chapter 21: world war ii and the cold war - clover school

World War II dive-bomberin flight

1929The GreatDepressionbegins

1950The KoreanWar begins

1925 1935 1945 19551925 1935 1945 1955

WWorld orld WWar ar IIIIand theand the CCold old WWarar

1954The French

leaveVietnam

1939Germany

invadesPoland

1945Atomic bombs

are dropped on Japan

Bet

tman

n/C

OR

BIS

800-803 Ch21 CO-868873 9/15/04 3:58 PM Page 800

Chapter Overview Visitjat.glencoe.com for a previewof Chapter 21.

801

Sequencing Information Make this foldable to help you sequence importantevents that occurred during World War II and the Cold War.

Reading and WritingAs you read the chapter,write the importantevents and dates thatoccurred during WorldWar II and the Cold Waron each section of yourtime line.

Step 1 Fold two sheets ofpaper in half from top tobottom. Cut each in half.

Step 2 Turn and fold thefour pieces in half fromtop to bottom.

Step 3 Tape the endsof the pieces together(overlapping the edgesslightly) to make anaccordion time line.

Cut alongthe fold lines.

Pieces of tape

Chapter PreviewRead this chapter to learn about World War II and the

Cold War, two very different conflicts that shaped thelives of your grandparents and parents.

View the Chapter 21 video in the World History:Journey Across Time Video Program.

The Rise of DictatorsThe Great Depression led to the New Deal in the United States, but in Europe and Japan dictators and military leaders came to power.

World War II BeginsBritain and France tried to appease Hitler in the 1930s, but in 1939 heinvaded Poland and World War II began. Two years later, Japan attackedPearl Harbor, and the United States entered the war as well.

The Allies Win the WarFrom 1943 to 1945, the Allies pushed the Germans out of Italy, France, andRussia, and then invaded Germany. Meanwhile, American troops pushedback the Japanese in the Pacific, then dropped the atomic bomb on Japan.

The Cold WarSoon after World War II, a conflict began between the United States andthe Soviet Union. It was known as the Cold War.

The End of EmpireIn the decades following World War II, nations in Asia and Africa began to demand independence.

Bet

tman

n/C

OR

BIS

800-803 Ch21 CO-868873 9/10/04 1:42 AM Page 801

http://jat.glencoe.com

802

Building Discussion SkillsDiscussing what you read is one way to gain a better understanding

of a subject. In addition to your own knowledge and opinions, you gainthe knowledge and opinions of others. In the passage below, the authorasks questions to help you think about important decisions made inWorld War II. How would you answer the questions? What knowledgecould you gain by listening to others answer these questions? Whatother questions could you ask to start a group discussion on this topic?

DiscussionDiscussionQuestionsQuestions

In April 1945, Franklin Roosevelt died,and Harry S Truman became president.Truman faced a difficult decision. Should herisk American lives by invading Japan, orshould he use the newly developed atomicbomb to end the war?

––from page 829

To have a good discus-

sion requires listening

carefully to what other

people are saying. You

might even want to jot

down what they say so

you can respond to

their comments.

800-803 Ch21 CO-868873 9/10/04 1:43 AM Page 802

Read to DiscussRead the passage below. As you read, write five

questions that would help you launch a discussionwith others and help you to gain a better under-standing of the information in this passage. Shareyour questions in a discussion with a group of class-mates.

During a classdiscussion, write down notes aboutthings others say. After the discussion, do a quickwrite. Writeeverything you wouldlike to say that you didnot get a chance to sayout loud.

Read to Write

803

Reading the Bhagavad Gitaproved to be one of the greatest influ-ences on Gandhi’s life. It returnedhim to the Hindu religion. It alsoexposed him to two ideas that hewould come to live by in his life andwork. One idea was that materialgoods kept a person from pursuing aspiritual life. The other idea was to bepeaceful and even-tempered in allsituations.

––from page 844

As you read Chapter 21, keep a list ofquestions, comments, or statementsfrom the text that you would like totalk about later.

J.A

. M

ills/

AP

/Wid

e W

orld

Pho

tos

800-803 Ch21 CO-868873 9/10/04 1:45 AM Page 803

RRise ise DDictatorsictators

What’s the Connection?The outcome of World War I and

serious economic problems led tothe rise of dictators in severalcountries.

Focusing on the • New economic problems led to the

Great Depression. (page 805)

• The Great Depression encouraged therise of European dictators. (page 808)

• After Lenin’s death, Stalin establisheda brutal regime in the USSR. (page 810)

• Economic problems led to militarismin Japan. (page 811)

Locating PlacesRuhr Valley (RUR VA• lee)Manchuria (man•CHUR•ee•uh)

Meeting People Benito Mussolini (buh•NEE•toh

MOO•suh •LEE •nee)Adolf Hitler

Joseph Stalin

Building Your Vocabularyinflation

depression

totalitarian state(toh•TA• luh•TEHR•ee•uhn)

collectivization

(kuh•LEHK•tih•vuh•ZAY•shuhn)

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Complete adiagram like the one below identifyingthe policies of three dictators.

Dictator Policy

1922 1922 Mussolinibecomes Italy’sleader

1929 1929 The GreatDepressionbegins

1928 1928 Stalinstarts Five-Year Plans

1933 1933 Hitler becomesdictator ofGermany

NORTHAMERICA

EUROPEASIA

1921 1929 19371921 1929 1937

804 CHAPTER 21 World War II and the Cold War

TheThe ofof

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 1:58 AM Page 804

Postwar Economic ProblemsNew economic problems led to the

Great Depression.

Reading Focus Have you ever wondered why people

accept paper money? After all, it is just paper, not any-

thing valuable. Read to learn what happened in

Germany when paper money became worthless.

The end of World War I left manynations unhappy. Defeated peoples, such asthe Germans, felt humiliated. They resentedlosing territory and making war payments.Even people in winning nations, such asItaly and Japan, felt that they did not getenough land for the sacrifices they hadmade. When economic troubles came, frus-tration and fear added to this anger.

A Troubled Germany You read earlier thatthe Treaty of Versailles blamed Germany forcausing the war. As a result, the Germansowed the Allies a huge sum in reparations,or payments for war damages. Germany’snew democratic government made the firstpayment in 1921. The next year, however, itclaimed that it could not afford to pay anymore.

France had hoped to use its share ofreparations to rebuild its economy after thewar. When Germany could not pay, Francesent troops into the Ruhr Valley (RUR VA •lee), a rich industrial area in westernGermany. The French wanted to take thewealth from the valley’s mines and facto-ries to make up for the unpaid reparations.

Angry German workers resisted theFrench takeover by going on strike. To pay

Following World War I, Germany’seconomy was weak, and the Germanpeople faced hard times. In the photoabove, German women search forscraps of food in a garbage pile.

CHAPTER 21 World War II and the Cold War 805

At right, a woman uses worthless Germanpaper money to start a fire in her kitchenstove. What did France do when Germanycould not pay the reparations it owed?

Bettmann/CORBIS

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 1:59 AM Page 805

the strikers’ wages, the German govern-ment began printing more and more papermoney. When too much money is printed, itloses its value. As money loses value, busi-nesses raise prices. This is called inflation.Germany’s currency dropped in value somuch it became almost worthless. Peoplehad to take wheelbarrows of money to thestore just to buy a loaf of bread.

To help Germany recover, theUnited States and nations inWestern Europe created the DawesPlan in 1924. Developed by CharlesDawes, an American banker, theDawes Plan reduced the amountGermany owed and set paymentsthat its government could handle.The plan also arranged forAmerican banks to loan $200 millionto Germany. Good times followed,but they were short-lived.

What Caused the Great Depression?During the 1930s, the world’s industrial-ized countries were hit by an economicdepression. A depression is a period of loweconomic activity when many people losetheir jobs. The 1930s depression was sosevere that it became known as the GreatDepression. During this time, factoriesclosed and millions of people lost theirjobs.

One major cause of the GreatDepression was the crash of the U.S. stockmarket. Before the depression struck,American companies were producingmuch of the world’s manufactured goods.People saw their chance to make a fortuneby investing in these companies. As aresult, the U.S. stock market boomed.

Many investors bought stock on mar-gin. In other words, they paid only a smallamount of the stock price and borrowedthe rest of the money. As long as stock

The Great Depression The GreatDepression brought misery to millionsof people. Begging for food on thestreets became widespread.

More and morepeople becamehomeless. Oneperson in Germanyreported that: “Analmost unbrokenchain of homelessmen extends thewhole length ofthe greatHamburg-Berlinhighway . . .—whole families hadpiled all their goodsinto baby carriages and wheelbarrows that they were pushingalong as they plodded forward indumb despair.”

Some of the unemployed stagedhunger marches to get attention. Inmany countries, desperate peoplebegan to vote for political parties that offered extreme solutions.Across Europe, Fascist Parties andCommunist Parties won more andmore votes.

Workers protesteconomicconditions.

Connecting to the Past1. What did some people in Europe do

after they lost their jobs during theGreat Depression?

2. How did people try to change theirsociety during the Great Depression?

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 1:59 AM Page 806


prices kept rising, buying on marginwas safe. Investors would sell theirstock when the price increased, repaytheir loan, and keep the difference asa profit.

Meanwhile, factories began hav-ing trouble selling everything theyproduced. Workers were not paidhigh enough wages to buy all thegoods being made. This over-production forced factory owners toslow production. They then cut backthe number of workers theyemployed.

In October 1929, fears about theeconomy grew. People were pres-sured to pay back their loans. Whenthey failed to pay, panic struck. Stockprices tumbled and wiped out thefortunes of many investors. Bankscollapsed, and when they did manypeople lost all of their savings.

The Depression Spreads FrightenedAmerican investors withdrew money fromGermany and other European markets.These withdrawals caused the collapse ofEuropean banks as well. By 1931, trade wasslow and jobs were scarce in both NorthAmerica and Europe.

The worst year of the depression was1932. By that time, one out of fourAmericans and British and two out of fiveGermans were out of work. People whohad been put out of their homes lived inshacks built out of cardboard or tin.

FDR and the New Deal In the UnitedStates, President Franklin D. Roosevelt setup a program known as the New Deal. Toprovide people with money to buy foodand housing and to put them back to work,the federal government set up several dif-ferent agencies. One of these, the Civilian

Conservation Corps (CCC), gave jobsmostly to young people. They planted treesand built facilities in the nation’s parks. TheWorks Progress Administration (WPA) paidjobless workers to build dams, roads,bridges, and hospitals. It also gave work toartists and writers. Other new governmentagencies tried to help farmers, businessleaders, and home owners.

The federal government also carried outreforms. In 1935 Roosevelt convincedCongress to pass the Social Security Act.This program gave pensions, or payments,to citizens after they turned 65 and retired.It also provided Americans with unemploy-ment insurance. If someone lost their job,they received money from the governmentuntil they found a new one. Roosevelt’sNew Deal failed to restore the economycompletely, but it did give Americans hopeabout the future.

Describe How did theDawes Plan affect Germany?

President Franklin D. Roosevelt often attempted to easethe concerns of the American public by addressing themover the radio. What effect did Roosevelt’s New Deal have?

Bettmann/CORBIS

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 2:00 AM 07

The Rise of Fascism and NazismThe Great Depression encouraged the

rise of European dictators.

Reading Focus If you were penniless and homeless,

would you vote for someone who promised to make

your life better? Read to find out why Italians and

Germans supported ruthless dictators.

The Great Depression brought fear tomany people. Despite facing hard times, thepeople in the United States, Britain, andFrance held on to democracy. In many othercountries, such as Italy and Germany, peo-ple had less loyalty to democratic values.They looked to strong leaders for help.These leaders became dictators—rulerswho control their countries by force.

Under these dictators, a new form ofgovernment called totalitarianism devel-oped. In a totalitarian state (toh • TA • luh •TEHR •ee •uhn), political leaders try to totallycontrol the way citizens think and live.During the 1930s, totalitarian leaders usedbooks, newspapers, the arts, and schools toinfluence their people. New technology,such as films and the radio, was also usedto spread the government’s point of view.People who disagreed or voiced other ideaswere harshly punished.

Mussolini Takes Power The first countryto become a totalitarian state was Italy.After World War I, Italy had a huge debt topay off and many people did not have jobs.Workers went on strike for higher wages.Some hoped for a communist revolutionsimilar to what was happening in Russia.

With the country in chaos, a man namedBenito Mussolini (buh •NEE • toh MOO • suh •LEE •nee) created the Fascist Party and prom-ised to restore order, fix Italy’s economy, andmake Italy a great nation. His followerswore black shirts and beat up people who

opposed them. In 1922 Mussolini’s follow-ers staged a huge march on Rome. To pre-vent violence, Italy’s king agreed to appointMussolini as head of the government.

Mussolini was known as Il Duce (eelDOO • chay), or “The Leader.” He quicklyput an end to democratic rule in Italy.Within a few years, Mussolini had bannedall political parties except his Fascist Party.Personal freedoms and a free press nolonger existed. Boys and girls of all ageshad to join groups that taught them loyaltyto the Fascist government. Mussolini builtup Italy’s military and promised to regainthe glory of the ancient Romans.


To gain control of Italy, Benito Mussolini usedviolence and political pressure to destroy hisopponents. What political changes didMussolini bring to Italy?

L’Illustration/Sygma/CORBIS

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 2:00 AM Page 808


The Rise of Adolf HitlerThe Great Depression led tothe rise of a totalitarianstate in Germany. Duringthe early 1930s, millions ofGermans lost their jobs, andmany businesses failed.Voters in large numberssupported a political leadernamed Adolf Hitler. In hisspeeches, Hitler appealedto people’s fear about theeconomy and their bitter-ness about the Treaty ofVersailles.

Hitler was leader of theNational Socialist GermanWorkers’ Party, or the Nazi Party. Hitler and the Nazis portrayed theGerman people as betterthan all others. Germany,they believed, had a right to expand its territory. TheNazis were known for theiranti-Semitism, or hatred of the Jews. Theyblamed the Jews for Germany’s problems.Hitler presented these ideas in a book calledMein Kampf, or “My Struggle.”

