World War II and the Holocaust
Lesson 1: World War II Begins
German Path to War
• Guiding Questions
• A. What was Hitler’s motivation for German
expansion?
• B. What alliances and events contributed to
the outbreak of WWII?
German Path to War
• World War II in Europe had its beginnings in
the ideas of Adolf Hitler
• He believed Germans were part of an Aryan
race that was superior to all other races.
• To be a great power, he thought Germany
needed more land to support a larger
population
German Path to War
• As early as the 1920’s, Hitler indicated that the
Nazis would find this land to the east
• Can you guess what land this was?
• Soviet Union (Russia)
• After the Soviet Union had been conquered,
Hitler foresaw it being resettled by German
peasants
• In his mind, the Slavic peoples could be used for
slave labor to build an Aryan racial state that
Hitler believed would dominate Europe for 1000
years.
Hitler Violates Treaty
• After WWI, Treaty of Versailles limited
Germany’s military power
• Hitler stressed that Germany wanted to revise
the unfair conditions of the treaty by peaceful
means
• He said Germany only wanted its rightful place
among the European states
Hitler Violates Treaty
• March 9th 1935: Hitler announced creation of
new air force
• Also began military draft
• Expanded Germany’s army from 100,000 to
550,000 troops
• These actions were in direct violation of the
Treaty of Versailles.
Opposition
• France, Great Britain, and Italy condemned
Germany’s actions and warned against future
aggressive steps.
• Middle of the Great Depression
• Nations were distracted by internal problems
and took no further action.
Early moves
• Hitler was convinced Western Europe had no
intention of using force to maintain Treaty of
Versailles
• March 7th 1936 he sent German troops into
Rhineland.
• Rhineland was part of Germany, but according to
the Treaty, it was a demilitarized area.
• Demilitarized: no weapons or fortifications
allowed.
• Map pg 609
“Only going into their back garden”
• France had the right to use force against this
violation
• Wouldn’t do it without British support
• Britain didn’t support using force against
Germany.
• Policy of appeasement.
• British government saw occupation of German
territory by German troops as reasonable action
by a dissatisfied power
• London Times: Germans were “only going into
their own back garden”.
Bellringer
• Why did Britain pursue a policy of
appeasement when dealing with Hitler and
the Nazis in 1936 when Hitler sent German
troops into Rhineland?
Definition
• Appeasement: policy based on belief that if
European states satisfied reasonable demands
of dissatisfied powers, the dissatisfied powers
would be content, and stability and peace
would be achieved in Europe.
Bellringer
• How did World War I affect European leader’s
attitudes towards international aggression in
the 1930’s?
New Alliances
• Hitler was gaining new allies
• Benito Mussolini of Italy: long dreamed of
creating new Roman Empire
• October 1935: Mussolini’s forces invaded
Ethiopia
• British and French opposed this action
• Mussolini welcomed Hitler’s support
New Alliances
• 1936: Both Germany and Italy sent troops to
Spain to help General Francisco Franco in the
Spanish Civil War.
• October 1936: Mussolini and Hitler made
agreement, recognizing mutual interests.
• Mussolini spoke of the new alliance as the
“Rome-Berlin Axis”.
• November 1936: Germany and Japan signed AntiCommunist pact, promising common fight
against communism.
Union with Austria
• 1937 – Germany was once more a “world
power” as Hitler claimed
• Hitler was convinced neither France nor Great
Britain would oppose his plans
• 1938: Hitler pursued one of his goals: union
with Austria, his native land.
Union with Austria
• By threatening Austria with invasion, Hitler
forced Austrian leadership to put Austrian
Nazis in charge of their government
• The new government invited German troops
to enter Austria and “help” in maintaining law
and order
• One day later, March 13th 1938, Hitler
annexed Austria to Germany.
Czechoslovakia
• Hitler’s next objective was the destruction of
Czechoslovakia.
