World War II
What was WWII Largest war in human history. Involved countries, colonies, and territories around the entire world. By the end, over 70 million were dead. It lasted from 1939 until 1945.
Causes W WI and the Treaty of Versailles Appeasement Rise of Totalitarianism
WWI and the Treaty of Versailles Germany lost land to surrounding nations War reparations Allies collect $ to pay back war debts to US Germany pays $57 trillion (modern day equivalent) Germans are bankrupt, embarrassed, guilt ridden, and angry. Desperate people turn to desperate leaders
Rise of Totalitarianism A system in which the state and its leader have nearly TOTAL control. Individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of the nation. No right to vote No free speech Government controlled economy Often a police state
Totalitarianism USSR: Communist Dictatorship Germany & Italy: Fascist Dictatorship Japan: Military Dictatorship
Japan s Expansion Need raw materials, foreign goods Military leaders take control of country 1931: invade/conquer Manchuria, Chinese province Japan withdraws from the League of Nations
The Japanese Invasion of China, 1937
Spanish Civil War In 1931, a republic is declared In 1936, General Francisco Franco leads rebellion Hitler & Mussolini help Franco & his fascists; no formal support from Allies for Republicans 1939: Franco wins civil war Franco becomes Spain s Fascist dictator Hitler used Spanish Civil War as a practice round
Pablo Picasso Guernica
What is Fascism Political belief that says the individual is less important than the nation. Glorifies violence, believes it is needed to prove strength of a people. Uses nationalism and racism. Dictatorships. Italy and then Germany became fascist.
Italy Fascism is new, militant political movement Emphasizes nationalism & loyalty Benito Mussolini is put in charge of govt. Italy invades Ethiopia Mussolini annexes Ethiopia: 1936 League of Nations does nothing
Youth serves the Fuhrer. All 10 year olds into the Hitler Youth!
Germany is free!
Enough! Vote Hitler!
Hitler is building. Help him. Buy German goods!
2 million dead. Did they die in vain? Never! Front soldiers! Adolf Hitler is showing you the way!
What did Hitler Want Militarism- soon after becoming chancellor he begins rearming Germany breaking the Treaty of Versailles Rhineland- moves troops into the Rhineland territory, breaking the Treaty of Versailles Lebensraum- living space Austria - annexed peacefully in 1938 Anschluss Sudetenland territory in Czechoslovakia Great Britain and France let Germany take it Hitler then invades the rest of Czechoslovakia On to Poland
Appeasement Giving someone something to make them happy and leave you alone. Hitler demanded land that wasn t Germany s and others just gave it to him. Nations were trying to prevent war it didn t work. (Isolationism) Appeasement just showed Hitler that he could do whatever he wanted. France & Britain meet with Hitler in Munich: The Munich Conference (1938) - Hitler says Sudetenland = last territorial demand - Britain & France agree to let him have it - Policy of Appeasement: granting concessions to maintain peace
How did WWII start? Sep 1 1939: Germany invades Poland - Sep 3: Britain & France declare war on Germany 1939: Non-Aggression Pact: Soviet Union & Germany - Agree not to go to war against each other - Secretly agree to divide Poland between them Germany then invades France, Belgium, etc.
Germans use blitzkrieg to overwhelm other armies. Blitzkrieg means lightening war in German. Surround with tanks and troops in trucks. Planes, tanks, infantry used to surprise enemy & quickly conquer
The Fall of France In 1940 Hitler captures Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, etc.. Soon, Germany army reaches French coast June 14 1940: Germans enter Paris & France surrenders
Vichy France: Free France Led resistance against Axis Powers Supported Allies
The Battle of Britain Britain is basically all alone! Winston Churchill = PM, vows no surrender Hitler plans air invasion of Britain 2 months: the Blitz (bombing) of London Luftwaffe (German Air Force) v. the Royal Air Force (RAF) British use RAF, radar, code-breaking to resist the Germans Hitler calls off attacks
The London Tube : Air Raid Shelters during the Blitz
Cooperation from Americans FDR = president U.S. wants to remain neutral & avoid war, but FDR wants to strengthen the Allies to resist Germany Lend-Lease Plan: lend war equipment to any country fighting Germany
US Lend - Lease Act Great Britain...$31 billion Soviet Union...$11 billion France...$3 billion China...$1.5 billion Other European...$500 million South America...$400 million The amount totaled: $48,601,365,000
Lend-Lease
Invasion of the Soviet Union (1941): Operation Barbarossa Hitler invades Balkan countries to invade Soviet Union Russians adopt a scorched-earth policy in response to German invasion toward Moscow Russian winter + Soviet counterattack = German retreat
Axis forces attack North Africa Mussolini attacks British in North Africa Erwin Rommel = German general in N. Africa The desert fox
Who was on each side Allied Powers Great Britain Soviet Union United States (1941) France Surrendered to Germany in 1940 after 6 weeks Axis Powers Germany Italy Japan
What about the Pacific War The US (mostly) fought the Japanese after 1941 Japan attacks European colonies, U.S. bases; Roosevelt cuts off oil shipments to Japan Japanese plan attack on U.S. fleet in Hawaii December 7, 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii : the Day of Infamy Two hours = most US naval ships destroyed and 2,000 sailors killed
President Roosevelt Signs the US Declaration of War
2,887 Americans Dead!
