World War II

Some not-so-fun facts about WWII

• Largest war in human history. • Involved countries, colonies, and territories around the entire world. • By the end, over 70 million soldiers and civilians were dead. • It lasted from 1939 until 1945.

Causes

•

W

WI and the Treaty of Versailles

•

A

ppeasement

•

R

ise of Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism USSR: Communist Dictatorship Germany & Italy: Fascist Dictatorship Japan: Military Dictatorship

Adolf Hitler Germany Japan Hideki Tojo Benito Mussolini-Italy Josef Stalin USSR

Aggression Goes Unchecked

• • • • During 1930s, the policy that France and Britain pursued against aggressive nations known as

appeasement.

Policy of granting concessions to a potential enemy in the hope that it will maintain peace Appeasement only spurred the fascist leaders to become more bold, adventurous, and aggressive.

France and Britain appeased fascist powers for several reasons – Didn’t want a repeat of the horrors of WWI – Believed the Soviet Union posed greater threat than Nazi Germany: believed strong Germany would provide buffer against the Soviet menace – Leaders questioned the resolve of their own people and their allies: particularly the U.S.

Causes of World War II

• • As you watch the video, take notes on: – The rise to power of the dictators in Germany, Soviet Union, Italy, Japan, and Spain.

– The response of the Western powers to this rise and their justification for their actions Causes of World War II Documentary

What is Fascism?

• Political belief that says the individual is less important than the nation. • Glorifies violence, believes it is needed to “prove” strength of a people. • Uses nationalism and racism. • Dictatorships.

• Italy and then Germany became fascist.

Dictators Turn to Aggression

• Hitler and Mussolini threaten the peace – Mid-1930s, Hitler moved toward his goal of reunifying all German people into one state (Reich).

• He felt Germany needed to expand to gain

Lebensraum

, or living space, for its people • 1935: reclaimed the Saar region from French control • 1936: sent German troops to the Rhineland-direct challenge to the League of Nations yet they did nothing – Mussolini commenced his own imperial plans • 1935: Italy invades Ethiopia (independent country in east Africa) emperor appealed to the League of Nations for help but they did nothing – Japan starts aggressive military expansion • 1931: attacked Manchuria (NE China) & established puppet state • 1937: Japan moved against China, in the then-capital of Nanjing, Japanese soldiers murdered more than 200,000 residents and burned most of the city – Became known as “Rape of Nanjing” • Map

Weakness of the League of Nations

• League never fully recovered from America’s refusal to join • No standing army • No power to force its decrees • Only as strong as its members’ resolve and during depression of the 1930s, members lacked this • When aggressive nations tested the league, they found that league was long on words and short on actions

Aggression Goes Unchecked

• • • • During 1930s, the policy that France and Britain pursued against aggressive nations known as

appeasement.

Policy of granting concessions to a potential enemy in the hope that it will maintain peace Appeasement only spurred the fascist leaders to become more bold, adventurous, and aggressive.

France and Britain appeased fascist powers for several reasons – Didn’t want a repeat of the horrors of WWI – Believed the Soviet Union posed greater threat than Nazi Germany: believed strong Germany would provide buffer against the Soviet menace – Leaders questioned the resolve of their own people and their allies: particularly the U.S.

Who’s Going to Stop Him??

• In the 1930s, FDR embraced policy of isolationism: concerned itself with its own economic troubles and did not do anything to prevent German aggression • Spring 1938: Hitler brings Austria into his “Reich”: this union called the Anschluss • Fall 1938: Hitler turned toward Sudetenland: portion of western Czechoslovakia largely populated by ethnic Germans – People thought this conflict would lead to general war but Britain and France appeased Germany again to preserve the peace: Munich Pact • Only postponed the war for 11 months

War Erupts in Europe

• Appeasement could only go so far – Spring 1939: Hitler violates Munich pact by absorbing remainder of Czechoslovakia into his German Reich • Britain and France vowed not to let Hitler take over another country without consequences: signed alliance with Poland guaranteeing aid if Germany attacked • Hitler more concerned with war with Soviet Union: signed Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact with Soviets on August 23, 1939 to prevent war on 2 fronts.

– Vowed not to attack each other and secretly agreed to invade and divide Poland • War came in early hours of September 1, 1939 when massive German blitzkrieg hit Poland from 3 directions

Blitzkrieg!!

