UNIT 9World War II

Setting the Stage

The Great Depression devastated economies around the world and people began to look for strong leaders.

Japan, Italy, Russia and Germany were all angry over the Treaty of Versailles and believed they deserved land.

Nationalism was spreading throughout the world.

Dictators around the WorldSoviet UnionCreated a model communist

stateHad abolished all privately

owned farms and replaced them with collective farms

Focused more on industrialization instead of necessities like food and clothing in his 5 year plan○ Millions starved to death

Great Purge- killed millions of supposed traitors

Established a totalitarian government where one person controls everything

Italy- Benito Mussolini (Il Duce)- Believed Italy should have been

given more land in the Versailles Treaty (WWI)

- Suffering from an economic depression and high unemployment, Mussolini formed the Fascist Party, which emphasized nationalism and the supreme authority of the leader.

- Outlawed political parties, took control of the media, created a secret police, and organized groups to indoctrinate the youth.

- Eventually, he took control of Ethiopia (Africa)

GermanyAdolf HitlerPromised the people he would fix the

economy and gain back land that was taken

Wrote Mein Kampf (“My Struggle”)- autobiography criticizing ideologies, politics, and Jews.

Get land, build up military, get revenge for Treaty of Versailles, fix economy, create “master race”

Joined Nazi Party- extreme nationalism

1933-appointed chancellor of Nazi Party

2014: Only 81 years earlier!

Japan- Emperor Hirohito- In the 1930s, Japan suffered economic

problems.- Unlike Germany and the Soviet Union,

Japan remained a constitutional monarchy.- Power shifted towards military control and

attacked Manchuria, a region in northeastern China.

- Controlled foreign and domestic policies there.

- In 1937, Japan moved against China, gaining control over major Chinese railroad links and coastal areas.

- In Nanjing, China, Japanese soldiers murdered more than 200,000 residents and burned a section of the city- “Rape of Nanjing”

Dictators Turn to AggressionA. The League of Nations never recovered from America’s

refusal to join it.B. Hitler directly defied the Treaty of Versailles by enlarged the

army, navy, and air force.○ Germany began violating the Treaty of Versailles

- Began to build up the military

○ Hitler sent troops into the Rhineland, a buffer zone between France and Germany The League of Nations did nothing

○ Italy invaded Ethiopia League of Nations did nothing

D. Promoting the notion of appeasement (the policy of granting concessions to the enemy in the hope that it will maintain peace), Great Britain and France were fearful of another World War.

E. The United States condemned Japan for their brutal actions in Nanjing, but embraced isolationism due to the economic depression at home.

The U.S. Response Most citizens wanted to stay out of

European affairsIsolationism

Congress passed the Neutrality ActsOutlawed the sale of arms or loans to

nations at war or engaged in a Civil War President Roosevelt found neutrality

hard to followSent arms to China to help fight Japan

Aggression in Europe Germany, Italy, and Japan continued to be

aggressive Hitler took Austria in March 1938

Nobody did anything Hitler now wanted Czechoslovakia,

especially an area called SudetenlandFrance and Britain meet to discuss what to do

(Manchurian Conference)○ Decided to let Hitler have Sudetenland to avoid war

Appeasement- giving up principles to pacify aggressors

What was Soviet Union doing? At first the Soviets declared neutrality. Hitler wanted to make an agreement

with the Soviets to protect his future plans of invading Poland

Non-Aggression Pact- Stalin and Hitler signed this pact and agreed to never attack each other

Poland France and Britain agreed if

Hitler tried to take Poland they would get involved.

Hitler invades Poland on September 1, 1939.

Hitler used his newest military strategy Blitzkrieg. Lightning war Fast planes and tanks

On September 3, 1939, France and Britain declared war on Germany. WWII begins

Poland was not saved and Hitler and Stalin agreed to split it.

Offensive Germany Denmark,

Norway, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France was then quickly conquered by the German offensive.

Axis Powers v. Allied Powers

Allied Powers consisted of Great Britain, France, China, and eventually the United States and Soviet Union

Axis Powers consisted of Germany, Italy, Japan

Battle of Britain Hitler now wanted Britain Britain was almost

defeated but was saved by three things:Refusal to give up (last

allies standing)Radar- took the element of

surprise out of Germany’s plan

The British smuggled in a German code machine

U.S. increases involvement

The U.S.Despite isolationist feelings at home the U.S. is

increasingly helping Britain○ Sending war supplies

When Britain began to run short of funds to purchase cash-and-carry goods in the U.S., President Roosevelt addresses Congress. (January 6, 1941)

In March 1941, Congress approved the Lend-Lease Act.

