World War II (WWII)
1939-1945
The United States WWII Presidents
• FDR was President of the United States
throughout the war until his death on April
12, 1945
• FDR’s successor was Vice President Harry
Truman
• As President, Truman authorized the use of
the Atomic bombs to end the war with Japan
USA Declares War
• December 8th, 1941, The United States
declares war on Japan
• December 11th, 1941, Germany and Italy
declare war on the United States
WWII for the United States has now begun!!
Japanese American Internment
• There was a heightened Anti-Japanese fear in
the United States as a result of the bombing
of Pearl Harbor
War time prejudice
• Even though many Japanese Americans served in
the armed forces, many others were treated with
distrust and prejudice
Executive Order 9066
• As a result of this distrust, President FDR
signed Executive Order 9066, directing the
Army to relocate over 120,000 Japanese
Americans to relocation camps.
WWII ends in the Pacific
• The United States dropped two atomic bombs
(Manhattan Project) on Japan in 1945, forcing
Japan to surrender and ending WWII:
• #12) August 6, 1945, The bombing of
Hiroshima took the lives of 70,000 people that
day and another 70,000 from radiation
exposure within 5 years
• #13) August 9, 1945, The bombing of
Nagasaki Took the lives of 80,000 within a
year
•
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t19kvUiHvAE&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1&safe=active
WWII impact on the
American Home front
World War II affected every
aspect of American life
Supporting the War
• American involvement in World War II brought an end
to the Great Depression since factories and workers
were in high demand to produce goods for the war
“Rosie the Riveter”
• Thousands of
American women
took jobs in defense
plants during the war
• The “Rosie the
Riveter” image was
used to empower
women to work in
traditionally male
jobs
Supporting the war
from The homefront
(3 ways)
Americans at home
supported the war
effort in 3 ways!
1. First was by
conserving and
rationing resources
2. Second
was by
planting
victory
gardens
3. Third was to
buy War Bonds.
Fighting Discrimination
The need for workers
temporarily broke
down some racial
barriers (in defense
plants for example)
although discrimination
against African
Americans continued
Tuskegee Airmen
• Were the first African American aviators in the
United States
• They were officially the 332nd Army Air Corp
fighter division based in Tuskegee, Alabama
• http://tuskegeeairmennationalmuseum.org/
• They were given the nickname “The Red Tails”
after they painted the tails of their aircraft Red
in 1944.
http://viewpure.com/BpA6TC0T_Lw
Tuskegee Airmen play
The Holocaust
• Definition – The name given to the mass
murder of the Jewish (and other groups of
people) during WWII.
• Hitler referred to this extermination as “The
final Solution”
The Holocaust Roots
• The Holocaust was based on 2 beliefs:
• Anti- Semitism – hostility and
discrimination towards Jewish
people
• Aryan supremacy – Belief that
Caucasian, non-Jewish people were
superior to everyone else
Nazi Holocaust tactics
• Wanted to systematically rid Europe of all
Jewish people by:
• A boycott of Jewish stores
• Threats
• Segregation
• Imprisonment and murder of millions of
Jews and other people in Concentration
camps and Death camps
The End of
Nazi Terror
After the war, Allied
troops moved
throughout Nazi
occupied Europe to
Liberate (free) the
Jewish prisoners
and any other
Concentration
Camp survivors
http://fcit.usf.edu/HOLOCAUST/timeline/r
escue.htm
Post WWII Europe
“Those who cannot remember the
past are condemned to repeat it”
- George Santayana
We learned from our mistake and realized that we
couldn’t end WWII in the same way that we ended
WWI. There had to be major changes to prevent a
WWIII.
This time the United States did not choose to
isolate itself from Europe as they rebuilt.
Post WWI
1. - Germany was humiliated
by the Harsh policies of the
Treaty of Versailles
2. - Germany forced to pay
massive reparations to
Allies which led to German
hyperinflation
3. -Germany left with no
stable government, money
or military
Post WWII
1. Allies stay in Germany to
rebuild
2. Germany’s government is
dismantled and the Allies
Partition (divide)the country
into 4 separate districts
3. There were no reparations or
punishments on the citizens,
except those convicted of war
crimes (The Holocaust).