•

Blitzkrieg

east.

: “sudden attack, did nothing to help Poland

lightning war

– By end of the month, Poland fell in defeat ” new style of warfare emphasized the use of speed and firepower to penetrate deep into enemy’s territory – Using coordinated assault by tanks and planes, followed by motorized vehicles and infantry, Germany broke through Poland’s defenses and destroyed its air force – September 17: Soviet Union invaded Poland from the • France and Britain declared war on Germany but • Blitzkrieg Video • Europe was now at war, just as it had been 21 years earlier.

Who was on each side?

Axis Powers

• Germany • Italy • Japan

Allied Powers

• Great Britain • Soviet Union • United States • China • France – Surrendered to Germany in 1940 after 6 weeks

France Falls to the Axis Powers

• April 9, 1940: Germany attacked Denmark and Norway, both fell immediately • May 10: Hitler sends blitzkrieg forces into the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, all nations fell • Then turned to Paris, and France fell to the Axis powers after only 6 weeks • June 10, 1940: Italy declares war on France and Britain

That only leaves Great Britain…

• July 10-October 31, 1940: Battle of Britain – Air campaign waged by the German air force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom.

• Britain’s Air Force = Royal Air Force (RAF) – Name derived from famous speech by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the House of Commons: "... the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin.” – First major campaign to be fought entirely in the air – Germany’s objective was to destroy Britain’s air defences and force Great Britain to sign an armistice or surrender • Considered first major German defeat in war and a turning point in the war – – Video Clip 1 Video Clip 2

• June, 1941: Hitler violates German-Soviet non-agression pact and invades the Soviet Union – If war was going to be prolonged, he needed oil and wheat from the Soviet Union • Soviet troops were completely caught off guard and so by the fall of 1941, German troops had advanced deep into Soviet territory

U.S. Response

• • • • 3 weeks after German invasion of Poland, Congress changed neutrality act that did not allow the export of military supplies –

Allowed any nation to buy military supplies from U.S. but required that the goods be shipped on foreign vessels

When Great Britain ran out of cash to pay for the war materials, Congress passed the

Lend-Lease Act

–

Appropriated $7 billion for ships, planes, tanks, and other supplies to non-Axis countries

As German attacks increased, so did U.S. aid to the allies – By spring of 1941, German submarines turning North Atlantic into graveyard of submarines August, 1941: Roosevelt met with Winston Churchill (prime minister of GB) secretly off coast of Newfoundland – Agreed to

Atlantic Charter: joint pledge to not pursue territorial expansion; agreed that every nation has the right to choose its own form of government, called for freedom of international trade and equal access for all countries to raw materials. Charter declared that once war was over, aggressor states should be disarmed, and all nations should work together to rid world of fear and poverty

What about the Pacific War?

• As war raged in Europe, Japan continued expansion in Asia – July, 1941: Japanese troops occupied French Indochina • Roosevelt freezes all Japanese assets in U.S. and approves embargo on shipments of gasoline, machine tools, scrap iron, and steel to Japan • Japan responds by freezing American assets in areas under its control • Japan secretly planned attack on US, but sent peace mission to Washington.

– By this time US had broken secret code used to send messages between Tokyo and Japanese embassy in Washington so they knew that Japanese planned a strike, but they did not know where.

The Home Front

Why are Americans Fighting?

•

The Four Freedoms Speech

–FDR – Defined the reasons why Americans were fighting in World War II.

1. Freedom of Speech 2. Freedom of Worship 3. Freedom from Want 4. Freedom from Fear

• • •

Mobilizing for War

Massive increase in production for war ended the Great Depression

– Unemployment dropped from 14.6% in 1940 to 1.2% in 1944.

