WWII Dictators & their régimesMussolini – Italy – Fascism: 1919 Benito Mussolini founded Italy’s Fascist Party. Fascists believe that the nation is more important than the individual. They believed a nation needed a strong gov. led by a dictator & that a nation became great by expanding its territory + building its military. Fascism was strongly anti-communist. Backed by the Blackshirts (a militia), Mussolini took over Rome & became known as “Il Duce.”

Stalin – USSR – Communism: 1922 the scattered communist govs of Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, & they gained loyalty by ruthless suppression/punishment. Lenin died & Joseph Stalin became the new ruler of the USSR. He began a movement to industrialize the USSR (the five year plans) & any who opposed were eliminated, including 8-10 million peasants.

Hitler – Germany – Nazism (National Socialist German Workers’ Party): Many felt Germany was being punished by the Treaty of Versailles with economic & political chaos. The Nazi Party was strongly anti-communist + nationalistic. Nov. 1923 the Nazi Party tried to seize power in Munich, Germany. The plan failed & Hitler was arrested. He wrote a book denouncing the Jews as the cause of Germany’s woes. He also talked about a master race of Aryans. He became “fuhrer,” or supreme leader, in 1934, after being given dictatorial powers. Within a year he began to build rapidly industrialize + build Ger.’s military.

Militarists – Japan – Nationalist/Military: Limited economic growth & corrupt politics led the Japanese military to seize control & invade Manchuria without cause or permission. The Prime Minister tried to negotiate for peace & was assassinated. Japan still had a civilian government but they answered to the military & appointed military men as Prime Minister.

America’s Response to Hostilities in Europe - ISOLATIONISM• Isolationism- The belief that the US should avoid international conflict

and commitments that might drag the nation into another war. America was isolationist because:

1.Potential mass number of war casualties.2.Financial costs of a world war.3.Distance between Europe and America.

• The Nye Committee: gov. investigation that found that arms factories had made huge profits during the war & had, as a result, manipulated (pamphlets, propaganda, lobbying) the US into war.

• The America First Committee was a powerful isolationist group that firmly opposed any American intervention or aid to the Allied powers.

• Fearing the rise of aggression in Italy + Ger., Congress passed Neutrality Act of 1935 = made it illegal for he US to sell arms to any country at war. The Neutrality Act of 1937 added that warring countries had to buy nonmilitary supplies on a “cash and carry” policy, meaning that countries buying supplies had to pay cash (to avoid debt dependency) + had to transport the goods themselves. This was to prevent another Lusitania or Sussex sinking, like had been done in WWI.

WWII Moving from isolationism to increased involvement• 1937 Japan launched a full attack of China. FDR, an internationalist, or one who did want to

get involved in world affairs, claimed that since neither side had declared war, that the US could sell China weapons. FDR sold the Chinese weapons angered the Japanese; one of the precursors of the Pearl Harbor attack.

• FDR, realizing that only G.B. stood in the way of Hitler having complete control of Europe, & also having established a close relationship with Winston Churchill, wanted to get involved in the war effort. The Neutrality Laws still stood in his way, and there was opposition to American involvement.

• Atlantic Charter = FDR + Churchill drew this up in a secret meeting in which they discussed post-war aims & goals, and declared the self-determination of peoples & free trade would be the foundation of a world free of fascism.

• The Neutrality Act of 1939 – the US can sell arms to warring nations, but only on cash and carry basis.

• After FDR was re-elected, he passed a new bill called the Lend-Lease Act, which allowed the US to provide arms to “any country vital to the defense of the US.” This basically meant the US could send weapons to Britain, China, + the USSR, as long as they promised to return or pay rent for them after the war.

• FDR argued that the US, if not fully involved in the war, should at least be “the great arsenal of democracy” for the rest of the world.

Why Japan attacked Pearl Harbor• G.B. had many territories/bases in the Pacific, an area vulnerable to Japanese attacks. • FDR sought to discourage (& weaken) the Japanese from attacking British territories/bases

by putting economic pressures on Japan. • To the US’s advantage, Japan depended on the US for 80% of key war materials such as

steel, iron, fuel, & especially oil. • July 1940 Congress passed the Export Control Act, giving the President the ability to restrict

the export & sale of strategic materials. He immediately blocked the sale of fuel + scrap iron to Japan. (80% of Japans oil came from the US). This infuriated the Japanese who signed an alliance with Germany & Italy.

• In 1941 FDR began sending lend-lease arms to China, this was supposed to aid the Chinese in defeating or at least holding Japan. This also angered the Japanese.