Many Germans, worried about theeconomy, began to vote for the Nazis. By1932, the Nazi Party had become thelargest party in the German parliament. Ayear later, Hitler was named Germany’schancellor, or prime minister. Next, theGerman parliament handed all power toHitler while he dealt with the country’sproblems. In this way, Hitler became dicta-tor of Germany.

Once in power, Hitler did away with allpolitical parties except the Nazis. He hadbooks about democracy burned. He tookover the courts and set up a secret police.

He took over radio and newspapers andbroke up unions. The Nazis also set uplarge prisons called concentration camps.There, they sent people who disagreed withNazi ideas.

The Nazi government reflected Hitler’sstrong anti-Semitism. The Nazis took awaythe Jews’ businesses and jobs. Jews couldnot go to school or get medical care.

Nazis also tried to restrict women’srights. According to the Nazis, women weremeant to be wives and mothers, not leaders.So the government discouraged womenfrom becoming lawyers, doctors, or profes-sors. Instead, posters urged women to “Geta hold of pots and pans . . .”.

Analyze Why do you think

the king of Italy let Mussolini take control of Italy?

To gather support for the Nazi Party, Hitler often addressed theGerman people at large rallies and used other propagandatechniques. What were some of the basic beliefs of the Nazi Party?

Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 2:01 AM Page 809

Stalin and the Soviet Union After Lenin’s death, Stalin established a

brutal regime in the USSR.

Reading Focus If you ran the government, how

would you fix the problems in your community? Do you

think government ever causes problems by trying to fix

things? Read to learn how Stalin’s government caused

great hardship when trying to change the USSR.

Harsh rule also came to Russia.Previously, you learned about Lenin, theRussian Revolution, and the civil war thatfollowed. By 1922, Lenin’s government wassecurely in power. In that year, Russia’sCommunist leaders formed the Union ofSoviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or theSoviet Union. This vast territory includedRussia and most of the conquered lands ofthe old Russian Empire.

Stalin Takes Power After a series ofstrokes, Lenin died in 1924. After Lenin died,a struggle for power took place in the SovietUnion. By the late 1920s, Joseph Stalin had

become the ruler of the Soviet Union. UnderLenin, Stalin’s job had been to appoint partyofficials. When the power struggle began,the thousands of officials Stalin hadappointed supported him. Their supporthelped him seize power.

Government Plans the Economy Stalinwanted the Soviet Union to become anindustrial power as soon as possible.Beginning in 1928, he introduced a series ofFive-Year Plans. These were programs thatset economic goals for a five-year period.Under the Five-Year Plans, steel mills,power plants, and oil refineries were builtand kept under government control.Factory managers had to produce a certainamount of goods.

Under Stalin’s orders, the governmentalso took control of all farming. Stalin’splans called for collectivization (kuh • LEHK •tih •vuh •ZAY • shuhn). This meant combiningsmall farms into large, factory-like farmsrun by the government.

Many peasants, however, wantedto keep working on their own farms.They resisted collectivization bydestroying their houses, cows, andpigs. This resistance did not last long.Peasants who refused to cooperatewith the government were either shotor sent to prison.

In Ukraine, a region south of Russia,Stalin caused a famine to control thepeople. He had officials seize the grainsupplies. As a result, millions of peas-ants in Ukraine starved to death.

By 1939, the Soviet Union hadbecome a major industrial power. Thepeople, however, paid a high price forswift industrial growth. Workerslabored long hours for low wages.Consumer goods, such as clothes andhousehold goods, were poorly made

Joseph Stalin (right) took power in the Soviet Unionafter the death of Vladimir Lenin (left). Why didStalin set up the Five-Year Plans?

810 CHAPTER 21 World War II and the Cold WarHulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 2:01 AM Page 810

and hard to find, and housing shortageswere common.

Above all, millions of farmers, workers,and government officials suffered underStalin. Those people who opposed Stalin’sactions were killed or sent to remote prisoncamps deep in the vast forests of icy Siberia.

Explain What did Stalin’sFive-Year Plans achieve? What problems did theycause?

The Military Rules JapanEconomic problems led to militarism in

Japan.

Reading Focus Is it ever okay for people to steal

something if they need it? Read to learn how Japanese

leaders used that argument to justify invading another

country.

About the same time that the SovietUnion fell under Stalin’s strict control,Japan’s military gained control of Japan’sgovernment. As you read earlier, Japan hadbecome an industrial power by the early1900s. As Japan’s economy grew, so too didits population. Between 1872 and 1925, thenumber of people in Japan rose from 35 million to 60 million.

What Problems Did Japan Face? Japan’sgovernment hoped that new factories andnew markets would create jobs for thelarger population. So its leaders stressedmanufacturing and foreign trade. Japan’sindustry grew rapidly, and Japanese factory-made goods were sold worldwide.

The Japanese government helpeddevelop large private companies called zaibatsu. By the late 1930s, these companiescontrolled much of Japan’s economy. Whilefactory managers and rural landownersgrew wealthy, factory workers and farmerswere poorly paid and housed. Often therewas not enough food to feed Japan’s grow-ing population. Food prices rose rapidlyand often led to food riots. When the GreatDepression reached Japan, workers andfarmers suffered most.

Japan Invades Manchuria The GreatDepression caused a worldwide fall in prices.This brought disaster to Japan’s factories.Millions of workers lost their jobs. Somebegan to starve.


N

SW

E

500 km0Lambert AzimuthalEqual-Area projection

500 mi.0

30°N

50°N

140°E

120°E

100°E

TROPIC OF CANCERCha

ngJiang

Huan

gHe

Yellow Sea

EastChina Sea

Sea ofJapan

(East Sea)

PACIFIC OCEAN

SouthChina

Sea

C H I N A

KOREA JAPAN

SOVIETUNION

MANCHUKUO(MANCHURIA)

Hainan

Formosa

FRENCHINDOCHINA

KARAFUTO

Hankou

Nanjing Shanghai

Hong KongU.K.

Beijing

Guangzhou

Japan’s Empire

Japan in 1905Territory added by 1910Territory added by 1933Territory added by 1941

KEY

The effects of the Great Depression ledJapan to expand its territory to gain moreland and natural resources.1. What area had Japan conquered by 1910?

Where did they expand next? 2. Which European powers had lost territory

in Asia to Japan by November 1941?Find NGS online map resources @www.nationalgeographic.com/maps

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 2:02 AM Page 811


Starving workers and farmers blamedJapan’s politicians for their problems. Theleaders of Japan’s military claimed thatJapan’s problems were caused by Europeanand American ideas. They said that Japanshould return to its old warrior traditions.Their ideas began to influence all areas ofJapanese life.

As Japan’s trade declined, Japan’s mili-tary leaders argued that Japan needed moreland and natural resources to make its econ-omy stronger. Without governmentapproval, army leaders in 1931 invadedManchuria (man • CHUR • ee • uh), the north-east region of China. When Japan’s primeminister tried to stop the war, the militarykilled him. From then on, Japan’s govern-ment did what the military wanted. Overthe next few years, several Japanese mili-

tary officers were chosen to serve as primeminister. Under their leadership, Japanbegan making plans to build an empire inAsia even if it meant war with other coun-tries.

Explain How did zaibatsuaffect the social structure in Japan?

Reading SummaryReview the • The crash of the stock market

led to the Great Depression. Inthe United States, FranklinRoosevelt introduced programsto help the economy.

• In Europe, Benito Mussolinibecame dictator of Italy andAdolf Hitler became dictator ofGermany.

• In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalintook power and placed all farmsand factories under government control.

• Japan’s economic problemsenabled the military to take control of the government.

1. What was the New Deal andwhy was it proposed?

2. What ideas did Adolf Hitlerreveal in Mein Kampf?

Critical Thinking3. Compare and Contrast

Draw a chart like the onebelow. Fill in details aboutleaders and events in the1920s and 1930s.

4. Summarize What was atotalitarian state, and how didtotalitarian states gain the sup-port of the country’s citizens?

5. Analyze Were Stalin’s eco-nomic plans for the SovietUnion, both industrial and agri-cultural, successful? Explain.

6. Expository Writing Imagineyou are living in the U.S. in the1930s. Write a letter to a penpal in another country describ-ing the actions the president istaking to help Americans dur-ing the Great Depression andwhether or not you agree withthose actions.

7. DiscussionQuestions Write five ques-tions that would help youlaunch a discussion about whyHitler and the Nazis were ableto take power in Germany.

What Did You Learn?

Homework Helper Need help with the material in this section? Visit jat.glencoe.com


In the 1930s, the Japanese military becamemore aggressive. This photo shows Japanesecavalry in China. What area did Japan invade in 1931?

United Italy Germany Soviet JapanStates Union

Bettmann/CORBIS

804-812 C21 S1-868873 9/10/04 2:03 AM Page 812


WWorld orld WWar II ar II BBegins egins


What’s the Connection?You have read how economic

hard times paved the way fordictatorships in Europe. The goals ofthese dictators soon led to a newworld war.

Focusing on the • Other European nations stood by as

Germany expanded its territory.(page 814)

• World War II began when the Frenchand British declared war on Germanyin September 1939. (page 815)

Locating PlacesRhineland

Sudetenland (soo•DAY•tuhn•LAND)Munich (MYOO•nihk)Nanjing (NAHN• JIHNG)Pearl Harbor

Meeting People Neville Chamberlain

(NEHV • uhl CHAYM • buhr • luhn)

Winston Churchill(WIHN•stuhn CHUHRCH•HIHL)

Building Your Vocabularyappeasement (uh•PEEZ•muhnt)

Reading StrategySequencing Information Create adiagram like the one below to trackthe areas invaded by Germany.

1935Hitler beginsexpandingGermany’s army

1936Spanish CivilWar begins

1939Germany invadesPoland

1941Japaneseplanes bombPearl Harbor

NORTHAMERICA

EUROPEASIA

1934 1938 19421934 1938 1942

Rhineland

Poland

813-819-Ch21 S2-868873 9/16/04 11:41 AM Page 813

Appeasement FailsOther European nations stood by as

Germany expanded its territory.

Reading Focus How do you deal with bullies? Is it

better to stand up to them or give them what they

want? Read on to find out how Europe’s leaders dealt

with Adolf Hitler’s demands.

One reason Adolf Hitler was popular inGermany was because he criticized theTreaty of Versailles. Many Germans believedthe treaty was unfair. Hitler promised in hisspeeches that he would no longer obey thetreaty.

The Treaty of Versailles kept Germany’smilitary forces small. Hitler, however,insisted that this was unfair. In March 1935,he stated that Germany would build a new

air force and increase the size of its army.The Treaty of Versailles had also declaredthat no German troops could be in theRhineland, a German territory west of theRhine River along the French border. In 1936Hitler ordered troops into the Rhineland.

France wanted to expel the Germantroops from the Rhineland, but the Frenchgovernment would not act without Britishhelp. Britain did not want to use force againstGermany. Instead, British leaders chose apolicy of appeasement (uh • PEEZ • muhnt).Appeasement is the idea that if you give in toanother government’s demands, you canavoid war.

Hitler gained a close ally in Italy’sBenito Mussolini. In 1935 Mussolini sentItalian forces to invade the African nationof Ethiopia. Britain and France opposed

1 1936 Hitler orders troops into Rhineland.

2 1936 Hitler takes over Austria after the Anschluss.

3 1938 Hitler is given the Sudentenland by the British and the French.

4 1939 Hitler marches into, and takes over, Czechoslovakia.

5 1939 Hitler demands control of the Danzig Corridor and invades Poland.

500 km

500 mi.0

0Lambert Azimuthal Equal-Area projection

N

S

WE

0°10°W20°W 10°E 20°E 30°E

40°E50°N

60°N

40°N

Mediterranean Sea

ATLANTICOCEAN

NorthSea

Balti

cS

ea

GERMANY

NETHER–LANDS

BELGIUM

FRANCE

LUX.

SWITZ. AUSTRIA

CZECH.

EASTPRUSSIA

POLAND

LITHUANIA

HUNGARY

GREATBRITAIN

IRELAND

SWEDEN

FINLAND

NORWAY

DENMARK

ITALY

YUGOSLAVIA

SPAIN

PORTU

GAL

ROMANIA

SOVIET UNION

LATVIA

ESTONIA

MEMELTERR.DANZIG

CORRIDOR

RHIN

ELAN

D

SUDETENLAND

Hitler’s Actions in Europe 1936–19391936–1939

Adolf Hitler’s quest to reclaim land thatGermany had lost after World War I led to his swift takeover of neighboringcountries.1. In what year did Hitler first gain territory

from Czechoslovakia?2. Why do you think France gave into

Hitler’s demands in the late 1930s?

813-819-Ch21 S2-868873 9/10/04 2:14 AM Page 814

the invasion but took no military action tostop it. Hitler, however, threw his supportto Mussolini.

Next, the two dictators intervened inSpain. From 1936 to 1939, a civil wardivided that country. Germany and Italyhelped a Spanish military leader, GeneralFrancisco Franco, overthrow Spain’s newrepublic. Soon after, Italy and Germanyformed an alliance.

Next, Hitler turned to Austria. Heinsisted that Austria, a German-speakingcountry, should be part of Germany. InMarch 1938, he sent troops into Austriaand took it over.

Hitler then turned to Austria’s neigh-bor, Czechoslovakia, and demanded thatthe Czechs give Germany the Sudetenland(soo • DAY • tuhn • LAND), an area in westernCzechoslovakia where many Germanslived. Czechoslovakia was ready to fight tokeep the Sudetenland, but Britain andFrance preferred to negotiate. InSeptember 1938, European leaders met inthe German city of Munich (MYOO • nihk).

At the Munich Conference, Britain andFrance agreed to give the Sudetenland toGermany. Hitler, in turn, promised not toexpand Germany’s territory further. TheBritish prime minister, Neville Chamberlain(NEHV • uhl CHAYM • buhr • luhn), returnedhome and declared that there would be“peace in our time.”

Hopes for peace were smashed the fol-lowing year. In March 1939, German forcestook over western Czechoslovakia and setup a Nazi-friendly state in the eastern part.Hitler then demanded control of Danzig, aGerman city inside Polish territory. Inresponse, Britain promised to supportPoland if the Germans invaded.