The act authorized Roosevelt to “sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend…” articles whenever necessary.

America Moves Towards War

In response to the fighting in Europe, the United States gradually abandoned its policy of neutrality and provided economic and military aid to help the Allies achieve victory.

America’s isolationist views shifted as the Axis Powers invaded more countries.

In 1940, the U.S. started limiting Japan on purchases from America.

FDR soon cuts off all oil shipments, hoping to halt Japanese expansion.

In 1941, General Hideki Tojo became the Japanese prime minister. (Supported war against the U.S.)

Japan’s mission was to eliminate the American naval and air presence in the Pacific with a surprise attack.

Japan Attacks the U.S. Background: During the 1930s, Japan,

under the leadership of Hideki Tojo, invaded Manchuria and China as it sought military and economic domination over Asia.

The U.S. refused to recognize Japanese conquests in Asia and in the Pacific and imposed an embargo on exports of oil and steel to Japan.

This resulted in a diplomatic stalemate.

Pearl Harbor: (December 7, 1941)

–Japan carried out an air attack on U.S. naval base in Hawaii

Destroyed a significant part of the Pacific Fleet stationed at pearl Harbor

2,400 Americans killed

http://www.history.com/shows/wwii-in-hd/videos/attack-pearl-harbor

U.S. abandoned neutrality and isolationism by entering WWII

FDR asked for a declaration of war against Japan

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

Germany and Italy also declared war on the U.S.

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/speeches#fdr-asks-congress-to-declare-war-on-japan

Mobilizing for WarA. Following the

Japanese attack, a spirit of patriotism and service swept across the country.

B. Factories halted production of consumer goods and began making goods for war.

C. The Ford Motor Company poured all of its resources into war production, building over 8,000 B-24 Liberator bombers.

Selective Service Act Selective Service

Act–established a draft before the U.S. entered World War II, expanded greatly following Pearl Harbor

Draft provided 10 million soldiers during the war

DIFFERENT GROUPS AND THE

WAR

Women Women-Women’s

Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC or WAC) -allowed women to serve in noncombatant military roles –nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, pilots

African Americans African Americans 1 million served in segregated military units and were

frequently assigned to non-combat roles Tuskegee Airmen served in Europe with distinction http://www.history.com/videos/tuskegee-airman-luther-smith#tuskegee-airman-luther-smith

Asian Americans Asian Americans: 50,000 served

(mostly Japanese Americans)

Nisei regiments earned a high number of decorations

Native Americans Native Americans: 25,000 served in the

military in integrated units (not segregated)

Navajo “Code Talkers” –used communication codes based on Navajo language that the Japanese were never able to break

War at Home Industrial Workers –18

million workers in defense industries

Women increasingly participated in the industrial workforce

SIGNIFICANCE– resulted in the “Rosie the Riveter” image of women at work

African Americans –frequently migrated to industrial cities in search of jobs in war plants

Mass Media and entertainment industries promoted nationalism through propaganda.

Hollywood movies focused on war-oriented propaganda films.

Advertising campaigns used pro-U.S. propaganda and stereotypical anti-German/anti-Japanese to keep public morale up.

Financing the War: Income taxes=

50% of the money needed to fight the war

War Bonds= 50% of the money needed to fight the war

Rationing Rationing– the

establishment of fixed allotments of goods deemed essential for the military

Example: meat, shoes, sugar, coffee, gasoline

Two Theatres of War War for Europe and North

AfricaStrategy: “Defeat Hitler First”

○ Most American resources went to Europe first

War in the Pacific Pacific Strategy: “Island hopping”

○ Seizing islands closer and closer to Japan and using them as bases for air attacks on Japan,

○ cutting off Japanese supplies through submarine warfare

Germany’s Goals Hoped to defeat the Soviet Union

quickly and gain control of Soviet oil fields.

Hoped to force Great Britain out of the war through a bombing campaign (Battle of Britain) and use of submarine warfare before the U.S. could fully mobilize and turn the tide of war in favor of the Allies.

Japan’s Goals Hoped that U.S. would

accept Japanese dominance in the Pacific rather than fight.

After Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines (a U.S. territory) and Indonesia and planned to invade Australia and Hawaii.

Battles and Turning Points

El Alamein(1943)–German forces under Erwin Rommel that threatened to seize Egypt and the Suez Canal were defeated by the British

SIGNIFICANCE –German defeat prevented Hitler from gaining access to Middle Eastern oil supplies and potentially attacking the Soviet Union from the South

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#north-africa-campaign

Invasion of Italy (1943) Germany had created

a strong line to prevent the Allies from moving north to capture more cities

By 1945, Allied forces broke through the German line and caused the Axis Powers to surrender.

The Allies now had complete control of the western Mediterranean, and ended the rule of Benito Mussolini.

EUROPEConfused old German lady watches U.S. troops march by as they enter a newly occupied town.

Stalingrad (1942-1943) –German forces besieged Stalingrad but were eventually surrounded and surrendered to Soviet forces. Germany lost 400,000 troops

killed, wounded or captured Soviet Union lost 1,100,000

troops killed, wounded or captured

SIGNIFICANCE–Turning point of the war –Soviet army moved west toward Germany as a result –put Hitler on the defensive

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#world-war-ii-battle-of-stalingrad

D-Day Normandy Landings (June 6, 1944) –3 million

American, British, and Canadian troops under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower landed in German-occupied France at Normandy

SIGNIFICANCE –marked the beginning of the liberation of Europe from Hitler’s control

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#dday-invasion

Battle of the Bulge (1944)- Hitler refused to surrender and

ordered a counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg.

- The Germans caught the Allies by surprise, creating a bulge in the American line, and captured several key towns.

- At the Belgian town of Bastogne, American forces held out.

- This was the largest battle in western Europe during World War II and the largest fought by the U.S. Army. (600,000)

- Hitler and his Nazi leaders realized their war had been lost.

- http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#at-the-battle-of-the-bulge

http://facesbeyondthegraves.com/heath.htmlhttp://www.pararesearchteam.com/Research/EBHeath.htmlhttp://www.in-honored-glory.info/html/stories/ifheath.htm

German SurrenderBy April 25, 1945 the Soviets had stormed BerlinHitler committed suicide on April 30

V-E DayGen. Eisenhower accepted the unconditional

surrender of the GermansMay 8, 1945 the Allies celebrated V-E Day- Victory in

Europe Day

The Pacific- Japan hoped the U.S. would withdraw from

the war, leaving them access to natural resources of Southeast Asia.

- China will join the Allied Powers.- The Allies will follow an island-hopping

strategy, capturing some Japanese-held islands and ignoring others in a steady path toward Japan.

Battles and Turning Points: Pacific

Midway “Miracle of Midway” (1942) –

American naval forces under Chester Nimitz attacked and defeated a much larger Japanese force

Avenged the U.S. naval defeat at Pearl Harbor and saved Hawaii from Japanese invasion

SIGNIFICANCE–led to the successful “island hopping “ campaign that brought the war closer to Japan

The battle was fought entirely from the air.

Iwo Jima Iwo Jima(1945) –U.S.

Marines attacked and defeated heavily entrenched Japanese forces, but suffered heavy casualties

Flag-Raising Photo–became a symbol for American pride and victory

U.S. casualties = 6,000 killed Japanese casualties = over 20,000 killed

SIGNIFICANCE-The island was important as a staging island for U.S. bomber runs to Japan

Okinawa Okinawa (1945) –U.S. Marines

invaded and conquered the last island needed for final attack on Japan

U.S. casualties = 7,600 killed Japanese casualties = 110,000 killed

Japanese used kamikaze (suicide-plane) attacks on U.S. ships

Many Japanese soldiers chose suicide over surrender (kamikaze pilots)

SIGNIFICANCE–convinced U.S. commanders that the U.S. would lose about 1 million soldiers to invade and conquer Japanese home islands

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#battle-okinawa

The Atomic Bomb Manhattan Project- July

1945- American scientists create atomic bomb Headed by Robert OppenheimerTested in New Mexico-very

secret FDR dies and Harry Truman

takes over Truman ordered the use of

the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9) to force surrender

200,000 died of injuries and radiation poisoning

Japanese surrender on Sept. 2, 1945 (V-J Day)

The Home Front Main Idea –

Japanese Americans were victimized by the U.S. government’s decision to move 110,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps in the West.

