Chapter 26

Chapter 26

World War II1939 – 1945

Key Events• Adolf Hitler’s philosophy of Aryan

superiority led to World War II in Europe and was also the source of the Holocaust

• Two separate and opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis Powers, waged a world wide war

• World War II left lasting impressions on civilian populations

The Impact Today• By the end of World War II, the

balance of power had shifted away from Europe

• Germany and Japan’s search for expanded “living space” is comparable to nations fighting over borders today

• Atomic weapons pose a threat to all nations

Chapter Preview

“Hitler’s Vision”

Section 1

Paths to War

The German Path to War (1st Steps)

• Hitler believed Germany needed more land to support a larger population.

• In the 1920’s, Hitler had indicated this land would be the Soviet Union.

• In 1935, Hitler began to violate the Treaty of Versailles:– Created a new air force– Began a military draft

German Path to War (1st Steps - continued)

• On March 7, 1936 Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland.

• The Rhineland was part of Germany, but according to the Treaty of Versailles, it was a demilitarized area.

• France had the right to use force against Germany, but since Great Britain would not support them, they did not.

• GB began to practice a policy of appeasement.

German Path to War (New Alliances)• Benito Mussolini (Italy) and Hitler

(Germany) began to develop a closer relationship after Hitler supported Mussolini in it’s invasion of Ethiopia in October 1935.

• In November, 1936 2 alliances were formed:– Rome-Berlin Axis (Italy and Germany)– Anti-Comintern Pact (Germany and Japan)

• In 1938, after his triumphal return to his native land, Hitler annexed Austria to Germany.

German Path to War (Continued)• In late 1938, Hitler demanded that

Germany be given the Sudetland, an area of northwestern Czechoslovakia. This is obtained at the Munich Conference (High point of Appeasement).

• This convinced Hitler that the Western democracies (Great Britain and France) were weak and would not fight.

• Great Britain and France attempt to align with the Soviet Union (Stalin as dictator).

German Path to War (Hitler/Soviets)

• Hitler did not want a two-front war, so Hitler makes his own agreement with Stalin.

• In August 23, 1939 Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact.

• Hitler now felt comfortable in attacking Poland.

• On September 1, 1939 German forces invaded Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

The Japanese Path to War• The Japanese used a “fake”

attack in China to start their invasion of Manchukuo. Japanese soldier’s dressed as Chinese attacked a Japanese railroad.• Manchukuo had much needed

natural resources that Japan needed.

Japanese Path to War (War with China)• By 1937, Japan was engaged in heavy

fighting throughout China, against the forces of Chiang Kai-shek.

• Japanese military leaders had hoped that Chiang would agree to join a new order in east Asia.

• Part of the plan was to seize Soviet Siberia, with its rich resources.

• Japan also thought they might team with Germany against the Soviet Union.

Japanese Path to War (Resources)• Japan lacked the natural resources badly

needed to fight a prolonged war in the Pacific. Oil and Iron were provided by the U.S., but were eventually cut off when Japan demanded the right to exploit economic resources in French Indochina (Summer of 1940).

• This exploitation forced the U.S. to apply economic sanctions on Japan. These sanctions poised a threat to Japans long-term objectives.

Japanese Path to War (Decision Time)• Japan was caught in a Dilemma:–To guarantee access to the raw

materials it wanted in Southeast Asia, Japan had to risk losing raw materials from the United States.

• After much debate, Japan decided to launch a surprise attack on U.S. and European colonies in Southeast Asia.

Section 2The Course

of World War II

Europe at War• Germany uses a blitzkrieg to

quickly conquer Poland in September 1939.• The blitzkrieg combined tanks,

planes, and mechanized infantry divisions to quickly defeat Poland.• Germany and the Soviet Union

divide Poland.

Hitler’s Early Victories• Hitler resume’s attacks in April, 1940

on Denmark and Norway.• In May, 1940 the attacks continue on

the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.

• Germany was now (Summer 1940) in control of western and central Europe, but Britain had still not been defeated.

• The British appeal to the U.S. for help

The Battle of Britain• The German Air Force (the Luftwaffe)

begins to attack Great Britain in August, 1940.

• When Great Britian responds by bombing Berlin, Germany decides to start bombing civilian targets.