Analyze Why did Britishand French leaders appease Hitler?

The War BeginsWorld War II began when the French

and British declared war on Germany inSeptember 1939.

Reading Focus Have you ever had to do something

really difficult? What helped you to do it? Read to learn

how the British endured defeats and German bombings.

In the summer of 1939, Hitler preparedto invade Poland. He worried, however, thatsuch an attack would anger Stalin becausePoland bordered the Soviet Union. Thoughbitter enemies, Hitler and Stalin signed atreaty in August 1939 in which they prom-ised not to attack each other. They alsoagreed to divide Poland between them. Thisagreement freed Hitler to attack Poland.

This photo shows a Czech woman weeping asshe salutes invading German troops. Whathappened after Britain and France gave theSudetenland to Germany?

CHAPTER 21 World War II and the Cold War 815Bettmann/CORBIS

813-819-Ch21 S2-868873 9/10/04 2:16 AM Page 815

Poland and France Fall On September 1,1939, Hitler sent his armies into Poland. Twodays later, Britain and France declared waron Germany. The German attack on Polandwas quick and fierce. In less than a month,the conquered country was split in half byHitler and Stalin.

In April 1940, the Germans attackedDenmark and Norway. In May, they invadedthe Netherlands and Belgium. Germantroops and tanks then smashed throughFrench defenses and raced across northern

France. A few weeks later, on June 22, 1940,France surrendered to Germany. At this time,Italy joined the war on Germany’s side.

What Was the Battle of Britain? Hitlerexpected the British to ask for peace.Instead, the new prime minister of GreatBritain, Winston Churchill (WIHN • stuhnCHUHRCH • HIHL), declared, “We shall neversurrender.”

In August the German air force began anall-out effort to destroy Britain’s Royal AirForce and clear the way for a German inva-sion of Britian. This air battle became knownas the Battle of Britain.

The Royal Air Force also had a newtechnology called radar. Radar stationsalong the coast detected incoming Germanairplanes and directed British fighter planesto stop them. On October 12, 1940, Hitlercancelled his plans to invade Britain. GreatBritain escaped invasion thanks to a fewhundred pilots. Churchill told the BritishParliament: “Never . . . was so much owedby so many to so few.”

America Stays Neutral The United Statesremained neutral during the early years ofthe war. In the 1930s, Congress had passedseveral laws making it illegal to help othercountries in a war if the U.S. was neutral.President Roosevelt, however, believed thatGermany was a threat to the United States.He convinced Congress to approve a cash-and-carry policy. This law let Britain buygoods from American businesses as long asthey paid cash and carried the goods toBritain in their own ships. A year later, heasked Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act.This law allowed the U.S. to lend weaponsto Britain. Roosevelt also ordered theAmerican navy to protect the British shipsfrom German submarines when they wereclose to the United States.


During the Battle of Britain, German planesbombed British cities, hoping to break the willof the British people. What advantage did theRoyal Air Force have during the Battle ofBritain?

Web Activity Visit jat.glencoe.com and clickon Chapter 21—Student Web Activity to learnmore about World War II.

The

Lib

rary

of

Con

gres

s

813-819-Ch21 S2-868873 9/10/04 2:16 AM Page 816


817

WINSTON CHURCHILL1874–1965

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT1882–1945

Winston Churchill grew up in Blenheim Palace, England, raised by a

beloved nanny. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a member of

the British Parliament. Churchill attended private schools where he

struggled with his studies. When Churchill switched to the Royal Military

Academy, he began doing well. He studied military tactics, mapmaking,

and military law. Later he joined the cavalry and fought in India and

Africa. Afterward, he became a journalist and found fame reporting on the

Boer War.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt was born in Hyde Park, New York, to a wealthy

family. Roosevelt was educated at home by a governess until he turned

14. Then he was sent to a school near Boston. Like Churchill, Roosevelt

did not do well in school. Because President Theodore Roosevelt was his

cousin, Roosevelt wanted to work in government. He went to Harvard

University and Columbia Law School.

At age 26, Churchill won election to the British Parliament. This was the beginning

of his political career that led eventually to him becoming prime minister of England.

At age 28, Roosevelt won election to the New York State senate, but then

came down with polio and lost much of the use of

his legs. Refusing to allow his disability to end his

career, he went on to become governor of New York

and then president.

“Together we cannot fail.”“Together we cannot fail.”—Franklin D. Roosevelt, —Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside ChatsFireside Chats

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Winston Churchill

Both Churchill and Roosevelt came from

families already involved in politics. How do

you think this affected their decision to pursue

that type of career? Identify a few present-day

families that are active in politics.

(b)B

ettm

ann/

CO

RB

IS,

(t)H

ulto

n A

rchi

ve/G

etty

Im

ages

813-819-Ch21 S2-868873 9/10/04 1:14 PM Page 817

Hitler Invades the Soviet Union Unableto defeat the British, Hitler decided thatGermany needed the resources of the SovietUnion. He also believed that the Soviets’vast land area could provide “living space”for Germans in the future. In June 1941,German forces attacked the Soviet Union.They destroyed most of the Soviets’ war-planes, disabled thousands of Soviet tanks,and captured half a million Soviet soldiers.

As the Germans advanced, Stalinordered a scorched-earth policy. Soviettroops and civilians burned cities, destroyedtheir own crops, and blew up dams that pro-duced electric power.

These actions made it harder for theGermans to supply their troops and keepmoving forward. Then the rainy season

began, turning the roads to mud and trap-ping German wagons and trucks. Soon after-ward the harsh Russian winter set in,catching the German army unprepared.

Despite loss of soldiers and equipment,German troops reached the outskirts ofMoscow on December 2, 1941. That was asfar as they got. The Soviets refused to sur-render, and the Germans were unable tobreak into the city.

Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor While Hitlerand Mussolini waged war in Europe, theJapanese launched new attacks in East Asia.In Section 1, you learned about Japan’stakeover of Manchuria in 1931. During the1930s, the Japanese moved steadily south-ward into China. In December 1937, they

On December 7, 1941, Japan carried out its plan to attack the United States and bringthem into World War II. Early that morning, a group of Japanese warplanes flew overthe military base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Without warning, they dropped bombs onthe men and women below and destroyed countless ships as they sat in their docksunprotected. The attack cost many thousands of American lives and prompted theU.S. to enter the war. Why do you think the Japanese chose to attack a base in Hawaii?

The Attack on Pearl HarborThe Attack on Pearl Harbor

813-819-Ch21 S2-868873 9/10/04 2:18 AM Page 818

Reading SummaryReview the • In the mid-1930s, Germany

began to rearm and seize sur-rounding territories, while Britainand France followed a policy ofappeasement.

• The German invasion of Poland in1939 began World War II. In1941, Japan attacked PearlHarbor, bringing the UnitedStates into the war.

1. Describe what happened at the Battle of Britain.

2. Describe how the UnitedStates aided Britain beforePearl Harbor was attacked.

Critical Thinking3. Sequencing Information

Draw a time line like the onebelow. Fill in details aboutGerman aggressions in Europebeginning with the occupationof the Rhineland and endingwith the invasion of Russia.

4. Analyze Describe the Britishpolicy of appeasement. Why doyou think such a policy did notwork with Hitler?

5. Evaluate What was theimportance of the Battle ofBritain?

6. Cause and Effect WhatAmerican actions caused Japanto carry out their attack onPearl Harbor?

7. Expository Writing Choosean event from the section andwrite a newspaper articleabout it. Include a headline,details about the event, andwhy the event was important.

What Did You Learn?



June1941

March1936

seized Nanjing (NAHN • JIHNG), the Chinesecapital. China’s leader, Chiang Kai-shek,refused to surrender, and the governmentmoved into China’s interior.

Japan next moved into Southeast Asia.After the fall of France in 1940, Japaneseforces sized the French colony of Indochina.Japan also planned to take the Dutch EastIndies, British Malaya, and the American ter-ritory of the Philippines. The Japanese goalwas to gain badly needed rubber, oil, andfood supplies.

President Roosevelt wanted Britain todefeat Germany. He worried that Britainwould also have to fight Japan if Japanattacked the British Empire in Asia. SoRoosevelt tried to stop Japan by using eco-nomic pressure. When Japan invadedIndochina, President Roosevelt preventedthe Japanese from withdrawing money they

had in American banks. He also stopped thesale of oil, gasoline, and other naturalresources that Japan lacked.

Angered by American actions, theJapanese decided to go to war against theUnited States. On December 7, 1941,Japanese warplanes carried out a surpriseattack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor,Hawaii. The attack destroyed many battle-ships and planes. More than 2,300 soldiers,sailors, and civilians were killed.

The next day, President Roosevelt askedCongress to declare war on Japan. He calledDecember 7 “a date which will live in infamy[disgrace].” Congress quickly declared waron Japan. Three days later, Germany andItaly declared war on the United States.

Identify What was theUnited States’s cash-and-carry policy?

813-819-Ch21 S2-868873 9/10/04 2:19 AM Page 819


820

Adapted by Gary Schmidt

Before You ReadThe Scene: This story takes place in Kraków, Poland, shortly before WorldWar II.

The Characters: Eisik is a poor Jewish boy living in Kraków with his family.

The Plot: Eisik’s family is very poor. He has three dreams in which a mantells him to go to a particular place to find treasure. Eisik must decidewhether or not to follow the dreams’ directions.

Vocabulary Previewembankment: raised structure thatholds back water

slate: rock used as a constructionmaterial

flourished: waved boldly

sprinted: ran as fast as possible

Have you ever had adream and wanted itto be true? In thisstory, a boy dreamsabout a solution to hisfamily’s problems andthen tries to make thedream come true.

820-823 Ch21 WL-868873 9/10/04 2:30 AM Page 820

As You ReadThis story is a mixture of fact and fiction. It is based on a story about RabbiEisik, a man born in Kraków who found a great treasure and used it to builda House of Prayer in his neighborhood.

Eisik, the youngest boy in his family, believed that his must be one ofthe poorest families in all of Poland. Poorer than poor. When theirRabbi spoke of poverty, Eisik knew, he was speaking of Eisik’s family.Even his hunger was hungry, and his jacket was more patch than jacket.He had seen plucked plump chickens hanging in the butcher’s shop, buthis mother had never, as far as Eisik knew, even been inside such ashop. He had never tasted a candy, and he wondered what one mighttaste like. He wondered if a house could ever be too warm. He knewthat it could be too cold.

Eisik’s family was very poor.One night, Eisik dreamed that a man came to him and pointed to a

bridge in Kraków.1 “Look by the arch of the bridge,”2 he said, “and youwill find a great treasure.” Eisik woke up that morning smiling, but heknew better than to believe in a silly dream, and he soon forgot about it.

The next night the dream came again. The same man pointed to thebridge. “Look by the arch of the bridge, and you will find a great treasure.” Again,Eisik woke in the morning smiling,but he knew that it was just a silly dream. He soon forgot about it.

On the third night, the man came again into his dreams, and now he was angry.“Do I come all the way into the

¢

1Kraków: a city in southern Poland2arch of the bridge: curved piecesthat connect the main structure to the banks on either side and supportthe weight of the bridge

820-823 Ch21 WL-868873 9/27/04 6:22 PM Page 821

World of Confusion3 for nothing every night?” he demanded. “Now, boy,look by the arch of the bridge, and you will find a great treasure.”

When Eisik woke, he was trembling. He went to his mother andasked if she believed that dreams can come true. She leaned down andkissed him on the forehead. “Of course they can come true. Weren’t youborn to us?”

Eisik packed some food and set off for Kraków.It was a long walk, and the sun was well on its way to rest before

Eisik reached the city and found the bridge. He scrambled down theembankment and onto a slate walk. It was slimy with the damp of thewater, so he crept slowly, looking into all the shadows, testing the bricksto see if they might give and the treasure be hidden behind them. Butthere was nothing at all. Tired and wet, he climbed back up to the bridge.

“You there! What are you doing?” A swastikaed4 guard. Eisik froze.“What are you doing, creeping about the bridge like that?”And Eisik, scared and ashamed, could only say, “It was a dream. A

dream told me I should do it.”“A dream? A dream?” The guard laughed. “Don’t you know better

than to believe in a silly dream? Don’t you know that dreams meannothing? Why, these last three nights, I’ve had the same dream again andagain: A man comes and tells me that there is a great treasure hiddenunder the stove in the house of a poor family with a boy named Eisik.

3World of Confusion: the characters’ name for theirway of life during a time of restrictions and fear

4swastikaed: wearing a swastika, a Nazi symbol

820-823 Ch21 WL-868873 9/27/04 6:23 PM Page 822

823

Do you see me running off, looking into every Jewishhouse with a boy named Eisik and digging under theirstove? Do you?”

Eisik shook his head, but his heart stopped.The guard flourished his rifle at him. “Off now, and

don’t trouble me with dreams.”Eisik sprinted from the bridge and ran out of Kraków

all the way home, where his father and mother andbrothers and sisters were waiting for him. They threwtheir arms around him, and his mother wept, and even hisfather. “We thought . . .” they began, and could not go on.They feared to say aloud what they had thought in theWorld of Confusion where anything at all might happen.

And when they had all gone inside, Eisik and hisfather moved their iron stove. They pried up a layer ofbricks, and beneath it they found a box filled with goldand silver coins. It was enough, said Papa, to get all ofthem, even Grandpapa and Tante,5 out of Poland.Maybe even to America.

And Eisik hoped that that dream would come trueas well.

¢

5Tante: French for aunt

1. How does Eisik find treasure by looking by the arch of the bridge?

2. When Eisik talks with his mother about dreams, each of them isreferring to a different type of dream. What are the two meaningsof dream used in that conversation?

3. Analyze Why do you think Eisik did not tell his family where hewas going and that he would arrive home late?

4. Compare How do Eisik and the guard react differently to theirdreams?

5. Read to Write Eisik and his family had dreams of afuture in which they were safe and had enough money for foodand heat. What types of dreams do you have? Write a brief essayin which you identify three of your goals and explain what youneed to do to make those dreams come true.

