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World
War II
Mr. Booth
U.S. History
Introduction:
• Most devastating war in human history • 55 million dead
• 1 trillion dollars
• Began in 1939 as strictly a European
Conflict, ended in 1945. • Widened to include most of the world
Great Depression Leads Towards
Fascism • In 1929, the U.S. Stock Market crashed
– Why are problem for rest of world?
• Millions lost faith in government
• As a result, a few countries turned towards an
extreme government called fascism.
1.Germany Adolf Hitler, 2.Spain Francisco Franco
3. Soviet Union Joseph Stalin 4. Italy Benito Mussolini
Fascism
• Fascism: A political movement that
promotes an extreme form of nationalism, a
denial of individual rights, and a dictatorial
one-party rule.
• Emphasizes 1) loyalty to the state, and 2)
obedience to its leader.
• Fascists promised to revive the economy,
punish those responsible for hard times, and
restore national pride.
The Rise of Benito Mussolini
• Fascism’s rise in Italy due
to:
• Disappointment over
failure to win land at the
1919 Treaty of Versailles.
• Italy wanted a leader who
could take action
Mussolini Background • Was a newspaper editor and politician
• Said he would rebuild the economy, the armed forces,
and give Italy a strong leadership.
• Mussolini was able to come to power by
1. publicly criticizing Italy’s government
2. Followers (black shirts) attacked communists and
socialists on the streets.
• In October 1922, 30,000 followers marched to Rome
and demanded that King Victor Emmanuel III put
Mussolini in charge. He did….
Il Duce
3 Decisions he made for
complete control
• Mussolini was Il Duce, or
the leader.
1. He abolished democracy
and outlawed all political
parties except the Fascists.
2. Secret police jailed his
opponents.
3. Mussolini outlawed strikes,
and censored radio stations.
Fist Pump
Adolf Hitler
•Rise to Power
Birth
• Adolf Hitler was
born on April 20,
1889 in Braunau,
Austria.
• Adolf was 1 of 6
children - 3 of who
died at early ages
Overall Purpose:
The overall purpose of this
blurb on Hitler is to explain
how this little boy on the left
became the man on the right
who was ultimately
responsible for the death of
about 50 million people all
over the world!!
Slides 11-18 no notes
Parents
Alois Schickelgruber Hitler was a customs official who
was illegitimate by birth. His father, Adolf’s
grandfather, may have been Jewish. He died when
Adolf was 14 and left him a small inheritance.
Klara Hitler was very young when she married the
older Alois. She showered young Adolf with love and
affection. Adolf carried a picture of his mom until the
day he died. She died of breast cancer when Adolf
was 18 years old.
Education • Attended a monastery school where he took part
in the choir.
• When it was time to choose a secondary school,
Adolf wanted to become an artist.
• His father wanted him to become a civil servant,
After his father died, he dropped out of high
school and attempted to get into the Vienna
Academy of Fine Arts - he failed to get in.
This 1914 painting is titled: “The Courtyard of the Old Residency in Munich.”
Years in Vienna
• After his mother died, Adolf (now 18) decided to
move to Austria to pursue his dream of becoming
a great artist.
• Again he failed to gain entrance into the Academy
• He eventually sold all his possessions and became
a homeless drifter who slept on park benches and
ate at soup kitchens throughout Vienna (age 19)
• Adolf did manage to sell some paintings and
postcards, but remained impoverished
Vienna -Importance
• Influenced by the anti-
Semitic mayor of
Vienna, Karl Lueger
• Became interested in
the idea of German
nationalism.
• Also received first
taste of politics
Military Service Adolf left Austria at the age of 24 to avoid mandatory
military service that was required of all men.
•But he did sign up for
military service at the
start of WW I. He joined
a Bavarian unit of the
German Army.
• This is a picture of
Hitler listening to an
enlistment speech.