• Sept 15th 1938: Germany demanded
Sudetenland, an area in northwestern
Czechoslovakia that was inhabited largely by
Germans
• Quickly arranged conference in Munich, Hitler’s
plans were granted, German troops were allowed
to occupy the Sudetenland.
• Czechs, without backup from allies, stood by
helplessly.
Munich Conference
• Munich conference: high point of Western
appeasement of Hitler.
• Neville Chamberlain: British Prime Minister
• When Chamberlain returned to England from
Munich, he bragged that the agreement
meant “peace for our time”
• British statesman Winston Churchill warned
instead that the settlement “was a disaster of
the first magnitude”.
Hitler’s promise
• Hitler promised Chamberlain that he would
make no more demands.
• Like many others, Chamberlain believed
Hitler’s promises.
Further occupation
• March 1939: Hitler invaded and took Bohemia
and Moravia, in western Czechoslovakia.
• The country was becoming a “puppet state”
controlled by Nazi Germany.
• Finally, Western states reacted to the Nazi
threat.
• When Hitler demanded Polish port of Danzig,
Great Britain saw the danger and offered to
protect Poland in the event of war.
Hitler and the Soviets
• France and Britain realized that only the Soviet
Union was powerful enough to help contain
Nazis
• Hitler continued to believe the West would
not fight over Poland
• He did fear that the West and the Soviet
Union might make an alliance
• To prevent this, Hitler made his own
agreement with Stalin.
Non-Aggression Pact
• August 23rd 1939: Germany and Soviet Union
signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression pact.
• The two nations promised not to attack each
other.
• To get Stalin to sign, Hitler offered control of
eastern Poland and the Baltic states.
• Did not matter to Hitler what he promised, he
was accustomed to breaking promises anyway.
How long with the honeymoon last?
Poland
• Hitler shocked the world when he announced
the treaty
• Hitler now free to attack Poland
• Hitler told his generals “Now Poland is in the
position in which I wanted her….I am only
afraid that at the last moment some swine
with yet submit to me a plan for mediation.”
Bellringer – Japanese Path to War
• Why did Japan want to expand into
Chinese Manchuria? (Pg 611)
Japanese Path to War
• Night of Sept 18th 1931: Japanese soldiers,
disguised as Chinese soldiers, blew up a small
section of the Manchurian Railway near the
city of Mukden.
• Japan owned this area, and Japanese soldiers
wanted to blame the incident on the Chinese
• Japanese army used this to justify its taking of
all of Manchuria in a series of military
advances.
Manchuria
• Manchuria offered many resources the
Japanese needed
• After this conquest, the Japanese army
became committed to an expansionist policy –
a policy of enlarging the Japanese empire
League of Nations
• Sept 1932: Japanese army formed Manchuria into
a separate state
• Renamed it Manchukuo
• Placed a puppet ruler, Henry Pu Yi, on the throne.
• Worldwide protests
• League of Nations sent in investigators
• Japan withdrew from League of Nations
• United States refused to recognize Japanese
Manchuria, but was unwilling to threaten force
Expansion and Control
•
•
•
•
Japan continued expansion and control
Eastern part of Mongolia
Areas in north China around Beijing.
Japanese army established foreign policy, not
their Emperor
• Armed forces had gained control of Japanese
politics by the 1930’s.
War with China
• As Japan moved steadily southward, protests
against aggression grew stronger in Chinese cities
• Japan seized Chinese capital of Nanjing in
December
• Japanese Army destroyed the city and massacred
more than 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war
• Event known as “Rape of Nanjing because of its
brutality
• Women forced into sexual slavery
• Temporarily defeated, Chinese continued to resist
Event known as
“Nanjing Massacre”
because of its
brutality.
Temporarily
defeated, Chinese
continued to resist
New Order?
• Japan’s hoped to force Chinese to agree to a
new Order in East Asia
• Wanted to establish a new system of control
with Japan guiding neighbors to prosperity.