Responding to the Reading

820-823 Ch21 WL-868873 9/27/04 6:24 PM Page 823

AAllies llies WWininWWarar

What’s the Connection?You have read about how

dictators expanding their power andterritory led to World War II. In thissection, you will learn how the Alliesdefeated Germany, Japan, and Italy,and won World War II.

Focusing on the • The Allies fought for four long years

in Europe and in the Pacific.(page 825)

• The Nazis murdered millions ofpeople in an attempt to destroy Jewsand other European ethnic groups.(page 827)

• The successful invasion on D-Day wasthe beginning of the end of WorldWar II. (page 828)

Locating PlacesAuschwitz (OWSH • VIHTS)

Meeting People Douglas MacArthur (muh •KAHR •

thuhr)Dwight D. Eisenhower (EYE • zuhn •

HOWR)Harry S Truman (TROO •muhn)

Building Your Vocabularygenocide (JEH •nuh • SYD)D-Day

Reading StrategySequencing Complete a table like theone below showing two events thatoccurred in each year.

1942Battle of Midwaystops Japaneseadvance

1945Atomic bombsare droppedon Japan

NORTHAMERICA

EUROPEASIA

1941 1943 19451941 1943 1945


The The thethe

1943Italysurrendersto Allies

1944Allies landin Franceon D-Day

Event EventYear

1942

1943

1944

1945

824-830-Ch21 S3-868873 9/16/04 11:36 AM Page 824

825

The Great StruggleThe Allies fought for four long years in

Europe and in the Pacific.

Reading Focus Have you ever had to follow a step-

by-step plan to finish a project? Read to learn how step-

by-step, the Allies pushed back the Axis powers.

World War II was a huge war. On oneside were the Allies—the United States,Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and China.On the other side were the Axis powers—

Germany, Italy, and Japan. It was fought ontwo fronts—in Europe and in the Pacific.Winning battles required outstanding lead-ers and hundreds of thousands of troops. Athome, civilians worked hard to provideresources and goods for the war effort.

Stopping Japan’s Advance By mid-1942,Japan had driven the Americans out ofthe Philippines and seized many islandsin the Pacific. The United States set out tostop the Japanese advance. In June 1942,

Kiska

Okinawa

N E W G U I N E A

H A W A I I A NI S L A N D S

S

um

atr

a

Borneo

PALAU IS.

Java

KURILIS

LAN

DS

A L E U T I A N

I S L A N D S

Pearl Harbor

HawaiiU.S.

N

S

W E

1,500 km0Miller Cylindrical projection

1,500 mi.0

TROPIC OF CANCER

TROPIC OF CAPRICORN

EQUATOR

40°N

20°N

100°E 120°E 140°E 160°E 180°

160°W

0°

20°S

Mekong

R.

Yangtze R.

Yellow

R.

Amur R.LakeBaikal

PA C I F I CO C E A N

I N D I A NO C E A N

Sea ofOkhotsk

SouthChina

Sea

Seaof Japan

(East Sea)

PhilippineSea

CoralSea

MidwayJune 4-7,

1942

Gilbert IslandsNov. 22, 1943

GuadalcanalAug. 7, 1942-Feb. 9, 1943

Coral SeaMay 4-8, 1942

SaipanJune 15-July 9, 1944

GuamAug. 10, 1944

Iwo JimaFeb. 19-March 26, 1945

HiroshimaAug. 6, 1945

NagasakiAug. 9, 1945

OkinawaApr. 1-June 22, 1945

Leyte GulfOct 23-26, 1944

ManilaMarch 4, 1945

Solomon IslandsNov. 12, 1942

Marshall IslandsFeb. 1944

MacArthur

NimitzNov.

1943

PHILIPPINES

FRENCHINDOCHINA

SIAM(THAILAND)

BURMA

SOVIETUNION

M O N G O L I A

C H I N A

MANCHURIA

SINGAPORE

INDIA

A U S T R A L I A

Tokyo

Bangkok

Batavia

Darwin

Hong Kong

ChongqingShanghai

Nanjing

Beijing

Japanese Empireand conquestsFarthest extent ofJapan's conquests,July 1942Allied forcesAllied victoryAtomic bombing

KEY

To defeat Japan, the United States attackedsome Japanese-held islands while bypassingothers.1. About how far did Japanese control extend

from the home islands?2. Where was the first Allied victory in the

Pacific following the attack on Pearl Harbor?

The Pacific War 1941–19451941–1945

824-830-Ch21 S3-868873 9/16/04 9:40 AM Page 825

the American forces won a major sea andair battle at Midway Island. This battlestopped Japan’s advance and changed thecourse of the Pacific war in favor of theAllies.

During the next three years, U.S. com-manders in the Pacific—General DouglasMacArthur (muh •KAHR • thuhr) and AdmiralChester Nimitz—carried out a plan calledisland-hopping. This called for attackingcertain key islands. The United States thenused these islands for jumping forward toothers, moving closer and closer to Japan.

By 1945, the Americans had recapturedthe Philippines and destroyed much ofJapan’s air force and navy. The Japanese,however, fought fiercely as American forcesclosed in on Japan itself.

Driving Back the Germans Meanwhile,the war raged on in Africa, the SovietUnion, and Europe. After early German

advances in NorthAfrica, British forces in1942 defeated theGermans in Egypt.Later that year, Britishand American forceslanded in Morocco andAlgeria. Moving swiftlyeastward, they drovethe Germans out ofNorth Africa in May1943.

Allied troops thenmoved into southernEurope. They took theisland of Sicily in thesummer of 1943 andlanded on Italy’s main-land in September. U.S.general Dwight D.Eisenhower (EYE • zuhn •HOWR) directed the over-

all invasion. Another American general,George Patton, and British general BernardMontgomery actually led the troops.

As the Allies advanced, the Italiansoverthrew Mussolini and surrendered.German forces in Italy fought on but failedto stop the Allied move into central Italy. InJune 1944, the Allies finally took Rome,Italy’s capital.

Meanwhile, Allied leaders made plansfor the world after the war was over. In late1943 Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met inthe Middle East at Tehran, the capital ofIran. At this Tehran Conference, the leadersagreed to divide up Germany after defeat-ing Hitler. Stalin also agreed to help theUnited States defeat Japan and to join aninternational organization for keepingpeace after the war.

Contrast How was the warin the Pacific different from the war in Europe?


The leaders of the three major Allied powers met at Tehran in 1943.Shown are (left to right) Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill. What did the Allies agree to at Tehran?

Bet

tman

n/C

OR

BIS

824-830-Ch21 S3-868873 9/10/04 2:51 AM Page 826

The Holocaust The Nazis murdered millions of people

in an attempt to destroy Jews and other Europeanethnic groups.

Reading Focus Today many people use the word Nazi

to mean “someone very evil.” The main reason is the

Holocaust. Read on to learn about this dark chapter in

human history.

During World War II, the Nazis began aprogram of genocide (JEH • nuh • SYD), or thekilling of an entire group of people. Hitlerwanted to destroy all of Europe’s Jews. Asmany as 6 million Jews were killed in whathas become known as the Holocaust.Millions of others, including Slavs and Roma,or Gypsies, were also ruthlessly killed.

In Section 1, you learned that the Nazispassed laws against the Jews during the1930s. These laws declared that Jews were nolonger German citizens. By the end of thedecade, Nazi actions became more violent.

On the night of November9, 1938, the Nazis burned syna-gogues, destroyed Jewishshops, and killed many Jews.About 30,000 Jewish men weresent to concentration camps,large prison camps used to holdpeople for political reasons.This event became known asKristallnacht, or the “night ofshattered glass,” because of theJewish shop windows thatwere broken by Nazi mobs.

During World War II, theNazis mistreated the Jews inthe lands they conquered.They forced Jews to wear a yel-low, six-pointed star on theirclothing.

The Nazis began the mass killing ofJews when the German army invaded theSoviet Union in 1941. Special Nazi forcesaccompanied the army. They captured andshot any Jews they found and dumpedthem in mass graves.

In January 1942, German leaders agreedon what they called “the final solution.”Nazis rounded up millions of Jews andhundreds of thousands of other innocentpeople in the areas they controlled. Thenthe prisoners traveled in trains and trucksto death camps, such as Auschwitz (OWSH •VIHTS) in Poland. At the camps, many peopledied in poison gas chambers. Others died ofstarvation. Still others were victims of cruelexperiments carried out by Nazi doctors.Later, as Allied forces moved into Nazi-heldareas, they saw firsthand the unspeakablehorrors of the death camps. People aroundthe world were stunned by this terribleresult of Nazi brutality.

Identify What is genocide,and how did the Nazis attempt to carry it out?


Toward the end of the war, Allied troops liberated a number ofconcentration camps. The survivors at the camps were oftennear starvation. What was the “final solution”?

CORBIS

824-830-Ch21 S3-868873 9/10/04 2:52 AM Page 827

The Allies WinThe successful invasion on D-Day was

the beginning of the end of World War II.

Reading Focus Can you recall important days in your

life? For Europeans who lived through World War II,

June 6, 1944, stands out in their memory. Read on to

find out why.

By 1944, the Germans and Japanesewere falling back everywhere. No longer onthe defensive, the Allies were preparing toinvade Germany and Japan.

What Was D-Day? For months, Alliedforces under General Eisenhower had beenpreparing for the invasion of occupiedFrance. On June 6, 1944, or D-Day—the dayof the invasions—ships carried troops andequipment across the English Channel tothe French province of Normandy. As battle-ship guns pounded German positions,Allied soldiers moved onto the beaches.

From their Normandy foothold, theAllies launched an attack against theGermans. By early August, General Pattonand his tanks were racing across northernFrance while General Montgomery and hisBritish troops advanced along the coast intoBelgium. At the same time, the people ofParis rose up against the Germans. OnAugust 25, the Germans retreated, andAllied troops entered Paris.

On December 16, 1944, the Germanscounterattacked. As their troops advanced,they pushed back the Allied lines, creatinga bulge. The attack later became known asthe Battle of the Bulge. After weeks of fight-ing, the Americans won the battle and thenheaded into Germany.

By late 1944, the Soviets had driven theGermans from Russia and back acrossPoland. By February 1945, Soviet troops werejust outside Berlin. On April 30, 1945, Hitlercommitted suicide in Berlin. On May 7, 1945,the Germans surrendered.

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, American troopslanded in Normandy, France. Lieutenant JohnBentz Carroll describes the invasion:“Two hundred yards out, we took a direct hit. . . .

. . . Somehow or other, the ramp door opened up

. . . Everyone started to jump off into the water.They were being hit as they jumped, the machinegun fire was so heavy.

. . . The tide was moving us so rapidly. . . . We wouldgrab out at some of those underwater obstructionsand mines built on telephone poles and girders,and hang on. We’d take cover, then make a dashthrough the surf. . . .

The men would line up behind those poles. They’dsay, ‘You go—you go—you go,’ and then it got sobad everyone just had to go anyway.”

—quoted in D-Day: Piercing the Atlantic Wall

D – Dayu8-06P-NGS-hres-824129

American soldiers in a landing craft on D-Day

What made D-Day so dangerous fortroops landing on the beaches?

CO

RB

IS

824-830-Ch21 S3-868873 9/15/04 5:38 PM Page 828


Dropping the Atomic Bomb In October1944, General McArthur invaded thePhilippines with more than 160,000 troopsand 700 ships. The Americans captured theislands about five months later. Meanwhile,other Americans continued island-hoppingtoward Japan. They finally came within reachof Japan in 1945.

On March 9, American bombers begandropping firebombs on Japan’s cities. Thesebombs used jellied gasoline to start fires.During the firebombing of Tokyo, strongwinds fanned the flames, creating an intensefirestorm. The fire killed more than 80,000Japanese and destroyed 250,000 buildings.Still, the Japanese would not surrender.

In April 1945, Franklin Roosevelt died,and Harry S Truman (TROO•muhn) becamepresident. Truman faced a difficult decision.Should he risk American lives by invadingJapan, or should he use the newly developedatomic bomb to end the war?

Since 1941, Americans had been buildingan atomic bomb. A team of engineers andscientists carried on their research at a secretlaboratory in Los Alamos, New Mexico.Their program was called the ManhattanProject. On July 16, 1945, the first atomicbomb went off in a test near Alamogordo,New Mexico.

Truman’s advisers disagreed about usingthe bomb. Admiral William Leahy opposedits use because it would kill thousands ofcivilians. He argued that an economic block-ade and ordinary bombing would persuadethe Japanese to surrender. Secretary of WarHenry Stimson wanted to warn the Japaneseabout the bomb and at the same time offer tolet them keep their emperor if they agreed tosurrender.

Truman followed neither course. Hethreatened Japan with “prompt and utterdestruction” if they did not surrender uncon-ditionally. The Japanese failed to reply.

The Atomic Bomb 1945

In 1939, American scientists beganracing to develop an atomic bombbefore the Germans. By 1943, British,Canadian, and American scientists wereworking together on this project underthe direction of J. Robert Oppenheimer.Most of the research was conducted inLos Alamos, New Mexico, and was code-named the “Manhattan Project.”

On July 16, 1945, scientists inAlamogordo, New Mexico, tested thefirst atomic bomb. The explosion sent agreat shock wave through the valleyand was so hot that the desert sandturned into glass.

On August 6, 1945, one month afterthe first test, the United States droppedan atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.The attack showed that war hadchanged. It was now possible to destroyan entire city with one bomb.

Hiroshima after the atomic bomb hit

Nat

iona

l Geo

grap

hic

Soc

iety

824-830-Ch21 S3-868873 9/10/04 2:52 AM Page 829

Reading SummaryReview the • In the Pacific, the Americans

fought the Japanese island byisland. In Europe, American andAllied troops invaded North Africaand Italy.

• During the Holocaust, theGermans murdered some 12 million people, including Jewsand other minorities.

• The Allied invasion of France inJune 1944, led to the fall ofGermany. The United States’s useof two atomic bombs on Japanesecities caused Japan to surrender.

1. Describe the U.S. plan fordefeating Japan in the war.

2. What was D-Day?


Draw a time line like the onebelow. Fill in events related tothe war against Germanybeginning with the landings ofAllied troops in North Africaand ending with D-Day.