Military Record
• Was awarded the Iron
Cross twice. (5 medals
overall)
• Highest military honor
in German Army.
• Single handedly
captured 4 French
soldiers.
• Blinded by gas attack
towards end of war.
German Worker’s Party
• Hitler decided to
investigate this
conservative party in
Munich in 1919.
• He went to a meeting
and gave a speech on
his experiences during
the war. Became a
member
Leader and Platform • Hitler drafted a
platform of 25 points
• Revoke Versailles
Treaty
• Revoke civil rights of
Jews
• Nazi party’s acronym
was NSDAP or
National Socialist
Germany Worker’s
Party
Besides changing the party
name, the red flag with the
SWASTIKA was adopted as
the party symbol
•Greek Silver
Coin (8th
Century)
•Etruscan
Pendant (8th
Century)
•Swastik
a means
“it is
good”
Ohio River
Valley B-ball
Team
(1909)
Beer Hall Putsch
• October 30, 1923
• Hitler held a rally in
Munich beer hall and
declared revolution
• Led 2000 men in take
over of German
Government
• It failed and Hitler was
imprisoned
Trial and Jail •At his trial (Hitler was charged with
treason), he used the opportunity to
speak about the NAZI platform and
spread his popularity.
•The whole nation suddenly knew
who Adolf Hitler was and what he
stood for
•He was sentenced to five years, but
actually only served about 9 months
•When he left prison, he was ready
to go into action again.
Mein Kampf • Hitler’s book “My Struggle” -
wrote while in jail
• Sold 5 million copies, made him
rich
• Topics included: Jews were evil,
Germans were superior race,
Fuhrer principal, dislike of
Communism and Democracy and
need to conquer Russia
Legal Rise to Power • Used popularity from failed
revolution and book to seize
power legally
• Spoke to mass audiences about
making Germany a great nation
again
• Nazi Party:
– 1930 = 18% of vote
– 1932 = 30% of vote
– Hitler is legally appointed
Chancellor (Prime Minister)
in 1933
– Why? Pressure from Nazi Party
on President Hindenburg
January 1933: Hitler became Chancellor
of Germany
http://clip.dj/2-hitler-s-first-speech-as-reich-chancellor-
10-feb-download-mp3-mp4-
rMzq0FggECs#v/AHHr2SNjbnc
Brownshirts
• Q. How did he accomplish
such popularity or hardly any
resistance?
• A. FEAR
• “Brownshirts” or SA
(Stormtroopers)
• SA was used to put down
opposition parties
• Threatened and beat up
Jews and anti-Nazi voters
• Numbered almost 400,000 by
1932
Legal Rise of Adolf Hitler • Hitler appointed as chancellor,
1933 and wanted total power
• New parliament created
– 450, 000 members
– Larger than German army
• Demanded dictatorial power for 4
years, only one deputy spoke out
against him.
• Used his power to turn Germany
into a fascist state or totalitarian
state (complete control over every
aspect of public and private lives.
History of the NSDAP (5 min)
Schutzstaffel (S.S.)
The S.S.
• This organization served as
Hitler’s police force.
• Made up of almost one
million men,
– it served in battle in the front
line
– unit in charge of many of the
war crimes against humanity.
Hitler expands Germany
Remember after World War I…
• Treaty of Versailles seriously damaged German economy
• When Adolf Hitler comes to power
– Promised to restore Germany’s greatness
– Lebensraum, or make the “living room” bigger
– In March 1935, the Fuhrer (leader) announced that
Germany would not obey these restrictions.
• Hitler wanted more territory
– Neighbors aware of threat
– Memories of World War I still fresh
– No one willing to fight over words
Hitler soon ordered a program of
rearming Germany
Hitler visits a factory and is enthusiastically
greeted. Many Germans were grateful for
jobs after the misery of he depression years.
Failure of the League of Nations • The League’s failure to stop Germany from rearming
convinced Hitler to be more bold.
