World War II
1939-1945
1941-1945 (US)
Europe on the verge of WWII
Mussolini and Hitler
Events Leading Up to WWII
The terms of the Treaty of Versailles
imposed upon Germany at the end World
War I sowed the seeds of World War 2 by:
 stripping Germany of territory
 requiring her to pay huge reparations to
the victorious powers
 Could not have a navy or army
 Depression and chaos in Ger. gov’t (called
the Weimar Republic)
Events Leading Up to WWII…..

Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party came to power
in January 1933
By early 1939 Germany had
thrown off the restrictions of
the Versailles treaty by:
 Remilitarization
of the Rhineland
 introduced conscription (the draft)
 annexed Austria and occupied
Czechoslovakia
Events In Germany
Hitler came to power
with a plan for
German dominance of
Europe. He led with
blatant contempt for
human life
 Hitler took back the
Rhineland, (between
Fr. And Ger.) March
1936


then takes Austria and Czechoslovakia
without a fight -1938
*Appeasement (giving in or pacify)
- Hitler made a treaty with Stalin (Russia)
to
divide Poland
* However, Hitler invades Poland taking the entire
nation for Germany which starts WWII
Sept. 1, 1939- Hitler invades Poland
Sept. 3-Great Britain declares war on Germany
Allied Powers
Great Britain
France
Soviet Union
United States –after Dec. 7,
1941
Axis Powers
Germany
Japan
Italy- until Mussolini is killed
Hitler
The Blitzkrieg
(Lightning War)
Germany sends in air and ground attack
 Germany’s invasion of Poland – Poland was
captured and a large portion was destroyed in
less than a month
 Many Polish were forced to do slave labor and
the Germans were determined to wipe out
Polish culture (destroyed libraries, churches,
museums, and killed Polish clergymen,
teachers, etc. . .)

 America
was dealing with the effects
of the Great Depression
- FDR was elected to his 3rd term1940
- FDR passes the Selective Service
Act in 1940 (US was aware that they
needed to be better prepared)
- US passed the Lend-Lease Act to
help Allied countries fight the
Germans
The Holocaust
 Nazi
Germany’s systematic murder of
European Jews (@ 6 million killed)
 Hitler first separated the Jews into
Ghettos (biggest in Warsaw) and made
them wear a Star of David where it was
visible.
 Hitler builds Concentration Camps (work
camps) for Jews, prisoners of war, and
political opponents
The Holocaust
 In
1942 the Nazi government
announced their “Final Solution to the
Jewish Problem”
** DEATH CAMPS or extermination
centers*
EX. Auschwitz was the worst of the
death camps killing 1.25 million
Cremation Ovens
Holocaust
Holocaust
Extent of Axis territory: 1940
Nazi Dominance in Europe
By 1940 Germany had taken over most of Europe
including France and Hitler set his sights on Britain
(the only opposition in Western Europe)
 Battle Of Britain – Every night through the summer
and fall the Germans bombed London
(Luftwaffe) trying to break the British will to resist
and destroy the RAF (Royal Air Force)
** 30,000 Londoners were killed, but Hitler finally
stopped the constant bombardment **

Winston Churchill

“We shall defend our island,
whatever the cost may be,
we shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing grounds,
we shall fight in the fields and in the
streets, we shall fight in the hills:
WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER.”
Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
America Enters WWII
Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941
– Japan attacked
US forces at Pearl
Harbor “a date
which will live in
infamy”
Map of Pearl Harbor
In less than 2 hours
around 2,400
Americans had been
killed.
- 300 US planes
destroyed
- 18 warships sunk
or badly damaged
including 8 battleships

* Japan lost 29 planes
in the attack *
Congress declared war on Japan on
December 8, 1941
Life on the Homefront
Huge amounts of war goods were needed so
the War Production Board and the Office of
War Mobilization were created to oversee war
production efforts.
 Factories stopped making consumer goods and
converted to war production.
EX. Ford made tanks NOT cars
“Liberty Ships” – Henry Kaiser
** FDR called America the “great arsenal of
democracy” we supplied ALL Allied forces

