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World War II Begins
1939 - 1945
Causes of World War II

Failure of Treaty of
Versailles
Appeasement
 Nationalism
 Militarism
 Alliances
 Isolationism & Pacifism
 League of Nations

Failure of Treaty of Versailles

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Not enforceable
Germany has no
choice but to try
and break
it…why???
Appeasement - “if we don’t get
involved in small fights, we’ll avoid a big
fight”

Munich Conference – 1938
• England and France give in
to some of Hitler's demands
in the hopes that he will not
take more
Nationalism

Germany
• Prove its superiority and get
revenge for Treaty of Versailles

Italy
• Return to the glory days of
Rome when Italy was powerful

Japan
• Establish its dominance in Asia
Militarism

Germany
• Annexes surrounding areas
• Creates the "Third Reich“

Italy
• Invades Ethiopia

Japan
• Invades Manchuria, Korea, and
China
Alliances

Axis
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan

Allies
• Great Britain
• France
Isolationism & Pacifism

U.S.
• Avoid involvement in
European conflict

Europe
• Avoid another war and
continue to recover from
WWI
League of Nations

Unable to back up
demands -- no military
strength
Worldwide Depression

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Countries short of
supplies
Still trying to
recover from World
War I
Economic hard
times worldwide
1923 - Wallpapering with German
Deutschmarks
The Rise of Dictators
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Allies had expected Germany to pay for
damages during World War I
Didn’t have enough money to do this
Adolf Hitler, leader of Germany during the 20’s,
said Germany had been treated unfairly.
Believed only Germans with blond hair and blue
eyes were “true Germans”
Blamed Jews for many of the problems.
National Socialists, or Nazis

Political party with Hitler in charge

Grew in power and started an army

Soldiers, called storm troopers

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Attacked Jewish people and others
opposed to Hitler
Put prisoners into terrible prisons called
concentration camps.
Hitler Encourages Attacks
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Anti-Semitism:
persecution of Jews
“Kristallnacht” 
Night of Broken
Glass (Nov. 9,
1938); beginning of
Jewish persecution
OPTIONAL VIDEO
Nazis in Control


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1933 took control of German
government
Hitler ruled as a dictator, an all-powerful
ruler.
Rebuilt Germany’s economy by
preparing for another war.

Built tanks, guns and other war supplies

Wanted to Rule the World
German Dictator, Adolf Hitler
Hitler’s Speech
To see his dynamic and motivating
speaking abilities
From 2:36
The Lion King and Hitler
Hitler just can’t wait to be king
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNoSV8EZ2M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H
_WduwM3aJA
Two funny optional music videos, time permitting
Other Dictators

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Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union
Dictatorship – country ruled by one allpowerful person

Francisco Franco ruled Spain

Benito Mussolini ruled Italy.

Hirohito ruled Japan
The War Begins
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Japan, Italy, and Germany began taking
over other countries AXIS POWERS
Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland
British and French leaders had enough!
Declared war on Germany on Sept. 3,
1939.
British and French not able to stop
Germany from taking over other
countries.
Germany’s Secret Pact
with Russia

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Stalin signs 10-year nonaggression pact with Hitler, & said
they would divide Poland; USSR
could take back Finland & Baltics
Now Hitler not threatened by Soviet
attack from the east
Germany’s Lightening Attack on
Poland

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Hitler wanted to conquer Poland 
surprise attack on Sept. 1, 1939
Rained bombs & terror; tanks & trucks
carried in 1.5 million German soldiers
Attack called BLITZKRIEG or
“lightening war”
Invasion was 1st cause of WWII
The Phony War
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After fall of Poland, strange calm
Germany & France mobilized to borders,
& waited for each other to attack 
nothing happened
Fake war called “sitzkrieg”
Then…Hitler launched attack on Denmark
& Norway (wanted access to Britain)
Germany Attacks France

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German troops sweep through
Belgium & France  trapped at
beaches of Dunkirk
In most heroic act of war, Great
Britain sets out to rescue soldiers 
carried 338,000 to safety
Fall of France

