World War II

Goal 10

Nazis ( nat-zees)

Nazi Rise to Power

What do you know about the Treaty of Versailles?

Young radical named Adolf Hitler joins National Socialist Party (Nazi); tries revolution in early 1920s

– Arrested and jailed– Writes book called Mein Kampf; blames Jews &

Communists

Nazi Party gains more power after Great Depression hits the world in 1929-30

Natzees Continued

Hitler & Nazis gain control of German government LEGALLY in 1933– Set up “Third Reich” (fascism - nationalistic,

racist, dictatorship)– Nazis begin “educating” youth of Germany– Start eliminating political competition– Start persecuting Jews

Nuremburg laws Anti-Semitic Laws

Natzees take over…

Italy has fascist government under Benito Mussolini; begins to ally with Hitler

Japan gains power; invades Manchuria in 1931 & invades China in 1937

Hitler begins to break Treaty of Versailles– Begins troop buildup & military buildup– Sends troops into Rhineland in 1936 (French &

GB do nothing)

Continued…

Hitler takes control of Austria in 1938 Hitler threatens to take Sudetenland (NW

Czechoslovakia) Munich Conference (1938)

– British use policy of appeasement; agree to give Sudetenland in exchange for no further aggression

– Neville Chamberlin (British Prime Minister) “We’ve achieved peace in our time.”

Hitler takes rest of Czechoslovakia in Spring 1939

War!!!

Who vs. Who this time?

Axis Powers– Germany– Japan – Italy

Allies– England– France (before defeat)– U.S.– USSR– China

FDR, Churchill, Stalin

Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito

America: Pre-War Years, 1939-1941

Cash & Carry– Sept. 1939: allowed warring nations to buy US arms; must

pay cash & transport own goods

Tripartite Pact– Establishes the Axis Powers– Sept. 1940: Germany, Italy, Japan sign

Lend/Lease Act– 1941: British out of cash; US lends/leases goods– US also provides aide to Soviet Union

Pre War Continued

German U-Boats– U-boats attack US ships (1941)– Roosevelt orders Navy to fight back IF attacked

Japan attacks US– US cut off trade to Japan (including oil) to

persuade them to stop expansion in Pacific– Japan attacks Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941– US declares war on Japan; Italy & Germany

declare war on US

War at Home

5 Million Americans volunteered for military service

– 10 Million more drafted via Selective Service

US industry converts to complete war-time production

– War Production Board (WPB) regulates industries for war-time production

– Women join workforce (Rosie the Riveter)

Government sets up Office of Price Administration (OPA)

– Price freezes set up to regulate economy

– US citizens begin rationing materials; most for military use

– Propaganda used to convince citizens to help

Anti-Japanese

US discriminates against Japanese-Americans– Internment camps set up for Japanese-Americans

on West Coast– 110,000+ relocated from homes to concentration

camps– Most are native born– Korematsu v. United States, 1944 – Supreme

Court rules in favor of US gov’t

Fighting

Pacific– Japan continues expansion in Pacific while US is weak

(after Pearl Harbor)– Japan takes Philippines from US in early 1942

General Douglas McArthur vows “I shall return” Troops suffer Bataan Death March

Atlantic/Europe– US suffers many early attacks by German U-Boats– Stalin urges US & British to invade Europe in 1942– Instead US & British attack North Africa (Nov. 42)

Allies defeat Germans in N.Africa by May 1943– Attack next moves into Italian Peninsula in 1943

***Major Battles-Europe***

Stalingrad – Aug.1942-Feb.1943; Turning Point of WWII– Germans lose ¼ of their fighting force; bloodiest battle in history (1.5

million casualties)– Germans fight defensively in the East for the rest of the war

Normandy/D-Day – June 6, 1944; Massive allied invasion into France– Largest land/sea/air invasion in world history; leads to allied advances in

France– Known as Operation Overlord

Battle of the Bulge – Last German effort to stop Allied advance from West (Ardennes)– Dec.1944-Jan.1945; Failed effort left German forces in the West weak– US advances into Germany relatively unharmed

Major Battles-Pacific

Midway ***– June 4-7, 1942; Turning point of the war in the Pacific– Weakens Japanese navy; they fight defensively for rest of the war

Guadalcanal – Aug.1942-Feb.1943; First major land offensive against Japan– Leads to “Island Hopping”

Leyte Gulf– October 1944; Largest naval battle in modern history– Japanese begin using kamikaze pilots

Iwo Jima*** – Feb-Mar.1945; 22,000 Japanese killed (216 capture)– Fierce fighting; Japanese wouldn’t surrender

Okinawa – Mar-June 1945; last stop before mainland of Japan– Japanese continue to fight to the end (200,000 military & civilian casualties)– US plan invasion of Japan

D-Day: June 6, 1944

End of the War

FDR dies April 12, 1945, Truman takes over. Europe

– Soviets lay siege to Berlin in April 1945– Hitler and many top Nazi leaders commit suicide– Germans finally surrender on May 8, 1945

Pacific– Japanese refuse to surrender– Manhattan Project - US develops atomic bomb Dr. Robert

Oppenhiemer– US decided to use bombs on Japan, hoping to force surrender– Aug.6, 1945 US drops “Little Boy” on Hiroshima

Up to 145,000 killed– Aug.9, 1945 US drops “Fat Man” on Nagasaki

Up to 75,000 killed– Aug.15, Japan announces decision to surrender, officially doing so on Sept.

2, 1945

After Effects

Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)– United Nations created; tensions between Allies begin over post-War

Eastern Europe (democracy or communism) Potsdam Conference (July 1945)

– Germany divided into 4 occupation zones; leads to communist East Germany and democratic West Germany; where the US gave Japan ultimatum

Nuremburg Trials– High ranking Nazi officers put on trial for war crimes– Highest ranking officer (Goering) sentenced to death; commits suicide

before being executed Japan Rebuilt

– US rebuilds Japan, establishing a constitution/democratic gov’t Cold War

– Tensions between US & USSR continue until 1990 regarding spread of communism/democracy (Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, etc.)