 Office
Life on the Homefront
of Price Administration was
created to fight inflation and ration
goods
- food, clothing, tires, gas, etc. . . were
all rationed
- Americans were issued ration books
with stamps used to purchase set
amounts of certain food.
The Office of War Information was
created to generate propaganda
- EX. Victory gardens, recycle drives,
Liberty bonds,
** “Rosie the Riveter” became the
symbol of the patriotic American
woman helping out in the war effort
by taking non-traditional jobs. **
-
WWII Propaganda
Women in Factories
 1941
– FDR and Churchill met and
formed the Atlantic Charter establishing
a basis for the United Nations
 GI – Government Issued
 Women in Service: Women are allowed
to serve for the first time during WWII in
noncombat roles.
EX. WASP (Women Air Force Service
Pilots)
WAC (Women’s Army Corps)
Women in Service
Contributions of Minorities during WWII

-
-
African-Americans- Tuskegee Airmen were all
black squadron of fighter pilots that successfully
protected every single bomber they escorted
during WWII
*fought for the “double V”
Hispanics – won 17 Congressional Medals of
Honor
Native Americans – Navajo marines were used
as “code talkers”
Japanese-Americans- couldn’t serve until 1943,
the 442nd fought so bravely that it became the
most decorated unit in US history
** Internment Camps** Korematsu v. US
Japanese – American Relocation
Internment Camp in Colorado
Internment Camp
European Fighting
Leadership:

U.S. Generals:
* Dwight Eisenhower – Led US troops in
North Africa (Operation Torch) and led the
Allied invasion of Normandy
* George Patton – led US troops into Italy
and in the Battle of the Bulge
* George Marshall – top US general,
FDR’s Army Chief of Staff
* Douglas McArthur – Allied Commander
in the Pacific
George S.
Patton

Douglas
McArthur
Dwight D.
Eisenhower
Invasion of Normandy (Fr.)
 This
was the Allied invasion of France
through Normandy led by Dwight
Eisenhower (Operation Overlord)
 D-Day was the code name given to
June 6, 1944, the day the invasion
began
 This
was the largest land invasion
ever attempted
 “Bloody Omaha” – site that saw
the highest casualties on D-Day
 This invasion in France gave the
Allies a crucial position in Europe
and sealed Germany’s fate
Map of D-Day
D-Day June 6, 1944
Landing Craft
Normandy, France
Yalta- Feb. 1945
The War In Europe Ends
 Yalta Conference – The “Big Three” (FDR,
Stalin, and Churchill) met and planned post-war
Europe including:
1. Split Germany in 4 occupation zones (Allied
control)
2. Split Berlin (capital) into 4 zones
3. Stalin promised to allow elections in nations
his army freed.
** V-E Day (victory in Europe) May 8, 1945
The day that Germany surrendered **
WWII Race for Technology
It became a race between the Allied and Axis
powers to create the most destructive weapons.
 The allies had the advantage of the US being
able to develop weapons faster b/c there was no
fighting on US soil to hinder production.
 “Manhattan Project” – code name given to the
top secret development of the atomic bomb
 Robert Oppenheimer – leader of the “eggheads”
or scientists

Japanese held territory
Iwo Jima
Japanese island
critical to U.S. as a
base from which
heavily loaded
bombers could
reach Japan
 6,000 Marines died
taking this desolate
island
 Next stop- Okinawa

Location of Iwo Jima
Potsdam Conference Aug. 1945
Atomic Blasts
July 26, 1945 – Japan was told that an
“unconditional surrender” was necessary
or it would be destroyed.
 August 6, 1945 the “Enola Gay” dropped
an atomic bomb on Hiroshima (@ 100,000
dead)
 August 9, 1945 a 2nd atomic bomb was
dropped on Nagasaki (@ 70,000 dead)

Enola Gay
Hiroshima
Hiroshima BEFORE
Hiroshima AFTER the blast

Victory
in
Japan
Day
V-J Day
How WWII Affected the World

About 50 million people died during WWII

War Crimes – A trial for Nazi war criminals
was held in Nuremberg (1st time war
criminals were given a trial)

-- 12 of 24 were executed & in lesser trials
nearly 200 Nazis were found guilty of war
crimes. *** It set the precedent that
individuals are responsible for their own
actions EVEN in times of war. People could
not escape punishment by claiming to just
be “following orders”.
 Many
of the Japanese leaders
committed Hara-Kiri – suicide ritual
 US troops remained in Japan for 7
years rebuilding. The Prime Minister
Tojo and 6 others were executed but
Emperor Hirohito remained and Japan
adopted the MacArthur Constitution.
 Israel was created by the UN in 1948
as a homeland for the Jews
Japanese Surrender aboard the
USS Missouri
Emperor Hirohito
Pearl Harbor Memorial
Pearl Harbor Memorial