


Wanted more living space and resources
Japan takes over southeast Asian countries
March 1931 – invade Manchuria


Withdrew from the League when confronted
League does nothing (other nations see that the League has
no true power)
 December
1937 – Japanese invaded Nanking,
China
 Brutally tortured and murdered 300,000
people (out of a total of 600,000)
 1933
- Germany began a military buildup and
withdrew from the League of Nations.
 1936 – Invades the Rhineland (very important
industrial area)
 1936 – Signed the Rome-Berlin Axis Pact with
Italy
All of these acts
violated the Treaty
of Versailles
 League of Nations
does nothing

Wanting to expand
Italian claims, Mussolini
wanted to conquer
Ethiopia as they had
tried to do in previous
years.
 While the League of
Nations condemned this
act they did nothing.


In fact the British owned
Suez Canal allowed Italian
ships with troops and
supplies to pass through
on to Ethiopia.
 The
United States was committed to
neutrality:



The Kellogg-Braind Pact
The Great Depression
Nye Committee – Said the US was dragged into
WWI by bankers and arms dealers who made a
profit off of the war
 Neutrality


Acts – 1935
Outlawed arms sales or loans to nations at war
Was also meant to keep the US from making
alliances
 Anti-war
feelings were
so strong Congress
almost passed an
amendment that would
require a national vote
before the US could
declare war
 In
March 1938, Hitler
sent an army into
Austria and annexed
it.

Britain and France
promise to protect
Czechoslovakia
 He
then turned his
attention to the
Sudetenland in
Czechoslovakia.

This area was previously
part of Germany
 September
30, 1938 – Hitler signs the Munich
Pact with France and England in order to
prevent war


Britain and France settled on an appeasement and
allowed Germany to take the Sudetenland as long as
they promised not to invade any more territory.
Winston Churchill strongly opposed this decision – he
insisted it would lead to war rather than maintain
peace.
 Despite
the Munich Conference, Hitler sets his
sights on Poland.
 In order to prevent a war with the USSR, Hitler
meets with Stalin and they sign a Non-aggression
pact:
1.
2.
Promise not to attack one another
Divide Poland in half between them
 The
German invasion of
Poland was the first
test of Germany to test
their newest military
strategy – the
blitzkrieg (lightning
war)

Used fast-moving
airplanes and tanks,
followed by massive
infantry forces, to take
enemy defenders by
surprise and overwhelm
them.
 After
Germany invaded Poland, Britain and
France declared war on Germany September 3,
1939
 On April 4th, 1940 Hitler invades Denmark and
Norway


Denmark fell in just four hours
Norway surrendered two months later

Germany




Emperor Hirohito
General Hideki Tojo
USSR

Joseph Stalin
The Axis Powers
Great Britain


Benito Mussolini
Japan


Adolf Hitler
Italy


France


Charles de Gaulle
USSR (switches in 1941)


Winston Churchill
Joseph Stalin
United States


Franklin Roosevelt
Harry Truman
Allied Powers
In May 1940, Hitler sets his sights on France and
invades. He uses the same path they used before
in WWI under the Schlieffen Plan.
 In almost one month France falls to Germany.

The Germans occupied northern France and left the
southern part to a puppet government called Vichy
France.
 As a symbol of redemption for Germany’s defeat in
WWI, Hitler insists France sign the armistice in the
very train car Germany was forced to sign in WWI.



With the United States remaining neutral and the
Soviet Union not yet involved, England stood alone
against the Nazis.
Hitler’s plan was to first knock out the Royal Air Force
(RAF) and then land more than 250,000 soldiers on
England’s shores.


In the summer of 1940, the Luftwaffe, Germany’s air
force, began bombing Great Britain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT8MEXdr6tw
 Hitler
begins daily
bombings of Britain
hoping to force to
surrender (targeting
industrial and
military sites,
major cities, and
civilians)

Bombings continued
from September 7,
1940 to May 10,
1941
 1939


Some nations could buy arms from US if they paid
cash and carried them home in their own ships
(Cash and Carry)
Aimed at Great Britain
 1940


– Congress revises the Neutrality Acts.
– FDR is elected to his 3rd term
Creates 1st peacetime military draft
Drafts 1 million men into the military ages 18-38
 It
authorized the
president to transfer
arms or any other
defense materials for
which Congress
appropriated money
to “the government
of any country whose
defense the President
deems vital to the
defense of the United
States.”



