WWII

WWIIJ. NewmanJanuary 2010

Don’t write this slide!

Europe’s leaders believed war could be prevented because:

1. Not too long since last war, avoid another bloody conflict

2. Hitler’s demand that all German-speaking regions of Europe be united with Germany was reasonable

3. Many assumed that the Nazis would be more interested in peace once they gained more territory.

3 Mistakes Europe’s leaders made regarding

Hitler

Anschluss

• 1938- Hitler threatened to invade Austria unless Austrian Nazis were given important govt. posts. (Austria’s chancellor gave in)

• The chancellor put the unification of GY & AU to a democratic vote• Hitler sent troops into

Austria in March & announced Anschluss (unification) of AU & GY

"One People, One Empire, One Leader"

Czechoslovakia & appeasement

• Hitler wanted the Sudetenland (area of Czechoslovakia that had a German-speaking population

• Sep. 29, 1938- Munich Conference- BR & FR agreed to Hitler’s demands (Czechs not invited)

• Hitler will be appeased over and over again until it’s too late!

Poland

• Hitler wanted Poland• German roots & room for GY to grow• Aug. 23, 1939- Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression

Pact– GY & SU would not attack each other (secret part- when Hitler takes Poland, GY gets west Poland, SU gets east Poland)

• Sep. 1, 1939- GY blitzkrieg in Poland (quick and mass air, land, and sea invasion)- Poland fell in just over a month

• Sep. 3- GB & FR declare war on GY

“The Phony War”- Sitzkrieg (sitting war)

• Maginot Line- France’s line of defense

• Siegfried Line- Germany’s line of defense

For 8 months, FR & GY waited to see who would make the first move

So many countries, so little time!

• While France waited on GY to attack, Hitler sent troops to attack Norway & Denmark- April 9, 1940• Operation

Weserübung

• Both countries fell in a month

Fall of France• GY goes around

the Maginot Line (through Ardennes Mountains/Forest with tanks- which the French thought wouldn’t work)

• June 22, 1940- France surrenders

• “puppet govt.”led by Pétain at Vichy set up

Don’t write- just watch

• The Miracle at Dunkirk

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/launch_ani_fall_france_campaign.shtml

Churchill replaces Chamberlain as P.M. in Great Britain

• *Don’t have to write the quote!

“Even though large tracts of Europe have fallen…we shall not flag or fail…We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”• Churchill

Battle of Britain• Problem for GY- had

few transport ships, which would get sunk by the British air force (this would have to be defeated first)

• June 1940- The Luftwaffe started air battles with the RAF.

• Aug. 23- German bombers (“accidentally”) bombed London which made the British really mad (Britain responded by bombing Berlin)

• Hitler’s goal then was to terrorize the BR citizens into surrendering

Battle of Britain is over!

• British had radar- could see when the German were coming

• Oct. 12, 1940- Hitler cancelled the invasion

U.S. (slowly, but surely) gets involved

• Lend-Lease Act (1940)- FDR said the U.S. would lend or lease arms to any country considered “vital to the defense of the U.S.”

• Atlantic Charter (1941)- meeting b/w FDR & Churchill, committed the two to a postwar world of democracy, non-aggression, free trade, economic advancement, and freedom of the seas

Pearl Harbor

• Dec. 7, 1941- “A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”

• Dec. 8- U.S. declares war!

Convert the Economy• Cost-plus contracts- the

govt. agreed to pay a company whatever it cost to make a product plus a guaranteed % of the costs as profit (the more a company produced & the faster it worked, the more money it would make)

• RFC (Reconstruction Finance Corporation)- made loans to companies to help them cover the cost of converting to war production

War Production

• Automobile factories began to produce:

• Tanks• Jeeps• Trucks• Artillery• Rifles• Mines• Helmets• Pontoon bridges• cooking pots• Misc. military equipment

Liberty Ships

• Henry Kaiser’s shipyards

• Basic cargo ship • Welded- cheap, easy

to build, & very hard to sink compared to riveted ships

War Production Board

• had the authority to set priorities & production goals & to control the distribution of raw materials & supplies

• Clashed with the military (military continued to sign contracts w/o consulting the WPB)

• 1943- Office of War Mobilization (OWM) established to settle arguments b/w the WPB & the military

Expanding the U.S. Army

• Selective Service and Training Act

• Set up after FR surrendered to GY

• GI’s- “government issue” (American soldiers)

• African Americans segregated in the military (barracks, bathrooms, and in combat)

• 1948- military integrated

Tuskegee Airmen

• African American unit that trained in Tuskegee, AL

• 99th Pursuit Squadron played an important role during the Battle of Anzio in Italy

Women in WWII• WAC (Women’s

Army Corps)- 1943, replaced WAAC

• WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service)- Navy

• 68,000 served as nurses

• “Rosie the Riveter”- symbol of women in WWII

• 2.5 mil. worked in shipyards, aircraft factories, & manufacturing plants

• “I learned that just because you’re a woman and have never worked is no reason you can’t learn. The job really broadened me…I had always been in a shell; I’d always been protected. But at Boeing I found a freedom and an independence I had never known. After the war I could never go back to playing bridge again, being a clubwoman…when I knew there were things you could use your mind for. The war changed my life completely.”

• *Inez Sauer

Rationing

• Rationing- limiting the availability of: meat, sugar, gasoline, etc. (speed limit set to 35mph)

• Every month, you got a book of ration coupons

• Blue coupons- controlled processed foods

• Red coupons- controlled meats, fats, oils

• Other coupons- controlled coffee, sugar, etc.

• You had to give enough coupon points to cover your purchase

Stamps had a uniform value of 10 points each. The token had a value of 1 point each and was used to make change from a 10 point stamp.

Victory Gardens & E bonds

• Victory Gardens• An area of land was

encouraged to be used for a victory garden

• Would produce more food for the war effort

• Scrap Drives• Spare rubber, tin cans,

aluminum, steel, pots, rusting bicycles (oils & fats- used for the production of explosives)

• E bonds• War bonds• $50 billion worth bought

during WWII