1939-1945

World War II

The Road to War

Essential Question How did dictators acquire and expand power in

Europe in the 1930s?

The Rise of Dictators

Bitterness over the outcome of WWI and serious economic problems led to the rise of dictators in several countries

American Diary

Many people underestimated Adolf Hitler’s influence, but not journalist William Shirer. He described a rally for Hitler at Nuremberg in September 1934: “Like a Roman emperor, Hitler rode into this medieval town…When Hitler finally appeared on the balcony for a moment,…(people) looked up at him as if he were a Messiah, their faces transformed into something positively inhuman.” The passion of the Nazis shocked Shirer, and soon it would shock the world.

From Berlin Diary

Hitler

Hitler

Italy – Benito Mussolini

Made fascism popularBanned all other political parties except the

Fascist PartyEnded democratic rule Civil liberties and free press ceased to existLeft the League of Nations

Germany – Adolf Hitler

Won support by appealing to German fears about the economy and Treaty of Versailles

Leader of National Socialist Party (Nazi)Believed German people were superior to

othersAnti-SemitismEnded democracy and set up totalitarian

stateFormed alliance with Italy in 1936

Soviet Union – Joseph Stalin

Communist leaderUsed force to gain obedience from his peopleExecuted his rivalsSent millions of people suspected of

disloyalty to labor camps

American Neutrality

1935 and 1937 Neutrality Acts Banned weapons sales and loans to nations that

were at war

Germany on the March

Other European countries stood by as Germany expanded its territory Sent German troops to take over neutral territory Sent troops to Austria to unite them with

Germany Claimed parts of Czechloslovakia

Britain and France thought they could avoid war by accepting Germany’s demands – Appeasement Germany took Western Czechoslovakia Germany prepared to invade Poland

Answer the Essential Question

How did dictators acquire and expand power in Europe in the 1930’s?

War Begins

Essential Question How did peaceful nations confront foreign

aggressors in WWII?

War in Europe

1939 – Hitler invades Poland – Great Britain and France declare war

Germans called their attack a blitzkrieg Swift and fierce Thousands of soldiers entered Poland Soviet Union and Germany divide Poland in half

The War Expands

Germany forces Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium to surrender

1940 – Germany invades France and captures Paris

Allied Powers Great Britain France

Axis Powers Germany Italy Japan

Battle of Britain

Hitler aims to break British morale before invading Bombed airbases, shipyards, industries and cities

(London)Under inspiration of Prime Minister

Winston Churchill, England fought back Never gave up control of the skies and inflicted

heavy losses Hitler ended the attacks

London

Germany Turns East

Hitler wanted resources offered by Soviet land and invaded

Stalin ordered a scorched earth policy Burned their own cities and destroyed their own

crops Made it harder for Germans to supply their

troops as they advanced

America and the War

Roosevelt favored neutrality but began to mobilize Openly supports Allies Built up navy Set up peace time draft

Threatened by war, Roosevelt ran for third term and easily wins 1940 election

Began sending supplies to the Allies

The Japanese Threat

Japan continues their expansion and military conquests in the East

Japan planned to attack British, Dutch and American territory in the area

Roosevelt froze all Japanese reserves of money in US banks

Attack on Pearl Harbor

December 7, 1941: Japanese war plans attack American military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Destroyed battleships, cruisers and airplanes Americans taken by surprise and more than 2,300

are killedAttack unites the countryRoosevelt asked Congress to declare war

and joined Allied Powers

Answer the Essential Question

How did peaceful nations confront foreign aggressors in WWII?

On the Home Front

Essential Question In what ways did American men, women and

minorities support the war effort at home?

America Prepares

Building an army More than 15 million Americans joined the armed

forces Women joined the military in large numbers (non

combat roles)Mobilization

Nation refocused economy to provide supplies for the war effort

Financing the War

$320 billion dollars spent by government on war effort (10x amount of WWI) Raised taxes Sold war bonds

Making Sacrifices

Civilians provided training, equipment, transportation, medical care, food and shelter for the armed forces

Separation from loved onesShortages of consumer goodsUsed government issued ration books to buy

things like Gasoline Tires

Sugar Meat

Ration Books

Women and Minorities in WWII

African Americans 1 million serve in armed forces in low level

assignments and segregated units (at first) 1942 – Army begins training white and black soldiers

together Many migrate North to take factory jobs Fought for equality on the home front

Women and Minorities in WWII

Women More than ever join the workforce “Rosie the Riveter” encouraged women to take factory

jobs Earned less than men Many lose their jobs when men return WWII changes public opinion about women’s right to

work

Women and Minorities in WWII

Native Americans Served in armed forces Worked in industry “Code talkers” – armed forces used a special code in

Navajo language that the Japanese never broke

Where do you think this is?What do you think you are looking at?