– During war years, farmers produced enough food to supply American people and Allied Powers overseas

Federal government expanded

– 1942:

War Production Board

(WPB): directed the conversion of factories to wartime production – 1943:

Office of War Mobilization

(OWM): coordinated all government agencies involved in the war effort and the production and distribution of consumer goods –

Expanded control on the economy

: sold war bonds and increased number of Americans who had to pay income tax in order to pay for the war

Selective Training and Service Act:

1940,

provided for first peacetime draft in U.S. History

– Required all men ages 21 to 35 (later 18-45) to register; local draft boards determined fitness and deferred men for family, religious, or health reasons – 2/3 of Americans who served were draftees and the rest volunteers, including more than 300,000 women

Promoting the War

• U.S. govt. tried to keep morale high, especially in beginning when Allied troops faced many setbacks –

Office of War Information: controlled flow of war news at home

• Movie-stars advertised war bonds and travelled overseas to entertain troops • Hollywood studios produced hundreds of war movies • Radio stations broadcasted news about the war and entertainment

Life During Wartime

• Americans cut back consumption of luxuries and necessities to help war effort – Victory gardens helped make more food available to U.S. and allied soldiers – West Coast cities practiced nighttime blackouts • Authorities feared brightly-lit cities would make easy targets for Japanese bombers – Practice air-raid drills across the country sent Americans scrambling for cover • People worked longer hours and made many sacrifices, but daily life in US didn’t change radically during war

Rosie the Riveter

• For some Americans on home front, particularly women, daily life did change dramatically.

– During depression had been discouraged from working, now were urged to take jobs of departing soldiers • From 1940-1944: number of women working increased by 6 million –

Rosie the Riveter: became symbol of patriotic female defense workers

• • •

Discrimination During the War

Racial tension did not disappear during war, but cooperation war effort required caused govt. to try to reduce discrimination in war industries

African Americans

: war brought continued discrimination and greater opportunities – Moved into better paying industrial jobs, played key role in military effort • 1 million African American soldiers served in armed forces, however continued to serve in segregated units or were often assigned to low-level work –

Fair Employment Practices Committee

(FEPC):

investigated companies in defense work to guarantee that all qualified applicants were considered regardless of race Mexican Americans:

more than 300,000 Mexican Americans served in military, and also helped meet home-front labor needs – Prejudice and discrimination endured by Hispanics in jobs, housing, and recreational facilities caused bitter resentment •

Zoot-suit riots:

(zoot-suit=fad worn by Mexican American youths that included long, wide-shouldered jackets, trousers pegged at the ankle, and wide-brimmed hats) June, 1943,

US sailors in Los Angeles roamed city attacking zoot-suit clad Mexican Americans.

Navajo Code Talkers

• • Young American Indians served in several branches of US armed forces.

Navajo language was extremely hard to memorize and understand; Navajos responsible for coding and sending classified military information. Code talkers often had to work in dangerous conditions behind enemy lines. The Navajo codes completely baffled the Japanese and were never broken.

Japanese American Relocation

•

Internment: forced relocation and imprisonment of Japanese Americans living on the Pacific coast.

– 1941: 119,000 people of Japanese ancestry who showed no evidence of disloyalty were ordered to detention camps in Wyoming, Utah, and other states because of strong anti Japanese feelings among Americans in the west. Camps were all barbed wire, guard towers, and searchlights. Many Japanese Americans remained imprisoned until 1945.

•

Korematsu v. United States

(1944): –

Supreme Court upheld decision to intern the Japanese, stating that in times of war the curbing of civil rights is justified

Japanese Internment Camps

Battles of World War II: Europe

Strengths and Weaknesses

• When US entered WWII,

Axis powers

had two big

advantages

:

1. Germany and Japan already had firm control of areas they invaded so Allies faced long, drawn out fight on multiple fronts 2. Germany and Japan better prepared for war

•

Allied advantages 1.

Enormous size of the Soviet Union’s military 2. Huge production capacity of U.S.

3. Axis forces spread out all over globe

• •

Fighting in Europe and the Mediterranean

By time of attack on Pearl Harbor, Axis Powers controlled much of Europe and lands around the Mediterranean

– Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania had joined – Yugoslavia and Greece had been occupied – Germans even advanced into North Africa –

Stalingrad

: key city in the Soviet Union, Germany and Soviet Union fought through an entire winter for control, until finally Axis troops were forced to surrender b/c of few supplies and no food.

Important b/c it broke momentum of the Axis advance

Allied forces able to gain back control of North Africa, which gave them gateway to Italian island of Sicily, where they then moved on to Rome: it took several years of fighting and small units of troops from over 25 countries. June, 1944 Allies marched into Rome,

making it first Axis capital to fall.

Sea and Air Assaults

• German U-boats continued to take staggering toll on Allied ships, lives, and supplies – Not until 1943 did this

Battle of the Atlantic

(battle on the Atlantic ocean) turn in the Allies’ favor.