• The treaty had forbidden German troops to enter a 30
mile wide zone on either side of the Rhine River
known as the Rhineland.
– Served as buffer zone between Germany and France.
• In 1936, Germany troops moved into the Rhineland.
Stunned, the French were unwilling to risk war.
• The British urged appeasement, giving into an
aggressor to keep peace.
• Hitler later admitted that he would have backed
down if the French and British had challenged him.
March 1936: German troops
marched into the Rhineland
Germany controls the Rhineland • The German reoccupation
of the Rhineland marked a
turning point in the march
toward war.
• Why?
• Now France and Belgium
is open to attack from the
Nazis.
March 1938: Nazi Germany
Annexes Austria
Western Democracies Fail to
Halt Aggression • The United States has the foreign policy of
Isolationism again (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
• Britain and France again choose appeasement
• The Munich Conference was held in September,
1938.
• British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed
that he could preserve peace by giving in to Hitler’s
demand.
The Munich Conference • Britain and France agreed that Hitler
could take the Sudentland.
• In exchange, Hitler pledge to respect
Czechoslovakia’s new borders
(Treaty is signed)
• Chamberlain’s policy of
appeasement seemed to have
prevented war.
• When he returned to London,
Chamberlain told cheering crowds,
“I believe it is peace for our time.”
• SOMEONE SEVERELY
DISAGREES
Chamberlain meets Hitler
"If ever that silly old man comes interfering here
again with his umbrella, I'll kick him downstairs and
jump on his stomach in front of the photographers".
--Adolf Hitler to Neville Chamberlain
March 1939: Germany invaded
Czechoslovakia •This was the first aggressive
step that suggested that a war in
Europe would soon begin.
Churchill’s Voice
We are in the presence of a disaster of the first
magnitude…we have sustained a defeat without a
war…And do not suppose that this is the end….This is
only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which
will be proffered to us year by year unless, by a
supreme recovery of moral health and vigor, we arise
and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time
Winston Churchill, speech before the House of Commons, October 5, 1938.
I told you so…
• Less than 6 months later, Hitler’s troops
took Czechoslovakia.
• Mussolini seized nearby Albania
• Hitler demanded Poland
• Appeasement had convinced Hitler that
neither nation would risk war
August 1939: Germany and Russia Signed a
Non-Aggression Pact
•Hitler and Stalin (the Russian leader) signed a ‘non-aggression pact’.
•They promised that neither country would attack the other in the event of war.
•As part of the deal, Hitler promised Stalin part of Poland, which he planned to invade soon.
This photo shows the Russian foreign
minister signing the pact, while Stalin
stands smiling in the background
The non-aggression pact was surprising. Hitler and Stalin were seen as natural enemies.
When Hitler talked of taking over new land for Germany, many thought that he meant Russia.
Hitler also hated Communism, the form of government in Russia
Hitler Stalin
• On 3rd September 1939, Germany invaded Poland and started a War with Britain and France.
September 1939: Germany invaded Poland
German troops marching into
Warsaw, the capital of Poland.
May 1940: Germany Turned West and
Invaded France and the Netherlands
• In May 1940, Germany used Blitzkrieg tactics to attack France and the Netherlands.
• Blitzkreig “or lightning war,” used fast-moving airplanes and tanks, followed by massive infantry forces, to take the enemy by surprise.
Captured British
troops, May 1940
The Phony War • Strange Calm – 7 mo. No movement.
• France/Britain mobilize armies
• They stationed their troops there and
called it the Maginot Line, a system of
fortifications along France’s border with
Germany.
• They waited for the Nazi’s to attack-but
nothing happened. Called it “Sitzkreig”
• 4/9/40 - Phony war ended. Hitler
launched a surprise invasion of
Denmark and Norway in order to:
• Build bases and along their coasts to
strike the powerful Great Britain.
• In 4 hours, Denmark fell. Two months
later, Norway surrendered.
