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World War II

Events leading to the outbreak of WW II:

1933- Italy invades Ethiopia

1935- Civil War erupts in Spain. Germany and Italy support Fascist leader of Spain, Francisco Franco. Spain represents a preview of events to come.

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1935- US signs the Neutrality Act- promises not to aid aggressive nations.

1936-38 Under the leadership of Hitler, German Anschluss begins. Results in the German annexation of Austria Hitler then demands annexation of the Sudetenland, the

Germanic part or Czechoslovakia

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlin and Hitler sign the Munich Agreement- in which Hitler promises not to continue annexation after Germany obtains the Sudetenland area of Czechoslovakia.

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Chamberlain promises “Peace in Our Time”

Hitler then invades and annexes Czechoslovakia.

1938- Hitler and Stalin sign the Non-Aggression Pact-promising not to invade each other. In the event of war, Poland will be divided and the USSR will obtain the Baltic states.

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November, 1938- in Germany the night of Kristallnacht, or broken glass- results in the persecution of Jews in Germany.

September 1, 1939- Germany invades Poland through lightening attacks called Blitzkrieg.

World War II begins in Europe.

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Axis Powers- Germany,Italy, Japan

Allied Powers- Britain, France, USSR, and USA in 1941.

April, 1940- Germany defeats Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg.

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German invasion of France results in:

400,000 British troops are forced to evacuate from France at Dunkirk.

France surrenders to Germany on June 21, 1940.

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Great Britain

Germany decides to try and defeat Britain by a bombing campaign called the Battle for Britain- from June to September of 1940.

British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill states “ we shall never surrender”

Because of loss of German aircraft, Germany suspends bombing of Britain.

Despite isolationist views, the US begins to aid Great Britain with old ships and war materials in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean.

Congress then passes the Lend-Lease Act, which allowed the US to sell, lease, or lend military equipment to a nation the US considered vital to US security.

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After the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor on

December 7, 1941 the US enters WW II.Germany and Italy declare war on the US. Allies agree to a “Defeat Hitler first” strategy.

U. S. General Dwight ( Ike) EisenhowerCommander of European forces. Allied victory at the Battle of El Alamein in

North Africa. Allies then invade Sicily and Italy.

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The 1941 German advance into the USSR is stopped by Soviet troops at the Battle of Stalingrad. Russians then begin to drive German troops out of Russia through a massive counteroffensive. This prevented Germany from obtaining needed oil fields in Russia and represented a turning point in the European theatre.

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European Theatre- Major Battles

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1. Germany invades Poland

2. Germany invades Denmark and Norway

3. Germany invades Holland and Belgium

4. British evacuation of Dunkirk

5. Paris falls –France surrenders

6. Battle of Britain

7.German occupation of Yugoslavia and Greece

8. Battle of Tobruk

9. German invasion of USSR

11. German advance stopped at Moscow

21. Germans stopped at Stalingrad

22. Battle of El Alamein

24. Kursk

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European Theatre- Major Battles

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25. Battle of the Atlantic

26. Allies invade Sicily

27.Allies invade Anzio

28. Cassino

29. D-Day

32. Battle of the Bulge

35. Soviets enter Berlin

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June 6, 1944- D Day ( Operation Overlord) - Allied invasion of Normandy ( northern coast of France) began the liberation of France and Western Europe.

US Landings: Beaches of Normandy

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1945- Yalta Conference- Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill meet at Yalta on the Black Sea to discuss post war plans for Europe.

Allied forces close in on Germany from two fronts. Hitler dies in bunker in Berlin.

May 8 , 1945- Germany surrenders – VE Day , victory in Europe.

The Allies soon revealed the horrors of the Holocaust, or the German systematic extermination of the Jews, which Hitler referred to as the “final solution”. This genocide (the systematic and purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or cultural group) also included what the Nazis called “undesirables”- Poles, Gypsies, Slavs, the mentally insane, homosexuals, and any political dissidents.

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After the war, trials for Nazis that had committed war crimes against humanity were held in Nuremberg, Germany and called the Nuremberg Trials.

Horrors from the Nazi death and concentration camps led to an outcry for the establishment of a Jewish homeland. The nation of Israel was established in 1948.

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World War II

The Pacific Theatre

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Japan

Philippines

Midway Midway

Hawaiian Islands

Iwo Jima Okinawa

Pacific Theatre World War II

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Imperial Japanese Minister of War, Tojo , and Emperor Hirohito wished to establish “Asia for Asians” throughout the Pacific rim.