• Important factor was refinement of sonar equipment which allowed Allied ships to detect the U-boats while they were underwater • In 1943 the Allies intensified their air campaign of strategic bombing aimed at destroying German military production and undermining the morale of German people

Operation Overlord

• Victory in the Atlantic and air assaults on Germany paved way for

Operation Overlord: Allied invasion of German occupied France

– Allies tricked Germans into thinking the invasion was taking place on English Channel but instead landed farther south, in Normandy.

– AKA

D-Day

, June 6, 1944: Nearly 5,000 troop transports, landing craft, and warships carried 150,000 U.S., British, and Canadian soldiers across Channel. Overhead, planes dropped close to 23,000 airborne troops and bombed roads, bridges, and German troop concentrations.

• Germans had fortified the Normandy beaches with concrete bunkers, tank traps, and mines. Beaches resembled giant fortress but Allied trick worked since Hitler refused to send reinforcements to Normandy because he still believed that the main invasion would occur elsewhere.

• Aided by French Resistance, they were able to liberate Paris on August 25, 1944.

• By early September more than 2 million Allied troops landed in western Europe, another Allied force drove northward through France from Mediterranean, and Soviet troops pressed Germany from east.

• • • •

Defeating Germany

By September 1944 the Allies had crossed the German border. As they paused to bring in supplies and regroup, Germans launched their final counterattack. – In heavy snow they drove against the Allies in northern France: pushed westward to create dangerous bulge in the Allied lines. Became known as

Battle of the Bulge.

• •

Last major German offensive against Allies in WWII Last ditch attempt by Hitler to split Allies in two as they tried to invade Germany and destroy their ability to supply themselves

• Allies were able to push the Germans back, and by January 1945 it was clear the offensive had failed

Yalta Conference:

February, 1945,

FDR, Churchill, and Stalin met to plan for postwar peace.

– Stalin pledged to declare war on Japan 3 months after Germany’s surrender – Agreed to divide and occupy Germany after the war and outlined plans for new international peace organization During early months of 1945, Allied bombers continued bombing German cities. March, Allied troops crossed the Rhine River and drove into heart of Germany. By then, Soviet troops occupied much of eastern Europe.

April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker deep under ruins of Berlin. Germany surrendered unconditionally on May 7.

May 8, known as V-E (Victory in Europe) Day, marked formal end of European war

What was the Holocaust?

• • Nazi plan to kill all Jews.

• Why? – Hitler provided a solution to Germany’s problems • 6 million Jews murdered in camps in Europe. • 5 million others ( gypsies, mentally ill, homosexuals) – Total of 11 million exterminated • What is genocide? – Purposely trying to exterminate an entire group of people (ethnic, religious, racial).

Holocaust Slideshow

Battles of World War II: The Pacific

• •

War in the Pacific

Pearl Harbor only part of huge Japanese offensive in Pacific – December 8, 1941: planes bombed Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, destroyed U.S. airplanes needed to provide relief and air support for troops in the Philippines – Following 2 weeks: attacked Burma, Borneo, Netherlands, East Indies, Wake Island, Hong Kong.

30,000 US and 110,000 Filipino troops defended Philippines under command of General Douglas MacArthur, but had no relief supplies or air support and needed to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula – They were outnumbered, outgunned, and inexperienced; forced to surrender in April 1492 –

Bataan Death March

:

Japanese soldiers forced more than 70,000 survivors to march through jungle on their way to prison camp; more than 10,000 died because of harsh treatment

• Prisoners prevented from drinking water, beaten, or shot. Killed by disease and malnutrition

• • • •

Halting the Japanese Advance

By summer of 1942, Japanese were ready to strike Australia, India, Hawaii and on to Pacific coast of US – Pacific fleet recovered quickly and started fighting

Battle of the Coral Sea:

May 7, 1942: Japanese force on its way to attack New Guinea was intercepted by Allies. Planes from US aircraft carrier damaged Japanese 1 carrier and destroyed another and several aircraft.

Important Allied victory b/c it stopped the Japanese advance on Australia Battle of Midway:

June 1942. Japan launched 2 prong attack to crush US Pacific fleet (again). One unit seized 2 islands near Alaska hoping to lure part of the fleet away from Hawaii while the Japanese carried out their main attack against Midway (2 small islands northwest of Hawaii). US knew since they knew the Japanese code so they assembled US aircraft carriers and destroyers north of Midway to ambush the Japanese. Sunk 4 Japanese aircraft carriers and shot down many enemy planes.