Germans Squeeze Through
• After conquering Denmark and Norway, Hitler began
fighting in Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. (TO
KEEP ALLIES PREOCCUPIED.
• Keeping the allies attention on those countries, the
Germans sent a huge force through the Ardennes
Forest in Northeastern France and they squeezed
between the Maginot Line.
Italy Sides With Germany
• Sensing that France seemed
doomed for defeat, Italy’s
(Mussolini) officially
joined forces with Hitler
• Declared war on both Great
Britain and France.
• Italy attacked France from
the south. On June 14,
1940, France surrendered.
Alignment of the Axis
Powers in June, 1940
By June 1940, France had
surrendered to the Germans
• Britain now stood
alone as the last
remaining enemy of
Hitler’s Germany in
Western Europe.
Adolf Hitler tours Paris
after his successful
invasion.
Operation Sea Lion
The Invasion of Great Britain
• Wanted to knock out the
(RAF) Royal Air Force and
then land 250,00 soldiers on
England’s shores.
• The RAF was outnumbered
by the Luftwaffe in terms of
planes
– 2,900 RAF planes
– 4,500 Luftwaffe
• Then Hitler became focused
on bombing London to break
British morale
Winston Churchill • The Greatest weapon against
Hitler’s Germany was the nation’s
prime minister-Winston Churchill.
• Born with a speech defect,
Churchill became of the great
speech makers of all time.
• Churchill’s refusal to consider
surrendering to Germany provided
a base for which the Allies could
attack Germany in the future
• Open “Our Finest Hour Speech”
The British Bulldog
September 1940-May 1941:
Operation Sea Lion
Air Raids on London
• For the following nine
months, the German air
force (Luftwaffe) launched
repeated bombing raids on
British towns and cities.
This was known as the
BLITZ and was an attempt
to bomb Britain into
submission.
Battle of Britain • The English were able to win the Battle of Britain
because of a number of reasons
1. The RAF pilots were better dogfighters. They
were able to shoot down German planes at a 3:1
ratio.
A. To avoid RAF attacks, the Germans bombed London at
night, and the English would turn all lights off at night
and sirens would go off and the English would move to
bomb shelters.
2. The Allies developed Radar. Radar could tell the
number, speed, and direction of incoming war-
planes.
3. The Enigma. A code breaking machine, was
smuggled to Great Britain in 1938, and could
receive German secret messages and decode
them. This is a huge advantage because you may
know what the enemy is doing before they do it.
• In May, 1941, Hitler was stunned and called off
his attacks. The British had outlasted the
Germans.
The Enigma
THE UNITED STATES IN
WORLD WAR II
AMERICA
TURNS THE
TIDE
Japan’s Surprise Attack on Pearl Harbor • The U.S. had cracked a secret
Japanese code in August of 1940
and found out….that Japan had
plans to invade the Philippines.
• U.S. cut off Oil, Steel, and
Rubber shipments to Japan
• Japanese Admiral Isoroku
Yamamoto argued that the U.S.
fleet in Hawaii was a “dagger
pointed at our throat” and must be
destroyed
• The Japanese imperial army sent
submarines and war planes to bomb
the U.S. strategic navy base in
Oahu, Hawaii
• ->FDR Speech-Infamy
The U.S.S. Arizona in
flames taking a direct hit in
Pearl Harbor, December 7,
1941
Infamy Speech
What was the outcome?
• Surprise attack on U.S.
