World War II Chapter 26. Section 1 The Road to War.

World War IIChapter 26

Section 1The Road to War

Treaty of Versailles and the Effect on Germany

• Treaty of Versailles was negotiated by Allies after WWI – little input from Germans

• Had to give back lands taken during WWI and some more

• Were stripped of colonies

• Had to pay reparations for the damages they caused in other countries

• Germany’s armed forces were greatly reduced in size and they were restricted in the classes of weapons they could possess

Adolf Hitler

• Adolf Hitler and other dictators in the 1920’s and 1930’s took advantage of those who were angry and suffering by promising a better life

• Treaty of Versailles angered some Europeans

• Worldwide Depression• Dictators – leaders who control

people by force = charm, then horror

What was Mein Kampf?

• Hitler promised to stabilize Germany, rebuild the economy, & revive the German Empire that had been shattered in WWI• result = huge following of Hitler

& Nazi party (appealed to people who were miserable - HOPE)

• Hitler's tremendous personal magnetism swayed the people to his side• Mein Kampf was the "holy book" of Nazi

goals and ideology - reflected Hitler's obsessions of extreme nationalism and racism

• Germans were the superior Aryan race and non-Aryan races like the Jews, Slavs, and Gypsies were inferior or subhuman and were their enemy

• He felt that Germany should expand and others should bow to their needs• Vowed to regain lands taken in

Treaty of Versailles• Germans needed more

Lebensraum (living space)• They would get this by

conquering eastern Europe and Russia

Benito Mussolini

Mussolini brought Fascism to Italy and forced the Italian King to name Mussolini the head of the government – militarism and racism ruled the day.

Mussolini did away with personal freedoms and the free press failed to exist. He invaded Ethiopia in 1935.

Germany and the Rise of Nazism

• Hitler led National Socialist Party – a.k.a – The Nazi Party

• Nationalism – felt German people were superior to all others

• Jews, no matter the country, were blamed for Germany’s problems

• Anti-Semitism – hatred of Jews

• Totalitarian State – leaders crushed all opposition and controlled all aspects of society

• Felt Germany had a right to expand

THE SWASTIKA

• The text on the card back reads: • GOOD LUCK EMBLEM • "The Swastika" is the oldest cross and emblem in the

world. It forms a combination of four "L's" standing for Luck, Light, Love and Life. It has been found in ancient Rome, excavations in Grecian cities, on Buddhist idols, on Chinese coins dated 315 B.C., and our own Southwest Indians use it as an amulet. • It is claimed that the Mound Builders and Cliff

Dwellers of Mexico, Central America consider "The Swastika" a charm to drive away evil and bring good luck, long life and prosperity to the possessor.

This postcard, copyright 1907 by E. Phillips, a U.S. card publisher, speaks for the universally high regard in which the swastika was held as a good luck token before use by the Nazis corrupted its meaning.

The Rise of Japan – In September 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria looking to gain control of

valuable minerals.

Joseph Stalin – Communist Dictator of the Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin was the Communist leader of the Soviet Union in the late 1920’s. Stalin used force to obtain obedience from his people. He executed his rivals and sent millions of people suspected of disloyalty to prison labor camps and even worse, had them put to death.

American Neutrality

Congress passed the Neutrality Acts between 1935 and 1937 to try to keep us out of a war. This act banned weapons sales and loans to countries at war. Many countries had not repaid their WWI debt and Congress didn’t want to take on more debt.

Germany on the Move

RhinelandGerman troops moved

into Rhineland in March 1936. This area had been taken from

Germany in the Treaty of Versailles.

AustriaGerman troops

moved into Austria for unification in

March 1938. Hitler wanted to unify the country of his birth

with Germany

Sudetenland

Hitler wanted to take over this part of Czechoslovakia

where many German-speaking people lived. He

lied and said German-speaking people were

being mistreated.

Munich Conference

• Britain and France wanted to avoid war and gave into Germany’s demands, this is known as appeasement.

• At the Munich Conference, Britain and France agreed to give the Sudentenland to Germany and take it from Czechoslovakia.