U.S. victory crucial b/c Japan lost ships, planes, and many skilled pilots.

Guadalcanal: first major US offensive,

August 1942, U.S. went ashore at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands and fought for 6 months to cling to area around the airport. U.S defeated the Japanese and

tide of battle in Pacific had finally turned in Allies’ favor.

– “I have never heard or read of this kind of fighting. The Japanese refuse to surrender. The wounded will wait till men come up to examine them, and blow themselves and the other fellow to death with a hand grenade.”

Pacific Offensives

• • Objective of Allies was to come within striking distance of Japan itself

Island-hopping

–

Strategy where Allied troops would attack and seize only certain strategic Japanese-held islands

, rather than trying to recapture all of them • Fall of 1944, U.S. ready to invade Philippines –

Battle of Leyte Gulf: last, largest, and most decisive naval engagement in Pacific;

from this point on Japanese fleet no longer a threat • Victory in Pacific – Used newly acquired bases to launch bombing attacks on Japan home islands – Caused Japanese civilian morale to sag, but country’s military leaders refused to surrender

• •

Victory in Pacific

Iwo Jima – Located 750 miles from Tokyo – Battle began February, 1945 and lasted 6 weeks – Japanese forces fought fiercely – Several thousand marines, more than 20,000 Japanese soldiers killed Okinawa – Located 350 miles from Japan – April 1, 1945: largest landing force in Pacific history invaded island but met no resistance (Japs retreated to southern tip of island) – Five days later, 700 Japanese planes attacked, 350 of these planes were

kamikaze

(suicide planes) – Bloodiest battle of Pacific war • 49,000 U.S. troops killed/wounded, more than 100,000 Japanese died in fighting • By early April, Allied victory in Pacific was near, but President Roosevelt didn’t live to see it – Died suddenly on April 12 and Harry S. Truman became president responsible for deciding whether to use the atomic bomb

The Atomic Bomb

• Atomic bomb developed by top secret

Manhattan project

– Effort of group of scientists who had been working to create atomic bomb since 1942 • U.S. warned by Albert Einstein that German scientists were conducting research • Scientists successfully tested bomb in New Mexico on July 16, 1945 • Next day, Truman met with Allied leaders at Potsdam, south of Berlin – July 26, Allies demanded Japan’s unconditional surrender – Japan refused – Truman gave order to use atomic weapons against Japan

Why use the atomic bomb?

• Iwo Jima and Okinawa had shown that Japanese were still capable of inflicting heavy losses on U.S. forces • Invasion of Japan would be very costly – Estimates ran as high as 1 million U.S. casualties, with Japanese losses being even greater • Using atomic bomb might end war quickly and save lives on both sides • President may also have wanted to demonstrate power of new weapon to Soviet Union

Dropping the A-Bomb

• 8:15 A.M. on August 6, U.S. B-29 Bomber

Enola Gay

dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima – Explosion flattened huge area of the city and killed estimated 75,000 people • Three days later, August 9, U.S. dropped second atomic bomb on Nagasaki – Explosion vaporized people, melted stones, spontaneously ignited everything combustible within eight tenths of a mile • • • Total number of deaths caused by both bombs: 200,000 War Movie Simulation of the Explosion

End of War in Pacific

• A day before the bombing of Nagasaki, the Soviet Union had declared war on Japan and begun invasion of Manchuria • Stunned by destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japanese offered to surrender • Formal surrender was signed on September 2, 1945 aboard the USS

Missouri

in Tokyo Bay • World War II was finally over

Quick Facts • War Costs

– US Debt 1940 - $9 Billion – US Debt 1945 - $98 Billion • WWII cost $330 billion –

10 times

the cost of WWI & equivalent to all previous federal spending since 1776

Losses of the Major Wartime Powers in WWII, 1939-1945 • Germany – 4.5 million military – 2 million civilian • USSR – 10 million military – 10 million civilians • Japan – 2 million military – 350,000 civilians • Great Britain – 300,000 military – 50,000 civilians • Italy – 400,000 military – 100,000 civilian • China – 2.5 million military – 7.4 million civilians • France – 250,000 military – 350,000 civilian • United States – 274,000 military