Navy Pacific Fleet
• December 7, 1941
• Fighters and bombers
launched from carriers
• Raid a success
Pearl Harbor
• Major destruction
• Heavy casualties
– 2,400 dead
– 200 planes gone
– Eight battleships sunk
• Three carriers survived
Two-hour attack
Japan Attacks
SECTION 1: MOBILIZING FOR DEFENSE
AMERICANS RUSH TO ENLIST
• “Remember Pearl Harbor” was the rallying cry as America entered WWII
• After Pearl Harbor, five million Americans enlisted to fight in the war
• The Selective Service expanded the draft and eventually provided an additional 10 million soldiers
WOMEN JOIN THE
FIGHT • Army Chief of Staff General
George Marshall pushed for the formation of the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)
• Under this program women worked in non-combat roles:
– Nurses
– ambulance drivers
– radio operators
– pilots
ALL AMERICANS FOUGHT
• Despite discrimination at home, minority populations contributed to the war effort
• 1,000,000 African Americans served in the military
• 300,000 Mexican-Americans
• 33,000 Japanese Americans
• 25,000 Native Americans
• 13,000 Chinese Americans
These “Golden 13” Great Lakes officers
scored the highest marks ever on the
Officers exam in 1944
LABOR’S
CONTRIBUTION • By 1944, nearly 18
million workers were
laboring in war
industries (3x the # in
1941)
• More than 6 million of
these were women and
nearly 2 million were
minority
A Secret Weapon
• “Manhattan Project” led
by Scientist Robert
Oppenheimer
• The most powerful bomb
the world had ever
known (Uranium-235
was extracted and used)
• Summer of 1945, the
atomic bomb was ready.
WAR PRODUCTION BOARD
• To ensure the troops had
ample resources, FDR
created the WPB
• The WPB decided which
companies would convert
to wartime production and
how to best allocate raw
materials to those
industries
COLLECTION DRIVES
• The WPB also organized nationwide drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags and cooking fat for recycling
• Additionally, the OPA set up a system of rationing
– Fixed allotment of goods deemed essential for the military
• Households had set allocations of scarce goods – gas, meat, shoes, sugar, coffee
WWII Poster
encouraging
conservation
SECTION 2: THE WAR FOR
EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA
• Days after Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill arrived at the White House and spent three weeks
working out war plans with FDR
• They decided to focus on defeating Hitler first and then turn their
attention to Japan
THE BATTLE OF THE
ATLANTIC • After America’s entry into
the war, Hitler was determined to prevent foods and war supplies from reaching Britain and the USSR from America’s east coast
• He ordered submarine raids on U.S. ships on the Atlantic
• During the first four months of 1942 Germany sank 87 U.S. ships
The power of the German submarines was great, and in
two months' time almost two million tons of Allied
ships were resting on the ocean floor. Efforts were soon
made to restrict German subs' activities.
ALLIES
CONTROL
U-BOATS
• In the first seven months of 1942,
German U-boats sank 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic
• Something had to be done or the war at sea would be lost
• First, Allies used convoys of ships & airplanes to transport supplies
– What are convoys?
• Destroyers used sonar to track U-boats
• Airplanes were used to track the U-boats ocean surfaces
• With this improved tracking, Allies inflicted huge losses on German U-boats
U-426 sinks after attack from the air,
January 1944. Almost two-thirds of all
U-boat sailors died during the Battle of
the Atlantic.
THE EASTERN FRONT &
MEDITERRANEAN
• Hitler wanted to wipe out Stalingrad – a major industrial center
• The first great turning point was the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad was a huge Allied
victory
• For weeks the Germans pressed in on Stalingrad
• Then winter set in and the Germans were
wearing summer uniforms
• The Germans surrendered in January of 1943
•The Soviets lost more than 1 million men in the
battle (more than twice the number of deaths the
U.S. suffered in all the war)
• Only half of the soldiers have weapons!