4. Evaluate Do you think itwould have been more impor-tant to defeat the Germans orthe Japanese first during thewar? Explain your answer.

5. Summarize Describe theGerman persecution of Jewsleading up to the Holocaust.

6. Describe Describe the organi-zation and purpose of theUnited Nations.

7. Creative Writing Write thedialogue for a conversationthat might have occurredbetween the Allied leaders—Roosevelt, Churchill, andStalin—at the Tehran Confer-ence in 1943.

What Did You Learn?



On August 6, 1945, a plane named theEnola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on theJapanese city of Hiroshima. Between 80,000and 120,000 people were killed instantly.Thousands more died slowly from burnsand radiation sickness.

Three days later, an American planedropped another bomb on the city ofNagasaki. It killed between 35,000 and74,000 people. On August 15, 1945, theJapanese surrendered.

Rebuilding the World About 55 million peo-ple died in World War II. These included 22million Soviets, 8 million Germans, 2 millionJapanese, and 300,000 Americans. Alsoincluded were millions killed in campaigns ofgenocide, or mass murders of ethnic groups.

Even before the war ended, the Allies hadstarted an organization to keep the peace. InApril 1945, representatives from 50 countries

drew up a charter for the United Nations(UN). The UN General Assembly would voteon issues and choose members of theSecurity Council. The Security Councilwould investigate international problemsand propose settlements. It had five perma-nent members—the United States, the USSR,Britain, France, and China—as well as otherelected members.

After the war, the Allies tried Nazi lead-ers at Nuremberg, Germany, for “pursuingaggressive war” and for committing “crimesagainst humanity.” Similar war trials tookplace in Japan. The war crimes trials pun-ished many of the people responsible forWorld War II and the Holocaust. They alsoserved notice that the world would notallow these crimes to be repeated.

Cause and Effect Whatwere the results of the atomic bombs dropped onHiroshima and Nagasaki?

June1944

D-Day

November1942American andBritish TroopsInvade North Africa

824-830-Ch21 S3-868873 9/10/04 2:53 AM Page 830



What’s the Connection?In the last section, you learned

that World War II devastated Europeand Asia. This section discusses a newinternational conflict that shaped thenext 40 years.

Focusing on the • Soviet efforts to spread communism

led to conflict with the UnitedStates, which wanted to containcommunism. (page 832)

• The Cold War spread to Asia afterChina’s communist revolution andthe outbreak of the Korean War.(page 837)

• People in the postwar worldexperienced prosperity, change, andconflict. (page 839)

Locating PlacesBerlin

Taiwan (TY •WAHN)

Meeting People Nikita Khrushchev

(nuh •KEE • tuh krush •CHAWF)John F. Kennedy

Chiang Kai-shek(jee •AHNG KY •SHEHK)

Mao Zedong (MOW ZUH •DUNG)Martin Luther King, Jr.

Building Your Vocabularycontainment

Truman Doctrine

Marshall Plan

racial segregation(SEH •grih •GAY • shuhn)

Reading StrategyOrganizing Information Complete a diagram like the one below to showthe causes of the Cold War.

19471947The TrumanDoctrine isannounced

19501950The KoreanWar begins

19551955The Sovietscreate theWarsaw Pact

19621962The Cubanmissile crisiserupts

NORTHAMERICA

CUBAKOREA

EUROPEASIABerlin

1945 1955 19651945 1955 1965

CCold old WWararThe The

Cold WarBegins

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:11 AM Page 831

The Cold War BeginsSoviet efforts to spread communism

led to conflict with the United States, which wantedto contain communism.

Reading Focus Have you ever wanted to stop some-

one from doing something without having a fight? Read

to learn how the United States tried to stop communism

without going to war.

During World War II, the United Statesand the Soviet Union had set aside their dif-ferences. As they moved toward victory in1945, these two powerful nations began todisagree about what the world was to belike after the war.

For Americans, economic growth wasthe key to world peace. They wanted to pro-mote growth through world trade. They also

wanted to spread democracy and free enter-prise. Free enterprise, you remember, is thesystem in which businesses compete freelyfor profits with few government controls.

In contrast, Soviet leaders wanted tospread communism. As the war ended,Soviet armies had pushed back Germanarmies in Eastern Europe and set upCommunist governments in the region. TheSoviets feared that one day Germany mighttry again to attack them. Having commu-nist states in Eastern Europe would make aGerman invasion harder to do.

The deep differences between theAmericans and the Soviets made them mis-trust each other, and they began to competefor world leadership. This rivalry lastedfrom 1945 to 1990 and became known as theCold War.

50°N

40°N

N

S

W

E


500 mi.0

Black Sea

Bal

tic

SeaNorth

Sea

A T L A N T I CO C E A N

MediterraneanSea

Adriatic Sea

REPUBLICOF IRELAND

UNITEDKINGDOM

SPAIN

FRANCE

NORTH AFRICA

T U R K E Y

S O V I E T U N I O N

POLAND

ROMANIA

BULGARIA

I TA

LY

DENMARK

NORWAY

SWEDEN

FINLAND

ALBANIA

HUNGARY

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

NETH.

BELGIUM

AUSTRIASWITZ.

FED.REP. OF

GERMANYLUX.

GER.DEM.REP.

GREECE

YUGOSLAVIA

PORTU

GAL

Sardinia

Corsica

Crete Cyprus(U.K.)

Harry S Truman

Warsaw Pact memberCommunist nationoutside Soviet blocNeutral nationNATO member

KEY

After World War II, Europe was dividedbetween Communist and non-Communistnations.1. Which European nations remained

neutral?2. Which organization, NATO or the Warsaw

Pact, had more member nations?

Europe During the Cold War

AP

/Wid

e W

orld

Pho

tos

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:13 AM Page 832

Yalta and Potsdam In February 1945, the“Big Three” Allied leaders—Roosevelt,Churchill, and Stalin—met at Yalta, a Sovietport on the Black Sea. They discussed,among other things, the fate of newly freedEurope. Their disagreements over Europehelped cause the Cold War.

Germany presented a special problem.The leaders finally agreed to divideGermany into four zones, or parts, untilelections could be held to determine itsfuture. The Soviet Union was to control theeastern part of Germany. The United States,Great Britain, and France were to divide thewestern part. The German capital of Berlinwas also to be split among the four nations.At Yalta, the three leaders also agreed thatother countries released from Nazi ruleshould have free elections.

In April 1945, U.S. president Rooseveltdied. Vice President Harry S Truman thenbecame president. The next month,American, Soviet, and British leaders met atPotsdam, Germany. At Potsdam, Stalindemanded that the Germans pay high repa-rations for damaging the Soviet Union.Truman firmly opposed this demand andangrily told the Soviets to keep theirpromises.

The Soviets soon broke their promisesmade at Yalta. Stalin did not hold free elec-tions in Eastern Europe. Instead, the Sovietsset up Communist governments there, andSoviet forces remained in the region.

What Was Containment? The Britishleader Winston Churchill was concernedabout Soviet control in Eastern Europe. In1946, in a speech in Fulton, Missouri, hewarned that the Soviets might try to expandtheir control beyond Eastern Europe.

Like Churchill, President Truman andother U.S. government leaders worried

about the growing Soviet threat. How werethey to stop the Soviets?

For an answer, they turned to the ideasof George F. Kennan, an American diplomatand expert on Soviet affairs. Kennanclaimed that the United States and theSoviet Union could not cooperate. Hebelieved, however, that war could beavoided. He argued that the Soviet Union

The IThe Iron ron CCurtainurtainIn 1946, while visiting Fulton, Missouri,Winston Churchill gave a speech titled “TheSinews of Peace.” In the speech, he tried toexplain what was happening in EasternEurope: “From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in theAdriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent [Europe]. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central andEastern Europe. Warsaw,Berlin, Prague, Vienna,Budapest, Belgrade,Bucharest and Sofia, allthese famous cities andthe populations aroundthem lie in what I mustcall the Soviet sphere, . . .The Communist parties,which were very small inall these Eastern Statesof Europe, have beenraised to preeminenceand power far beyondtheir numbers and areseeking everywhere to obtain totalitarian control.Police governments are prevailing in nearly everycase.”

—Winston Churchill,The “Iron Curtain” Speech

What does the “iron curtain” divide?


Winston Churchill

AP

/Wid

e W

orld

Pho

tos

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:14 AM Page 833

had many internal economic problems, andhe believed it would collapse if the UnitedStates could stop it from spreading commu-nism. Kennan’s ideas led to a new U.S. for-eign policy known as containment. Thispolicy held that the United States would tryto “contain,” or hold back the spread ofcommunism.

The policy of containment soon went intoeffect. Civil war was raging in Greece. There,Communist rebels were trying to overthrowthe Greek government. At the same time, theSoviets put enormous pressure on Turkey togive them naval bases on the Dardanellesstraits leading to the Mediterranean Sea.

On March 12, 1947, Truman askedCongress for money to help Greece andTurkey. His speech outlined a plan that was

later named the Truman Doctrine. Itsimmediate effects were to give aid tothe Greeks and the Turks. In the longrun, the doctrine pledged the UnitedStates to fight the spread of commu-

nism worldwide.In June 1947, Secretary of State

George C. Marshall proposed that theUnited States give aid to Western Europeancountries as well. Their economies were inruins, and the people were starving. TheMarshall Plan pumped $13 billion worth ofsupplies, machinery, and food into WesternEurope. The economic recovery that fol-lowed weakened the appeal of communism.

Germany Meanwhile, the western Alliesand the Soviet Union disagreed on thefuture of Germany. President Trumanbelieved that a reunited, prosperousGermany was important for Europe. Stalin,however, feared that a reunited Germanywould attack the Soviet Union.

In June 1948, the United States, Britain,and France announced that they were unit-ing their zones to form a new West Germanrepublic. Each nation’s section of Berlinwould be included in the new republic aswell, even though the city lay within Soviet-held eastern Germany.

In response, Soviet troops moved intoposition around West Berlin. They imposeda blockade, stopping all traffic on road, railroad, and water routes through eastern


N

S

W E

100 km0Chamberlin Trimetric projection

100 mi.05°E

15°E10°E

55°N

50°N

45°N

EAST GERMANY(GERMAN

DEMOCRATICREPUBLIC)

POLAND

FRANCE

DENMARK

WEST GERMANY(FEDERALREPUBLIC

OF GERMANY)

AmericanZone

FrenchZone

BritishZone Berlin

Hannover

Hamburg

Braunschweig

Frankfurt


10 mi.0

FRENCHSECTOR

BRITISHSECTOR

AMERICAN SECTOR

SOVIETSECTOR

EASTBERLIN

WEST BERLIN

EASTGERMANY

EAST GERMANY

AlliedoccupationzoneSovietoccupationzoneRoutes of theBerlin Airlift,1948–1949Division ofAllied zone

KEY

Following World War II, the Alliedand Soviet sections of Germanyformed two separate countries.1. Which three nations occupied

West Germany?2. Which West German city on the

route of the Berlin Airlift wasclosest to Berlin? How far awaywas it?

Germany Divided

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:15 AM Page 834

Germany to West Berlin. As a result, the citywas cut off from needed supplies. TheSoviets hoped this blockade would force theAmericans, British, and French to recon-sider their plan.

President Truman refused to give in tothe Soviets. He ordered a massive airlift tosave West Berlin. For almost a year, cargoplanes carried food, medicine, fuel, andother supplies into the city. In May 1949,Stalin finally ended the blockade.

Despite the airlift’s success, Berlin andGermany remained divided. By the end of1949, there were two German states—WestGermany, a democracy allied with theUnited States, and East Germany, a commu-nist state tied to the Soviet Union.

To stop communism, the United States,Canada, and 10 West European countriesformed the North Atlantic TreatyOrganization (NATO) in 1949. Membernations agreed to aid any member who wasattacked. Six years later, West Germany wasallowed to form an army and to join NATO.In response, the Soviets in 1955 set up a mil-itary alliance with the Communist govern-ments of Eastern Europe. It was known asthe Warsaw Pact.

After Stalin died in 1953,Nikita Khrushchev (nuh •KEE • tuhkrush • CHAWF) emerged as thenew Soviet leader. In 1961Khrushchev demanded that theWestern powers withdraw fromBerlin. U.S. president John F.Kennedy refused. Meanwhile,many East Germans fled to WestGermany. The Soviets then built awall that separated CommunistEast Berlin from the rest of the city. Guardson the wall shot anyone who tried to escapeEast Berlin. For nearly 30 years, the BerlinWall was an important symbol of the ColdWar struggle.

Life in Divided Berlin When theBerlin Wall was first built, stretches ofit consisted of only knee-highbarbwire, so friends, neighbors, andfamilies could still greet each other.Soon after, the barbwire was replacedwith guard towers and cement blocksthat divided the city.

If a person’s home lay on one sideof the Wall and his or her office on theother, that person could not go towork. West Berliners used raisedplatforms to see what was happeningon the other side of the Wall. At night,the streets of West Berlin sparkledwith lights, but in East Berlin, all wasdark except for the guard towers.Anyone who tried to escape over theWall to West Berlin was shot. WestBerliners built a memorial of crossesdedicated to those who died trying tocross the Wall.

Connecting to the Past1. Why do you think many East Germans

risked their lives to cross over the Wall?

2. How would your life change if a wall werebuilt in the center of your city?

Residents ofWest Berlinlook overthe BerlinWall intoEast Berlin.

Bla

ck S

tar

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:16 AM Page 835

Nuclear Arms During the 1950s and 1960s,nuclear weapons played an important rolein the Cold War. By the early 1950s, theSoviets had their own nuclear weapons.International tensions rose as the UnitedStates and the Soviet Union built up theirmissiles and bombers. By the 1960s, theywere also using their rockets to send peopleinto space. The Russians put the first manin space, but the Americans landed the firstmen on the moon.

The Cold War also spread to areas out-side of Europe. In fact, the most dangerousCold War dispute took place in Cuba, asmall Caribbean island close to the UnitedStates—only 90 miles (144 km) south ofFlorida. There, in 1959, a new governmentcame to power under a leader named FidelCastro.

