill• Germany had surrendered

9 weeks earlier• Discussed how to achieve

victory against Japan• They also discussed post

war issues. Ex: international borders and the future of the United Nations

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Hiroshima & Nagasaki

• August 6th & 9th, 1945• The U.S. ended WWII by

dropping atomic bombs on these two Japanese cities

• First and only time atomic weapons used in warfare

• Avoided invasion of Japan but left massive Japanese death toll. Approx 200,000+

• Japan surrendered August 15, 1945

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Quick QuizFor each of the following explain:

A- The date it occurred

B- At least THREE facts1. Midway

2. D-Day

3. Battle of the Bulge

4. Dresden

5. Iwo Jima

6. Yalta

7. The German Surrender

8. Potsdam

9. Hiroshima & Nagasaki