Wounded in the Battle
of Stalingrad
THE NORTH
AFRICAN FRONT • “Operation
Torch” – an invasion of Axis -controlled North Africa --was launched by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1942
• Allied troops landed in Casablanca, Oran and the Algiers in Algeria
• They sped eastward chasing the Afrika Korps led by German General Edwin Rommel (Desert Fox)
American tanks roll in the deserts of
Africa and defeat German and Axis
forces
Allied
troops
landed in
Casa-
blanca,
Oran and
the
Algiers
CASABLANCA MEETING
• FDR and Churchill met in
Casablanca and decided
their next moves
• 1) Plan amphibious invasions
of France and Italy
• 2) Only unconditional
surrender would be accepted
FDR and Churchill in Casablanca
ITALIAN CAMPAIGN –
ANOTHER ALLIED
VICTORY • The Italian Campaign got off to
a good start as the Allies easily took Sicily
• At that point King Emmanuel III stripped Mussolini of his power and had him arrested
• However, Hitler’s forces continued to resist the Allies in Italy
• Heated battles ensued and it wasn’t until 1945 that Italy was secured by the Allies
TUSKEGEE
AIRMEN
• Among the brave men who fought in Italy were pilots of the all-black 99th squadron – the Tuskegee Airmen
• The pilots made numerous effective strikes against Germany and won two distinguished Unit Citations
On May 31, 1943, the 99th Squadron, the first group of African-American pilots
trained at the Tuskegee Institute, arrived in North Africa
ALLIES LIBERATE EUROPE
• Even as the Allies were battling for Italy, they began plans on a dramatic invasion of France
• It was known as “Operation Overlord” and the commander was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Also called “D-Day,” the operation involved 3 million U.S. & British troops and was set for June 6, 1944
Allies sent fake
coded messages
indicating they
would attack
here
D-DAY JUNE
6, 1944
• D-Day was the largest
land-sea-air
operation in military
history
• Despite air support,
German retaliation
was brutal –
especially at Omaha
Beach
• Within a month, the
Allies had landed 1
million troops,
567,000 tons of
supplies and 170,000
vehicles D-Day was an amphibious landing – soldiers
going from sea to land
OMAHA BEACH 6/6/44
Landing at Normandy
Planes drop paratroopers behind enemy lines at Normandy, France
Losses were
extremely
heavy on D-
Day
Clip from Saving Private Ryan
2:10
FRANCE
FREED • By September 1944,
the Allies had freed
France, Belgium
and Luxembourg.
General George Patton (right) was
instrumental in Allies freeing
France
BATTLE OF THE
BULGE • In October 1944, Americans
captured their first German town (Aachen)– the Allies were closing in
• Hitler responded with one last ditch massive offensive
• Hitler hoped breaking through the Allied line would break up Allied supply lines
BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
• The battle raged for a month – the Germans had been pushed back
• Germans had suffered heavy losses
• Germany lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and 1,600 planes
• From that point on the Nazis could do little but retreat The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s last gasp
ALLIES TAKE BERLIN;
HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE
• By April 25, 1945, the Soviet army had stormed Berlin
• In his underground headquarters in Berlin, Hitler prepared for the end
• On April 29, he married his longtime girlfriend Eva Braun then wrote a last note in which he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it
• The next day he gave poison to his wife and shot himself
Red army soldiers raising the Soviet flag on the roof of the
Reichstag (German Parliament) in Berlin, Germany.
Famous
picture of an
American
soldier
celebrating
the end of the
war
SECTION 3: THE
WAR IN THE
PACIFIC • The Americans did not
celebrate long, as Japan was busy conquering an empire that dwarfed Hitler’s Third Reich
• Japan had conquered much of southeast Asia including the Dutch East Indies, Guam, and most of China
BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA
• The main Allied forces in the Pacific were
Americans and Australians
• In May 1942 they succeeded in stopping the
Japanese drive toward Australia in the five-day
Battle of the Coral Sea
THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY
• Midway Island – a strategic Island northwest of Hawaii
• The Americans won a decisive victory as their planes destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers and 250 planes
•The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war – soon the
Allies were island hopping toward Japan
KAMIKAZE
PILOTS ATTACK
ALLIES • Japanese countered by
employing a new tactic – Kamikaze (divine wind) attacks
• Pilots in small bomb-laden planes would crash into Allied ships
In the Battle for the Philippines, 424
Kamikaze pilots sank 16 ships and
damaged 80 more
President Roosevelt Dies
• Did not live to see the end of World War II.
