Chapter 24

World War II

Pre-WWII

• WWI and Russian Revolution– Many died– Established hard feelings– Scared of future war

• Great Depression– Economic hardship opens opportunities

Rise of Dictators: Soviet Union

• Josef Stalin– Rose through Russian Rev.– Dictator by 1929– Created a totalitarian state– Took over industry and agriculture– Killed rivals (Machiavellian Principle)

Rise of Dictators: Italy

• Italy is faced with economic and social problems

• Benito Mussolini promised prosperity and order– Threatened to overthrow gov’t– Appointed prime minister– Creates a fascist state– Preached racial superiority

Rise of Dictators: Italy (cont)

• Mussolini:– Spoke of reviving the Roman Empire– “Superiority has an obligation to conquer.”– No Freedom of the Press– Banned political parties– Killed rivals (Machiavellian Principle)– Schools: “Mussolini is always right.”

Rise of Dictators: Germany

• Angry over defeat in WWI

• Heavy reparations = econ. Hardship

• 1921: Hitler is head of National Socialist Party– Key beliefs: racial superiority

• Hitler:– Jews are to blame for WWI loss

• Scapegoat of history

Rise of Dictators: Germany (cont.)

• 1933 – Hitler made Chancellor– Creates totalitarian state based on fascism– Use of secret police– Jews banned from pub. Schools, medicine,

and law

Rise of Dictators: Japan

• Heavily impacted by Great Depression

• Military state

• Need for resources

• Racial Superiority!!!!

Military Aggression

• Japan attacks China (1931)– Army acts w/o permission– League of Nations protests but does nothing– Killed 250K+

• Italy Invades Ethiopia (1935)– League of Nations does nothing

German Aggression• Goal: Reunite all German-speaking people

– Why?

• Rebuilding of military against Treaty of Versailles

• Sent troops into the Rhineland, then took over Austria

German Aggression (cont.)

• Hitler threatens to invade Czechoslovakia – Fran. and Brit. Protest– Meeting in Munich

– Munich Pact: Hitler allowed to take over Sudetenland for not seeking any other land

• Couple months later, Hitler took over the rest of Czechoslovakia

The United States goes to WAR!!!

American Neutrality• Neutrality Act 1935

– Forbids the president from selling arms, making loans, or giving any form of assistance to any nation involved in a war

• Good Neighbor Policy– FDR believed this would strengthen ties in

Latin America– Frees Cuba– Pulls American direct influence out of Latin

America

Congressional Sympathies

• Lend-Lease Act– Favored by most Americans – WHY?– Better than Supplies for Cash– Help anyone fighting Nazis

• Military Buildup– Cong. Approves more Mil. Spending– Peacetime draft– Af. Am. Mil. Units

Atlantic Charter

• Roosevelt and Churchill

• Neither nation would seek territorial gain

• All people will have right to choose own government

• New international organization

The Domestic War

• Building the Military– Draft

• 15 million volunteers and draftees

– Women• Nurses, pilots, secretaries

Domestic Actions

• Economy– War Production Board

• Output is doubled

• Required Support– Food, clothing, and equipment donated– Victory gardens– War bonds

• Rationing: limits on scarce goods– Use of coupons– Coffee, sugar, meat, shoes, gasoline, tires

Women in Industry

• What types of Jobs would be open?

• Furnace tenders, welders, crane operators, ect.

• Women gain confidence

• How does this affect their future?

• Rosie the Riveter – What makes her so important?

Japanese Americans

• Intern-temporarily imprison

• Exec. Order 9066 – Any proof?– 110K Japanese placed in camps– “take what you can”– Some were given $ upon release– Formal apology in 1990

Japanese American Loyalty

• 442nd Nisei Regimental Combat Team– Most decorated unit in United States history– “In less than two years of combat, the 442nd

Regimental Combat team earned more than 18,000 individual decorations including one Medal of Honor, 53 distinguished Service Crosses, 588 Silver Stars, 5,200 Bronze Star Medals, 9,486 Purple Hearts and 8 Presidential Unit Citations.”

Others in Crisis

• German and Italian Americans were also placed into internment camps– Curfews– Travel restrictions

African Americans

• Injustice in Industry and Military

• A Philip Randolph – head of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters– Threatened mass protest unless Roosevelt

did something– Fair Employment Practices Committee

Mexican Americans

• Braceros - Mexican laborers– Mexican/American agreement

Events leading to War

• Japan invades Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam

• Roosevelt bans metal trade and oil trade with Japan

• So…………..

Pearl Harbor

“Day of Infamy”

http://www.archive.org/details/FranklinDelanoRooseveltDayOfInfamySpeech

War in Europe

• Sept. 1, 1939: Hitler invades Poland– Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Poland split between the two• Surprises the World – WHY?

• Stalin invades Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia

• France and Britain declare war on Germany• April 1940: Denmark and Norway fall to

Germany

War cont.

• Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium fall in May

• 6 weeks later, France surrenders

• Battle of Britain– Bombing raids by Germany– Germany tries to invade Britain

• June 22, 1941: Hitler invades Soviet Union– BIG MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The War (Eur. Theatre)

• 9 countries (Axis Powers) vs. 50 countries (Allied Powers)

• Eastern Front:– Soviet Winter– Stalingrad is held– Ends with Soviet victory in Stalingrad

The War (Eur. Theatre)

• Southern Front:– Rommel swept across Tunisia, Libya, and

Egypt– Eventually stopped and caused to retreat

by the British– Gen. Eisenhower occupies Morocco and

Algeria

Conclusion of the War in Europe

• Italy Surrenders

• D-Day (June 6, 1944)– Invasion of Normandy– 155K troops– August 1944: Paris is liberated

Battle of the Bulge

• German counterattack in Belgium

• Germany is short of supplies and troops– Reasons?

Invasion of Germany

• January 1945: Soviets enter Germany

• April 12, 1945: FDR dies from a stroke

• Harry S Truman becomes President

• April 16: Soviets begin attacking Berlin

• April 30: Hitler commits suicide

• May 8: V-E Day!!!!

The War (Pac. Theatre)

• Japan takes over Philippines and forces MacArthur to retreat

• MacArthur is given command of entire Pacific forces

• Bataan Death March– 70K American and Pilipino– 65 mile march

The War (Pac. Theatre)

• The Turning Points of the War:– Battle of Coral Sea

• US keeps Japan from New Guinea• New style of naval warfare

– Battle of Midway• Americans destroy 4 carriers, 322 aircraft

Pacific Theatre

• Battle of Midway– Last Japanese offensive

• Island hopping: Am. Forces capture one Japanese-controlled island at a time

• Navaho are key to success • Casualties

– 14k in Philippines– 6k in Iwo Jima– 12k in Okinawa

Issues

• Japanese willingness to die

• Kamikaze - suicide pilots

• A-Bomb tested in N. Mexico

• Truman advised that invasion may cost ½ million lives

Results• August 6, 1945

– Hiroshima– Killed 130k instantly

• August 9, 1945– Nagasaki– Killed 35K instantly

• August 14, 1945– V-J Day– Formal surrender September 2, 1945 on USS

Missouri

Holocaust

• Hitler – “the final solution to the Jewish problem”

• Genocide: the deliberate attempt to wipe out an entire nation or group of people

• Other groups: Poles, Slavs, Gypsies, Communists, and people with physical and mental disabilities

• Death Camps: Gas Chambers, torture, medical experiments