World War IIWorld War II

Introduction

LONG TERM CAUSES LEADING UP TO WORLD WAR II (WWII)

1. Treaty of Versailles• Germans were forced to:

0 pay reparations0 Redraw boundaries and reduce territory0 Reduce the size of their military

The Germans were upset with this treaty and the Weimar Republic for signing it because it made them look WEAK

2. Economic and Political Factors0 Great Depression hit Germany

hard0 High unemployment rates0 High inflation making German

money worthless0 Germans were afraid communists

would take over0 Hitler was seen as a defense

against this

3. Appeasement (giving in to someone’s demands)

• Americans passed Neutrality Acts to stay out of foreign affairs

• France and Britain appeased Hitler and his violation of the Treaty of Versailles

• Germany, Italy, and Japan united to form an alliance called the AXIS POWERS

0Hitler invaded Austria, the Sudetenland and eventually all of Czechoslovakia 0This territory was

known as the “Third Reich”

0Chamberlain appeased him to avoid another war, even though it violated the Treaty of Versailles

4. Hitler’s Leadership0 Challenged the Treaty of Versailles

0 Rebuilt German military0 Practiced territorial aggression to

claim back land0 Promoted extreme Nationalism

0 Encouraged Anti-Semitic Scapegoating

WWII BeginsWWII Begins

European Front

WORLD WAR II BEGINS0Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 0France and Britain promised that they

would defend Poland if this happened0As a result, WWII began in September of

1939

WAR BEGINS0Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 using a

tactic called “Blitzkrieg” meaning “lightning war”

0It was a very fast, forceful fighting tactic and Poland surrendered after one month

0After this, the war was called a “phony war” because there wasn’t much fighting until April 1940

0Germany began invading Denmark, Norway, and other surrounding countriesBefore attacking France and Britain

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JAPANESE INVOLVEMENT0 Japan wanted to expand their empire and become an

imperialist power0 Japan invaded Manchuria (part of China) because it had

many natural resources0 The League of Nations investigated this invasion, and

Japan withdrew their membership from the League

0 Japan allied with Germany0 Thought they would invade Soviet Union together0 When Germany signed Nazi-Soviet Pact, Japan instead

invaded the South Pacific0Led to the attack on Hawaii

ALLIANCES

0AXIS POWERS Germany, Italy, and Japan0ALLIED POWERS France, Great Britain,

Poland0The Soviet Union made a non-aggression

pact with Germany called Nazi-Soviet Pact promising neutrality between the two

countries

AXIS POWERS0Germany ~ Adolf Hitler

0Italy~ Benito Mussolini

0Japan~ Hideki Tojo

ALLIED POWERS0Great Britain0Neville Chamberlain until 19400Winston Churchill took over in 1940

0USA~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~ until 19450Harry S. Truman ~ End of the war

ChamberlainChurchill

FDR Truman

US INVOLVEMENT

0USA passed the Neutrality Acts in 1935, stating that we would not supply weapons to belligerent countries (countries at war) taking a position of isolationism

0 In 1941, the US passed the Lend-Lease Acts which allowed us to supply weapons to the Allied Powers without going to war0Kept us directly out of the war, but showed that we

supported Allies

US ROAD TO WAR0FDR and Churchill met in 1941 and wrote

the Atlantic Charter0Document stated their democratic goals

that both share0US also helped defend Britain against

German submarines0US was showing support for Britain in the

war

PEARL HARBOR0Dec. 7, 1941~ US naval base in Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by Japan 0Dec. 8, 1941~ Congress declared war on

Japan0Event caused the US to enter WWII as an

Allied Power

SIGNIFICANT BATTLES OF WWII

0 Invasion of Poland~ began WWII0Battle of Stalingrad~ allowed Soviets to hold

Germans back turning the tide of the war0Battle of El Alamein~ North African battle that

turned the tide of the war on the European Front in favor of the Allies by causing Italy to eventually surrender

0Bataan Death March~ united Philippines and US against Japanese when 10,000 people were killed

0Battle of Midway~ air battle that turned the tide of the war in favor of the Allies on the Pacific Front

0D-Day~ June 6, 1944~ led to the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany

END OF WAR IN EUROPE0V-E Day~ May 8, 19450Victory in Europe Day0Germany surrendered ending the war on

the European Front

ATTACK ON JAPAN0Japan refused to surrender in the war0US dropped two atomic bombs in August of

19450Hiroshima ~ 80,000 killed0Nagasaki~ 40,000 killed0Led to the surrender of Japan

WAR ENDS IN JAPAN

0V-J Day~ September 2, 19450Victory in Japan Day0 Japan surrendered and World War II was over

EFFECTS OF THE WAR

0Over 22 million military personnel died034 million wounded0Holocaust resulted in over 12 million

deaths, 6 million being Jews0Millions of dollars spent on the war0Territory destroyed