Internment of Japanese Americans

Background: Following the attack on

Pearl Harbor, many Americans believed false rumors that Japanese Americans had served as spies for Japan prior to the attack, which led to discrimination and prejudice against Japanese Americans on the West coast

February 19, 1942 –FDR signed an executive order that called for the internment (confinement) of all Japanese Americans.

FDR stated that the internment was a military necessity.

110,000 Japanese Americans were moved to internment camps in the West.

2/3 of all people moved were Nisei (Japanese Americans born in the U.S.)

Japanese Americans were forced to sell their homes and businesses.

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/videos#japanese-internment-in-america

Korematsu v. United States(1944)

Supreme Court decision that stated the government’s use of internment camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity.”

U.S. Government apologized for internment in 1980s and each surviving internee was paid reparations of $20,000.

Rebuilding Yalta Conference- Feb. 1945, FDR,

Churchill (Great Britain) and Stalin (Soviet Union)- The Big Three Stalin wanted to break Germany into

occupation zones Churchill disagreed and FDR played

mediator

○ Needed Soviet Union to help in the Pacific and wanted them to join a new peace-keeping organization- United Nations

FDR convinced Churchill to divide Germany into 4 temporary military zones (one for each country- France, Britain, U.S., Soviet Union)

Stalin agreed to join against Japan and agreed to meet in April for the formation of the United Nations.

The Geneva Convention

Treatment of prisoners in the Pacific Theater of WWII often reflected the savagery of the fighting there.

POW’s in Europe

Treatment of prisoners in the European Theater of WWII more closely reflected the ideas of the Geneva Convention

Bataan Death March Bataan Death March In the Philippines, American

POWs that surrendered to the Japanese suffered brutal treatment.

Forced march of 60 miles without proper food or water, with random shootings, beheadings, and slitting of throats common.

Over 10,000 U.S. soldiers were killed along the march.

Postwar Outcomes in Europe

The end of WWII found Soviet forces occupying most of Eastern and Central Europe and the eastern portion of Germany.

Germany was partitioned into East and West Germany.West Germany became democratic and resumed self

government.East Germany remained under the domination of the

Soviet Union and didn’t adopt democratic institutions. Europe lay in ruins and the U.S. launched the

Marshall Plan.Provided massive financial aid to rebuild European

economies and prevent the spread of communism.

Postwar Outcomes in Asia

Japan was occupied by American forces.

It soon adopted a democratic form of government and resumed self-government.

Became a strong U.S. ally.

Racism, Prejudice, and HatredOver 6 million lives gone…http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_nm.php?ModuleId=10007424&MediaId=3372http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS98MAN3Xtg

The Holocaust1933-1945

- The Holocaust began in 1933 when Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany and ended in 1945 when the Nazis were defeated by the Allied powers.

- The term "Holocaust," originally from the Greek word "holokauston" which means "sacrifice by fire," refers to the Nazi's persecution and planned slaughter of the Jewish people.

- In addition to Jews, the Nazis targeted gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, and the disabled for persecution.

- Anyone who resisted the Nazis was sent to forced labor or murdered.

- The Nazis used the term "the Final Solution" to refer to their plan to murder the Jewish people.

- On April 1, 1933, the Nazis instigated their first action against German Jews by announcing a boycott of all Jewish-run businesses.

The Persecution Begins During the first six years of Hitler's

dictatorship, from 1933 until the outbreak of war in 1939, Jews felt the effects of more than 400 decrees and regulations that restricted all aspects of their public and private lives.

“Nuremberg Laws" excluded German Jews from citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having relations with persons of "German or German-related blood”.

Why the Jews? After its defeat in World War I, Germany

was humiliated by the Versailles Treaty, which reduced its territory, drastically reduced its armed forces, demanded the recognition of its guilt for the war, and stipulated it pay reparations to the Allied powers.

German beliefs in anti-Semitism (hatred of the Jews) was a contributing factor to Jewish persecution.

Brainwashing Germany Nazis propaganda, "The Jews

are our misfortune!" The Nazi’s preached that Jews

must be excluded from society, and they used schools and the media to indoctrinate the young and old with anti-Semitic feelings.

They portrayed the Jews as evil and cowardly, and Germans as hardworking, courageous, and honest.

The effects set the stage for mass genocide.