• Died on April 12, 1945
• Vice President Harry S. Truman became
President.
INVADE JAPAN?
• After getting closer to Japan (Okinawa) General MacArthur predicted that a Normandy type amphibious invasion of Japan would result in 1,500,000 Allied deaths
• President Truman saw only one way to avoid an invasion of Japan . . .
The loss of life at Iwo Jima and Okinawa
convinced Allied leaders that an invasion of
Japan was not the best idea
Okinawa
ATOMIC BOMB
DEVELOPED • Japan had a huge army
that would defend every
inch of the Japanese
mainland
• So Truman decided to use
a powerful new weapon
developed by scientists
working on the Manhattan
Project – the Atomic
Bomb
U.S. DROPS TWO
ATOMIC BOMBS
ON JAPAN
• Truman warned Japan in late July 1945 that without a immediate Japanese surrender, it faced “prompt and utter destruction”
• On August 6 (Hiroshima) and August 9 (Nagasaki) a B-29 bomber dropped Atomic Bombs on Japan
The plane and crew that dropped an
atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
The Sky Explodes
• Killed over
90,000–166,000
people.
• Japan still DID
NOT
SURRENDER!
The Enola Gay
· On August 9, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb (Fat
Man) on the city of Nagasaki.
Killed 60 to 80,000 people.
Mushroom cloud from the
nuclear explosion over
Nagasaki rising 60,000
feet into the air on the
morning of August 9, 1945
• Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945
• World War II was FINALLY over!
• Over 300,000 Americans dead and over 15 millions other soldiers from other countries died in the fighting.
JAPAN SURRENDERS
At the White House, President Harry Truman
announces the Japanese surrender, August 14,
1945
• Japan surrendered
days after the second
atomic bomb was
dropped
• General MacArthur
said, “Today the guns
are silent. The skies no
longer rain death . . .the
entire world is quietly at
peace.”
THE YALTA
CONFERENCE
• In February 1945, as the
Allies pushed toward
victory in Europe, an
ailing FDR met with
Churchill and Stalin at
the Black Sea resort of
Yalta in the USSR
• A series of compromises
were worked out
concerning postwar
Europe
(L to R) Churchill, FDR and Stalin at
Yalta
YALTA AGREEMENTS • 1) They agreed to divide Germany into 4 occupied zones after the
war
• 2) Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe
• 3) Stalin agreed to help the U.S. in the war against Japan and to join the United Nations
NUREMBERG WAR TRIALS
• The discovery of Hitler’s death camps led the Allies to put 24 surviving Nazi leaders on trial for crimes against humanity, crimes against the peace, and war crimes
• “I was only following orders” was not an acceptable defense as 12 of the 24 were sentenced to death and the others to life in prison
Herman Goering, Hitler's right-hand man and chief architect of the
German war effort, testifies at his trial. He was found guilty of war
crimes but avoided execution by swallowing potassium cyanide.
SECTION 4: THE HOME
FRONT
GI BILL HELPS
RETURNING VETS
• To help returning
servicemen ease back into
civilian life, Congress
passed the Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act (GI
Bill of Rights)
• The act provided
education for 7.8 million
vets
INTERNMENT OF
JAPANESE AMERICANS
• When the war began, 120,000 Japanese Americans lived in the U.S. – mostly on the West Coast
• After Pearl Harbor, many people were suspicious of possible spy activity by Japanese Americans
• In 1942, FDR ordered Japanese Americans into 10 relocation centers
Japanese Americans felt the sting of
discrimination during WWII
Location of the
10 Internment
camps
Nearly 59 years after the end of World War II, the National
World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington,
D.C., on Saturday, May 29, 2004 to honor the 408,680
Americans who died in the conflict