• Part of Japan’s plan to take Soviet Siberia, with
its rich resources
Cooperation with Germany
• During the late 1930’s Japan began to cooperate
with Nazi Germany
• Japan assumed the two countries would
eventually launch a joint attack on Soviet Union,
dividing the resources between them.
• When Germany and Soviets signed
nonaggression pact in Aug 1939, Japanese had to
rethink their goals
• Japan lacked resources to defeat Soviet Union
• Looked to South Asia for raw materials for their
military.
Sanctions
• Moving southward risked war with Europe
and USA
• Japan’s attacks already drawing strong
criticism, especially from USA
• Summer 1940: Japan demanded right to
exploit economic resources in French
Indochina
USA Intervenes
• USA objected, and warned of economic
sanctions unless Japan withdrew
• Sanctions: restrictions intended to enforce
international law.
• Japan badly needed oil and scrap iron that it
was getting from United States
• If they were cut off, Japan’s long term goals
would be threatened
Dilemma
• Japan was now in a dilemma
• To get raw materials in Southeast Asia, they
had to risk losing them from the USA
• After much debate, Japan decided to launch a
surprise attack on US and European colonies
in Southeast Asia
Lesson 2: World War II
• Hitler stunned Europe with German attack on
Poland
• His blitzkrieg, or “lightning war”, used panzer
divisions.
• Panzer division: strike force of 300 tanks,
supported by airplanes.
• Blitzkreig broke through Polish lines and
surrounded Polish troops
Europe at War
• Within 4 weeks, Poland had surrendered
• Sept 28th 1939: Germany and Soviet Union
divided Poland
• Waited out winter, resumed attacking April 9th
1940, another Blitzkrieg against Denmark and
Norway
• One month later, Germany launched an attack
on Netherlands, Belgium, and France
Maginot Line
• French and British forces taken by surprise
• Anticipating an attack, France built a defense
system called the Maginot Line across its border
with Germany.
• The line was a series of concrete and steel
fortifications armed with heavy artillery
• Germany decided not to cross the Maginot Line
• Instead they went around it and attacked France
from its border with Belgium.
Maginot Line
Maginot Line
• André Maginot was the French Minister of Defense at the
time. He was also a World War I veteran. France ran
defense in World War I somewhat successfully, so Maginot
decided to do it again. He embedded 3 billion francs worth
of artillery casemates, machine guns, tanks, and cement
into the earth along its borders with Germany. Machines
could rise out of the ground, shoot 360°, and lower back
into place. Electric power. Diesel redundancy. Even
underground trains. The Maginot Line was two hundred
miles of engineered brilliance.
• But the Germans went around it. They attacked near
neutral Belgium, glided overhead, bombed the Maginot
Line, and broke through within five days. They called it
Blitzkrieg, or “lightning war.”
Evacuation at Dunkirk
• By going around the Maginot Line, the
Germans split the Allied armies
• Trapped French troops and the British army on
the beaches of Dunkirk
• In a heroic effort, the Royal Navy and private
citizens evacuated 338,000 Allied troops.
Primary Source
• “The Soldiers were coming off the beach
clinging to bits of wood and wreckage and
anything that would float. As we got close
enough we began…..picking up as many as we
could…[and taking] them off to one of the
ships lying off in the deep water.”
• -Quoted in blood, tears and folly, 1993
Armistice
• French signed an armistice on June 22 1940
• German armies occupied three-fifths of
France
• An authoritarian regime controlled the
remainder of the country
• Called “Vichy France” and was led by French
hero of WW1 Marshal Henri Petain
Vichy France
Churchill
• Germany now in control of western and
central Europe, but Britain had still not been
defeated.
• After Dunkirk, the British resolve heightened.
• British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was
especially helpful in rallying the British people.
USA
• President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke against Nazi
aggression
• But followed strict policy of isolationism
• Isolationism: policy of national isolation by refraining
from alliances and other international political and
economic relations.
