World War II1939-1941

The War So Far• Hitler (leader of Germany and the Nazi party)

wanted to – Secure “living space” for all Germans (well, all Aryan

Germans that fit their standards)– Bring all ethnic Germans back within Germany’s lands– Wipe out any Jewish people (and Slavic and Gypsies

and homosexuals and disabled people and political dissidents, etc) on the way

• Remember, Germany had invaded Poland in 1939• Britain and France declared war on Germany in

response

France

• Hitler wanted to take down France, but concentrated on Belgium and Holland first because of France’s Maginot line

• Maginot line: series of obstacles and concrete fortifications lining the border between France and Germany (another set between France and Italy was known as the Alpine line)

• So, Hitler’s solution: Go around.• By June of 1940, Hitler had taken down France and

took over the government

Blitzkrieg and the Battle of Britain• Blitzkrieg= lightning war• Germany air force (Luftwaffe)’s goal was to conquer the

British air force so that they could invade and defeat Britain

• Battle of Britain: June, 1940• Britain had an advantage because most of the fighting

was over British land/water and the downed pilots could be returned to their units easily and some planes repaired…not so for the Germans

• Battle of attrition for Germany: just batter Britain until they gave up…except it didn’t work and Germany gave up to focus its attention on the Soviets

Italy• Was led by Benito Mussolini• Wasn’t ready to enter the war right away, even

though they had an alliance with Germany• Successfully invaded Albania in 1939 (shumё

keq!)• Helped out with France and controlled a little

bit of the territory on the Italian side• Had some unsuccessful campaigns against

Egypt and Greece early in the war

The Soviets and Operation Barbarossa• June 22, 1941: Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest

German military operation of the war– Hitler had always seen the non-aggression pact as temporary and it

lasted just 2 years– Hitler was opposed to Communism (Stalin!) and the many Soviet Jews– 3 million German troops and 650,000 troops of Germany’s allies invaded

while the Einsatzgruppen came in behind to wipe out villages of Jews, Communists, and others that seemed to be a threat

– Hitler started his “Final Solution” with these Soviet Jews• The German attack came as some surprise and much of the Soviet

air force was wiped out… the Soviet army also struggled initially.• Two things to remember when trying to fight Russia/Soviet Union:

– There are lots and lots and lots of people– It’s cold up there…

The Soviets and Operation Barbarossa• The first 6 weeks went really well for Germany, but the Soviets didn’t

fall as fast as the Germans thought they would– Germany reached Moscow in early December… Moscow was the capital and

was heavily guarded by the Soviets and strongly desired by the Germans– However, Germany began running out of food for its soldiers…

• and it went faster than the supplies could keep up with… • and many roads they thought they could take ended up being dirt (which became mud

in the fall which made tanks get stuck)…• and it was REALLY cold (which is bad for bodies AND weapons, which froze)

– They had to wait out the winter before they could launch another attack, and it really hurt Germany (same situation as Valley Forge, but the American troops emerged stronger—why?)

• Also, Germany declared war on America in December of 1941• In the end (after 4 years), both armies were pretty messed up… 4.3

million German soldiers dead and 7 million Soviet soldiers dead (up to 20 million civilians killed)

FDR and the Lend-Lease Act

• FDR agreed to lend Britain (and allies) supplies and money

• His reasoning was if your neighbor’s house is on fire, you would lend him your hose…so your house didn’t catch on fire, too

• America was clearly on the side of the Allied powers (France and England), not the Axis (Germany and allies)

Pearl Harbor• December 7, 1941: Japan launched a surprise attack on the US navy at Pearl Harbor

– 5 battleships were sunk, 16 battleships were damaged, and 188 aircraft were destroyed– 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,178 were injured. The Japanese lost about 100 men

• Why?– Japan was on a quest for natural resources (to industrialize)– The US navy and its holdings in Southeast Asia blocked Japan from taking over all of Asia and its

resources– In response to Japanese aggression, the US started punishing Japan economically by blocking trade

(embargo) • The attack on Pearl Harbor would allow the Japanese to take control of SE Asia while

America was left recovering…and hopefully leave America in a place where they would try for peace

• Japan didn’t realize that they were messing with AMERICA (did none of them listen to patriotic country music?) and its boats (did they not my US History class?!)

• Effect:– US rallied together and declared war on Japan… and, in the end, the entire Axis– http://www.history.com/audio/fdr-asks-congress-to-declare-war-on-japan#fdr-asks-congress-to-declare-war-on-japan (start at :45…7:10)

– Conspiracy theory: FDR wanted to go to war all along…did he know about the attack beforehand? Maybe? Or was even happy that it happened? • Probably not (if FDR planned it, you would think the US would have been more prepared for war in general),

but people like to still study this!

• Japan DID cripple the American navy- they won every major battle in the Pacific until 1942

Internment• Executive Order 9066

– FDR issued this after the attacks on Pearl Harbor– Allowed the military to ignore the rights of American citizens in the name of

national defense– The reasoning was that people with links to Japan could be leaking information

to and from Japan or could face persecution from American citizens• Results

– 120,000 Japanese-Americans or Japanese permanent residents living on the West Coast were forced to move into internment/relocation camps for up to 4 years

– FDR called them “concentration camps”– Half of the people moved into these camps were children– You could qualify for these camps even if you were the grandchild of a Japanese

immigrant and didn’t speak Japanese– Those interned lost homes and businesses; estimates of lost worth reach up to

$5 billion– Some died in the camps due to poor medical care

Criticisms and Reparations• The Supreme Court upheld the Executive Order• No proof was ever found of Japanese-Americans spying for

Japan• Reparations:– Civil Liberties Act of 1988 aka “the Japanese American Redress Bill”

was passed– Admitted that the government messed up– Each victim of internment got $20,000

• Long-term effects– After leaving the camps, many families had to completely start over– Heart disease and premature death are 2 times more likely in

interned Japanese-Americans compared to non-interned Japanese-Americans

The Sides at the End of 1941

Allied Powers Axis Powers

England Germany

France (Defeated) Japan

US Italy

Soviet Union