• If they chose not to give up the Sudentenland, they would have to fight Germany on their own!

• Hitler promised to not further expand German territory.

German Non-Aggressive Pact – August 1939

• Hitler wanted to invade Poland, but was worried he would anger Joseph Stalin.

• Poland bordered the Soviet Union.

• Hitler and Stalin despised each other and were bitter enemies.

• Hitler and Stalin signed the German Non-Aggressive Pact that allowed Germany to invade Poland without Soviet intervention. Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939.

• The pact would allow Germany to invade Poland and allow the Soviet Union part of Poland and the Baltic States.

• The Pact was broken on June 22, 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

Section 2War Begins

WWII Begins – Germany Invades Poland• On September 1, 1939, Hitler

sent his troops into Poland.• Two days later, Britain and

France declared war on Germany.

• German forces attacked Poland swiftly and fiercely with targeted attacks.

• This type of attack was called a Blitzkrieg or “lightning war.”

• Soviet troops came from the east and occupied eastern Poland according to terms of the German Non-Aggressive Pact

Allied Powers and DunkirkWhen Belgium fell to the

Germans, the Allied Powers – France and Great Britain were

trapped in Dunkirk, France.

The Allied troops were trapped in Dunkirk. 800 British ships

evacuated more than 300,000 Allied troops to safety.

Axis Powers

• The Axis Powers during WWII in Europe were Germany and Italy.

• Japan was also part of the Axis and were waging war in the Pacific.

• Germany marched into Paris, France on June 14, 1940 and France surrendered 1 week later.

Germany attacks Great Britain

• In August, 1940, Germany began bombarding Great Britain’s air bases, shipyards and industries.

• Germany bombed London and destroyed entire areas of the city.

• Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, was steadfast in his determination that the British would never surrender.

• Finally, in October 1940, Germany turned back east because they could not defeat the British.

Germany invades the Soviet Union – June 1941• Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union for their resources

and for “living space” for the Germans.

• The German forces destroyed planes and tanks and capture

500,000 Soviet troops.

• Joseph Stalin ordered a scorched-earth policy. The Soviets burned their own cities, destroyed crops and blew up dams that provided

electric power.

• These actions made it harder for the Germans to supply their troops and keep advancing.

America and the War

• The U.S. watched the war with concern.

• Some Americans were Isolationists – did not want America involved in foreign conflicts – this group was called the America First Committee

• President Franklin Roosevelt strengthened the Navy with Congressional approval.

• In 1939, a new Neutrality Act was passed. Warring nations could buy US goods if they paid cash and carried them on their ships.

• In 1941, the Selective Training and Service Act was passed and it applied to US men ages 21-35.

• Franklin Roosevelt ran for a 3rd term as President and won easily in 1940.

• Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941, this law allowed the US to sell, lend, or lease weapons to other countries “vital to the defense of the United States.” Great Britain used the Lend-Lease act first.

The Atlantic Charter

• In August 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill met and drew up the Atlantic Charter. Roosevelt made no military promises, but he joined Churchill in setting goals for the world after WWII.

• The two nations pledged that people would be free to choose their own form of government and live free of “fear and want.”

• They urged disarmament – giving up military weapons.

The Japanese Threat

• The Japanese had seized much of China in the 1930’s.• When France fell, the Chinese

seized French-ruled Indochina in SE Asia.• Japan also aimed to take

control of the Dutch East Indies, British Malaysia and the Philippines – an American territory because they needed rubber and oil.

US responds to Japanese Threat

• The US applied economic pressure to Japan by freezing all Japanese money held in US banks.

• The US stopped the sale of oil, gasoline and other resources that Japan lacked and this action angered the Japanese.

• In October 1941, Japanese prime minister, Fumimaro Konoye was forced to resign because he wanted to hold talks with the US. He did not feel that Japan could defeat the US in a war.

• The new leader, General Hideki Tojo, did not share Konoye’s views and he began to plan an attack on the United States.

The Attack on Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941

• Pearl Harbor was attacked at 7:55 AM on December 7, 1941.

