World War II

1939-1945

Hitler’s Lightning War

Germany used “Blitzkrieg” – or lightening war Planes bombed airfields, factories, towns, etc. Then tanks and troops roared into the country

Poland was conquered within a month Soviet forces took control of

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and part of Finland

April 1940 – Germans in Norway, Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium

France Falls to Axis Powers

Germany heads toward Paris – Italy declares war on FranceJune 22, 1940 – French surrenderSouthern part left as a puppet government

headed by Marshal Philippe Petain. Headquarters in the city of Vichy

France (cont.)

Charles de Gaulle – French general, set up a government in exile in London.Committed to re-conquering France.Organized Free French military who battled

the Nazis until France was liberated in 1944.

Hitler and the Nazis in Paris

WWII Technology

Air power takes prominent roleLuftwaffe- German air forceParachute troops role increases

Tanks were much improved from WWI Deadlier bombs Radar – to detect planes Sonar – to detect submarines

Operation Sea Lion

The Battle of Britain Known as the “London Blitz”

8/12/1940 – air attacks on southern England Germans bombed London for 57 nights Considered a failure because British did not quit Continued until May 10,1941

Damages from the London Blitz

Damages from the London Blitz

Damages from the London Blitz

The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front Mussolini takes North Africa in September

of 1940 while the Battle of Britain was going on.

Attacked British controlled Egypt. Britain strikes back in December and by

February 1941 Italy needs help.

The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front (Cont.) Germans come in with the Afrika Korps

and win victories over the British in northern AfricaLed by General Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox”

Italy takes Greece and Yugoslavia

The Desert Fox – Erwin Rommel

Operation Barbarossa

1941 attempted conquest of the USSR Why invade USSR?

Plentiful Soviet resources

3 million Germans caught Stalin unprepared USSR lost 2.5 million troops Germans were halted by Russian weather Many Russian people suffered starvation

American Involvement Grows

Lend-Lease Act (1941) Selling or lending of war

materials to countries “Vital to US defense”

Atlantic Charter (Aug. 1941) FDR and Churchill agree

on the “Final destruction of Nazi tyranny”

Pearl Harbor – Day of Infamy

12/7/1941–Japan surprise attacks American fleet @ Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) 2,400 American deaths

US declares war on Japan (12/8/1941) Germany, Italy declare war on US four days

later

Total War

Factories stopped making cars & refrigerators & made planes & tanks

Shoes and sugar were rationed Use of propaganda War ended unemployment of the depression Japanese people in US and Canada

Lost their jobs and property Forced into camps Seen as a security risk

US Propaganda Anti - German

US Propaganda – Anti - Japanese

US Propaganda Anti - Japanese

War Bond Advertisements

“Do your part” Campaign

No room for debate

Japanese Internment Camps 1942-1945

US government forced over 100,000 Japanese-Americans to relocate Mostly from the western states

Many lost their homes and businesses Could only keep what they could carry

Conditions in camps Barbed-wire-surrounded Un-partitioned toilets Cots for beds Armed guards

Japanese Internment Camps

Operation Torch

The North African Campaign (1942)Allied invasion of North Africa

Led by British and US ForcesBritish led by Gen. Bernard MontgomeryUS led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Turning point in North AfricaEl Alamein, Egypt

British forces finally stop Gen. Irwin Rommel

The Red Army Resists

Turning Point in the Soviet UnionBattle of Stalingrad

Street by street and house by house battles Over one million Soviet soldiers died 1943 Germans surrender – 300,000 killed or

injured

Soviets then drive Germans back through USSR

Mission to Take Back France

Turning Point in EuropeD-Day June 6th 1944

Allied paratroopers and ferried troops (176,000) Fought against heavy gunfire @ the Battle of

Normandy

By September France was free Now Allies push towards Germany

Allies advance into Germany

Allies advance into Italy

Allied forced landed in Sicily in 1943Controlled Sicily in one month

Italy surrendered within two monthsFighting continued until the end of the warGuerillas capture and execute Mussolini

Created another front for the Germans to worry about

Battle of the Bulge

Germany fought on three frontsUS to the west (in France)Soviet Union to the eastUS and UK to the south (in Italy)

Germany on the offensive for the last time75-mile front in the Ardennes ForestGermans able to push into Allied linesUltimately unsuccessful push

The End in Europe

Germany surrounded by Allied Forces Hitler commits suicide (4/30/1945) in his

underground bunker May 7th Germany surrendersMay 8th = VE Day or Victory in Europe Day

