World War II World War II Introducti on
Jan 01, 2016
LONG TERM CAUSES LEADING UP TO WORLD WAR II (WWII)
1. Treaty of Versailles• Germans were forced to:
0 pay reparations0 Redraw boundaries and reduce territory0 Reduce the size of their military
The Germans were upset with this treaty and the Weimar Republic for signing it because it made them look WEAK
2. Economic and Political Factors0 Great Depression hit Germany
hard0 High unemployment rates0 High inflation making German
money worthless0 Germans were afraid communists
would take over0 Hitler was seen as a defense
against this
3. Appeasement (giving in to someone’s demands)
• Americans passed Neutrality Acts to stay out of foreign affairs
• France and Britain appeased Hitler and his violation of the Treaty of Versailles
• Germany, Italy, and Japan united to form an alliance called the AXIS POWERS
0Hitler invaded Austria, the Sudetenland and eventually all of Czechoslovakia 0This territory was
known as the “Third Reich”
0Chamberlain appeased him to avoid another war, even though it violated the Treaty of Versailles
4. Hitler’s Leadership0 Challenged the Treaty of Versailles
0 Rebuilt German military0 Practiced territorial aggression to
claim back land0 Promoted extreme Nationalism
0 Encouraged Anti-Semitic Scapegoating
WORLD WAR II BEGINS0Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 0France and Britain promised that they
would defend Poland if this happened0As a result, WWII began in September of
1939
WAR BEGINS0Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 using a
tactic called “Blitzkrieg” meaning “lightning war”
0It was a very fast, forceful fighting tactic and Poland surrendered after one month
0After this, the war was called a “phony war” because there wasn’t much fighting until April 1940
0Germany began invading Denmark, Norway, and other surrounding countriesBefore attacking France and Britain
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JAPANESE INVOLVEMENT0 Japan wanted to expand their empire and become an
imperialist power0 Japan invaded Manchuria (part of China) because it had
many natural resources0 The League of Nations investigated this invasion, and
Japan withdrew their membership from the League
0 Japan allied with Germany0 Thought they would invade Soviet Union together0 When Germany signed Nazi-Soviet Pact, Japan instead
invaded the South Pacific0Led to the attack on Hawaii
ALLIANCES
0AXIS POWERS Germany, Italy, and Japan0ALLIED POWERS France, Great Britain,
Poland0The Soviet Union made a non-aggression
pact with Germany called Nazi-Soviet Pact promising neutrality between the two
countries
AXIS POWERS0Germany ~ Adolf Hitler
0Italy~ Benito Mussolini
0Japan~ Hideki Tojo
ALLIED POWERS0Great Britain0Neville Chamberlain until 19400Winston Churchill took over in 1940
0USA~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~ until 19450Harry S. Truman ~ End of the war
ChamberlainChurchill
FDR Truman
US INVOLVEMENT
0USA passed the Neutrality Acts in 1935, stating that we would not supply weapons to belligerent countries (countries at war) taking a position of isolationism
0 In 1941, the US passed the Lend-Lease Acts which allowed us to supply weapons to the Allied Powers without going to war0Kept us directly out of the war, but showed that we
supported Allies
US ROAD TO WAR0FDR and Churchill met in 1941 and wrote
the Atlantic Charter0Document stated their democratic goals
that both share0US also helped defend Britain against
German submarines0US was showing support for Britain in the
war
PEARL HARBOR0Dec. 7, 1941~ US naval base in Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by Japan 0Dec. 8, 1941~ Congress declared war on
Japan0Event caused the US to enter WWII as an
Allied Power
SIGNIFICANT BATTLES OF WWII
0 Invasion of Poland~ began WWII0Battle of Stalingrad~ allowed Soviets to hold
Germans back turning the tide of the war0Battle of El Alamein~ North African battle that
turned the tide of the war on the European Front in favor of the Allies by causing Italy to eventually surrender
0Bataan Death March~ united Philippines and US against Japanese when 10,000 people were killed
0Battle of Midway~ air battle that turned the tide of the war in favor of the Allies on the Pacific Front
0D-Day~ June 6, 1944~ led to the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany
END OF WAR IN EUROPE0V-E Day~ May 8, 19450Victory in Europe Day0Germany surrendered ending the war on
the European Front
ATTACK ON JAPAN0Japan refused to surrender in the war0US dropped two atomic bombs in August of
19450Hiroshima ~ 80,000 killed0Nagasaki~ 40,000 killed0Led to the surrender of Japan
WAR ENDS IN JAPAN
0V-J Day~ September 2, 19450Victory in Japan Day0 Japan surrendered and World War II was over