• Ships were anchored in neat rows and planes were grouped together on the airfield – which made for easy targets.

• More than 2,300 soldiers, sailors and civilians were killed.

• The navy’s three aircraft carriers were out to sea and were not hit.

• The attack was a complete surprise.

• “… a date that will live in infamy.”

• On December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.• On December 11, 1941, Germany

and Italy – Japan’s allies – declared war on the United States. Congress then declared war on them.• Allied Powers – Great Britain, US,

France, China and the Soviet Union• Axis Powers – Germany, Italy and

Japan

Section 3On the Home Front

Building An Army• The Selective Service Acts of 1940-1941

helped to raise an army.

• During WWII, more than 15 million Americans joined the armed forces.

• New draftees were given physical exams and shots to protect against smallpox and typhoid.

• The draftees were given uniforms, boots and equipment and the clothing had the “G.I.” label and this meant “Government Issue.”

• American soldiers then became known as GI’s and there was even a doll named G.I. Joe

WACs and WAVES – Women in the militaryWACs – Women’s Army Corps

Did not fight in combat, but were important in keeping records of the

war.

WAVES – Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service – Did

not see combat, but worked as nurses and were important to the

war effort

Financing the War

• From 1941, the US spent $320 billion on the war – 10 times the amount spent on WWI.

• The Revenue Act of 1942, allowed the government to raise taxes to pay for the war. Corporate taxes were raised and most Americans had to pay income taxes.

• Congress instituted a program to take taxes out of paychecks, this still happens today.

• The government borrowed money to finance the war. War bonds were sold and movie stars and celebrities encouraged people to buy bonds.

Wartime America – Making Sacrifices

• Those who remained at home had to provide food and shelter for those in uniform.

• Many families had loved ones that served overseas and many were always worried about getting news of a family member being killed or wounded.

• There were shortages of consumer goods and many items were rationed and consumers could only buy a limited amount of gasoline, tires, sugar and meat.

Wartime America – Helping the War Effort

• Many people planted “victory gardens” to grow vegetables that were in short supply.

• Many children collected scrap metal for industry.

• Many people joined “civil defense” to help in the case of attack.

• People volunteered to be “spotters”, they would scan the skies for enemy aircraft.

• Coastal cities enforced blackouts at night so that lights could not serve as beacons for enemy pilots.

Women Join the War Effort

• When millions of men went off to war, the women entered the workforce in jobs that had belonged to the men.

• An advertising campaign featured Rosie the Riveter and she was meant to encourage women to take factory jobs.

• For many women, this was their first opportunity to work outside the home.

• The women were often paid less than men for doing the same job (this still happens today.)

• When the war ended, the women lost their jobs when the men came home, but the attitude towards women working was beginning to change.

African Americans

Tuskegee Airmen – 332nd Fighter Group – a group of pilots that

protected the heavy bombers. They shot down more than 200 enemy planes and didn’t lose

one of their own aircraft.

Civilian Life – African Americans worked in

factories and demanded to be treated equally while employed at government

factories.

Benjamin Davis Sr. and Jr.

Benjamin Davis, Sr. was the first African American general in the U.S.

Army

Benjamin Davis, Jr. was the first African American general in the

U.S. Air Force

Native Americans – Code Talkers

The Japanese had broken all of the US specials codes, except for

one, the Navajo language.

There were 400-500 Navajo code talkers that helped the Marines

to win the Battle of Iwo Jima.

Latinos – Bracero Program

• More than 250,000 Hispanics served during WWII.

• Mercedes Cubria of Cuba was the first Latina woman in the WACs.

• The government recruited farm and railroad workers to serve come from Mexico to the U.S to fill a labor void. This increased the immigration from Mexico to the United States.

• Like African Americans, Hispanics suffered from discrimination during the war.

Japanese American Internment• After the Japanese bombed Pearl

Harbor, they were feared and hated by many Americans.

• 2/3 of Japanese Americans were Nisei – American citizens born in the United States.

• Military and Political leaders were worried about the loyalty of Japanese Americans if the Japanese invaded the US.

