Causes of WWII
1. Problems in Europe from World War I.
-
-
-
World wide Depression
Germany’s high World War I debt
(remember Treaty of Versailles and
reparations)
High inflation – the value of money goes
down over time.
Massive unemployment
Causes of WWII
2. Rise of Fascism: a political philosophy
in which total power is given to a dictator.
–
–
–
Germany
Italy
Japan
• Dictators of these countries became known as the
Axis Powers
Extreme
nationalism
and racism
Individual
freedoms
are denied
Censorship/
government
controls the
media
Fascism
What is it?
Use of
violence
and terror
Strong
military
Government
controls the
economy
3. Appeasement = giving in to Hitler’s
actions to avoid war
• The United States and
other European
countries did not want
to get involved in other
government’s disputes
because of the Great
Depression and the
legacy of World War I
United States
Great Britain
FDR
Joseph Stalin
Winston Churchill
Truman
USSR – United Soviet Socialist Republic
Major Leaders of the War
Franklin D. Roosevelt
(Allied Power)
• U.S. President
–
•
•
Elected in 1933 during
the Great Depression
and leads until his
death in 1945.
Enters war after attack
on Pearl Harbor
Dies three weeks
before the end of the
war
Major Leaders of the War
Harry Truman
(Allied Power)
• U.S. President after the
death of President
Roosevelt
• Important at the end of
the war by dropping
atomic bomb and giving
aid to worn-torn
countries
Major Leaders of the War
Winston Churchill
(Allied Power)
• Prime Minister of Great
Britain
• Strong stand against
Hitler
• His speeches kept
British morale high
Major Leaders of the War
Joseph Stalin
(Allied Power)
• Soviet Union (USSR)
Dictator
• Led communist party
• Ruled for 30 years by
fear and terror
• Helped defeat Nazi
Germany
“The Big Three”
Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill
Germany
Japan
Hideki Tojo
Mussolini
Adolf Hitler
Hirohito
Italy
Major Leaders of the War
Adolf Hitler (Axis
Power)
• Fascist dictator of
Germany
• Leader of the Nazi Party
• Rose to power through
propaganda
• Started the “Third
Reich” (Reich = empire
in German)
• Preached hatred of Jews
Major Leaders of the War
Benito Mussolini (Axis
Power)
• Fascist dictator of Italy
• Aligned with Hitler
• Fired by King of Italy in
1943 but is reinstated
days later after Hitler
takes control of Italy
Major Leaders of the War
Hideki Tojo (Axis
Power)
• Japanese General –
leader of the military
• Ordered attack on
Pearl Harbor
• Executed at the end of
the war
Major Leaders of the War
Hirohito
• Emperor of Japan
• Viewed as a divine
figure (God gave him
the power to rule)
• Japan’s military gained
political influence during
his rule
1939 - 1945
1. German Invasion of Poland:
Sept. 1, 1939
Blitzkrieg -“Lightning War” – swift military
offense, usually combining land and air forces
• Germany invaded Poland, setting off war in
Europe
• The Soviet Union also invaded Poland and
the Baltic nations
• NAZI SOVIET PACT:1939, Germany
and Soviet Union signed a pact to invade
and control Northern and Eastern
European nations.
German troops marching into Warsaw, Poland (1939)
2. Germany invaded France
and captured Paris (1940)
• Italy invades France from the South and Germany
takes over from the North – France Surrenders
SOME FRENCH OPPOSED THE NAZIS and the Vichy Gov.
Examples of groups organizing French resistance from Germany
The Free French
The Maquis
General Charles
DeGaulle
Now Britain Is All Alone!
3. Battle of Britain (1940)
• Germany bombed
London.
• Massive air strikes
between the two
countries
• Germany was defeated
• Also known as:
Operation Sea Lion
Battle of Britain excerpt:
4. Lend Lease Act – United States
gave war supplies to Britain
• At the start of the war, the United States remained
neutral; however, were closely allied with Great Britain
• The United States gave Britain war supplies and old
naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda
and the Caribbean
Video (4)
5. German Invasion of the
Soviet Union
• Operation Barbarossa – Hitler’s Biggest
Mistake
(Hitler breaks his treaty with Stalin)
5. German Invasion of the
Soviet Union
• Hitler’s biggest mistake because now he is
fighting on TWO FRONTS!
Operation Barbarossa:
June 22, 1941
• 3,000,000 German soldiers.
• 3,400 tanks.
6. Japanese Attack on
Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)
Known as:
“A date which will live in infamy”
Pearl Harbor
USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor from the
Cockpit of a Japanese Pilot
U.S. Enters World War II
• After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the US declared war
on Japan, so Germany declared war on the US
• In response, the US declared war on Germany.
Pearl Harbor Memorial
• 2,887 Americans Dead!
“ I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping
giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.”
-
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Stalin switches sides & the U.S
enters the war. The “Big Three”
is now created
Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin
Video
7. Battle of Midway – June 4-7,
1942
• US Navy destroyed Japan’s naval strength
• Japan’s navy never recovered and was on the defensive
after this battle.