• Hitler hopes to destroy British morale, but instead faces steady opposition from the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Attack on the Soviet Union• Hitler was convinced that Britain

remained in the war only because it expected Soviet support.

• Hitler invaded the Soviet Union in June, 1941 (Wanted to defeat the Russians before winter).

• An early winter and fierce Soviet resistance, halted the German advance.

• For the first time in the war, German armies had been stopped (December 1941).

Japan at War• December 7, 1941 – Japanese

aircraft attack the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor.

• Japan also invades a number of other islands throughout the Pacific.

• The Japanese thought the Roosevelt administration would now accept Japanese domination in the Pacific

Pearl Harbor

USS Arizona Memorial (Pearl Harbor)

World War IIMost Significant Nations

Axis and Allies

Axis • Germany• Italy• Japan

Allies• Great Britain• Soviet Union• United States

(Entered the war in December 1941)

World War IIAxis Leaders

Nation • Germany

• Italy

• Japan

LeaderAdolf Hitler

Benito Mussolini

Hideki Tojo

World War IIAllied Leaders

Nation • Great Britain

• Soviet Union

• United States

LeaderWinston Churchill

Joseph Stalin

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin

The Allies Advance• When the U.S. enters the war, the 3

major allies agree to stress military operations and ignore political differences.

• At the beginning of 1943, the Allies agreed to fight until the Axis Powers surrendered unconditionally.

• Hitler could no longer divide the enemy.

The European Theater• Until late 1942, it appeared as though the

Germans may still prevail on the battlefield.

• The Germans made several mistakes during the war. By stretching out their military to far, in North Africa, and deep into the Soviet Union, it put too much strain on its supply lines. As a result the allies were able to slowly destroy individual German units one at a time.

• November 1942 – February 1943. Under a counterattack, German troops were devastated.

The Asian Theater• Turning points:– Battle of the Coral Sea (May 7 and 8, 1942)• U.S. naval forces stop Japanese advances and

save Australia from threat of invasion– Battle of Midway Island (June 4, 1942)• U.S. Planes destroy 4 attacking Japanese aircraft

carriers.• U.S. establishes naval superiority in the Pacific

– After a series of water battles off the Solomon Islands from August to November 1942, Japanese fortunes were fading

Last Years of the War (Europe)• By the beginning of 1943, the tide of

battle had turned against Germany, Italy, and Japan.

• Allies take Sicily and begin an invasion of mainland Italy (Mussolini is removed from office and placed under arrest)

• Rome finally falls to the Allies in June, 1944

Last Years of the War (D-Day)• On June 6, 1944 Allied forces under

Dwight D. Eisenhower landed on the Normandy beaches.

• Within 3 months the allied forces had landed 2 million men and a half million vehicles.

• Allied forces then pushed inland and broke through German defensive lines.

• After the breakout, Allied troops continued to move south and east.

D-Day

Last Years of the War (Continued)

• The Soviets continued to defeat German forces in battle after battle.

• By January 1945, Hitler was directing the final stages of the war from a bunker under Berlin.

• To the end he preached anti-Semitism and blamed the Jews for the war.

• Mussolini is shot on April 28, 1945.• Hitler commits suicide on April 30,

1945.

Last Years of the War (Continued)

• Harry S. Truman becomes President in April 1945 after the Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Decision Time (To use atomic weapons or not)– 1st atomic bomb dropped on August 6, 1945

(Hiroshima)– 2nd atomic bomb dropped on August 9, 1945

(Nagasaki)– Japan Surrenders on August 14, 1945

Hiroshima After the Atomic Bomb

Casualties of War• Approximately 17 million had

died in battle during World War II• Perhaps 20 million civilians had

perished as well• Some estimates place total

losses at 50 million

Section 3

The New Order and the

Holocaust

The New Order in Europe• Most of what Germany had taken

over in Europe (From the English Channel to Moscow) was run by German military.

• As the Nazis won land in the war, they began to uproot and move people out. These lands were seen as the living space for German expansion.

The Holocaust• The SS and its leader (Heinrich

Himmler) were given the responsibility of handling the “Final Solution” of the Jews

• The “Final Solution” was genocide of the Jewish people.

• The Nazis created a special group, known as the Einsatzgruppen. This group was tasked with the systematic killing of all Jews in Europe.