July 1941--FDR and Churchill signed the
Atlantic Charter
Declare that they had the same goal: to defeat
Hitler
US begins sending our navy to help ensure
shipments of the lend-lease act (and orders
German submarines sunk on sight)



Japan needed US oil to fuel their war machine
US cut off trade with Japan when they continued
invading nations
US expected an attack, but believed the target
would be our base in the Philippines or Malaysia
 December
7, 1941—The Japanese
attacked Pearl Harbor, the largest US
naval base in the Pacific

Begins at 7:55 on Sunday morning




18 ships damaged or sunk
350 planes destroyed (Japanese only lost 27
planes)
2400 dead (including 68 civilians) 1177
casualties from the USS Arizona alone
1178 wounded
December 8,
1941 the
United States
declares war
on Japan!
 US
citizens feared invasion by Japan
 Believed Japanese-Americans were spies and
sent 110,000 to relocation centers
 Also included German-Americans and ItalianAmericans
Took away their rights and property
 Almost 2/3 were US citizens

 American
economy
Mobilization: US converts to a war
Creates 7 million jobs (lowered unemployment,
helps end the depression)
 Convert factories to war production – War
Productions Board
 Citizens conserve oil, gas, food, etc. 15 million
volunteer or are drafted into the military

250,000 women serve
in non-combat military
jobs
 6 million women join
the workforce
Many other minority
groups fight for the US
 2 million Mexican
Americans
 1 million African
Americans
 13,000 Chinese
Americans
 25,000 Native
Americans
 33,000 Japanese
Americans


Number of people
required to pay income
taxes increases


War Bond Drives


Introduced withholding
income taxes
Promoted the purchase of
bonds through
advertisements, posters,
and movie stars
Rationing
Government program began
to control how certain
resources were distributed.
 Some items citizens were
limited to the amount they
could purchase





Randolph proposed a march
on Washington due to racial
discrimination in the
military
The press predicted over
100,000 people would
march on Washington
Roosevelt met with
Randolph and issued an
executive order - Number
8802, establishing the Fair
Employment Practices
Committee, which had the
authority to investigate and
end discrimination in
defense industries, federal
agencies, and unions.
Randolph called off the
march.
 In
the spring of 1942, Hitler wanted to
capture the oil fields in the Caucasus
Mountains and the city of Stalingrad.
 Germans bombed the city for weeks and
weeks. By November they controlled 90% of
the city.



As winter set in the Soviets led a massive
counterattack. The Germans were soon trapped
inside the city cut off from all supplies.
Finally in Feb.1943, 90,000 Germans surrendered of
the 330,000 army it started with.
99% of the city was destroyed.
After Germany’s attack against the USSR and
Japan’s attack against the United States; Great
Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States
now stood together as the Allied powers along
with several other nations.
 The tide of the war began to turn late in 1942
with Stalin pushing the Germans west and the
United States with
Great Britain pushing the
Axis powers out of
North Africa.

Allies attacked German-occupied North Africa.
 Needed to distract Hitler so Stalin could
mobilize forces
 May 1943 – The Allies defeat the Germans
commanded by Erwin Rommel

 July
10, 1943, Allied forces landed in Sicily.
 After Sicily was taken, King Victor Emmanuel
III had Mussolini arrested July 25th and
surrendered on Sept. 3rd to the Allies.
September 1943 –
Hitler invaded Italy
and restored order to
Mussolini
 April 28, 1945 –
Mussolini was
captured by Italian
resistance members
and the following day
he was executed.
 Fighting would
continue in Italy until
the war ends

Allies planned the
invasion of Germany for
2 years
 Led by US General
Dwight D. Eisenhower




Known as Operation
Overlord
USSR would move west into
Poland, while the other
Allies moved into occupied
France
June 6, 1944—“D-Day”



Allies landed on the
beaches of Normandy,
France
Largest land-sea-air invasion
in history
176,000 troops - 600 ships
- 11,000 planes
 Within
1 month,
the Allies landed 1
million troops
 By September 1944
France, Belgium,
Luxembourg, and
the Netherlands
had been liberated
 Cleared the way for
an invasion of
Germany


October 1944—US forces invaded Germany
Germans responded with a counter-attack in the
Ardennes Mountains







Final German offensive of the war
Battle of the Bulge lasted 1 month
Hitler lost:
120,000 troops
600 tanks/assault guns
1600 planes
Germany was forced to retreat after huge losses

