World War II

I. The Paths To War

A. World War I Legacy- Germany, Italy, Japan= AXIS Powers

1. Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo did not wish to follow agreements made within the Treaty of Versailles that negatively impacted their nations

a. Italy invaded Ethiopia 1935

b. Germany annexed Austria, Czechoslovakia, French Rhineland 1936-1939

c. Japan invaded China and Korea 1931-1938

2. Germany re-established its army, navy, and air force unchecked by the prohibitions of Versailles Treaty

3. Munich Conference 1938- failure of Britain’s Neville Chamberlain to recognize Hitler’s aggressiveness and Hitler’s ability to sense Britain and France’s desires to avoid conflict (APPEASEMENT POLICY= giving in to aggressor)

4. Immediate Cause- German Blitzkrieg in Poland 1939

(Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact 1939 allowed Hitler to move his armies East and West)

II. Course of World War II

A. German Victories Dominate 1st Half of War Through 1942

1. Poland, Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, and France all fall swiftly in the first year of the war

2. Hitler’s inability to pound Britain into submission with Operation Sea Lion (heavy bombing by Luftwaffe) led to his attacking British colonial possessions in North Africa

3. Italy and Albanian ally invaded Greece in 1940 but faced stiff resistance until German divisions had to assist

4. Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria joined Hitler’s Axis Powers in 1940-41

5. Hitler ordered German invasion of Soviet Union in violation of 1939 peace agreement with Stalin which would prove to be a fatal mistake and two front war again (Russian Winter=failure despite unpreparedness of Soviets)

B. Japanese Victories and Attacks Influence U.S. Participation

1. U.S. Neutrality was tested by Japan’s invasion of China and diplomatic relations had broken down through the 1930s

2. December 7th 1941 Attack on American Pacific Fleet in

Pearl Harbor led to immediate declaration of war by U.S.

3. Japan had attacked numerous American and British targets in the Pacific early in the war and the main task was to retake territory and approach the Japanese islands

4. Cultural War- Japanese propaganda portrayed Americans as wealthy and “soft” compared to Samurai essence of Japanese soldiers while Americans proceeded to portray Japanese as barbaric

C. Strategic Implementation Varied on Different Fronts

1. North African Front- 1940 dominated by German Afrika Corps of Panzer divisions under Erwin Rommel

2. Italian Front- 1943 Germany had to take control of affairs in Italy as Mussolini failed to retain political and military control as Italy began to fall into civil war by partisan armies that opposed Mussolini

3. Eastern Front- 1942 Soviet resolve and geographic misfortunes led to German retreat after 1942 and German armies were beaten back after fierce fighting in Russian cities

4. Western Front- 1944 Reopened due to joint Allied Operation Overlord (D-Day June 6th 1944) and tide of war truly shifted as American and British forces liberated city after city helping to take pressure off the Soviets

5. Pacific Front- 1941 through 1945 characterized by amphibious island hopping and joint ventures by navy, army, marines across Pacific

a. End result? President FDR and Truman’s decisions to embrace nuclear research (Manhattan Project) and use nuclear bombs codenamed “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” against Japanese targets Hiroshima and Nagasaki

III. The Axis New World Order

A. Nazism’s New Order and “Final Solution”

1. Nuremburg Laws started formalizing Nazi racial policy 1936-37

2. Forced labor and resettlement programs affected Slavs and Jewish populations in Germany and occupied France, Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Ukraine, Czechoslovakia

a. Concentration camps were established early in Nazi rule for political criminals but were expanded to accommodate larger populations of “undesirables”

3. Heinrich Himmler and Reinhardt Heydrich were leaders of the squads in charge of overseeing relocation, registration, and exterminations (genocide) by 1942 which became known as the Holocaust

a. Numerous groups in occupied countries acted as collaborators to the Nazi campaign

B. Japan’s Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

1. Military government in occupied territories stripped the resources of nations and forced labor of Koreans, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesians, and Philippines became routine

2. Rape of Nanking 1937- Japanese military killed between 40,000 and 300,000 civilians during the invasion of China as another example of WWII genocide

3. Japanese treatment of P.O.W.s showed little respect for human life as millions were worked and starved to death in concentration camps

a. Bataan Death March 1942- 60 mile journey of 76,000 American and Filipino prisoners characterized by extensive abuse and high fatality rate

4. Kamikaze Strategy- “divine wind” concept from Japanese legend emphasized traditional Samurai code or “death before dishonor”

a. End result? President FDR and Truman’s decisions to embrace nuclear research (Manhattan Project) and use nuclear bombs codenamed “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” against Japanese targets Hiroshima and Nagasaki

IV. Home Front and Aftermath

A. Military Mobilization

1. Soviet mobilization used 55% of national budget

a. Food shortages became common

b. Women entered both the workforce and military service as diggers, snipers, and air force

2. U.S. mobilization started before U.S. involvement

a. “Arsenal of Democracy” supplied Britain 1939-45

b. Women and African Americans became a significant part of the industrial labor force in urban areas of the United States

c. Japanese Internment of 110,000 into supervisory concentration camps in California for national security

3. German mobilization was not in full swing until 1943 as Hitler wished for German civilians not to feel the economic pressures of the war effort

4. Japanese mobilization dated back to Zaibatsu of the 1920s and it military capabilities were well intact until 1942

B. Bombing Military Targets and the Civilian Impact

1. 1940- German Luftwaffe raids of Britain targeted heavily populated cities such as London in an attempt to demoralize the British people

2. 1942-45 Allied raids began to target German and Japanese industrial centers in an attempt to demobilize and damage the Axis war effort

3. Thousands of people were killed, wounded, orphaned on both sides and the first use of atomic bombs would shock the world in August of 1945

C. “Peace” and Emerging Cold War

1. Tehran Conference 1943 (Iran) - strategic meeting to plan joint invasion of Germany between Allied Powers

2. Yalta Conference 1945 (Russia) – meeting that would divide Germany into zones of occupation the Allied Powers and FDR pushing for free elections and the creation of the United Nations

3. Potsdam Conference 1945 (Germany) – Trial of Nazi War

Criminals (Nuremburg Trials) was agreed upon but Eastern Europe remained under Soviet control as Stalin refused to allow free elections

4. Soviet-American relations broke down immediately following these conferences beginning the cold war competition for global influence of capitalism and communism and democracy and dictatorship

5. Cold War would threaten world peace from 1945-1990 due to nature of tension between global factions and ideologies

Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights circa 1948

30 distinct articles drafted for the preservation of human rights under international law that embodied elements of the U.S. Bill of Rights and French Declaration

of the Rights of Man and Citizen that all governments are SUPPOSED to follow