Japanese victories Japanese attack Philippine islands defended by U.S. Philippine islands fall to Japanese in 1942 Japan captures Hong Kong & Singapore, Dutch East Indies Japanese forces treat conquered peoples, POWS brutally
Bataan Death March: April, 1942 76,000 prisoners [12,000 Americans] Marched 60 miles in the blazing heat to POW camps in the Philippines.
The Allies strike back U.S. bombers attack Tokyo; shows that Japan is vulnerable The Battle of Midway U.S. destroys Japan s naval fleet MacArthur s Plan Douglas MacArthur: American army commander in Pacific Plans to island-hop past strongholds & attack weaker Japanese bases
The Home Front mobilizes for war 17-18 million workers (many women) make weapons, etc.. People at home ration Propaganda aims to inspire civilians to help the war effort
War limits civil rights Japanese Americans forced into internment camps on west coast
Turning Points War in the desert North Africa Hitler s Afrika Korps: Erwin Rommel: The Desert Fox Americans land in 1942 under General Eisenhower By 1943, the Allies defeat the Germans & control N. Africa
The Battle of Stalingrad (Winter 1942-1943) Germans want to capture the industrial city Neither Stalin nor Hitler allow their troops to retreat during the brutal battle By 1943, the Russians have broken the Nazi military machine & defeated the Germans German Army Russian Army 1,011,500 men 1,000,500 men 10,290 artillery guns 13,541 artillery guns 675 tanks 894 tanks 1,216 planes 1,115 planes
Invasion of Italy Allies plan to invade the weakest Axis Power Liberation of Italy: June 5 1944 Mussolini arrested & later hung Italians think war is over; Hitler sends in German troops By June 1944: Allies enter Rome; Germans keep fighting in N. Italy until the war is over
Mussolini & His Mistress, Claretta Petacci Are Hung in Milan, 1945
Operation Overlord - Allied invasion of France. Also called D-Day: June 6, 1944 Largest land-air-sea operation in history Allied troops cross the English Channel to Normandy, France Heavy German resistance, but invasion successful Within a month 1 million Allied troops were stationed in Europe. Germany is surrounded with the USSR to the east Allies quickly liberate Paris: August 25, 1944
The Battle of the Bulge (winter 1944-1945) Hitler s final effort Germany s last counterattack as the Allies close in on both sides Gain early success in breaking Allied lines, but forced to retreat
Victory in Europe By 1945, Allied armies approach Germany from 2 sides: Soviets from the East, Americans, etc from the west Soviets surround Berlin in April 1945 Hitler commits suicide with Eva Braun (Apr 30 1945) May 8, 1945, Germany officially surrenders: V-E Day Pres. Roosevelt dies: Harry S. Truman becomes president
The Führer s Bunker Mr. & Mrs. Hitler
Churchill, Roosevelt, Stalin Eden, Truman, Stalin
Victory over Japan Allies move to retake Philippines in 1944 Face kamikazes: Japanese pilots who fly suicide missions 1945: Americans capture Iwo Jima & Okinawa; Japan suffers huge casualties
US Marines on Mt. Surbachi, Iwo Jima [Feb. 19, 1945]
The Japanese surrender Advisors warn Truman that invasion of Japan will cost many lives Manhattan Project: secret program to develop the atomic bomb Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima: August 6, 1945 Japan hesitates to surrender Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki: August 9, 1945 Japanese formally surrender on September 2, 1945: V-J Day
Hiroshima: 70,000 killed immediately. 48,000 buildings. destroyed. 100,000s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later. Nagasaki: 40,000 killed immediately. 60,000 injured. 100,000s died of radiation poisoning & cancer later.
V-J Day in Times Square, NYC
Aftermath: Europe Allies divide Germany up between them. This helps start the Cold War. Nuremburg Trials are held in Germany to try the people responsible for the war. Many are executed and jailed for war crimes.
The Nuremberg War Trials: Crimes Against Humanity
Aftermath: Japan Occupied Japan MacArthur takes charge of U.S. occupation of Japan Japanese people adopt new constitution MacArthur puts economic reforms in place Emperor stays, but he loses power U.S. occupation ends in 1951; the U.S. & Japan become allies
Quick Facts War Costs US Debt 1940 - $9 Billion US Debt 1945 - $98 Billion WWII cost $330 billion 10 times the cost of WWI & equivalent to all previous federal spending since 1776
Losses of the Major Wartime Powers in WWII, 1939-1945 Germany 4.5 million military 2 million civilian Japan 2 million military 350,000 civilians Italy 400,000 military 100,000 civilian China 2.5 million military 7.4 million civilians USSR 10 million military 10 million civilians Great Britain 300,000 military 50,000 civilians France 250,000 military 350,000 civilian United States 274,000 military
The U.S. & the U.S.S.R. Emerged as the Two Superpowers of the later 20 c
The Creation of the U. N.
7 Future American Presidents Served in World War II