• Early Sunday morning on December 7, 1941 the Japanese launched a massive attack on the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor. 21 ships were damaged or destroyed, 188 airplanes were destroyed, and 2403 Americans were killed by the next morning Congress had declared war on Japan.

• On December 11th Germany & Italy declared war on the U.S.

America’s (Allied) War Strategy OverviewThe North African Campaign

–In order to control key Mediterranean ports and gain access to the Suez Canal, Germany & Italy invaded North Africa. –America (with French and British help), therefore, had to drive the Italians/Germans out of North Africa, work their way up to Italy, remove Mussolini, & start working their way inland.

The Pacific Campaign–The Japanese controlled all naval bases and islands in the Pacific (except Australia , New Guinea, + a select few others that were still British-owned); the Japanese navy controlled all waters near Japan, so any attack on Japan was extremely difficult; any meaningful attack of Japan was impossible. –America, therefore, had to begin at Australia &, one island at a time, take over Japanese held territory, get within closer distance to Japan, mobilize the American navy along with it, & get close enough to launch an all out attack on Tokyo, the capital of Japan. This strategy becomes known as island-hopping. –At the same time, America initially had to ensure that their supply lines (American transportation to Australia + New Guinea) remained intact, or the entire island hopping strategy would not work.

The European Campaign–This is the last campaign initiated. The Russians attack Nazi dominated Europe from the East, Allied Forces invade Italy & remove the Fascists, moving their way inland towards Germany, & finally, Allied Forces launch a massive attack through France, pushing their way inland towards Germany. Once Hitler is surrounded by Allied forces to the West, South, and East, he should surrender.

WWII SIGNIFICANT BATTLES IN EUROPESTALINGRAD•Before the Allies began to win back the seas, Hitler was convinced he was going to win the war. Hitler began to concentrate on the USSR, he believed that victory was dependent on destroying the economy. •In May 1942 he ordered an invasion of southern Russia and the Ukraine which hinged on Stalingrad. Germany entered Stalingrad in September and Stalin ordered the Soviet army to hold the city no matter what. He forbid retreat. Germany had to fight house to house. •Nov. 23, Soviet reinforcements surrounded the city cutting of the Germans. In Feb of 1943, the Germans surrendered. •This battle put Germany on the defensive for the first time. BATTLE OF THE BULGE•Hitler’s last offensive to cut off Allied supplies coming through the port of Antwerp, Belgium = the Battle of the Bulge: Ger. raced west, their lines “bulged” outward, resulting in the battle’s name. U.S. won the battle & Jan. 8, Germans withdrew with little left to stop the Allies from entering Ger. May 1945 General Eisenhower accepts unconditional surrender of the Third Reich from the German military May 9, 1945 = V-E Day, for “Victory in Europe.”

THE HOLOCAUST • The Nazis killed nearly 6 million Jews + millions of other people during the Holocaust. The

Nazis persecuted anyone who opposed them + disabled, Gypsies, homosexuals, & Slavic peoples. The Nazis’ strongest hatred was aimed at all Jews, who they saw as racially inferior.

• Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their citizenship. Anti-Jewish violence erupted throughout Germany & Austria on Kristallnacht, or “night of broken glass.”

• Jewish refugees attempted to flee but many Jews remained trapped in Nazi-dominated Eur. because they could not get visas to the U.S. or to other countries. Ex: SS St. Louis – 930 Jewish refugees refused admission to Cuba & U.S. FDR turned them away.

• Jan. 20, 1942, Nazi leaders met at the Wannsee Conference to decide the “final solution” of the Jews & other “undesirables who would be rounded up from Nazi-controlled Eur. & taken to concentration camps & extermination camps

NUREMBURG TRIALS: 1945, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) was created by U.S., Britain, France, + Soviet Union to punish German & Japanese leaders for their war crimes (genocide). The IMT tried German leaders suspected of committing war crimes (Holocaust) at the Nuremburg trials.

D-Day – Invasion at Normandy• An invasion of Europe was necessary. But where and how was it to take place?• Operation Overlord was the name for the French invasion & it was to be run by Dwight D

Eisenhower. The Germans believed the invasion would come at Pas-de-Calais the town the closest distance to Britain, the allies helped this idea by setting up fake tanks/boats a the port there. Time was also an issue, though the Germans had no idea when the invasion would occur, neither did the allies. D-Day interactive map

• Almost 7,000 ships, 100,000 soldiers, + 23,000 paratroopers set out for France. Bombers dropped bombs on bridges, bunkers, & radar stations, once the allied warships were in range they pounded the coast with thousands of shells.