• President Roosevelt ordered that 100,000 Japanese Americans who lived on the West Coast be relocated to detention centers.

Japanese American Internment• The interment camps were located in

desert areas and were crowded, uncomfortable and conditions were harsh.

• They were given only days notice of having to leave their home and businesses behind and had to leave most all of their possessions.

• Most had to stay in internment camps for 3 years.

• In 1944 in Korematsu vs. United States, the Supreme Court upheld the order to relocate Japanese Americans.

• In 1988, the US acknowledged their error and paid each survivor $20,000 for their suffering.

Section 4War in Europe and Africa

North African Campaign

On January 1, 1942, the US joined Britain, the Soviet Union and 23 other Allied nations to defeat Hitler

The war in Europe was desperate and we needed to stop Hitler’s advance before going after the Japanese.

The Struggle for North Africa• The German general in North Africa

was Erwin Rommel, he was known as the “desert fox” because of his success in desert warfare.

• In November 1942, British forces defeated Rommel at the Battle of El Alamein and prevented the Germans from gaining control of the Suez Canal.

• General Dwight D. Eisenhower landed in Morocco and Algeria in late 1943 and pushed west towards Egypt.

• The Allied forces drove the Nazis out of North Africa in May of 1943

Invasion of Italy

• Allied troops moved into Southern Europe in the summer of 1943.

• Allied troops, led by General George Patton, landed in Italy in September 1943.

• The Italians overthrew Mussolini and surrendered to the Allies.

• In June 1944, Allies took over Rome, Italy.

• The Allies were launching an air war on Germany day and night, but the Nazis refused to surrender.

The Tide Turns in Europe – A Two Front War

The Soviet Union and Germany fought for 3 years (about 900 days) in Russia, but the Nazis were never able to conquer the Soviet Union – people of Leningrad held out.

As the Soviet Union was fighting the Germans in the East, Great

Britain and US were planning an attack from the West – D Day.

D-Day – June 6, 1944• Ships brought troops across the

English Channel to France and paratroopers were dropped inland on D-Day. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the general in charge of this operation.

• The beaches that the troops landed on were named, “Utah”, “Omaha”, “Gold”, “Sword” and “Juno”.

• When troops came on land, they faced land mines and fierce gun and cannon fire from the Germans.

• Within a few weeks, more than 1 million troops were in France and on August 25, 1944, the Allied troops walked into a liberated Paris.

Victory in Europe – V-E Day – May 8, 1945

• The Allies moved quickly across France, but had to fight hard to defeat the Nazis at the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. The Nazis pushed the Allied front lines back and this created a “bulge” in the front lines – hence, this is how it got its name.

• Adolf Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945 when he realized he would lose the war.

• Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.

• President Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945 and Harry S. Truman became President

The Holocaust

• The Nazis wanted to come up with a “final solution” for those that they felt were unfit to live in their society. Their solution was genocide, the wiping out of an entire group of people.

• There were 6 million Jews killed, along with millions of Slavs, Gypsies, communists, homosexuals and people with handicaps, Jews were the only group singled out for complete extermination.

Persecution of Germany’s Jews

• In September 1935, the Nuremburg laws removed citizenship from German Jews and banned marriage between Jews and other Germans. Other laws kept the Jews from voting, holding public office, and employing non-Jewish Germans.• Later, the Jews were banned from

owning businesses, being lawyers and doctors and they quickly had no way to earn a living and life became very difficult.

November 9, 1938 – Kristallnacht – Night of the Shattered Glass

• On this date, the Nazis burned Jewish places of worship, destroyed Jewish shops and killed many Jews.• About 30,000 Jewish men were

sent to concentration camps.• Over 1,000 Jewish synagogues

were destroyed and over 7,000 Jewish stores and businesses were destroyed in 2 days.

Persecution of Jewish People

• Jewish people were forced to wear a yellow, six-pointed star on their clothing so all would know they were Jewish.• The mass killing of the Jews began when

Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.• The Jewish people were treated horribly

in the camps. Guards took their possessions, shaved their heads, and tattooed a number on their arms and they were not fed much food, sometimes just a crust of bread.

