Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin and Communism (where the government owns everything and provides healthcare, education, and welfare)

Italy: Benito Mussolini and fascism (the government owns business, but people have some power)

Germany: Adolph Hitler and Nazism (similar to fascism, but added race superiority)

Japan: Militaristic government

Spain: Francisco Franco and Nationalism (extreme love for their nation)

Stalin followed in the footsteps of Vladimir Lenin; wanted Communism at any cost; became a police state

Moved to a Socialist nation in 1927—meaning no private enterprises (even farming); wanted a totalitarian government—one with complete control over its people

Issued three separate five-year plans to create an industrial power—was very successful

Executed tens of thousands during The Great Purge where people were branded enemies; responsible for the deaths of up to 13 million people

Fascism had a strong, centralized government with a powerful dictator

Il Duce—the chief—gained control after marching on Rome with thousands of followers; controlled every aspect of Italian life

Did not control the farms and factories like Stalin—had support from many jobless youth, veterans, and business owners

Joined the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (the Nazi Party) in 1919; rooted in extreme nationalism

Ideas Unite all German speaking people Felt Aryans were superior National expansion—”to secure for the German people

the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth” Helped by the Great Depression—so many were out

of work, they were desperate Established the Third Reich—the Third German

Empire

Also wanted expanded living space for their growing population

Invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria and quickly gained control

Francisco Franco lead a fight with the Spanish Civil War

Assisted by Mussolini and Hitler

After 600,000 people had died and over $15 billion was spent to stop him, Franco controlled a totalitarian government

Remember—the League of Nations was formed to help keep peace throughout the world after WWI

Japan was simply reprimanded for its invasion of Manchuria—so Japan simply withdrew from the League

Hitler began violating the Treaty of Versailles and Mussolini invaded Ethiopia

Congress passed a series of Neutrality Acts beginning in 1935 with a plan to keep the US out of war

In 1937, a poll showed 70% of Americans believed the US never should have entered WWI

FDR spoke out against isolationism in 1937 showing his desire to take action—the people protested and he backed off

Hitler felt, “Germany’s problems can be solved only by means of force, and this is never without risk.”

Hitler met with Austria’s chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg in February 1938 and demanded Austrian Nazis enter the government; although von Schuschnigg changed his mind, German troops marched into Austria unopposed on March 12, 1938

French premier Edouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain signed the agreement with Germany on September 30, 1938

Said the Sudetenland (an area of Czechoslovakia with German speaking people) would be the last land acquired by Nazi Germany

On March 15, 1939, “Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist.”

Hitler said German-speaking people in Poland were also being mistreated; he signed a nonaggression pact with Soviet Union (and secretly agreed to divide Poland between them)

On September 1, 1939, Germany debuted its blitzkrieg or lightning war in which it attacked by surprise; the Soviet Union attacked from the east

Britain and France declared war and by the end of the month, WWII had begun although it was termed a sitzkrieg (a sitting war) because there was no fighting

Stalin and the Soviet Union decided to take back lands lost after WWI ended The Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and

Lithuania fell easily

Finland put up a strong battle, but fell after three months of fighting

German newspapers reported, “Germany is ready” on April 7, 1940

Germany invaded Denmark and Norway

Next, Hitler attacked the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg

German troops entered France from the northeast and successfully isolated British and French troops

Italy joined in and invade the southern part of France

On June 21, 1940, Hitler took control of France

French general Charles de Gaulle fled to Britain and set up a government-in-exile

The German air force, the Luftwaffe, made bombing runs over Britain for two solid months in the late summer of 1940

1000 German planes attacked British air fields, aircraft factories, and cities

Because the RAF (Britain’s Royal Air Force) used the new technology of radar and battled back bravely, Hitler called off the invasion indefinitely

To promote the Aryan race In April 1933, he removed all non-Aryans from

government jobs Jews had traditionally been the scapegoats for

Germans—blamed for any failures or economic problems

In 1935, the Nuremberg Laws stripped Jews of their civil rights and property and forced Jews to wear a yellow star of David

The Laws

Nuremberg Chart

November 9, 1938—the night of broken glass

Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues throughout Germany were attacked

More than 20,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps

In 1938, Germany’s foreign minister observed: “We all want to get rid of our Jews. The difficulty is that no country wishes to receive them.” 40,000 fled to France England accepted 500 refugees a week 60,000 travelled to the United States which had

strict immigration quotas Most people were anti-Semitic and

didn’t want the Jews either.