• Many Americans felt that USA had been drawn into
World War I due to economic involvement in Europe
• Wanted to prevent this from happening again
• Roosevelt felt that neutrality would encourage Nazi
aggression.
• USA gradually relaxed this policy, began to supply
Britain
Bellringer
• Describe the significance of the following
three terms to WW2:
• 1. Maginot Line
• 2. Dunkirk
• 3. Vichy France
The Battle of Britain
• Hitler realized an amphibious (land-sea)
invasion of Britain could only succeed if
Germany controlled the air.
• August 1940: the Luftwaffe (German air force)
launched major attack
• German planes bombed British air and naval
bases, harbors, communication centers.
Battle of Britain
• British fought back with determination
• Effective radar system: gave early warning of
German attacks
• British air force still suffered huge losses
• September 1940: Germany retaliated for British
attack on Berlin
• Hitler shifts strategy
• Bombed cities instead of military targets
• Hoped to break British morale
Battle of Britain
• Because military targets were not hit, British
rebuilt their air strength quickly
• British air force was successful against
Luftwaffe bombers
• Hitler postponed invasion of Britain
indefinitely.
Attack on Soviet Union
• Hitler became convinced that Britain
remained in the war only because it expected
Soviet support
• If Soviet Union was smashed, Britain’s last
hope would be eliminated
• Hitler also was convinced that the Soviet
Union had a weak army and could be defeated
quickly.
Invasion of Soviet Union
• Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union delayed
because of Mussolini’s failed invasion of Greece
in 1940
• To secure the Balkans, Hitler seized both Greece
and Yugoslavia in April
• Hitler invaded Soviet Union on June 22nd 1941
• He believed he could defeat the Russians before
winter
• Massive attack stretched along 2,900 km.
German Advances
• German troops advanced quickly, capturing 2
million Russian soldiers.
• By November, one German army group swept
through Ukraine, and a second was attacking
Leningrad, and a third was approaching within 40
km of Moscow, the capital.
• German advance stopped by fierce winter and
Soviet resistance
• Germany had not planned for winter uniforms
• A counterattack in December 1941 by Soviet
army ended the year for the Germans.
Japan at War
• December 7th 1941: Japanese aircraft attacked
US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
• Surprise attack
• Destroyed more than 350 aircraft, 18 ships,
killed 3,500 Americans
• The same day, Japanese attacked Philippines
and advanced on Malaya
• By Spring 1942, almost all of SE Asia and much
of Western Pacific had fallen to the Japanese
FDR’s Speech
• FDR's famous request for Congress to declare
war following the Japanese attacks of
December 7th -- the "day that will live in
infamy."
• December 8, 1941
Primary Source
• Yesterday, Dec. 7, 1941 -- a date which will live
in infamy -- the United States of America was
suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval
and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
• The United States was at peace with that
nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was
still in conversation with the government and
its emperor looking toward the maintenance
of peace in the Pacific.
• Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an
attack against Malaya.
• Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
• Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
• Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine
Islands.
• Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
• This morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
• Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive
extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of
yesterday speak for themselves. The people of the
United States have already formed their opinions and
well understand the implications to the very life and
safety of our nation.
• With confidence in our armed forces -- with
the unbending determination of our people -we will gain the inevitable triumph -- so help
us God.
• I ask that the Congress declare that since the
unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on
Sunday, Dec. 7, a state of war has existed
between the United States and the Japanese
empire.
Last years of the War
• Beginning of 1943: tide of battle turned
against axis (Germany, Italy, Japan)
• Since Autumn of 1943, Allies planned invasion
of France from Great Britain, across the
English Channel
• June 6th 1944 – D-Day
• Allied forces under US general Dwight
Eisenhower landed on the Normandy beaches
in history’s greatest naval invasion
D-Day
• Allies fought their way past hidden underwater mines,
barbed wire, machine gun fire
• Germans responded slowly, thinking this was a
diversion and the real invasion would occur elsewhere
• Gave Allied forces time to set up
• Within 3 months, allies landed 2 million men and
500,000 vehicles
• Allies pushed through German defensive lines,
liberated Paris by August 1944
• By Jan 1945, both sides suffered heavy losses but the
Allied lines held
Soviet advances
• Soviets came a long way since Battle of Stalingrad
in 1943
• Soviets soundly defeated German forces at the
Battle of Kursk, the greatest tank battle of WW2.