In October 1962, President Kennedylearned that the Soviets had placed long-range missiles in Cuba. Immediately, thepresident ordered the navy to blockade, orclose off, Cuba until the Soviets removedthe missiles. Kennedy also warned that theUnited States would launch a nuclear attackon the Soviets if they fired any of theirCuban missiles on the United States.

As the two superpowers neared theedge of nuclear war, people all over theworld waited anxiously. After five difficultdays, Soviet ships turned away from theblockade. Soviet leaders also agreed towithdraw their missiles from Cuba. TheUnited States agreed not to invade Cuba.Nuclear war had been avoided.

Explain What was contain-ment, and why was it used?

836

90°W

80°W 70°W

10°N

20°N

30°N

N

S

WE

300 km0Albers Conic Equal-Area projection

300 mi.0

A T L A N T I CO C E A N

Gulf of Mexico

GuantanamoBay

C a r i b b e a n S e a

Bay of Pigs

MEXICO

UNITED STATES

Florida

CUBA HAITI

JAMAICA

DOMINICANREPUBLIC

PuertoRico

Key West

Miami

Cuban Missile Crisis 19621962

NikitaKhrushchev

Fidel CastroSoviet nuclear missiles placed inCuba were capable of striking theUnited States.1. About how far did the U.S. naval

blockade extend from Cuba at itsfurthest point?

2. Which major Florida city is nearCuba?

Soviet missile siteAmerican blockade zoneUnited States naval base

KEY

John F.Kennedy

(tl)Bettmann/CORBIS, (tr)Bettmann/CORBIS, (b)Lester Cole/CORBIS

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:18 AM Page 836

The Cold War Spreads to Asia The Cold War spread to Asia after

China’s communist revolution and the outbreak ofthe Korean War.

Reading Focus Have you ever had a friend become

your enemy or an enemy end up your friend? Read on

to learn about the changing relationships among the

United States and countries in Asia.

The Cold War also spread to Asia. In thelate 1940s, Communist governments cameto power in China and part of Korea. TheseCommunist governments created chal-lenges for the U.S. policy of containment.

Communist Revolution in ChinaPreviously, you learned that Chiang Kai-shek (jee•AHNG KY•SHEHK) became leaderof China in the mid-1920s. He tried to uniteChina and wipe out the Communists.However, in 1927, the Chinese Communistsbegan a movement to gain control of thecountry. Their leader was Mao Zedong(MOW ZUH • DUNG).

During the 1930s, Chiang’s Nationalistforces and Mao’s Communist troops stoppedfighting each other. They joined together tofight the Japanese, who had invaded China.After World War II, the struggle between theNationalists and Communists continued.Despite American aid, Chiang Kai-shek lostthe people’s support.

In 1949 Mao’s Communists forced theNationalists to leave the Chinese main-land and go to the island of Taiwan (TY •WAHN). There, Chiang set up a Nationalistgovernment, claiming it ruled all ofChina. The Communists set up their owngovernment on mainland China headedby Mao Zedong. They called it thePeople’s Republic of China.

Mao’s main goal was to make China astrong, modern country. In the 1950s, Mao’s

government took over China’s industriesand businesses. It also created large, government-run farms from the small plotsof land worked by peasants. Instead of foodproduction increasing, it declined as a resultof bad weather and the people’s resistance.Famine soon struck, killing almost 15 mil-lion people. As result, the government wasforced to back down from its more extremepolicies.

War in Korea At the end of World War II,the Americans and Soviets divided Korea atthe 38th parallel. The Communists set up agovernment in the north, and an American-backed government took over the south.On June 25, 1950, North Korean troopsinvaded South Korea in an attempt to takeover that country.

U.S. president Harry Truman saw theinvasion as a test of the containment policy.He persuaded the United Nations to sendtroops. Most of these UN troops were


Mao Zedong became the leader of Chinafollowing the Communist defeat of Chiang Kai-shek’s forces. How did Mao attempt to makeChina into a strong, modern nation?

Bet

tman

n/C

OR

BIS

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:19 AM Page 837

American and under the command of U.S.general Douglas MacArthur.

General MacArthur and the UN forcespushed the North Koreans back across the38th parallel and then advanced toward theChinese border. The Chinese Communistssaw the advancing troops as a threat.Hundreds of thousands of Chinese crossedthe border and drove the UN forces back toSouth Korea.

MacArthur suggested that droppingatomic bombs on Chinese bases and supplylines would gain a quick victory. PresidentTruman, however, refused and firedMacArthur for disagreeing with him. He

did not want the Korean War to turn into aworld war. By mid-1951, each army wasdug in along a line near the 38th parallel.Both sides realized there was no chance forfurther gains. In 1953 North Korea andSouth Korea signed a truce. The two Koreasremain divided along a border near the38th parallel.

Japan Recovers From 1945 to 1952, Japanwas an occupied country. Allied militaryforces under General Douglas MacArthurcontrolled the country. This American-ledgovernment greatly reduced Japan’s militaryso that Japan could no longer threaten itsneighbors. It also introduced reforms. Japanreceived a democratic constitution. Japanesewomen and workers gained more rights.Small farmers also were given more land.

In 1952 Japan regained its independ-ence. The Korean War, however, keptJapan’s ties to the United States very close.American troops needed all kinds of warsupplies, from medicines to trucks. To havea source of supplies nearby, the UnitedStates poured $3.5 billion into Japan’s facto-ries. Japanese shipbuilders, manufacturers,and electronics industries all benefited fromAmerican aid.

Help from the United States created aneconomic boom in Japan. The Japanese gov-ernment worked closely with businessleaders to plan the country’s industrialgrowth. For example, in the late 1950s, gov-ernment and industry agreed to investheavily in the research and development ofelectronics products for the home. By theearly 1970s, Japanese radios, televisions,stereos, and other items were competingwith similar American products in theworld market.

Analyze How did theKorean War help Japan’s economy?

100 km

100 mi.0

0 Lambert Conformal Conic projection

N

S

W E

40°N

130°E

38th Parallel

YellowSea

Sea ofJapan

(East Sea)

YaluR.

CHINA

NORTHKOREA

SOUTHKOREA

North Koreanmaximum advance

Sept. 15, 1950

Landing of UN forcesSept. 15, 1950

Armistice lineJuly 27, 1953

ChineseinterventionNov. 1950

Chinese andNorth Koreanmaximum advanceJan. 25, 1951

UN maximumadvance

Nov. 24, 1950

Pyongyang

Inchon

Chosan

Seoul

Pusan

Wonsan

KaesongPanmunjom


After three years of fighting, theborder between the Koreas remainedvirtually unchanged.1. When did Chinese forces cross into

North Korea?2. During which offensive did North

Korean forces capture more of SouthKorea, in 1950 or in 1951?

North Korean advancesUnited Nations advances

KEY

Korean War

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 1:29 PM Page 838


The Cold War EraPeople in the postwar world experi-

enced prosperity, change, and conflict.

Reading Focus Can you recall hard times and good

times in your life? Read on to learn which nations might

consider the postwar years hard times and which might

recall them as good times.

After World War II, the Soviet Unionrebuilt its heavy industry and boosted itsmilitary might. In Soviet-controlled EasternEurope, governments copied the Soviet system. Factories began producing moremachinery and fewer consumer goods.

Life Behind the Iron Curtain Most Sovietsand East Europeans fared poorly as a resultof this push for heavy industry. Food, cloth-ing, and housing were in short supply. The

average family lived in a one-room apart-ment. In addition, people feared being pun-ished if they disagreed with the communistsystem.

East Europeans also disliked Soviet con-trol of their countries. In October 1956,unrest swept Hungary. Students and work-ers staged street protests in Budapest,Hungary’s capital, for changes in the gov-ernment. Strikes and riots spread. A newgovernment came to power and demandedan end to Soviet controls. In earlyNovember, Soviet tanks and troops pouredinto Hungary and crushed the revolt.

In January 1968, Czechoslovakia’sleader Alexander Dub�ek also tried to makechanges. He loosened controls on the pressand travel abroad. Dub�ek’s program wascalled “socialism with a human face.” Theprogram was short-lived, however. In

Space ExplorationSpace Exploration

In 1961 Russia sent the spacecraft Vostokinto orbit. Inside was Yuri Gagarin, the firsthuman being ever to travel into space.

The lunar module was used by NASA in 1969 toland two men safely on the moon. U.S. astronautNeil Armstrong was the first human being ever toset foot on the moon.

In the 1960s, the Soviet Union and the United States competed with oneanother to be the first to conquer space travel. This competition, called theSpace Race, led to the advancement of technology and the further study ofspace. During what period of history did the Space Race occur?

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:21 AM Page 839

August 1968, Soviet troops invadedCzechoslovakia and installed a strictCommunist government.

Western Europe Rebuilds The MarshallPlan helped Europe rebuild quickly fromthe ruins of World War II. West Germany’srecovery was called an “economic miracle.”By the 1960s, West Germany had Europe’sstrongest economy.

In France, war hero General Charles deGaulle was president for part of the 1950sand most of the 1960s. During his presi-dency, France enjoyed a stable government.It became a major producer of aircraft,weapons, and cars. As a result, the Frencheconomy grew at a fast rate—even fasterthan the American economy.

Meanwhile, in Great Britain the LabourParty defeated Churchill’s ConservativeParty. The new government worked toimprove the lives of the British people.Insurance was provided for the aged, sick,and jobless. A national health care servicegave medical care to everyone.

In 1957 France, West Germany, Belgium,the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy setup the European Economic Community(EEC). EEC members agreed to end alltrade barriers among them. This meant thatbusinesses could sell their goods in othermember nations without paying taxes tocross the border. The EEC was seen as thefirst step in building a united Europe.

Life in the United States During the 1950s,Americans earned higher wages and pur-chased more consumer goods than everbefore. As a result, factory productionsoared. The postwar “baby boom,” orincreased birthrate, promised even moreeconomic growth in the future.

A new civil rights movement also beganin the 1950s. In 1954 the U.S. SupremeCourt ruled against racial segregation (SEH •grih • GAY • shuhn), or separation of the races,in public schools. In the 1950s, PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower used federal agen-cies to make sure that states ended segrega-tion in their schools. This was an importantvictory for African Americans, who hadbeen working hard to gain civil rightsthroughout the 1940s and 1950s.

Led by Baptist minister Martin LutherKing, Jr., the civil rights movement nextfocused attention on discrimination, orunfair treatment, of African Americans inhousing, voting, and public places. Newscoverage of King’s speeches and marchesconvinced many Americans that discrimi-nation against African Americans waswrong.

President John F. Kennedy expressedsupport for African Americans before hewas assassinated in 1963. However, his suc-cessor, Lyndon Johnson, was the one whopushed a new Civil Rights Act and a VotingRights Act through Congress. PresidentJohnson also introduced many new


To maintain control over its East Europeanallies, the Soviet Union sometimes resorted toforce. Here, Soviet tanks are shown on thestreets of Czechoslovakia. Why did the Sovietsinvade Czechoslovakia?

Pra

che-

Lew

in/S

ygm

a/C

OR

BIS

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:22 AM Page 840

programs designed to end poverty,improve education, and provide medicalcare to the poor and elderly. His programscame to be called the Great Society.

Meanwhile, women were demandingequality in the workplace. After World WarII, more and more women became lawyers,doctors, and government leaders. Yet,women received lower pay than men forthe same work.

In the early 1900s, the women’s rightsmovement had been a strong force. Themovement declined, however, after the pas-sage of the Nineteenth Amendment givingwomen the right to vote. Concern overinequality in the workplace united womenagain in the 1960s. In 1963 supporters ofwomen’s rights won passage of the Equal

Pay Act, which outlawed paying men morethan women for the same job.

Compare How did theSoviets react to reforms in Hungary and inCzechoslovakia?

1. What was the Marshall Plan,and why was it important?

2. Who were the original mem-bers of the EEC, and what wasits purpose?

Critical Thinking3. Organizing Information

Draw a chart like the onebelow. Fill in details aboutissues facing the United Statesduring the 1950s and 1960s.

4. Summarize How were theTruman Doctrine, the MarshallPlan, and the Berlin Airlift sig-nificant in the U.S. fight againstcommunism?

5. Cause and Effect How didconflict in Asia following WorldWar II affect Japan’s economicrecovery?

6. Analyze Why was life harshfor ordinary citizens in theSoviet Union and EasternEuropean nations in the 1950s?

7. Persuasive Writing Write aletter to the editor describingyour views on a policy or eventfrom the Cold War.

What Did You Learn?


President Lyndon Johnson (left) and Martin LutherKing, Jr. (right) worked to end discriminationagainst African Americans. What were Johnson’sGreat Society programs intended to do?

Reading SummaryReview the • During the Cold War, the United

States and the Soviet Unioncompeted for power in Europe,leading to the creation of NATOand the Warsaw Pact.

• In Asia, Communists took controlof mainland China, and U.S. aidhelped rebuild Japan.

• In the U.S. and Western Europe,economies grew strong. InEastern Europe and the SovietUnion, people faced shortages,and some countries tried to over-throw Communist rule.


Life in the United StatesDuring the 1950s and 1960s

CO

RB

IS

831-841 Ch21 S4-868873 9/10/04 3:22 AM Page 841


TheThe EEnd nd ofof EEmpirempire

What’s the Connection?In past sections, you read about

nationalism, communism, and theCold War. This section explains howall three contributed to the collapseof European empires between 1945and the present.

Focusing on the • Led by Gandhi, India gained

independence from Britain. (page 843)

• Nationalist movements led toindependence for many SoutheastAsian nations. (page 846)

• Most African colonies gainedindependence in the 1950s and1960s. (page 850)

Locating PlacesPakistan (PA•kih•STAN)Kashmir (KASH•MIHR)Bangladesh (BAHNG•gluh•DEHSH)

Meeting People Mohandas K. Gandhi

(MOH•huhn•DAHS GAHN•dee)Jawaharlal Nehru

(juh•WAH•huhr•LAHL NEHR•oo)Ho Chi Minh (HOH•CHEE•MIHN)Nelson Mandela

Building Your Vocabularycivil disobedience

Pan-Africanism

apartheid (uh•PAHR•TAYT)

Reading StrategySummarizing Information Completea diagram like the one below to showthe challenges India faced afterbecoming independent.