• Turning point of the
war in the Pacific
Battle of Midway – June 4-7,
1942
Video (11)
8. Battle of Stalingrad (July
1942 - February 1943)
• Long battle
between Germany
and USSR
• Deadliest battle of
WWII – 1.5
million casualties.
• Germany lost
• Turning point of
the war in
Eastern Europe
9. D-Day - Operation Overlord
(Allied invasion of Europe – June 6, 1944)
Led by General Eisenhower and the allied forces
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
• Allied troops
ferried across the
English Channel
and sailed from
Britain to the
beaches of
Normandy,
France
• Germans retreat
• Beginning of the
end of war in
Western Europe
• V-E Day: May 8,
1945
Normandy Landing
(June 6, 1944)
German Prisoners
Video (9)
Atomic bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• In 1945, President Truman authorizes the United
States to drop the atomic bomb on Japan.
• The Manhattan
Project – led
by Robert
Oppenheimer –
was
responsible for
creating the
atomic bomb
Hiroshima – August 6, 1945
“Little Boy”
© 70,000 killed
immediately.
© 48,000 buildings.
destroyed.
© 100,000s died of
radiation poisoning &
cancer later.
Nagasaki – August 9, 1945
“Fat Man”
© 40,000 killed
immediately.
© 60,000 injured.
© 100,000s died of
radiation poisoning
& cancer later.
Japan Surrenders –
August 15, 1945 (V-J Day)
Video (11)
Japanese A-Bomb Survivors
Video
Outcomes of World War II
1. After the war, Britain and France were broke
2. Establishment of two major world powers:
The United States and the U.S.S.R.
3. War Crime Trials
• The Nuremberg War Trials:
Crimes Against Humanity
• Japanese War Crimes Trials
Trial against SS German Officers
General
Hideki Tojo
Those that did not make it to trial…
The Führer’s
Bunker
Cyanide
& Pistols
Mussolini & His Mistress,
Claretta Petacci
Are Hung in Milan, 1945
Mr. & Mrs.
Hitler
4. Division of Germany
• Germany was
partitioned (divided)
into 2 countries – East
and West Germany
• East Germany was
controlled by the USSR
• West Germany was
controlled by the USA,
Great Britain, and
France
• Berlin (capital of
Germany) was also
divided into two
4. Division of Germany
• East Germany and East
Berlin were
communist
• West Germany and
West Berlin were
capitalist
5. United States takes control of Japan
• Japan was occupied
by American forces
• Soon, Japan adapted
a democratic
government
• Later, gained self
government and
became an economic
super power
6. Creation of the United Nations
• Improved the
League of
Nations
• Goal: to prevent
all future wars
The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights
• Established and
adopted by members
of the United Nations
• Provided a code of
conduct for the
treatment of people
under the protection
of their government
7. Marshall Plan
• Created by General
George Marshall
(United States)
• A plan to rebuild
European countries
• Gave money to
European democratic
countries to rebuild
8. Rapid US Economic Growth
• After the war, defense
plants switched to
producing consumer
goods
• Americans bought
goods on credit
• New technology
boomed
• Women were forced
out of factory jobs they
gained during the war
to make room for men
returning from war
• Labor Unions gained
more power and gave
workers higher salaries
WW II Casualties: Europe
Each symbol
indicates 100,000
dead in the
appropriate theater
of operations
WW II Casualties: Asia
Each symbol
indicates 100,000
dead in the
appropriate theater
of operations
Country
Men in war
Battle deaths
Wounded
Australia
1,000,000
26,976
180,864
800,000
280,000
350,117
625,000
8,460
55,5131
40,334
943
4,222
339,760
6,671
21,878
Canada
1,086,3437
42,0427
53,145
China3
17,250,521
1,324,516
1,762,006
Czechoslovakia
—
6,6834
8,017
Denmark
—
4,339
—
500,000
79,047
50,000
—
201,568
400,000
20,000,000
3,250,0004
7,250,000
Greece
—
17,024
47,290
Hungary
—
147,435
89,313
India
2,393,891
32,121
64,354
Italy
3,100,000
149,4964
66,716
Japan
9,700,000
1,270,000
140,000
Netherlands
280,000
6,500
2,860
New Zealand
194,000
11,6254
17,000
Norway
75,000
2,000
—
Poland
—
664,000
530,000
650,0005
350,0006
—
410,056
2,473
—
—
6,115,0004
14,012,000
5,896,000
357,1164
369,267
16,112,566
291,557
670,846
3,741,000
305,000
425,000
Austria
Belgium
Brazil2
Bulgaria
Finland
France
Germany
Romania
South Africa
U.S.S.R.
United Kingdom
United States
Yugoslavia
WW II
Casualties
1. Civilians only.
2. Army and navy figures.
3. Figures cover period July
7, 1937 to Sept. 2, 1945,
and concern only Chinese
regular troops. They do
not include casualties
suffered by guerrillas and
local military corps.
4. Deaths from all causes.
5. Against Soviet Russia;
385,847
against Nazi Germany.
6. Against Soviet Russia;
169,822
against Nazi Germany.
7. National Defense Ctr.,
Canadian
Forces Hq., Director of
History.