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Mussolini (Italy) joins Hitler & France
surrenders, June 22, 1940
French general, Charles de Gaulle
tries to organize resistance with
Britain against new German power
Germany Attacks Britain
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Now Britain stands alone against Nazis
Winston Churchill (prime minister):
“We shall never surrender…”
Hitler’s plan: Operation Sea Lion 
Luftwaffe (Ger. Air Force) 1st knock out
Royal Air Force (RAF) & then land
invasion…but Britain had:
• Radar
• Enigma (Ger. Code breaking machine)

BATTLE OF BRITAIN ended May 10,
1941 with a British victory
Germany Attacks
Mediterranean Region

Germany/Italy attack North Africa 
want Suez Canal (Brit. owned) to
get to oil fields in Middle East
• Brit. fought back, but lost to Germany

Hitler takes the Balkans

Set up to take Soviet Union
Germany Attacks Soviet Union

Operation Barbarossa  take
down Soviet Union
• Russians “scorched-earth policy” (same
as Napoleon fight)

Hitler employs blitzkrieg & tried to
starve out people in
Leningrad/Moscow, but didn’t
surrender  winter came!
The United States

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Many thought we should stay out
President Franklin Roosevelt promised
to keep us out of war  Neutrality Acts
Prepared for attack just in case
1st peacetime draft
• Men ages 21-39 had to register
• Started making war supplies

But Sept. 4th, 1941 a U-Boat fires & US
in undeclared naval war w/ Germany
JAPAN STRIKES IN
THE PACIFIC
Japanese Invasion Spreads

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Japanese invaded Indochina, now
what is Cambodia, Laos, & Vietnam
American leaders were afraid Japan
would threaten the Philippines &
other Pacific islands
They were RIGHT!
U.S. Enters the War
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December 7, 1941, Japanese planes
attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaiian
Islands
Dropped bombs on American ships at
the Pearl Harbor naval base
Less than two hours, Japan destroyed
most of U.S. Pacific fleet
More than 2,000 sailors & 68 civilians
killed
Declaration of War

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Day after the attack at Pearl Harbor,
President Roosevelt asked Congress
to declare war on Japan
Congress declared war that same
day.
Italy & Germany, Japan’s allies,
declared war on the U.S. three days
later.
Dec. 7, 1941
“a date which will live in infamy” -
VIDEO
FDR
Sides are Drawn
Axis Powers

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Germany
Japan
Italy
Allies
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United States
Britain
France
Americans at War

Produced more and more airplanes,
tanks, and other war supplies

Created new jobs

World War II ended Great Depression

Women took over many jobs

Power of federal government grew

Rationing (limiting what Americans
could buy) so supplies could be sent
overseas.
Allies Strike Back
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Bataan Death March in Phillipines one of
reasons US bombed Japan
US sent L.C. Doolittle to bomb major
cities in Japan (Doolittle’s raid on Japan)
Japan targets Midway Island (key US
airfield)  Battle of Midway
• Turned tide of war in Pacific against Japan
• American success
Allies Take the Offensive

Gen. Douglas MacArthur 
commander of Allied forces in Pacific
• “island-hopping campaign”
• “Hit em’ where they ain’t, let ‘em die on
the vine”

Battle of Guadalcanal  “Island of
Death”
Problems for Japanese
Americans

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Some military leaders distrusted Japanese
Americans
Were afraid they would help the “enemy”
Roosevelt ordered 110,000 Japanese
Americans into “relocation camps”
• Like prisons, fenced in w/ barbed wire
• Soldiers guarded camps w/ guns
• Had to sell their homes, businesses, &
belongings.
Problems Continue
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Moved to Utah, California, Arizona,
Wyoming, Arkansas, and Idaho
Had to wear identification tags
Over 17,000 Japanese Americans
served in Army units even though
their friends & families were being
locked away by their own country.
Holocaust Begins

Mass slaughter of people

Nazis believe Aryans were “master race”

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Anti-Semitism: persecution of Jews 
Nuremberg Laws
Jews wore bright yellow star for ID
Kristallnacht: “Night of Broken Glass”,
beginning of persecution
Isolating Jews

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Hitler 1st tried to kick Jews out, but
countries refusing admittance
Herded them into ghettos
(segregated areas) to starve or die
from disease
Jews struggled to keep traditions and
hang on
Hitler’s Final Solution