19351935Britain passesthe Governmentof India Act

19471947India andPakistan becomeindependent

1954 1954 The FrenchleaveVietnam

1963 1963 KenyabecomesindependentINDIA

MIDDLEEAST

AFRICA

ASIA

1930 1950 19701930 1950 1970


Challenges Since

Independence

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:31 AM Page 842

India Becomes IndependentLed by Gandhi, India gained independ-

ence from Britain.

Reading Focus Have you ever tried hard to win

someone over to your point of view? Read to learn how

Indians finally convinced the British to leave their

country.

Previously, you learned that India cameunder British rule in the 1700s. The Britishbuilt railroads, bridges, and ports in India.They did little, however, for India’s people,who faced famine and other hardships. Bythe late 1800s, a movement for freedombegan to take root and spread across thecountry.

The Indians who first called for inde-pendence were upper class and British-educated. Many lived in cities, such asBombay (now Mumbai), Calcutta (nowKolkata), and Madras (now Chennai). Somewere trained in British law and held gov-ernment posts.

India’s nationalists wanted reform andnot revolution. The British, however, wereslow in making changes. In 1885 a group ofIndian leaders met in Mumbai to form theIndian National Congress (INC). The INCdid not ask for independence right away.They did demand a role in ruling India.

Who Was Gandhi? In 1919 a crowd of10,000 Indians gathered for a political meet-ing at a walled garden in the city ofAmritsar. Without warning, British troopsblocked the exit from the garden andopened fire. They killed hundreds of peopleand wounded over a thousand. ThisAmritsar massacre made Indians moredetermined than ever to end British rule.

The most popular Indian leader wasMohandas K. Gandhi (MOH • huhn • DAHS

GAHN • dee). He opposed violence in all

forms. Instead, he protested British ruleusing nonviolent civil disobedience—therefusal to obey unjust laws.

In 1930 Gandhi led Indians in protestingthe salt tax. The British taxed every grain ofsalt sold. They also made it illegal forIndians to collect salt on their own. Gandhiand his followers openly defied the Britishban. The salt tax protests resulted in 60,000arrests, including Gandhi’s.

Pressured by protests, the BritishParliament passed the Government of IndiaAct in 1935. This law allowed Indians to runIndia’s provinces, or regions. The British,however, kept control of India’s nationalaffairs.

Some Indians rejected the act. Othersaccepted it as a step toward full independ-ence. The INC began running candidatesfor offices in regional governments. In 1937candidates who were Hindu in religionwon in 7 of the 11 provinces. As a result,India’s Muslims began to worry how themuch larger Hindu population might treatthem in an independent India.


Mohandas Gandhi (right) worked for an inde-pendent India along with Jahawarlal Nehru (left), who became India’s first prime minister.How did Gandhi protest British rule?

Bet

tman

n/C

OR

BIS

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:32 AM Page 843

Why do you think that Gandhi’s approach to

conflict resolution remains important and

necessary in society today?

“The force of love“The force of loveis the same as theis the same as theforce of the soulforce of the soulor truth.”or truth.”

—Mohandas Gandhi, —Mohandas Gandhi, “Indian Home Rule”“Indian Home Rule”

Mohandas Gandhi

MOHANDAS GANDHI1869–1948

When Mohandas Gandhi was arrested in 1922 and

charged with rebellion, he defended himself by saying,

“Nonviolence is the first article of my faith.” Gandhi’s

strong belief in nonviolence developed early in his

childhood. His mother, Putlibai, who was a devout

Hindu, taught the principles of peace and tolerance

to Mohandas and his older siblings.

Gandhi grew up in Porbandar, the capital of a small

territory in western India. He did not do well in school.

In one school report, he was described as “good at English,

fair in Arithmetic and weak in Geography; conduct very

good, bad handwriting.” At home, Gandhi helped his

mother with chores and helped take care of his dying

father. In his free time, he took long walks by himself.

Gandhi’s family wanted him to follow in his father’s

footsteps and study law. So in 1888 Gandhi sailed to

England and entered one of London’s law colleges. While

living in London, he read for the first time an English

translation of the Bhagavad Gita. Reading the Bhagavad

Gita proved to be one of the greatest influences on

Gandhi’s life. It returned him to the Hindu religion. It also

exposed him to two ideas that he would come to live by

in his life and work. One idea was that material goods

kept a person from pursuing a spiritual life. The other

idea was to be peaceful and even-tempered in all

situations.

In his work as a lawyer, Gandhi found

that his true calling was mediation, or

helping opposing groups resolve conflicts.

In his later role as a political and spiritual

leader, his talent for mediation helped

him tackle enormous conflicts involving

colonialism, racism, and violence.

J.A

. M

ills/

AP

/Wid

e W

orld

Pho

tos

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:33 AM Page 844

British India Is Divided After World WarII, India’s Hindus and Muslims were bit-terly divided. The British realized that Indiawould have to be split into a Hindu countryand a Muslim country. Pakistan (PA • kih •STAN)—the Muslim country—would bemade up of two regions separated byIndia—the Hindu country. West Pakistanwas northwest of India, and East Pakistanwas to the northeast.

On August 15, 1947, India and Pakistanbecame independent. Many Hindus inPakistan fled to India, while many Muslimsin India fled to Pakistan. Fighting eruptedduring this mass movement, and more than1 million people were killed.

Tensions With Pakistan When BritishIndia ended, local states ruled by princeshad to decide their future. Most becamepart of India. Others went with Pakistan.

The state of Kashmir joined neitherIndia nor Pakistan. Most people in Kashmir(KASH • MIHR) were Muslims, but the rulerwas Hindu. Pakistan invaded Kashmir, andits ruler turned to India for help. The resultwas a war between Pakistan and India. In1949 the war ended, with most of Kashmircontrolled by India.

In addition to conflicts with India,Pakistan faced conflicts within. Militaryleaders took over the elected governmentand ruled from 1958 until 1971. Also in1971, East Pakistan declared its independ-ence. After a brief civil war, it became a newnation named Bangladesh (BAHNG • gluh •DEHSH).

India and Pakistan continued to clash.More wars were fought over Kashmir, andboth nations built nuclear weapons. InDecember 2001, Kashmir terrorists killed

845

N

S

W E

Lambert AzimuthalEqual-Area projection

500 km

500 mi.0

0

20°N

30°N

10°N

70°E60°E 80°E 90°E 100°E 110°E

Bay ofBengal

ArabianSea

INDIAN OCEAN

INDIA

WESTPAKISTAN NEPAL

CHINA

TIBET

AFGHANISTAN

EastPunjab

KashmirIRAN

BURMA(MYANMAR)

BHUTAN

EASTPAKISTAN

CEYLON(SRI LANKA)

U.K.

New Delhi

Karachi

Dhaka

Madras(Chennai)

Bangalore

Bombay(Mumbai)

Calcutta(Kolkata)

AmritsarLahore

India and Pakistan 19471947

Political borders in South Asia wereoften places of conflict.1. From what areas of India did

most Muslims flee?2. About how far apart were East

and West Pakistan?

Flight of Muslimsto PakistanFlight of Hindusto India

KEY

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:34 AM Page 845

nine people at India’s Parliament building.The Indian government blamed Pakistan,but Pakistan denied responsibility. Fivemonths later, terrorists attacked an Indianarmy base in Kashmir. This time, India andPakistan almost went to war but pulledback after successful talks.

India Tries to Modernize After independ-ence, the Indian National Congress, renamedthe Congress Party, began to rule India. Theparty’s leader and India’s first prime minis-ter was Jawaharlal Nehru (juh • WAH •huhr •LAHL NEHR • oo). A British-educated lawyer,Nehru had helped lead India’s freedommovement. In 1948 Nehru lost a close allywhen Gandhi was assassinated.

Nehru tried to raise the standard of liv-ing in India through Five-Year Plans. Heplaced industry under government control.He also expanded farmlands, which set thestage for India’s Green Revolution, or rapidincrease in crops. By 1979, Indians wereraising enough crops to feed all of India.

Nehru died in 1964. Two years later, hisdaughter, Indira Gandhi, became primeminister. Gandhi continued her father’spolicies but was assassinated in 1984.Gandhi’s son, Rajiv Gandhi, served asprime minister from 1984 to 1989. He, too,was killed while campaigning.

While India struggled politically,reforms in the 1990s helped shift the coun-try toward a free enterprise economy. Thegovernment now encourages foreign invest-ments. One of the fastest-growing indus-tries in India today is the making ofcomputer products.

Cause and Effect Whatwas the result of the massacre at Amritsar?

Empire Ends in Southeast Asia Nationalist movements led to inde-

pendence for many Southeast Asian nations.

Reading Focus How old is the United States? Did you

know that most countries in the world are less than 100

years old? Read to learn why so many new countries

have appeared so recently.

Nationalism also erupted in SoutheastAsia. After World War II, many SoutheastAsian nations gained their freedom. Somecountries reached this goal more easily thanothers did. For example, the United Statesgranted independence to the Philippines in1946, but the Netherlands was less willingto give up its control of the Dutch EastIndies.

The Dutch Leave Indonesia After WorldWar II, Achmed Sukarno and his national-ists declared the East Indies to be independ-ent. They renamed their country Indonesia.

Achmed Sukarno was Indonesia’s first leader after the country gained independence. Why did the Dutchgive Indonesia independence?


Bet

tman

n/C

OR

BIS

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:36 AM Page 846

The Dutch at first opposed this move. Then,Indonesia’s Communists revolted. Fearinga Communist takeover, the Dutch in 1949accepted Sukarno’s government.

In 1965 Indonesia’s Communists triedagain to seize power. Indonesia’s army killedabout 300,000 people believed to beCommunist supporters. Then, the army’scommander, General Suharto, replacedSukarno as ruler.

In 1975 Suharto’s troops seized thenearby Portuguese colony of East Timor.Suharto was a harsh leader, and East Timor’speople fought his rule. Finally, in August1999, Indonesia’s government allowed EastTimor to vote on independence. After theelection, Indonesia’s soldiers in East Timorstaged attacks. The UN sent troops to stopthe violence. With UN help, East Timorbecame independent in 2002.

The British Leave Myanmar and MalaysiaBurma, now Myanmar, had been underBritish rule for many years. In 1948 it becameindependent. Communists and ethnic groupswithin Burma soon rose up against the gov-ernment. To restore order, military leadersseized control in 1962.

Burma’s military leaders ran the economyand cracked down on opponents. The peopleof Burma protested. Finally, the military lead-ers agreed to hold elections in 1990. Beforethe voting took place, they arrested Aung SanSuu Kyi (AWNG SAN SOO CHEE)—thekey democratic leader. She won the election,but Burma’s military leaders rejected theresults. After her release in 1995, Aung SanSuu Kyi continued to work for democracy.

Independence also came to Britishcolonies on the Malay Peninsula and theisland of Borneo. After defeating Communistguerrillas, the British granted freedom tothese territories. In 1963 the territories unitedto form the independent Federation ofMalaysia.

The French Fight in Vietnam During WorldWar II, the Japanese seized Indochina from the French. A Communist named Ho Chi Minh (HOH • CHEE • MIHN) formed agroup called the Vietminh to drive out theJapanese. Soon afterward, the United Statesbegan sending military aid to the Vietminh.

When Japan gave up control ofIndochina, Ho Chi Minh declared Vietnamindependent. France, however, wanted toget back Vietnam and the rest of Indochina.French troops returned to Vietnam in 1946and drove the Vietminh into hiding.

The Vietminh fought the French andslowly won control of the country-side. Worried that Ho Chi Minh was a


0°

20°N

10°N

N

S

W E

500 km0Mercator projection

500 mi.0

120°E110°E100°E

South

Chi

naS

ea

CHINA

BURMA

THAILAND

CAMBODIA

SINGAPORE

NORTHVIETNAM

SOUTHVIETNAM

LAOS

PHILIPPINES

M A L A Y S I A

I N D O N E S I A

Southeast Asia

After many years of imperialism, the people ofSoutheast Asia finally gained their independence.1. Which nation lies directly west of Thailand?2. How far apart are the two main parts of

Malaysia?

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:37 AM Page 847

Communist and determined to stop commu-nism’s spread in Asia, the United States gavemilitary aid to French forces in Vietnam.

Despite American help, the Frenchcould not beat the Vietminh. In 1954 theFrench decided to make peace and with-draw from Indochina.

An agreement called the Geneva Accordsdivided Vietnam at the 17th parallel. Ho ChiMinh controlled North Vietnam. A govern-ment supported by the United States ranSouth Vietnam. The Geneva Accords alsoaccepted the independence of two othercountries in Indochina—Cambodia and Laos.

Americans Fight in Vietnam The GenevaAccords called for elections to uniteVietnam, but South Vietnam’s leader refusedto hold them. He feared the elections in theCommunist north would not be fair andworried that southern Vietnamese mightvote for Ho Chi Minh. After South Vietnamrefused to hold elections, Ho Chi Minhdecided to unite Vietnam through force. Heset up a guerrilla army in South Vietnamknown as the Vietcong. To help SouthVietnam’s government fight the Vietcong,U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower sentaid and military advisers to South Vietnam.


Ho Chi Minh became the leader ofNorth Vietnam following Japan’sretreat from the country in WorldWar II.

U.S. infantrymen leap from a militaryhelicopter on their way to a mission inVietnam.

French soldiers wait in their trenchesduring a break in fighting in Dien BienPhu, Vietnam. In what year did theFrench troops withdraw from Vietnam?

The Vietnam warThe Vietnam War

(tl)Bettmann/CORBIS, (tr)Charles Bonnay/TimePix, (r)Bettmann/CORBIS

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:38 AM Page 848

During the 1960s, the United States wasdrawn deeper into the fight for Vietnam. In1964 U.S. president Lyndon Johnson reportedthat North Vietnam had attacked Americanships in the Gulf of Tonkin. In early August,Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Res-olution giving Johnson permission to fight awar in Vietnam. In 1965 Johnson sent the firstAmerican combat troops to fight the Vietcong.