Since many Jews were unable to flee Germany, Hitler came up with a new plan

Healthy Jews would be sent to labor camps to perform slave labor

The rest would be sent to extermination camps—this resulted in genocide, the deliberate killing of an entire people

The Nazis also included others they felt were inferior or unworthy: gypsies, freemasons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, the mentally retarded, the insane, the disabled, and the incurably ill

Eventually, they added the Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians to their list

Prisoners would work from dawn to dusk, seven days a week, until they collapsed

They lived in cramped wooden barracks that held up to 1000 people each

Food was meager—mostly a thin soup with an occasional scrap of bread

Because the Jews wouldn’t die fast enough in the work camps, the Nazis built six death camps in Poland—the main purpose was to exterminate or kill people

Each had gas chambers to kill up to 6000 people daily

Bodies were initially buried in huge pits, but crematoriums worked more quickly to dispose of the bodies

Others died by being shot, hanged, poisoned, or experimented on

Remember—he had been in favor of US involvement

He personally knew some of Hitler’s advisors and believed they were crazy

He convinced Congress to pass a new neutrality act that allowed “cash and carry”—meaning Britain and France could buy weapons and ammo and transport them on their own ships

In September 1940, Japan, Germany, and Italy signed the Tripartite Pact—a mutual defense treaty

Roosevelt responded by increasing his assistance to France and Britain to avoid a two-ocean war

The US began boosting its defense spending

The Selective Training and Service Act was passed to register men between 21 and 35; 1 million were drafted to serve

The Lend-Lease Act was passed in 1941—the US would now “lend” arms to Britain

Invaded on June 22, 1941 The Soviets fought bravely, but

destroyed everything in the path when forced to retreat (scorched-earth policy)

Lasted over six months Roosevelt began sending lend-lease

supplies to the Soviet Union

Also known as U-boats Traveled in groups of

15-20, known as wolf packs Was an effective mode of

attack for the Germans Roosevelt gave the Navy permission to

protect lend-lease ships against German U-boats

Declared both the US and Great Britain wanted No extra land To keep self-control To let people choose

their own government Free trade Cooperation A secure peace Permanent security

“A Declaration by the United Nations” was signed by 26 nations, including China and the Soviet Union

US destroyer Greer: torpedoes were fired at the ship on September 4, 1941

The Pink Star—a US merchant ship: sunk two weeks later

US destroyer Kearny: torpedoed in mid-October

US destroyer Reuban James: sunk in October; killed at least 100 sailors

Dreamed of a vast colonial empire They’d invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China

in 1937 Pushed south in July 1941 towards present-day

Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos Hideki Tojo became Prime Minister and

planned to attack the United States The US intercepted Japan’s secret

communication codes and knew an attack was coming

December 7, 1941: 181 Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor for an hour and a half

The attack crippled the US Pacific Fleet 18 ships were sunk or damaged; 350

planes were destroyed or severely damaged; 2400 people had died; and 1178 were injured

Roosevelt said, “December 7, 1941, a date which will live in infamy.”

Burton Wheeler, an isolationist senator, said, “The only thing now to do is to lick the hell out of them.”