To stay or to leave? Many Jews attempted to flee Germany, and thousands

succeeded by immigrating to such countries as Belgium, Czechoslovakia, England, France and Holland.

Jews were having trouble finding nations that would take them in.

France already had 40,000 refugees and did not want more.

Britain worried about fueling Anti-Semitism and refused to admit more than 80,000 refugees.

The U.S. allowed 100,000 refugees, but people wanted to close the doors.

By the autumn of 1941, Europe was in effect sealed to most legal emigration. The Jews were trapped.

Kristallnacht(1938)–”night of broken glass” as Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues were attacked across Germany

Approximately 30,000 Jews were arrested and sent to concentration camps.

Jews arrested after Kristallnacht await deportation to Dachau concentration camp.

Ghettos After the beginning of the war, Nazis began ordering all

Jews to live within certain areas of big cities. Major ghettos- Bialystok, Kovno, Lodz, Minsk, Riga,

Vilna, and Warsaw The largest ghetto was in Warsaw, with its highest

population reaching 445,000 in March 1941. Nazis would then order deportations. In some of the large ghettos, 1,000 people per day were

loaded up in trains and sent to either a concentration camp or a death camp.

When the Nazis attempted to liquidate the Warsaw Ghetto on April 13, 1943, the remaining Jews fought back in what has become known as the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Jewish resistance fighters captured by SS troops during the Warsaw ghetto uprising. Warsaw, Poland, April 19-May 16, 1943.

Concentration and Extermination Camps

Different kinds of camps, including concentration camps, extermination camps, labor camps, and prisoner-of-war camps.

One of the first concentration camps was Dachau, which opened on March 20, 1933.

Prisoners were forced to do hard physical labor and yet given tiny rations. Prisoners slept three or more people per crowded wooden bunk (no mattress or pillow). Torture within the concentration camps was common and deaths were frequent.

At a number of Nazi concentration camps, Nazi doctors conducted medical experiments on prisoners against their will.

View of the entrance to the main camp of Auschwitz (Auschwitz I). The gate bears the motto "Arbeit Macht Frei" (Work makes one free).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7mg3qvvzhY

Close-up of a young mother with her two children, sitting among a large group of Jews from Lubny who have been assembled for mass execution by the Germans. (October 16, 1941)

Selection at the Auschwitz ramp in 1944, where the Nazis chose whom to kill immediately and whom to use as slave labor or for medical experimentation. The entrance to the main camp is in the background.

While concentration camps were meant to work and starve prisoners to death, extermination camps (also known as death camps) were built for the sole purpose of killing large groups of people quickly and efficiently.

The Nazis built six extermination camps: Chelmno, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz, and Majdanek. (Auschwitz and Majdanek were both concentration and extermination camps.)

Auschwitz was the largest concentration and extermination camp built. It is estimated that 1.1 million people were killed at Auschwitz.

A crematoria oven where the corpses of prisoners were burned in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. (April 28, 1945)

Liberation As Allied troops moved

across Europe in a series of offensives on Germany, they began to encounter and liberate concentration camp prisoners, many of whom had survived death marches into the interior of Germany. Soviet forces were the first to approach a major Nazi camp, reaching the Majdanek camp near Lublin, Poland, in July 1944.

Survivors of the death march from the Polish city of Lodz arrive in Berlin, Dec 14, 1945. These are the only survivors of a group of 150.

"Auschwitz-Birkenau, then and now"

Soon after liberation, surviving children of the Auschwitz camp walk out of the children's barracks.

Poland, after January 27, 1945.

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/media_nm.php?ModuleId=10005129&MediaId=3426

Nuremburg Trials Nuremburg Trials –Nazi

leaders were convicted of war crimes for their participation in the Holocaust

Emphasized individual responsibility for actions during a war, regardless of orders received

SIGNIFICANCE–led to an increased call for a Jewish homeland

Writing Activity- Cinquain The cinquain is a short, simple

poem. A creative way to reflect on the

meaning of a concept of information just learned.

Guidelines- The first line is a one word title (usually a noun).- The second line is a two word description of the topic (usually two adjectives).- Line three is three words expressing action of the topic (usually three “ing” words).- The fourth line it a four word phrase about the topic.- The fifth line (last line) is a one word synonym that restates the essence of the topic.

Example:Hitler

Ruthless killerTerrorizing, attacking, dictating

Aryan race always superiorNazi