Warsaw, Poland

Poland Casualties Population in 1939-

34,849,000 Military Casualties-

240,000 Civilian Deaths-

2,380,000 to 2,580,000 Jewish Holocaust

Deaths- 3,000,000 Total Number Dead-

5,620,000 to 5,820,000 % of Population of

Poland Killed- 16.1-16.7%

WORLD WAR II

Hitler’s Officers

Night of the Long Knives- Hitler systematically eliminates political opponents- Including Edward Roehm- leader of SA

Nazi Leadership: Hermann Goering

Second in command Commander of the Luftwaffe

Joseph Goebbels Propaganda Minister

Heinrich Himmler Head of the SS

Herman Goering

Heinrich Himmler Joseph Goebbels

Nazi Hierarchy: Hitler, Goering, Goebbels, Hess

France v. Germany After Poland, the British and French wait

for 1 year May 1940- Germany invades France Germany was the ultimate offense, France was the ultimate defense-

Maginot Line A complex system of bunkers, pillboxes and

artillery positions Had underground hospitals, generators,

railroads and housing units Goal: No one will break through our line

The Maginot Line…fails Problem: only one

part of a wall Germans went around

it- attacked from the rear Went through the

Arden Forest- the French didn’t think the army could go through it

France falls in 6 weeks

Affects of the fall of France France’s surrender

shocks the world- only country left is Britain

U.S does not want to get involved in the War- Public wants isolationism

U.S passes the Selective Service Act- started a peacetime draft- 1st in history

The Battle of Britain July-October 1940-

Battle of Britain begins Britain fights alone for

its own sovereignty Churchill needed a

morale booster- Bomb Berlin Hitler was furious- told

the Luftwaffe (Air Force) to hit civilian targets

This pulls planes from military targets and allows the British Air Force (RAF) to recover

Meanwhile…In America Boogie Woogie

Bugle Boy Neutrality Acts (1935)-

Designed to keep the U.S out of war

1. Outlawed U.S companies to sell only war goods to belligerent countries

2. Forbade American citizens from traveling on belligerent countries ships- not another Lusitania incident

Meanwhile…In America Lend Lease Act-

Spring 1941 Program to lease or

loan military goods- not selling

Goal: keep the British Afloat

37,000 Tanks 43,000 Aircraft 1.8 Million Rifles

Germany Invades Russia June 22, 1941- Germany invades with 4

million men Operation Barbarossa- Obtain the oil fields

in Georgia, Crimea and the Middle East 3 Pronged Attack

Leningrad Moscow Stalingrad

Mother Russia Fights Back November 1941-

Leningrad about to give up and the Germans 20 miles outside of Moscow

The Germany army freezes- equipment, tanks, guns are useless- 100,000 Germans get frostbite

December 5th- (-40 degrees)- German army halts

December 6th- Russia begins its counterattack

Germany Invades Russia

U.S Enters the War Japan and the U.S

were on shaky relations 1932- Japan invades

China and Manchuria- U.S condemns their action

1940- Japan begins to plot against the U.S

Admiral Yamamoto- In charge of the attack on America

Pearl Harbor Strategy Pearl Harbor was

meant to be a knock out blow to the U.S- take out the navy=knock out

Belief was if the U.S was attacked they would have to choose which front to fight on- if their navy is destroyed they would choose Europe

M.A.G.I.C MAGIC- process for

deciphering Germany codes

Nov 1941- U.S military uses magic to discover:

1. Japan’s fleet has left the islands

2. Japan would use a false weather report given to diplomats to tell them who they would invade

East Wind Rain given- Attack on the U.S

Pearl Harbor Military thought Japan

would attack the Philippines Attack was a complete

surprise 160 planes and 4

battleships were destroyed, 4 more battleships were damaged

None of the 3 aircraft Carriers the U.S had in the Pacific were sunk-not in Hawaii

Attack on Pearl Harbor

Preparing for War America had to enter into

Total War- when every aspect of society is geared towards the war effort Example: Ford made tanks Things were rationed

Total war fosters the idea of common sacrifice- gave them a sense of ownership- “We are all in this together”

Results of the Home Front Productivity grew

enormously- changed society more than any other event in U.S History

Women joined the military and the workforce- ½ of workforce in aircraft industry were women

1 million soldiers before the war- 16 million after

8 million unemployment before the war- 1 million afterward

Results of the Home Front Cont.

Before the war- a ship was built every 27 days After- every 10.3 hours

Frozen food started selling

Penicillin and antibiotics came out of WWII

Income tax broadened

America starts the war…where?!?!?

The allies first counter-attack- North Africa Operation Torch (Nov 8th)- Invasion of

Morocco May 1943- Germans and Italians surrender

Africa January 1944- Allies land in Italy- thought it

would be the “soft underbelly of Europe Took 6 weeks to get off the beaches!!!

Tehran Conference Stalin, FDR and

Churchill meet in Tehran, Iran on Nov, 1943

Agreed on the opening of a second front in France the Following May

Stand was enraged that it would take that long- didn’t trust his allies

Operation Overlord D-Day (June 6th, 1944)-

The Allies invade the Normandy coast of France The largest amphibious landing in

world history Problem: The French coast

is heavily guarded and a tank division is patrolling the border

Allies need to distract the Germans- Operation Fortitude

Operation Fortitude Allies try to trick the Germans into

thinking they would land somewhere else Eisenhower put the 1st U.S Army group at

Dover and put General Patton in charge Built false buildings, used false radio

communications and built plywood boats Dropped 3 times as many bombs at Calais

than Normandy It worked

D-Day 5 beaches the Allies

landed on- The U.S landed on Utah and Omaha The bloodiest defense was

at Omaha After 2 weeks, 1 millions

troops landed on the beaches

Once the allies broke out into open territory, the allies begin to push heavily into Germany territory

Battle of the Bulge Fall 1944- Belgium and France

are taken by the allies Hitler devises a surprise attack

to reverse the course of the war- happens December 16

Battle of the Bulge- surprise attack on the American forces in Belgium No radio silence- British didn’t

know Obliterated 2 American Division-

drove 60 miles into the allied lines

Bastogne 101st Airborne

division surrounded by Germans

Bastogne was a hub for 5 major roads

General McAuliffe- Officer in charge of the defense Held the Germans

for a week and a half

Battle of the Bulge

Took 6 weeks to push the Germans back

The last dying gasp of the German army

V-E Day

April 30th, 1945- Ava Bron takes poison 1 day after marrying Hitler- Hitler kills himself

War is over May 7, 1945- Eisenhower refused to accept Germany’s unconditional surrender

FDR dies in April 1945- Truman takes over

All focus shifts to the Pacific