World War II

Unit 10

Causes

•Economic depression•Rise of totalitarian governments•Hitler of Germany•Mussolini in Italy

Hitler• Blamed Jews, former

German republic, and Germany’s enemies in WWI for nation’s problems

• Became known as “Fuhrer” (leader of Germany)

• New govt. became “Third Reich” (3rd Rome)

• Supported Mussolini when he invaded Ethiopia in 1935

Hitler’s Aggression•Hitler moved troops into Rhineland (violated

Treaty of Versailles)•Hitler annexed Austria•Hitler captures Sudetenland to unite Germans•Treaty of “appeasement” by giving

aggressors what they want, it should stop their aggressive behavior

•This was Britain and France’s reaction to Germany’s behavior

•Winston Churchill opposed this approach

Hitler’s Aggression

Rhineland andSudetenland

Japan

•Did not have access to many natural resources due to its size

•Invaded Manchuria•League of Nations demanded they leave

China•Japan left the League of Nations instead•Began trying to seize rest of China as well

and captured major cities along coast•Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan

Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo (Axis Powers)

US Reactions

•The US tried to stay out of WWII by passing the Neutrality Act in 1935.

•FDR grew increasingly concerned with the Axis powers behavior.

•FDR also had to deal with racial tension in the US armed forces. Whites and Blacks both served in the armed forces, but in segregated units.

•Blacks were often cooks, janitors, and performed menial tasks.

A. Philip Randolph• Randolph proposed a

march on Washington, DC to protest racial discrimination in the military.

• Roosevelt responded by supporting the Fair Employment Act, which prohibited discrimination in the national defense industry.

• This convinced Randolph and his colleagues to cancel their march.

Major Events

•Sept. 1, 1939 Hitler launches WWII•Invaded Poland because it was between

Germany and Soviet Union (wanted to expand his empire)

•Signed “non-aggression pact” with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (agreed not to attack each other) so he could focus on defeating the French first

Major Events

•Poland fell to Nazis in less than a month, Soviets took remaining territory

•Great Britain and France declare war on Germany to defend Poland

•Germany conquers Denmark and Norway April 1940, Belgium, Netherlands, France less than month later

Fall of France/Battle of Britain

•France signs armistice with Germany agreeing to occupation of Northern France

•Britain now stands alone against Germany•Battle of Britain July-Oct 1940•Blitzkrieg (lightening war) part of Hitler’s

strategy to almost nightly bomb British airfields and cities

•Residents of London took cover in subways only to wake up to more destruction

Winston Churchill

•Inspired his people withnationalism and hope•Britain’s mighty Royal AirForce was able to resistGermany’s assault•Was first German failure ofWWII

US Enters the War•Roosevelt knew it was inevitable that the

U.S. would enter WWII.•Roosevelt and Congress passed the Lend-

Lease Act in March 1941.•The president could send aid to any nation

whose defense was considered vital to the United States’ national security.

• In return, foreign countries would not have to repay the loan until after the conflict was over.

Pearl Harbor• While Germany continued to take control of much of Europe,

the U.S. continued to keep a close eye on Japan.• Japan set its eyes on the rich resources in parts of the

Pacific, but they had to deal with the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

• Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto knew that his country wanted to expand, so he devised a plan for a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

• US intelligence knew there was a plan for attack, they just didn’t know where

• December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes began the first wave of bombings on the Pacific Fleet.

• “A date which will live in infamy!” Pres. Roosevelt• December 8, 1941 U.S. declared war on Japan

Internment of Japanese, German and Italian Americans•Suspicion and fear among U.S. citizens that

Japanese, German, and Italian Americans would support the Axis powers, resulted in thousands relocated to internment camps

•German and Italian immigrants were unjustly treated, but not to the extent of Japanese Americans.

•Many lost everything and were U.S citizens who had lived in the U.S. for many generations

Response to Internment Camps

•Supreme Court ruled that internment camps were lawful and justified due to “the military urgency of the situation”.

•In 1983, the U.S. government formally recognized the injustice that had been done

War in Europe

June 6, 1944: D-Day Invasion of Normandy, France

• Hitler attacked Soviet Union• U.S., Great Britain, and Soviet

Union were now Allied Powers

• Yalta Conference Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met to discuss options for invading Europe

• Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed to serve as supreme allied commander in charge of Operation Overlord

• This involved hundreds of thousands of troops and called for the largest amphibious invasion (by sea) in military history.