• There were mass casualties at the Normandy beach sector named Omaha beach (nearly 2,500) but the Allied forces broke through my mid-day. 35,000 US troops landed at Omaha, 23,000 at Utah, & over 75,000 at the other landing sites. The invasion was a success.

• Once the allies managed to break through the hedgerows, which lined Normandy, they moved on Paris. With the help of French resistance fighters Paris was liberated on August 25, 1944. Three weeks after, the allies were within 20 miles of the German border.

SIGNIFICANT BATTLES - PACIFIC• Initially, Japan had sent a few ships to attack New Guinea, an Allied naval base in

the Pacific, but were stopped at Coral Sea: This American victory at Coral Sea, however, meant nothing yet. Most Japanese ships were sent to attack the one base America still owned in the North Pacific—Midway

• BATTLE OF CORAL SEA: Although Japan managed to sink the Lexington and damage the Yorktown; Americans pushed the Japanese away from New Guinea and kept supply lines open to Australia.

• BATTLE OF MIDWAY: US code breakers had also intercepted news that Japan planned to attack & Nimitz set up an ambush - when the Japanese launched aircraft against Midway the US was ready. American planes hit the exposed Japanese carriers. This battle was the turning point for power in the Pacific.

Fighting Japan to the EndThe Battle of Iwo Jima•By November 1944, Americans had island-hopped their way close enough to Japan to launch a series of bombings on Tokyo, Japan; the only problem was, it wasn’t close enough and American bombers often did not have enough fuel to return to American bases.•The solution: invade an island close enough to bomb Tokyo and not worry about refueling. The island was Iwo Jima (pg. 760). •After a victory at Iwo Jima, American airfields were built to begin the planned bombing campaigns of Tokyo.•Using napalm (in addition to regular bombings) a kind of jellied gasoline that spread like wildfire when dropped, American bombers killed over 80,000 people and destroyed over 250,000 buildings in over 67 destroyed Japanese cities in 1945. •Still, the Japanese were not ready to quit.

Okinawa•On April 1 1945 American troops invaded an island called Okinawa, which was to be the large island base from where the Americans were ready to launch the all-out invasion of Japan, if necessary. •Japanese leaders were still unwilling to surrender the Emperor.

The Manhattan Project•In 1939, FDR received a letter from Leo Szilard, one of the world’s top physicists, and Albert Einstein, warning FDR that the Germans were currently working on splitting uranium atoms, a process that causes massive amounts of energy to be released; if developed into atomic weapons, by the Germans the results would be devastating for the world.•FDR responded by setting up a super secret program to develop the an atomic bomb, code-named Manhattan Project.•On July 16 1945, they detonated the world’s 1st atomic bomb in New Mexico.

Truman’s Atomic Bomb Decision• President Truman decided to drop the atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima (120,000

Japanese citizens killed, Japan did not surrender) & Nagasaki (74,000 Japanese citizens killed) for the following reasons:

• The surrender of Japan meant that no land invasion of Japan was necessary (a Japanese mainland invasion would have been extraordinarily costly in terms of not only American lives [an estimated 250,000 American lives would have been lost] but also in terms of Japanese lives [the estimated # of lives that would have been lost is in the millions, + include Japanese civilians who were ready to fight an American invasion, if necessary, in the defense of/in the name of the Emperor).

• Opposition argued that the U.S. was already near victory & the A-bombs were unnecessary to defeat Japan & inhumane.

• CONCLUSION: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima + Nagasaki cost about 250,000 Japanese lives, including the lives of many innocent civilians, not to mention the after-effects of radiation, as well as millions in economic cost. However, Japan did surrender as a result of the bombings, and the WWII did end after that.

• On Aug. 15 1945, V-J Day, after Hiroshima + Nagasaki, in addition to the Soviets declaring war on Japan, Japan came to terms with reality, & surrendered WWII was officially over.

WWII AT HOME• After the fall of France, the Selective Service and Training Act was a plan for the1st

peacetime draft in American history• Blue points/red points rationing system , paying for the war – E-bonds, victory gardens

& scrap drives, wage & price controls

• “Double V” campaign: African Americans support the war in order to achieve a double victory: victory over Hitler’s racism abroad & America’s racism/being disenfranchised at home – combined patriotism & protest.– Segregated army, Af. Ams. not given honorable positions in combat (exception =

Tuskegee Airmen)• 1st time women allowed in the military: Congress established the Women’s Army

Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) in 1942 but were not allowed in combat.