The US declared war on Japan on 12/8

Three days later

Germany and Italy declared war on the US

The Japanese had assumed Americans would be too afraid to respond to the attack on Pearl Harbor

5 million volunteered to serve, but it wasn’t enough

The selective service draft provided another 10 million soldiers

General George Marshall pushed for the formation of a Women’s Auxiliary Army corps (WAAC) because of the shortage of male soldiers

Over 250,000 women served the United States during WWII

Segregated units were the norm

Despite the prejudice in their daily lives, many volunteered to fight for the country they felt ignored their struggles

Over 1.5 million minorities served in WWII

Auto production shut down to switch to tanks, planes, boats, and command cars

All industries mobilized for the war effort

Women and minorities had opportunities never before available

The Office of Scientific Research and Development

Improved radar and sonar

Encouraged the use of DDT to keep the soldiers bug and lice free

Pushed the development of miracle drugs like penicillin

Secretly developed the atomic bomb

Refugee Albert Einstein warned Roosevelt to be careful or the Germans would develop this also

Panic and prejudice created an atmosphere of hysteria and hostility

Over 100,000 Japanese Americans were shipped to ten camps, most American born, as a result of Roosevelt’s order on February 19, 1942

Included those who were only part Japanese and most were American citizens

Camps didn’t always contain cooking or plumbing facilities

Were under guard by the US Army

The Japanese lost all they owned—their homes, businesses, pictures, furniture—they lost their lives

Roosevelt didn’t want inflation to skyrocket as it had during WWI

The OPA (Office of Price Administration) froze the prices of most goods and raised income tax

The WPB (War Production Board) collected goods to recycle for the war effort

Everyone could only have a certain amount of items—through rationing

Included meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, and gasoline

Winston Churchill (Prime Minister of England) visited the US in late December 1941 to plan out their war policy

Decisions: The main priority was

to defeat Germany They agreed to only

accept the unconditional surrender of the Axis Powers

German U-boats were able to sink 681 Allied ships throughout the Atlantic in the first half of 1942

The Allies responded by organizing convoys guarded by destroyers and were able to have success

The US also increased its ship production

The Germans had stalled their attempts to invade the Soviet Union, but began again in search of oil

The Luftwaffe ran nightly bombing raids on the city

For over six months, the German and Soviet soldiers fought brutally in freezing conditions

Over 225,000 Germans died and the Soviets lost 1,250,000 soldiers and civilians

Even though Stalin wanted the Allies to divert German troops in Western Europe, they turned towards Africa

General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded Operation Torch beginning in November 1942

They were able to defeat the German troops led by Erwin Rommel—the Desert Fox by May 1943

With success in Africa, the Allied troops invaded Italy in the summer of 1943

Italian people and their king were tired of fighting and prepared to end their involvement in the war—King Victor Emmanuel III stripped Mussolini of his power

Hitler wouldn’t have this though and sent troops to protect Italy and reinstated Mussolini

One battle lasted four months—Bloody Anzio In April 1945, members of Italy’s underground were

finally able to help defeat the Germans and hanged Il Duce in a Milan square

The Allies had planned to attack Hitler’s forces in France for two years

Began by bombing northern France’s supply routes for a month and a half

On June 6, 1944, troops landed at beaches along the English Channel

German troops fought brutally, especially at Omaha Beach

“People were yelling, screaming, dying, running on the beach, equipment was flying everywhere, men were bleeding to death, crawling, lying everywhere, firing coming from all directions.” ~Felix Branham

Despite heavy casualties, Americans held the beaches and were able to advance to Paris, under the direction of General George Patton, and liberate the city after four years

Roosevelt and his running mate Harry S. Truman were elected to an unprecedented fourth term in November 1944

Despite warnings from intelligence reports, the Allies were surprised by a German attack in Winter 1944

The battle lasted a month and the positions were mostly unchanged after

The Germans had lost men and supplies they could not replace at this time—and that was worse than losing the battle

The Soviets were the first to liberate a death camp—Majdanek in Poland Contained the world’s largest crematorium A storehouse contained 800,000 shoes