This area was known as the land of the rising sun.

A major obstacle to this Japanese plan was the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

The US lost 8 battleships, 10 additional ships, 188 planes, and 2500 American lives.

President Franklin Roosevelt stated it was a “date which will live in infamy”

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Japan went on the offensive very quickly and captured Guam,Wake, Hong Kong,Singapore,the Dutch East Indies, the Malay Peninsula, Burma and the Philippines.

Many US prisoners died on the Bataan Death march in the Philippines. Japan hoped the US would accept Japanese dominance and not try to reverse Japanese gains.

When General Douglas MacArthur was evacuated from the Philippines, he told the troops left behind that “I shall return”

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Bataan – US POW’s

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The Japanese plan was to capture New Guinea, Australia, Midway Island and finally Hawaii.

The first major turning point for the US in the Pacific was the naval battle at Coral Sea ( 1942) in which the Japanese plan to capture New Guinea and Australia was stopped by US Naval forces in the Coral Sea.

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The next major victory for the US, was at Midway Island, in which Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers.

After Midway, the US went on the offensive in the Pacific.

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The US adopted an island hopping strategy-as they advanced toward Japan.

Not every island would have to be recaptured- a stepping stone concept would be used- thus isolating certain islands.

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October, 1944- Battle of Leyte Gulf- US navy defeated the Japanese navy in the largest naval battle of WW II. ( The Japanese used kamikaze pilots for the first time)

In October of 1944, MacArthur returned and recaptured the Philippines.

In 1945 the US captured Iwo Jima and Okinawa. Two islands 1000 miles from Japan. The US could now bomb or invade Japan.

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In China, the US aided Chaing Kai Shek ( Jiang Jieshi) in his struggle against Japan.

The US began bombing Japan

President Roosevelt died in April,1945 and Harry Truman became President

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A secret project in the US, the Manhattan Project, had developed the atomic bomb.

Germany had surrendered on May 8, 1945

President Truman had to decide to use the bomb against Japan or continue the war in the traditional way. Japan was warned about a powerful new weapon of destruction.

At the Potsdam Conference in Germany, Truman demanded the unconditional surrender of Japan.

President Truman was given advice concerning the decision to use the atomic bomb or not to use the bomb.

Discuss:

Truman decided to use the bomb.

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August 6, 1945- an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima - 80,000 died instantly and another 40,000 were severely injured.

Japan would not agree to unconditional surrender.

August 9, 1945- 2nd atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

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Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945

V-J Day- victory over Japan

Surrender agreements were signed on the battle ship Missouri, September 2, 1945 in Tokyo Harbor.

World War II ends.

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Minority contributions to the War effort

The Tuskegee Airmen, were a group of African-American fighter pilots.

The Nisei regiments were Japanese-Americans that served with distinction.

The military used special communication codes of the Navajo Indians, which the Japanese could not decipher.

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Despite the brave actions of the Nisei regiments, many Japanese Americans were relocated to internment camps throughout the war. Racial prejudice resulted in the false belief that some Japanese- Americans were aiding the enemy.

President Ronald Regan issued a public apology in 1988 and some financial restitution was paid to survivors.

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Women increasingly participated in the workforce replacing men that were serving in the military. ( e.g. Rosie the Riveter)

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Rosie the Riveter

African Americans migrated to cities in search of jobs and campaigned for victory in the war and equality at home.

On the home front, people rationed gas, food, personal products and grew victory gardens.

War Bonds and income tax were used for financing the war.

Businesses retooled for war production.The draft was used to provide military

personnel.

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The US Government through the media and communications maintained strict censorship on reporting the war.

Public morale and ad campaigns kept the American people focused on the war effort.

The entertainment industry produced movies, plays and shows that boosted morale and patriotic support for the war effort.

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The conduct of WW II reflected the moral and social codes of the era. The treatment of prisoners reflected the savage nature of war.

The Geneva Convention was created to ensure humane treatment of prisoners of war by establishing rules to be followed by all nations.

Throughout the war, Japanese prisoners committed suicide rather than surrender.

Prisoners of war in Europe more closely followed the ideal of the Geneva Convention.

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World War II represented a total war effort of the American nation and the American people.

US Foreign Policy relations with the Soviet Union, international boundaries, Foreign Aid, the creation of the United Nations and the Marshall Plan would all have a tremendous impact on the post war era.

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..\..\The_Best_Map_Ever_of_World_War_II.pps

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