By the late 1960s, many Americansopposed the war. Finally, in 1973 U.S. presi-dent Richard Nixon withdrew Americanforces from Vietnam. At least 2 million people,including 58,000 Americans, died in the war.

N

S

W E

200 km0Mercator projection

200 mi.0

20°N

TROPIC OF CANCER

15°N

10°N

110°E 120°E105°E100°E95°E

17th Parallel

MEKONGDELTA

RED RIVERDELTA

DMZ(Demilitarized Zone)

Gulf ofThailand

Bay of BengalTonle

Sap

SouthChina

Sea

Gulf ofTonkinMekong

R.

RedR

.

THAILAND

LAOSNORTH

VIETNAM

SOUTHVIETNAMCAMBODIA

MYANMAR(BURMA)

CHINALao Cai Pingxiang

Dien BienPhu

Hanoi Haiphong

Vientiane

Bangkok

Phnom Penh TayNinh

Saigon

Vietnam Divided

About 10 million South Vietnamese becamerefugees. Many were called “boat people”because they fled the country in boats.Twenty years later, some boat people werestill living in refugee camps far from home.

In 1975 North Vietnam’s army reunitedVietnam and imposed a Communist gov-ernment on the south. Faced with a failingeconomy, Vietnam’s leaders began to allowprivately owned businesses in the late1980s. In 1995 Vietnam improved its rela-tions and trade with the United States.

Explain Why did the U.S.decide to help the French in Vietnam?

Fighting between Communist forces in thenorth and U.S.-led forces in the south led toa division of Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s.1. How far apart were the two Vietnamese

capitols?2. At what latitude was the Demilitarized

Zone located?

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:40 AM Page 849

Africa Becomes Independent Most African colonies gained independ-

ence in the 1950s and 1960s.

Reading Focus What do you do if you think you are

not being treated fairly? Do you speak out? Read on to

learn how Africans sought better treatment and inde-

pendence from European rulers.

Black Africans fought in World War Iwith British and French forces. Many hopedthey would be rewarded with independ-ence. Instead, Britain and France furtherincreased the size of their empires.

After the war, Africans became morepolitically active and staged protests.European governments responded withforce and arrests. But they also began tomake reforms. Africans, however, were nothappy with these halfway steps. Theywanted independence.

Nationalism was strong amongEuropean-educated Africans. Most of themworked in colonial government and busi-nesses. They saw the striking gap betweenthe way Europeans supported democracy athome yet denied it to colonial peoples over-seas. From this group came the leaders whoconvinced Africans to demand their free-dom. However, most of Africa wouldnot gain independence until the 1960s.

New Arab States in North AfricaAfrican movements for freedom hadtheir first success in North Africa. AfterWorld War II, Egyptian nationalists setout to end British influence in Egypt. In1952 Egypt’s king, whom the Britishsupported, was overthrown. Britishtroops left Egypt, although Britain keptcontrol of the Suez Canal until 1956.

Egypt’s neighbor, Libya, won itsfreedom in 1951. The discovery of oilin 1959 made Libya’s leaders very

wealthy. The people of Libya, however,remained poor. In 1969 a military officernamed Muammar al-Qaddhafi overthrewLibya’s king and set up a socialist govern-ment. Its goal was to spread Libya’s oil rev-enue more equally among the people.

France began letting go of its NorthAfrican empire in 1956. At this time, theFrench gave full independence to Moroccoand Tunisia. Because many French peoplelived in Algeria, France decided to keepcontrol there. Algerian Arabs, however,fought back to free their homeland. Algeriafinally won independence in 1962.

Africa South of the Sahara Freedom alsocame to African colonies south of theSahara. Kwame Nkrumah (KWAHM • ehehn • KROO • muh) led a nationalist move-ment in Britain’s colony of the Gold Coastin West Africa. In 1950 Nkrumah led work-ers in a strike that put pressure on Britishofficials. The British jailed Nkrumah butsoon freed him as protests continued. In1957 the Gold Coast, now renamed Ghana,became independent under Nkrumah.

Nigeria, Britain’s largest African colony,won its freedom in 1960. Other Britishcolonies in Africa followed. After a violentuprising in the 1950s, Kenya became inde-

pendent in 1963 underthe leadership of JomoKenyatta. The newnations of Zambia andMalawi arose in centralAfrica during the mid-1960s. Another colony inthe region, Rhodesia,broke away from Britain.However, a small butpowerful group ofEuropeans remained incontrol. This grouprefused to allow the


Jomo Kenyatta

Bla

ck S

tar

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:41 AM Page 850

much larger black population to rule. Aftera long struggle, the African populationfinally won control. In 1980 Rhodesiabecame the independent nation ofZimbabwe.

France wanted to avoid conflicts in itscolonies south of the Sahara. In 1958 theFrench gave their colonies a choice. Theycould have limited self-rule with Frenchaid, or they could become totally independ-ent with no help from France.

Guinea’s nationalist leader, AhmedSékou Touré (ah • MEHD SEH • koo TOO •ray), chose full independence. France with-drew its officials from Guinea and vowednot to help the new nation. Then Guineaaccepted aid from the Soviet Union. Francedid not want its other African colonies to

follow this same path, so it gave them bothfull independence and aid.

In the Belgian Congo, nationalist leadersdemanded independence during the 1950s.Belgium reacted by arresting the leaders. Asriots mounted, the Belgians finally gave theCongo its freedom in 1960. Ten years later,the country was renamed Zaire. Today it isknown as the Democratic Republic ofCongo.

Portugal ruled its colonies of Angola andMozambique with an iron hand. During the1960s, rebels attacked the Portuguese, butPortuguese troops kept the rebels in checkuntil the 1970s. Then a revolution inPortugal unseated that country’s dictator.Portugal’s new democratic governmentfreed Angola and Mozambique in 1975.


Ghana, led by Kwame Nkrumah, shown here speaking, was the first former British colony to gain independence in Africa. What was Britain’s largest African colony and when did it gain freedom?

Bettmann/CORBIS

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:41 AM Page 851

Some African leaders believed in Pan-Africanism—the unity of all black Africans.In 1963 thirty-two African states founded theOrganization of African Unity (OAU). TheOAU was the first step toward joining all thenew countries in a broader community.Today, the OAU has been replaced by aneven more closely united organizationknown as the African Union (AU).

Apartheid in South Africa Previously, youlearned that Boer and British territoriesunited in 1910 to form South Africa. Most ofSouth Africa’s people were black Africans,but the smaller European population ran thegovernment. Black South Africans foundedthe African National Congress (ANC) in 1912in hopes of gaining power.

In the 1940s, white South Africansstrengthened their rule through a systemknown as apartheid, or “apartness.”

Apartheid (uh • PAHR • TAYT) was carried outthrough laws that separated racial and ethnicgroups and limited the rights of blacks. Forexample, black South Africans had to live inseparate areas called “homelands.” People ofnon-European background were not evenallowed to vote. Blacks protested the laws,and the white government responded bycracking down on the protesters.

In 1960 police opened fire on a peacefulmarch in the town of Sharpeville. They killed69 people. Two thirds of them were shot inthe back while running away. In 1962 policearrested Nelson Mandela, the leader of theANC. The arrest did not end the protestsagainst apartheid, but it would be nearly 30years before South Africa abolished theapartheid system.

Explain Why did Franceeventually give its African colonies aid and independence?

Reading SummaryReview the • India gained independence from

Britain, struggled to modernize,then began building a free enter-prise economy.

• Nationalist movements led manySoutheast Asian colonies to inde-pendence. Communist and demo-cratic nations fought to influenceand control these new nations.

• Nationalist movements devel-oped in Africa in the 1950s and1960s. Many African coloniessoon gained independence.

1. What was the Gulf of TonkinResolution, and why was itimportant?

2. What was the INC, and whatrole did the INC play in India’sindependence movement?


Draw a time line like the oneshown. Fill in events related tothe war in Vietnam.

4. Contrast What were the differences between the independence movements in Algeria and Kenya?

5. Cause and Effect What wasthe result of Nehru’s Five-YearPlans?

6. Identify Which groups werefighting for control ofIndonesia after World War II?

7. Creative Writing Supposeyou are the leader of a newlyindependent nation. Write fivegoals for your country andexplain how the country willwork toward those goals.

What Did You Learn?



North Vietnamdefeats

South Vietnam, 1975

Japanese leaveVietnam, 1945

842-852 C21 S5-868873 9/10/04 3:42 AM Page 852


The Allies Win the War

The Cold War

World War II Begins

The Rise of Dictators

Section

Section

Section

Section

Vocabularyinflation depression totalitarian state collectivization

Vocabularyappeasement

Vocabularygenocide D-Day

Vocabularycontainment Truman Doctrine Marshall Plan racial segregation

Focusing on the• New economic problems led to the Great Depression. (page 805)

• The Great Depression encouraged the rise of European dictators. (page 808)

• After Lenin’s death, Stalin established a brutal regime in the USSR. (page 810)

• Economic problems led to militarism in Japan. (page 811)

Focusing on the• Other European nations stood by as Germany expanded its territory. (page 814)

• World War II began when the French and British declared war on Germany inSeptember 1939. (page 815)

Focusing on the• The Allies fought for four long years in Europe and in the Pacific. (page 825)

• The Nazis murdered millions of people in an attempt to destroy Jews and otherEuropean ethnic groups. (page 827)

• The successful invasion on D-Day was the beginning of the end of World War II. (page 828)

Focusing on the• Soviet efforts to spread communism led to conflict with the United States, which

wanted to contain communism. (page 832)

• The Cold War spread to Asia after China’s communist revolution and the outbreakof the Korean War. (page 837)

• People in the postwar world experienced prosperity, change, and conflict. (page 839)


The End of EmpireSection

Vocabularycivil disobedience Pan-Africanism apartheid

Focusing on the• Led by Gandhi, India gained independence from Britain. (page 843)

• Nationalist movements led to independence for many Southeast Asian nations.(page 846)

• Most African colonies gained independence in the 1950s and 1960s. (page 850)

853-855 Ch21 CRA-868873 9/10/04 3:46 AM Page 853

Discussion Questions

17. Read the excerpt below from page 809. Write five questions that youcould ask about this topic to launch a discussion.

Once in power, Hitler did away with all political partiesexcept the Nazis. He had books about democracy burned. Hetook over the courts and set up a secret police. He took overradio and newspapers and broke up unions.

To review this skill, see pages 802–803.

Section 2 • World War II Begins9. Why did European nations stand by as

Germany expanded its territory? 10. When did World War II begin?

Section 3 • The Allies Win the War11. Why did the Nazis murder millions of

people unconnected to their war with theAllies?

12. Which event is considered the beginning of the end of World War II?

Section 4 • The Cold War13. Which two nations most shaped the

postwar world? 14. Which nation became the chief American

ally in Asia?

Section 5 • The End of Empire15. What led to independence for many

Southeast Asian countries? 16. During which decades did most African

colonies gain independence?

Review VocabularyWrite True for each true statement. Replace theword in italics to make false statements true.___ 1. Printing extra German money added

to depression and caused prices to rise.___ 2. Britain’s appeasement policy led them

to accept Germany’s demands.___ 3. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against

Pan-Africanism.___ 4. The Nazis began a program of apartheid

during World War II.___ 5. Ghandi used civil disobedience to protest

British rule.___ 6. Containment means that a government

takes over farmland.

Review Main IdeasSection 1 • The Rise of Dictators

7. How did the Great Depression encouragethe rise of European dictators?

8. What happened in the USSR after Lenin’sdeath?


853-855 Ch21 CRA-868873 9/10/04 3:47 AM Page 854

Critical Thinking18. Identify What is fascism and where

did it originate? 19. Analyze Why do you think Hitler

invaded Poland even though Britain hadpromised to support Poland?

20. Explain What was gained by U.S. involve-ment in the Korean War?

Geography SkillsStudy the map below and answer the follow-ing questions.21. Place Which nations had army head-

quarters in Berlin after World War II? 22. Location Which river ran through both

East and West Berlin? 23. Movement Which nation controlled the

largest area in Berlin?

Read to Write24. Creative Writing Suppose you are living

in West Berlin when the Wall is built andyou can no longer even see your friendsand family members in East Berlin. Writefour diary entries explaining how the Wallis affecting your everyday life.

25. Using Your Have students use posterboard to expand the dates and

events on their foldables into an illustratedtime line. Students should use sketches andimages from magazines or the Internet witheach entry on the time line.

Using Technology26. Internet Research Use the Internet and

your local library to research the Holocaustand another, more recent, genocide in theAfrican nation Rwanda. How are the twotragedies similar? How are they different?Discuss both genocides as a class and pos-sible ways to prevent future genocides.

Linking Past and Present27. Analyzing Is containment an important

issue in U.S. foreign policy today? Explainyour reasoning.

Self-Check Quiz To help you prepare for the Chapter Test, visit jat.glencoe.com

AnalyzeAnalyzeA journalist with the Vietcong near Hanoirecorded the events of December 10, 1965.“Then the sun goes down and everythingstarts to move.

. . . The engines are started and the convoysgrind away through the darkness behind thepinpoints of masked headlamps. There aremiles of them, heavy Russian-built trucks,anti-aircraft batteries, all deeply buriedunder piles of branches and leaves; proces-sions of huge green haystacks. NorthVietnam by day is abandoned; by night itthuds and grinds with movement.”

—James Cameron, “The Vietnam War:A Reporter with the Vietcong,

near Hanoi, 10 December 1965”

28. When does all the movement of Vietcongsupplies and machines take place?

29. What does “processions of huge greenhaystacks” refer to?


N

S

W E


10 mi.0

FRENCH

BRITISH

AMERICAN

SOVIET

EAST GERMANY

FrenchHQ

BritishHQ

American HQ

SovietHQ

SpreeR

.

Berlin 1945–19491945–1949

Berlin WallArmy HQ 1945–1949Main roads

KEY

853-855 Ch21 CRA-868873 9/10/04 3:47 AM Page 855


chapter 21: world war ii and the cold war - clover school

Documents