Surrender in USSR

Surrender in France

The Pacific Campaign

Major BattlesBattle of the Coral Sea

New style of fighting – ships used airplanes instead of mounted guns

US stopped the Japanese southward advanceBattle of Guadalcanal

Six month battle US Marines captured a huge Japanese Air Force base Japanese lost 24,000 troops

Toward Victory

Turning Point in the Pacific Campaign Battle of Midway Island

Japanese Navy would reach no further

US now started to push closer to Japan

Marked the beginning of “Island Hopping”

The recapture some islands while bypassing others

Island Hopping

Island Hopping

Defeat of Japan: Invasion vs. the Bomb FDR dies--Harry Truman takes office US estimated that an invasion would cost

millions or more in casualties Why did Truman drop the A-Bomb?

An invasion would be too costlyTo impress the Soviet Union with US power

The Atomic Bomb

Hiroshima (8/6/45) Plane was the “Enola Gay” Atomic Bomb named “Little Boy” Killed more than 70,000

Nagasaki (8/9/45) Plane was “Bockscar” Atomic bomb named “Fat Man” Killed more than 40,000 people

September 2nd 1945 Peace treaty is signed

Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Nagasaki

Nagasaki

Atomic Bomb Survivors

Atomic Bomb Survivors

The Holocaust: Nazi Genocide of the Jews Kill all people who were racially inferior Jews, Slavs, gypsies and mentally ill Forced Jews to live in ghettos and

concentration camps and wear yellow stars

“Final Solution” of the Jewish problem = Genocide

The Death Camps

Auschwitz, Sobidor, Treblinka & Lodz Gassed in showers and used in medical

experiments By 1945, over 6 million Jews were killed

5 million other people were killed as well

The Infamous Yellow Stars

THE WARSAW GHETTO

Auschwitz

Location: Poland: 37 miles west of Krakow Operational May 1940 – Jan. 1945 Estimated 1.1 million killed here Largest of the German concentration camps. The SS authorities established three main camps near

the Polish city of Oswiecim Auschwitz I in May 1940; Auschwitz II (also called Auschwitz-Birkenau) in early 1942 Auschwitz III (also called Auschwitz-Monowitz) in October 1942.

Wall where prisoners were shot after trials.

Auschwitz I

Block 11, also known as the death block, since it was known no

prisoners who went in here

came back alive.

Gallow, where the SS officer in charge of the camp was hung at the end of the

war.

Auschwitz- Birkenau

Death's Gate

The brick camp, currently undergoing preservation

What is left of the wood camp.

Tracks leading into Birkenau

Track platform, where selection took place. Before liberation there had been two gas chambers at the end of the tracks on each side.

Auschwitz (cont.)

On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which

By 1994 had seen 22 million visitors—700,000 annually—pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes you free").

Results of World War II

CasualtiesEstimated 60 million people died from the war

GenocideDue to the “Final Solution”

OccupationControl of Germany and Japan

Aftermath of World War II

War Crimes Trials The Split of Germany The Creation of the United Nations The Beginning of the Cold War

War Crimes Trials The Holocaust

Death camp evidence discovered after the war

Nuremberg Trials“Crimes against humanity”Trials showed that political & military leaders

could be accountable for wartime actions

Postwar Japan

Defeat left country in ruins.

Was stripped of its colonial empire.

Occupied by the US

US General Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito

Occupation by US

General Douglas MacArthur in charge of US occupation

Began process of demilitarization Disbanded Japanese army. Left with a small by police force.

Democratization of Japan Drew up new constitution for Japan – Feb. 1946 Accepted and went into affect May 3, 1947.

Occupation Brings Deep Changes

Japan now a constitutional monarchy. Emperor no longer considered divine

Became just a figurehead New constitution guaranteed that the political power

rest the people Two House Parliament elected by the people called

the Diet All citizens over the age of 20, including women had

the right to vote Article 9 stated the Japanese could no longer make

war, only fight if they were attacked.

Occupation (cont.)

Sept. 1951 the US and 47 other national sign of formal treaty with Japan.This officially ended the war.Six months later US occupation was over.Japan agreed to a continuing US presence to

protect their country.

The Creation of the United Nations

Allies set up international organization to ensure peace

General Assembly – all nations belong Security Council

5 Permanent members: US, Russia, Britain, France and China

The United Nations