The Death Camps• Since the process of murdering

Jews by the Einsatzgruppen was too slow, the Nazis constructed elaborate death camps where thousands of Jews could be killed each day.

• 6 extermination centers were built in Poland.

Auschwitz• The largest extermination center

was Auschwitz– About 30% of arrivals were sent to labor

camps where many were starved or worked to death

– Some inmates were subjected to cruel and painful “medical” experiments

– The remainder were sent to their death in the gas chambers

Auschwitz Death Camp

Cremation Ovens at Auschwitz Death Camp

The Death Toll• The Germans killed 5 to 6 million

Jews. Over 3 million in death camps alone.

• 90% of the Jewish population in Poland, the Baltic countries, and Germany were killed.

• Overall, the Holocaust was responsible for the death of nearly 2 out of every 3 European Jews.

The Death Toll (Continued)• The Nazis were also responsible for

the death of 9 to 10 Million non-Jewish people.– The Nazis considered the Roma

(sometimes known as Gypsies) like the Jews to be an inferior race. Many were killed.

– Government leaders of slavic groups were killed.

– 4 Million Poles, Ukrainians, and Belorussians died from slave labor.

– 3 to 4 million soviet prisoners of war died during captivity.

Children in the War• 1.2 million Jewish children died in

the Holocaust• Many European children were

evacuated from cities during the war to avoid the bombing.

• After evacuating to the countryside, many children did not see their parents again. In 1945, there were about 13 million orphaned children in Europe.

Japan’s treatment of POW’s• Japanese soldiers believed that to

surrender was a sign of weakness, and a dishonor to oneself, and one’s family.

• As a result, Allied prisoners were treated harshly by their captors.

• Often times Allied prisoners were beaten to death, starved, or horribly tortured.

Allied POW’s in Asia• Allied prisoners were often put on work

details that included heavy construction and manual labor.

• POW’s were often exhausted and collapsed while working.

• If a POW stopped working without permission, a Japanese guard would shoot or bayonet the prisoner.

• Fear was often a tactic used to make prisoners work harder. Thousands were worked to death.

Section 4

The Home Front and the

Aftermath of the War

Mobilization during World War II• The U.S., Soviet Union, Japan, and

Germany all utilized a form of mobilization.

• Women took on more jobs (including manufacturing jobs).

• Industry switched to war preparation for military equipment.

• Although not the same in each location, the life of citizens changed drastically during World War II.

The Bombing of Cities• Great Britain cities were the first to be

bombed (Nightly beginning in 1940).• Great Britain began bombing raids of

German cities in 1942.• Both Germany and Great Britain hoped

that the bombing of cities and civilians would break morale and bring a quick end to the war.• Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan were

devastated by the Atomic Bomb in August 1945.

The Tehran Conference• November 1943 - Iran• A meeting between Roosevelt,

Churchill, and Stalin.• The conference was set up to

determine the final assault on Germany, and the quickest way to bring about an end to WWII.

• The allies also agreed to a partition of postwar Germany.

The Yalta Conference• February 1945 – Southern Russia• Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt met

again:– How to defeat Japan? (Atomic Bomb was not

yet a certainty)– The creation of the United Nations (Roosevelt

wanted the big 3 to be part of this international organization)

– The issue of free elections in Eastern Europe caused a split between the USSR and GB/USA

Post War Germany

The Potsdam Conference• July 1945 - Germany• Truman replaces FDR, who had died

in April.• The Allies agreed to military trials in

Nuremberg, Germany, to convict Nazis of war crimes against humanity.

• Trials also were to be held in Japan and Italy.

Peace and a New War• The total victory of the Allies in World

War II was followed not by a real peace but by a period of political tensions, known as the Cold War.

• Only months after World War II ended, Stalin’s and Churchill’s words showed that the world seemed to be bitterly divided once again.

Chapter 26

World War II Wrap Up and

Review

Key Events (Re-visited)• Adolf Hitler’s philosophy of Aryan

superiority led to World War II in Europe and was also the source of the Holocaust

• Two separate and opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis Powers, waged a world wide war

• World War II left lasting impressions on civilian populations

The Impact Today (Re-visited)

• By the end of World War II, the balance of power had shifted away from Europe

• Germany and Japan’s search for expanded “living space” is comparable to nations fighting over borders today

• Atomic weapons pose a threat to all nations