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
• Appeasement
• Rise of Totalitarianism
Totalitarianism
USSR:
Communist
Dictatorship
Germany & Italy:
Fascist
Dictatorship
Japan:
Military
Dictatorship
Adolf HitlerGermany
Japan
Hideki Tojo
Benito Mussolini-Italy
Josef StalinUSSR
Aggression Goes Unchecked
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•
•
•
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: “sudden attack, lightning war” 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
east.
• France and Britain declared war on Germany but
did nothing to help Poland
– By end of the month, Poland fell in defeat
• 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
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•
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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 antiJapanese 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
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•
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
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•
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•
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
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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
• Japan
– 2 million military
– 350,000 civilians
• Italy
– 400,000 military
– 100,000 civilian
• China
– 2.5 million military
– 7.4 million civilians
• USSR
– 10 million military
– 10 million civilians
• Great Britain
– 300,000 military
– 50,000 civilians
• France
– 250,000 military
– 350,000 civilian
• United States
– 274,000 military