Women and Minorities in WWII

Japanese Americans Feared and hated by many other Americans Americans were worried about their loyalty FDR ordered more than 100,000 Japanese

Americans to detention centers Internment camps

Had almost everything taken away Crowded and uncomfortable Some were forced to stay for 3 years

Japanese Internment

Making Connections

What kinds of sacrifices did American civilians make during wartime?

What legal action was taken against many Japanese Americans? What does the word “legal” imply?

Answer the Essential Question: In what ways did men, women and minorities support the war effort at home?

War in Europe

Essential Question What strategies did the Allies pursue to defeat the

Axis Powers in Europe?

Setting a Strategy

German forces occupied almost all of Europe and most of North Africa

Allied powers invade North Africa to gain combat experience and attack the edges of the German empire

Under American general Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allies drove the Germans out of North Africa in 1943

Invasion of Italy under American General George Patton forced Benito Mussolini to surrender

Launched air raids on Germany

The Tide Turns in Europe

Germans focused much of their effort on the Soviet Union

Set up a military blockade on Leningrad (900 days) Thousands starved to death Germans never able to take the city

1941 – Germans tried to take Stalingrad Wintry weather slowed the attack Soviets forced a German retreat and cut off supply

lines Major turning point in the war!

Invasion of France

Allied forces were preparing to invade German occupied Europe

June 6, 1944 – D-Day Allied troops took the shores of Normandy under

heavy German fire and threat of landmines Allies landed millions of troops in France and

pushed into Europe

Victory in Europe

Looked as if war would be over soonGerman counter attacked at the Battle of

the Bulge Americans won and headed to Germany

1945 – With Soviet troops just outside Berlin, Hitler commits suicide Germany signed an unconditional surrender (May

7, 1945)

The Holocaust

As the Allies freed German-held areas, they discovered numerous instances of Nazi cruelty Genocide – Jews targeted for total extermination

(6 million killed) Slavs, Gypsies, Communists, homosexuals and

people with disabilities killed as well Beginning when Hitler gained power in 1933,

Jews were deprived of many rights

Persecution of Germany’s Jews

Marriage between Jews and other Germans banned

German citizenship taken awayKept from voting or holding public officeNot allowed to employ non-Jewish GermansLater, banned from owning businessesCould not practice law or medicineForced to wear a yellow six pointed starSent to concentrations camps

The Persecution Spreads

Mass killing begins in 1941 Shot groups of Jews and dumped in mass

graves

Primary Source

“We marched into a forest where a huge long ditch was already dug…I could hear…a machine gun going…All of a sudden,…I saw my mother and four sisters lined up before I had a chance to say, “Mother!” they were already dead. Somehow, time stands still…But what woke me was the sight of my five nieces and nephews being marched, and the murderers had the audacity to ask them to hold hands…I would have been almost the next one but all of a sudden the bombers came over, we were ordered to lay face downwards, but everyone started running…and I…ran deep into the forest.

From Remembering: Voices From the Holocaust

The Final Solution

1942 – Nazi’s built death camps like Aushwitz (1.6 million dead) and Treblinka to aid in extermination Poison gas chambers Cruel Experiments Some chosen for slave labor Elderly, women and children went to gas

chambers Bodies burned in giant furnaces

The Final Solution

News of atrocities reached western leaders well before 1945

Some historians argue that true atrocities were not realized until the Allies marched through the camps

Other historians debate why so relatively little was done to stop

Making Connections

What was the Nazi’s Final Solution?

What strategies did the Allies pursue to defeat the Axis Powers in WWII?

War in the Pacific

Essential Question: What characterized the WWII in the Pacific?

The Pacific Front

Allies fought the Japanese for 4 long years in the Pacific Attacked the Philippines and other Allied territory American General Douglas MacArthur and his

troops were forced to surrender

Island Hopping

American morale improved as small victories defeated Japan at sea

Island hopping: US captured and used key islands as a base for attacks Thousands died on both sides as American forces

got closer to the Japanese mainland Kamikazes sank several American destroyers

The End of the War

Japanese refusal to surrender led the US to drop the Atomic bomb President Truman believed it was his duty to use

every weapon available to save American livesAugust 6, 1945 – Dropped bomb on

Japanese city of Hiroshima – A second bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later Killed between 115,000 and 194,000 people Burns and radiation sickness killed more

August 16, 1945 – Japanese surrendered

The Cost of War

Most destructive conflict in history 55 million dead More than ½ the casualties were civilians killed

by bombing, starvation, disease, torture and murder

American dead: 322,000 American injured: 800,000 Soviet deaths: 22 million

Those who survived faced the huge task of rebuilding their countries and their lives

Making Connections

Evaluate what was significant about the cost of WWII?

Answer the Essential Question: What characterized the WWII in the Pacific?