• Soviets moved into Baltic states by early 1944,
and occupied Warsaw Poland and Berlin by April.
• As allied forces advanced into Nazi occupied
Europe, they also liberated the concentration
camps and death camps.
Hitler’s final stand
• By January 1945, Hitler had moved into a bunker
55 feet under the city of Berlin.
• In his final testament, He blamed the Jews for the
war. He wrote:
• “Above all I charge the leaders of the nation and
those under them to scrupulous observance of
the laws of race and to merciless opposition to
the universal poisoner of all peoples,
international Jewry.” – April 29th 1945
• Hitler committed suicide on April 30th.
Today’s Focus
•
•
•
•
•
USA advances in SE Asia
Roosevelt’s Death/Truman takes over
Manhattan Project
Hiroshima/Nagasaki bombing
Armistice
Asia
• Beginning in 1943, US forces advanced in the
Pacific
• Island hopping campaign, gained strategic
advantage in air war on Japan
• Casualties mounted
Roosevelt’s death
• Harry Truman became president after
Roosevelt died on April 12th 1945.
• Truman had difficult decision to make
Manhattan project
• Scientists worked on top secret project called the
Manhattan project
• Efforts led to development of the atomic bomb.
• Should Truman use the newly developed atomic
weapons to bring the war to an end?
• If USA invaded Japan, troops would suffer heavy
casualties
• Only two bombs, nobody knew how effective
they’d be.
Nuclear Bomb
• A nuclear weapon of the "Little Boy" type, the
uranium gun-type detonated over Hiroshima.
It is 28 inches in diameter and 120 inches
long. "Little Boy" weighed about 9,000 pounds
and had a yield approximating 15,000 tons of
high explosives.
Nuclear Bomb
• A nuclear weapon of the "Fat Man" type, the
plutonium implosion type detonated over
Nagasaki. 60 inches in diameter and 128
inches long, the weapon weighed about
10,000 pounds and had a yield approximating
21,000 tons of high explosives
Hiroshima/Nagasaki
• Truman decided to use the bombs
• First bomb dropped on Hiroshima (Aug 6th)
• Of the city’s 350,000 inhabitants, 190,000
died.
• Three days later, another bomb dropped on
Nagasaki
• Both cities were leveled, thousands died
immediately, thousands more in later months
due to radiation.
The bomb and its aftermath
Death Count
• The real mortality of the atomic bombs that
were dropped on Japan will never be known.
• The destruction and overwhelming chaos
made orderly counting impossible.
• It is not unlikely that the estimates of killed
and wounded in Hiroshima (150,000) and
Nagasaki (75,000) are over conservative.
War Over
• Japan’s emperor accepted Allied forces
demands for surrender on Aug 15th 1945
• WW2 finally over
• 17 million died in battle, 20 million civilian
deaths, some estimates place total losses at
60 million.
War Over
• The dropping of the bombs in Japan marked
the beginning of the Nuclear Age.
• Other countries raced to build their own
nuclear weapons.
• In August 1949, Soviet Union set of its first
atomic bomb, starting an arms race with the
United States that lasted 40 years.
Cold War
• No real peace but a period of political
tensions, known as the Cold War, followed the
victory of the Allies in WW2.
• The Cold War dominated world affairs until
the late 1980’s.
• 1945 and 1946 – Nazi leaders condemned for
war crimes at trials in Nuremberg, Germany.
• War Crimes trials were also held in Japan and
Italy.