Liberating soldiers were amazed at what they saw and assumed the starving adults were merely children

As the end drew near, Hitler married his longtime companion, Eva Braun, and both committed suicide

Without Hitler, the Third Reich gave their unconditional surrender to Eisenhower

U.S. submarines had been spared Our aircraft carriers were at sea during

the attacks and were also spared Almost all of the sunk or damaged

ships were repaired and returned to service

Japan created an empire, conquering Hong Kong, French Indochina, Malaya, Burma, Thailand, half of China, Formosa, the Dutch East Indies, Guam, Wake, the Solomon Islands, and part of Alaska

General Douglas MacArthur helped defend the Philippines for America, but eventually had to abandon it in March 1942

Japanese Emperor Hirohito was thrilled with his victory

On April 18, 1942, Col. James Doolittle led an attack on Japan

In the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942), U.S. and Australian fleets defended against the Japanese

In the Battle of Midway (June 1942), Adm. Charles Nimitz fought the Japanese

He was outnumbered four ships to one—and devastated the Japanese forces

The U.S. was able to intercept several Japanese codes

The Japanese heard a language in their headsets, but couldn’t identify it

The language was Navajo which has no alphabet or written symbols and therefore was ideal

They weren’t recognized until 1969

The Japanese were established on hundreds of islands throughout the Pacific

MacArthur skipped strongholds and seized less-fortified islands and set-up areas to attack from

In Guadalcanal, Americans had their first land victory against the Japanese after a 6-month battle from August 1942 to February 1943

This cost the U.S. 1/3 of our Marines

The word kamikaze means “divine wind” and refers to a typhoon that saved Japan from a Mongol invasion in 1281

In WWII, kamikaze were suicide-plane attacks in which Japanese pilots crashed their bomb-laden planes into Allied ships

Kamikaze pilots flew over 3800 missions, but the Japanese still failed

President Roosevelt had a stroke and died on April 12, 1945

Harry Truman became President, but was nervous about his new position as president and commander-in-chief

A desolate island—seen as a critical base for future attacks on Japan

Operation Detachment was a 35-day battle beginning in February 1945 in which 6000 Marines were killed

Only 200 of the 20,700 Japanese survived

Joe Rosenthal’s picture became one of the main images of the war

This small island was Japan’s last defensive outpost

Battle began in April 1945

After the fierce battle, more than 7600 Americans had died and 110,000 Japanese died defending Okinawa

The two Japanese general chose suicide over the shame of surrender—a Japanese ritual

The development of the bomb was known as the Manhattan Project and was lead by Robert Oppenheimer

First tested in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945—known as the Trinity Test

August 6, 1945 The Enola Gay drops a

uranium bomb named Little Boy

People died instantly, clothes were burned onto bodies, and an overwhelming sense of heat was felt

Less than 10% of the city’s buildings survived

August 9, 1945 Bock’s drops the

plutonium bomb named Fat Man; was 40% stronger than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima

Remembering Nagasaki

Japan surrenders on August 14, 1945 August 15th: V-J Day—peace finally

arrives

Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill had met in the Soviet Union in February 1945 at the Yalta Conference

They agreed to form the United Nations

The UN was established in April 1945 at a meeting in San Francisco Formed an 11 member Security Council The U.S., Great Britain, the Soviet Union, France,

and China were given permanent seats

Stalin, Truman, and Churchill met in Germany in July 1945

They decided to disarm Germany by dividing it into zones and punish those guilty of war crimes

An international tribunal tried Nazi war criminals in November 1945 Represented 23 nations In Nuremberg, Germany

12 were sentenced to death Nearly 200 were found guilty of war crimes This was the first time a nation’s leaders

were held accountable for what happened during wartime

General Douglas MacArthur occupied Japan for 6 years

Over 1000 were arrested and put on trial; 7 were sentenced to death

The American-directed occupation government provided aid and began to rebuild the bombed cities