April 30, 1945—Hitler
committed suicide after
the Soviets invade Berlin



along with his long-term
mistress, Eva Braun, whom
he married the day
before)
Many historians believe
that he had their bodies
burned so they would
not meet the same fate
as Mussolini
May 7, 1945—Germany
surrendered

“VE Day”—Victory in Europe
Day
February 1945—FDR, Churchill, and Stalin (“The
Big Three”) meet to discuss what to do after the
war ends
 FDR (died April 1945) and Churchill (his party
lost majority in parliament) are replaced in the
middle of the conference by Harry Truman and
Clement Atlee




1-Create the United Nations (UN)
5 powers would have permanent seats on the
Security Council: United States, Great Britain, Soviet
Union, France, and China
2-Defeat Japan
 Stalin agrees to help the United States defeat
Japan in exchange for 2 Japanese Islands (we
don’t need his help)

3-Hold Free Elections


Stalin promises to allow
Poland and other
occupied nations to hold
free elections (he lied)
4-The Division of
Germany


Allies divide Germany into
4 zones controlled by the
US, Britain, France, and
USSR
Each group also
controlled a section of
Berlin


Bushido Samurai Warrior Code was a strict code
that demanded:



loyalty
devotion
honor to the death

Under this code, if a samurai warrior failed to uphold
his honor he could regain it by performing seppuku
(ritual suicide). – So during WWII if the Japanese were
going to lose an island, rather than be captured they
would kill themselves before the enemy got there. It
was the honorable thing to do. To them it was
dishonor to lose a battle and come back alive.
Ex – Guam – in the process of regaining the island
17,000 died and only 400 surrendered. This is
only one island.
Task for quartermasters –
procure, store, and
distribute supplies. All of
which were difficult for
the Pacific Theatre.
 Procure:




Took time for the US to get
fully industrialized for war
Supplies for Europe came
first. Supplies for the Pacific
greatly improved after VEDay
Store:

Underdeveloped countries
had poor warehouses to
properly store supplies

High temperatures and
humidity- mold, mildew,
rust (even canned items)
Rainstorms, exposure to
the tropical sun, and
insects destroyed
supplies.


100,000 cans became
spoiled in one shipment.
Clothing would deteriorate
faster and the clothes
supply left in storage would
rot.
 Distribute:
Long supply lines – from
6,200 to 8,000 miles
 Underdeveloped
countries had poor
infrastructure – railroads,
highways, and
communication





US Admiral Chester Nimitz learned that Japan was
headed for Midway with the largest naval force in
history
They planned to continue to Hawaii to destroy
what was left of US naval power at Pearl Harbor
Nimitz’s surprise attack was a success
Avenges Pearl Harbor and turns the tide of the war
 FDR

had been elected to his 4th term in 1944
Chose Harry Truman as his vice-president
 April
12, 1945 – FDR suffered a stroke and
died, making Truman president

July 1945--1st atomic bomb was tested and
determined to be more powerful and deadly than
originally planned – tested in Los Alamos, New
Mexico – cost 2 billion dollars to create it.
Truman had to decide whether or not to drop the bomb on
Japan
 Determined that more lives on both sides would be saved if
we dropped the bomb rather than continue the war

 August
6, 1945 - drop 1st atomic bomb over
the city of Hiroshima

Approximately 72,000 people were killed
 August
9, 1945 – 2nd bomb was dropped on
Nagasaki when Japan still refused to
surrender

By December 1945 nearly 200,000 had died
 August

15, 1945 – Japan surrenders
“VJ Day” Victory in Japan Day





US becomes THE dominant world power
Economic Boom demand for US goods and
services increased, more foreign markets
open to US
GI Bill (Servicemen’s Readjustment Act)
provided education and loans for veterans
The end of WWII sparked the beginning of
the Cold War between the US and the Soviet
Union
22nd Amendment – Limited presidents to
serving only two terms


Rapid population growth after World War 2
 At the height of the baby boom in 1957, one
infant was born every 7 seconds (4,308,000 that
year)
Largest generation in US history
Returning African American soldiers began calling for
their civil rights
 Truman supported civil rights, and when Congress failed
to pass proposed civil rights legislation, he signed
Executive Order 9981
 July 26, 1948-Truman ends segregation in the US military


Also prohibited discrimination in government jobs