Hitler impatient Jews not dying fast
enough, so new plan, “Final Solution”
• Genocide (mass killing)
• 1940-1942
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SS rounded up Jews & taken to
concentration camps  most lost 50 lbs
in 1st month
Gas chambers, horrible conditions,
crematoriums
Roughly 11 million deaths
ALLIES
ARE
VICTORIOUS
Hitler Summary Video 
Stalin Asks for Help

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Stalin needs to relieve German
pressure  asks Allies to open 2nd
front in west (would split German
forces)
Allies agree, but going to Egypt first
 Stalin upset
Battle in Egypt

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British forces heading to Egypt to fight
Rommel/Germans  Battle of El
Alamein
Allies launch Operation Torch
American General Dwight D. Eisenhower
in charge
Rommel/Germans defeated
Hitler in Russia
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While Germans are losing in Egypt, also
suffering losses in Russia
Hitler send last effort to Stalingrad
(500,000 ppl), major industrial center
Battle of Stalingrad 
blitzkrieg destroyed 90%
of city
But another Russian winter set in &
Germans had to retreat
Italy Surrenders
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Stalin still wants Britain & France to
invade France & attack Germans
Took care of Italy 1st  surrendered
Sept. 3rd, 1942
Reign of
Mussolini over
Life on Allied Home Fronts
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Total war effort
Car factories made tanks; typewriter
companies made bullets
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Rationing
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Kids collect scrap metal
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Japanese Americans imprisoned
Allied Victory in Europe
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Allies winning  Operation Overlord
• Greatest land/sea attack in history
• Allied troops land in Normandy, France
• Called D-Day
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Allies pushing Hitler from east & Stalin
pushing from west (two-front)
Battle of the Bulge  Hitler tries to
break through Allied line in France, but
American forces swoop in & help win
Germany’s Unconditional
Surrender

April 29, 1945 Hitler marries Ava Braun
• Final note: blamed Jews & his Generals
• Hitler & wife took poison, then he shot
himself  body burned

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FDR dies before official surrender, so
successor Harry Truman accepts
surrender May 8th, 1945
US & Allies celebrate V-E Day (Victory
in Europe Day)
VIDEO
Victory in the Pacific
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War in Europe over, but Allies still
fighting Japan
Battle of Guadalcanal, Japanese lost
& retreating, but employing
kamikaze (suicide pilots) technique
March 1945 Allies finally take Iwo
Jima & Okinawa (bloodiest battles)
Atomic Bomb Brings Japanese
Surrender
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Pres. Truman learns about atomic
bomb weapon  makes decision to
drop it in Japan (after warning)
Aug. 6th, 1945 1st A-bomb dropped
on Hiroshima
Aug. 9th, 1945 2nd A-bomb dropped
on Nagasaki
Japan surrendered to Gen.
MacArthur on Sept. 2nd
http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/trinity-test/videos
World War II
1939-1945
Devastation of Europe
and Japan
Destruction of War

60 million deaths (40 million
Europeans)
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50 million uprooted from homes
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Billions of dollars in damage
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Some lived in partially destroyed
homes or caves; no water or
electricity; little food
Many now living in different countries
Postwar Governments
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Some governments in smaller
countries returned
But Germany, France, & Italy’s
government brought to ruins
Communist Party promised change,
& people ready to listen  but
started with violent strikes & people
backed away
An Attempt at Justice

Nuremberg Trials  22 Nazi leaders
charged w/ waging war of aggression &
crimes against humanity
• 12 sentenced to death; 3 suicides; rest
hanged
• Only 1 expressed remorse

Rest of those not captured fled to
South America
Effects of Defeat in Japan
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2 million Japanese died
Allies took away Japanese colonies
MacArthur began demilitarization
 disbanding Japanese armed forces
25 leaders brought to trial; 6 hanged
MacArthur set up parliamentary
democracy (constitutional monarchy)
like Britain’s, May 3, 1947
US did not provide aid to Japan
A New Charter

Atlantic Charter  agreement
promising free trade and selfdetermination for all freed countries
Friends
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US & 48 other nations
signed peace treaty with
Japan
Japan had no armed
forces, so agreed to have
US protection
WWII changed political
landscape  weakened
some countries &
strengthened others
Soviet Union & US
Allies…for now