• Gain jobs (more than just white men can fill)– “Rosie the Riveter” – women entering the workforce– A. Philip Randolph & Fair Employment Practices Commission to enforce Executive

Order 8802– Bracero Program – Mexicans harvest in SW

JAPANESE AMERICAN INTERNMENT• Pearl Harbor attack deprive Japanese Americans rights

– Attack businesses/homes, denied food/$, rumored as spies, evacuated and relocated to 10 internment camps – lost all property

• Korematsu v. U.S. – Japanese Internment was constitutional based on military urgency

– National security trumps civil rights/liberties

• Fighting for America as soldiers (and even highly decorated Japanese battalion) & no Japanese American ever tried for espionage

• Reagan apology in 1988 & $20,000 to surviving Japanese Americans who had been interned

FLORIDA & WWIIPALM BEACH COUNTY BLACKOUT•During WWII, to discourage air and submarine attacks by German U-Boats, the Federal government enforced blackout orders-which forced coastline cities, such as those in Palm Beach County, to temporarily shut off all power. •This was particularly important along Florida's long, exposed coastline, where lights from houses, hotels, and amusement parks could silhouette allied merchant ships and make them easy and inviting targets for German U-Boats.

Because Florida had a warm climate and a lot of vacant land available, it was ideal for the building of military bases and training soldiers. In the 1930s, there was a tremendous growth of military establishments throughout Florida.

PUTTING THE ENEMY ON TRIAL• In August 1945, the International Military Tribunal (IMT) was created by the United

States, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union to punish German and Japanese leaders for their war crimes.

• The IMT tried German leaders suspected of committing war crimes at the Nuremburg trials.

TEHRAN CONFERENCE & U.N.Tehran Conference: 1943 Stalin, FDR, & Churchill meet in Tehran, Iran. •Stalin promised to launch a full-scale offensive against Ger. when Allies invaded France in 1944•FDR & Stalin agree to break up Ger. after war so could never threaten peace.•Stalin promises once Ger. defeated will help US defeat Japan.•Stalin accepts FDR’s proposal to create international organization to help keep peace after the war (the United Nations)

1945 Creation of the United Nations (UN): the new international organization – new & improved version of the League of Nations that was created after WWI without U.S. The creation of this organization was discussed in 1944 at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference.

•SET UP: The UN has a General Assembly, where each member nation would have one vote. Britain, France, China, the Soviet Union, & the U.S. would be permanent members of the Security Council, each having veto power. These were the Allied power victors from WWII.•Mary McLeod Bethune: African Am. woman who advised on interracial relations at the San Francisco Conference which led to the creation of the UN charter.•The UN passed a Declaration of Human Rights: all members must promote human rights and fundamental freedoms

Origins of the Cold War• Soviets thought that the communist economic system was the best system,

they saw capitalist societies as threatening to communist societies, and wanted to acquire new territories to protect itself from another German invasion.

• US believed in capitalism, or the free enterprise system, democracy and free trade.

• Each thought the other was in the way.

Yalta & PotsdamYalta Conference

• What to do about Poland? – Soviet troops liberated Poland & encouraged Polish communist gov. be set up. US + Britain said Poland had to be free to choose their own gov.

• Compromise – US + Britain agreed to recognize the gov. set up by Soviets so long as the Soviets agreed to hold elections.

• Declaration of Liberated Europe – asserted the “right of all people to choose the form of government under which they will live.”

• Allies promised democratic governments + free elections to all liberated countries, meanwhile, Stalin, attempted to “force” these newly liberated countries into becoming communist; this caused tension between the allies and the Soviets.

• What to do about Germany? –Allies agreed to divide Germany into 4 sections (Britain, US, France + USSR) + divide Berlin in the same manner (even though it was in the Soviet sector).

Potsdam Conference

• Truman was hugely anti-communist & feared that appeasement would only strengthen the Soviets, so he was much firmer with Stalin than FDR was immediately don’t get along

• Issues over reparations: Truman wanted Ger. to regain economic standing but Stalin wanted Germany to pay more reparations. Truman told the Soviets to take reparations, but only from the Soviet zone they were assigned, then to allow the rest of Ger. to recover. Stalin was not happy with this because he felt the Soviet zone he was assigned was mostly agriculture & did not have the resources Stalin preferred.

• Truman, who had just recently learned that the US had tested their first atomic bomb in New Mexico, let Stalin in on the news. Stalin felt bullied by this tactic, but reluctantly agreed.