The Final Solution – January 1942

• In January 1942, the Germans decided to destroy the Jews. They built death camps, such as those at Auschwitz and Treblinka in Poland.

• Healthy prisoners were used for hard labor. The elderly, disabled, sick, children and their mothers were sent to the gas chambers and their bodies were then burned in giant furnaces.

• After the war, people questioned why more wasn’t done to stop the Holocaust sooner, but no answers are really given to this question.

Liberation of Concentration Camps

• Allied forces moving through Germany and Poland after V-E Day saw the unspeakable and unforgettable horrors of the camps and liberated the Jews and other being held at the camps.• This photo shows prisoners

at Dachau raising an American flag on April 30, 1945.

Section 5War in the Pacific

The Pacific Front

• The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and they struck American airfields in the Philippines, and the islands of Wake and Guam.

• The Japanese then invaded the Philippine Islands, Thailand, Malaya and Hong Kong.

• American general Douglas MacArthur and the American and Filipino troops had to retreat to the Bataan Peninsula.

The Philippines Fall – Bataan Death March

• Allied troops surrendered the Bataan region to the Japanese on April 9, 1942.

• The Japanese forced 76,000 prisoners to march 60 miles. Many of the prisoners were sick and near starvation. When the march ended, nearly 22,000 had died and 54,000 remained.

Island Hopping

The Battle of Midway gave control of key islands to the US and gave them the boost they needed to

really go after the Japanese.

Island hopping was the attacking and capturing certain key islands. The US

used these islands as bases for leapfrogging to other islands and

getting closer to Japan.

Iwo Jima and Okinawa – March-June 1945• American troops seized the island of

Iwo Jima in March 1945 and then Okinawa in June of 1945.

• The Japanese fought fiercely to defend these islands and there were thousands of Americans that lost their lives and thousands more were wounded.

• In desperation, the Japanese sent out kamikazes. The kamikaze pilots would crash planes loaded with explosives into American ships. Kamikaze pilots sank many US destroyers during the battle of Okinawa.

Famous Images from Iwo Jima & Okinawa

5 U.S. Marines and 1 Navy Corpsman raising the US flag on February 23, 1945 atop Mount

Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima.

Some of the fiercest fighting of WWII took place on Okinawa. It was

nicknames the “typhoon of steel.”

The End of the War

• The Japanese were near defeat, but refused to surrender, this led the United States to use the most powerful weapon known to man to end WWII, the atomic bomb.

• In 1939, German-born physicist, Albert Einstein, warned President Roosevelt that the Nazis might try to use the energy of the atom, if they could develop a bomb.

• In 1942, scientists from many countries and the University of Chicago formed the Manhattan Project. This group built the first nuclear reactor and were able to split atoms and release their energy.

• Another group of scientists worked secretly in Los Alamos, New Mexico to build the atomic bomb.

• On July 16, 1945, the 1st atomic bomb went off in a test in the New Mexico desert.

Dropping the Atomic Bomb – Hiroshima & Nagasaki

On August 6, 1945, the bomber, the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.

Three days later, on August 9, 1945, an atomic bomb was

dropped on the city of Nagasaki.

Japan’s Surrender – August 15, 1945 – V-J Day

• The bomb that leveled Hiroshima killed between 80,000 to 120,000 people; the Nagasaki bomb killed between 35,000 to 74,000 people.

• Thousands more were injured and many died later from radiation burns and injuries sustained during the bombings.

• Many people were incinerated instantly from the heat of the bomb.

• The Japanese finally realized that they had no choice but to surrender and did so on August 15, 1945, but didn’t sign the official papers until September 2 aboard the USS Missouri.

The Cost of the War

• WWII was the most destructive conflict in history.

• More than 55 million people died during the war and more than half of those killed were civilians – ordinary citizens, who were killed by bombing, starvation, disease, torture, and murder.

• About 322,000 Americans died during WWII and about 800,000 were injured.

• The Soviet Union had more than 22 million of it’s people die during WWII!

• Those who survived had the enormous task of trying to rebuild their lives.