D-Day Cont.• Allies suffered heavy

losses• Took less than a week to

get 500,000 troops ashore.

• On August 25, 1944, the Allies fought their way into Paris, liberating the city from four years of German occupation.

• After the Battle of the Bulge, allied powers focused their attention on pushing Germany back into Berlin (the capital).

Fall of Berlin• Spring of 1945, Berlin fell before the

advancing Soviet army.• Hitler committed suicide April 30, 1945

rather than being captured.• FDR died before seeing Germany surrender. • V-E Day (Victory in Europe) occurred May 8,

1945.• Potsdam Conference: three leaders (now

with Truman) met to discuss division and treatment of Germany and how to deal with Japan

The Holocaust• The invasion of Europe by the Allies brought an end

to the war; but also exposed the horrible atrocities committed by the Nazis against people they labeled as socially inferior and unfit to live.

• Hitler had been successful at portraying Jews as the main reason for Germany’s problems.

• This hatred and discrimination eventually led to what Hitler called the “Final Solution”.

• The Nazis set out to exterminate the Jewish race through mass genocide.

• Jews were rounded up and placed into concentration camps.

War in the Pacific

•Within hours of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan also attacked the Philippines, destroying nearly half of the US airplanes stationed there.

•More than 75,000 US soldiers and Filipinos became prisoners of war.

•Forced to walk 60 miles to trains waiting to carry them to war camps, many died from injuries, sickness, and harsh treatment along the way.

•This was known as the Bataan Death March.

War in the Pacific Cont.• The Battle of Midway in June 1942 was a

turning point in the war. Japan failed to detect where enemy aircraft carriers were and US planes were able to attack.

• Boosted the morale of U.S. and enabled them to go on the offense with Japan

• U.S. began process of island hopping as it made its way to Japan

• Japanese used kamikaze pilots (intentionally crashed into U.S. ships) to try and avoid defeat

• Key battles were won at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa by the Allies

The Atomic Bomb• The Manhattan Project was

used to create the atomic bomb.• J. Robert Oppenheimer headed

the project in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

• On August 6, 1945, a specially equipped B29 bomber called the Enola Gay, dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

• The blast leveled the city killing thousands.

• August 9, 1945 US dropped another bomb on Nagasaki.

• Japan finally surrendered on August 14, 1945 V-J Day ending WWII

Long-Term Effects of the Atomic Bomb

War at Home

Mobilization and Conservation

•After Pearl Harbor, five million men volunteered for military service but more were needed to fight a total war

•Selective Service System expanded the draft

•A Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps was formed to fill noncombat positions

•The whole American industry was dedicated to supplying the military

•Wartime conservation: carpooling to save gasoline and rubber, recycling drives

Government Action• The government realized that it needed to maintain

strong public support for the war.• The government paid artists to design patriotic

war posters (propaganda), and movie theaters began playing newsreels depicting the US war effort in a positive light.

• FDR established the War Production Board (WPB) which re-directed raw materials and resources from the production of consumer goods to those needed for the war effort.

• Resulted in economic boom, increased employment, and improved standard of living

Income Taxes and War Bonds•Number of people required to pay income

taxes greatly increased during the war years to help raise money

•To make sure taxes were collected, the government implemented the idea of “withholding income tax” (asking employers to withhold taxes).

•War bonds were the other primary means of raising funds for the war effort (citizens loaned money to government in return for interest)

Citizen Sacrifice on the Homefront

• People were also asked to sacrifice food.• Families would grow victory gardens to save

on food and send more to feed soldiers• Rationing was used for certain food items, fuel

resources, tires, and even silk (parachutes) to control the distribution of those resources

• People were placed on point systems, and once they used all their points, they could no longer buy certain items.

• This way the government forced the public to conserve items needed in the war effort.

Ration Tickets

“Rosie the Riveter”• Women became an

important part of the workforce.

• Women of all cultural and racial backgrounds took on jobs usually held by men.

• A popular song called Rosie the Riveter described a woman who worked in the factory as a riveter while her boyfriend served in the marines.

• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6628524