Introduction to WWII

Adapted from

http://worldhistory.pppst.com/ww2.html

During World War II, many women took over factory jobs while the men were called into the military

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When?

1939

Sept.1 - Germany invades Poland (official

start to the war)

Sept. 3 -Britain & France declare war on

Germany

Dec. 7 – Japan bombs Pearl Harbor; US enters the

War

1941

May - Germans Surrender

Aug -Sept. - Atomic

Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japanese Surrender

1945

•1939-1945

•US involvement 1941-1945

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Quick Facts

Human Costs50 million people died (compared to 21 million in WWI)

• 21.3 million Russians (7.7 million civilians)

• 11 million died as a result of the HOLOCAUST(6 million Jews + 5 million others)

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Who?

Allies Axis

United Kingdom

France(note: France surrendered to Germany in 1940 after 6

weeks of fighting)

United States

Russia

Germany

Italy

Japan

(major powers) (major powers)

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Major Leaders

Adolf HitlerNazi Germany

Benito MussoliniItaly

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Major Leaders

Hideki TojoJapanese Prime Minister

Winston ChurchillU.K. Prime Minister

•Charles de Gaulle

French Leader in Exile

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Major Leaders

Franklin Delano RooseveltUS President

Joseph StalinRussian Leader

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Why? (underlying causes of WWII)

1. Treaty of VersaillesA. World War I ended in

1918. As a result of WW I Germany lost land to surrounding nationsB. War Reparations

1) Allies collect $ to pay back war debts to U.S.

2) Germany must pay $57 trillion (modern equivalent)

3) Bankrupted the German economy & embarrassed GermansLloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson

during negotiations for the Treaty

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Why? (underlying causes of WWII)

2. World-wide DepressionA. The Great

Depression in the 1930s made Germany’s debt even worse

B. Desperate people turn to desperate leaders

1) Hitler seemed to provide solutions to Germany’s problems

1923 - Wallpapering with German Deutchmarks

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Why? (underlying causes of WWII)

2. World-wide Depression2) Hitler provided

scapegoats for Germany’s problems. He blamed Jews primarily, but also other eastern Europeans as well as the mentally ill.

3) Kristallnacht - vandalism & destruction of Jewish property & synagogues

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Why?3. Rise of Totalitarian Regimes

A. In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of the nation

Totalitarianism

Communist Dictatorship

(USSR)

Fascist Dictatorship

(Germany, Italy)

Military Dictatorship

(Japan)

Fascism: military

government based on racism &

nationalism with strong

support from the business community

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Why?4. Isolationism of Major Powers

A. Why was the U.S. Isolationist?

1. Great Depression (problems at home)

2. Perceptions of WWI

a. WWI did not seem to solve much

b. People began to think that we’d got into WWI for the wrong reasons

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Why?4. Isolationism of Major Powers

B. This led to policies of “Appeasement” 1. Appeasement: give dictators what they want and hope that they won’t want anything else2. Begins with Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and continues with Hitler . . .

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So What Was Hitler Asking For?He claimed that Germany was not big enough “Lebensraum” or “Living Room”

•Austria - Peacefully Annexed in 1938

German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca. 1939

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So What Was Hitler Asking For?

•Munich Conference - Great Britain & France give part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler in return for peace

•Hitler then invades the rest of Czechoslovakia

German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca. 1939

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Major Events of WW II

• September 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland

Hitler's triumphal entry into Danzig, Poland 1939

•Great Britain & France declare war on Germany

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How Did Hitler Make War?Blitzkrieg “Lightning War” – Moving tanks and troops extremely fast to surprise and out maneuver the enemy.

In the next year, (1940) Hitler invades: and conquers:

•Denmark

•Norway

•The Netherlands,

•Belgium

•France

Hitler in Paris

Europe - 1939

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Europe 1941

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Major Events of WW II

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• Dunkirk, France – May 1940

Germany invaded France so rapidly that some 350,000 British and French troops were trapped on the beach at Dunkirk. Along with their Navy, hundreds of British citizens bravely took boats across the English Channel and rescued the trapped soldiers. In this picture, British fishermen rescue sailors and troops while being fired upon by German aircraft.

Major Events of WW IIThe Battle of Britain :

July – September 1940

German planes drop bombs on many cities and military targets in England. However Germany does not try to send troops in. Many buildings were destroyed, but the military targets were not badly damaged.

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Major Events of WW II

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• “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, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our Island home, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.”

Inspiring speech given by Prime Minister Winston Churchill during the Battle of Britain

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US Assistance

Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies:

Lend-Lease - 1940

•US “loaned” war materials to cash-strapped Great Britain

London Firefighter Tackles an Air Raid Blaze

Atlantic Charter

•US secretly meets with England to commit to defeating Germany

Major Events of WW II• Germany Invades

the Soviet Union (Russia) – June 1941: Germany sent more than 4,000,000 troops. The invasion reached near Moscow in December of 1941, but stalled when the harsh Russian winter set in. Thousands of German troops froze to death.

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Major Events of WW IIPearl Harbor: - “December 7, 1941: a date which will live in infamy”

USS Arizona Sinking in Pearl Harbor

What?

•Surprise attack by the Japanese on American forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Effect? •US declares war on

Japan.

•Germany and Italy declare war on the United States

Major Events of WW II• The Holocaust –

During the war, Germany continued carrying out its policy of executing Jews wherever they found them. Often they were sent to slave labor camps until they died. But others were sent to concentration camps where they were quickly executed by poison gas.

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•Empty poison gas canisters used to kill inmates and piles of hair shaven from their heads are stored in the museum at Auschwitz II.

Major Events of WW II• The Holocaust –

Hitler hated Jews. He convinced the German people that Jews were to blame for all of the country’s problems.

• At the end of the war, Allied soldiers were shocked to discover the horror of the concentration camps

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Major Events of WW II• 1942 – 1945

Bombing of Germany: After the U.S. entered the war, Allied bombing raids over Germany begin hitting cities and military targets. This was a major blow to Hitler because he had promised the German people that they would never be bombed.

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Major Events of WW II• War in the

Pacific: While the U.S. was fighting in Europe against Germany, we were also fighting against Japan in the islands of the Pacific Ocean. Some major battles were at Guadalcanal, Guam, and Iwo Jima

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•The flag is raised on Mt. Suribachi on the island of Iwo Jima

Major Events of WW II• D Day – June 6, 1944

Allied forces in England launched a massive invasion against German positions in Normandy, France. Many of the invading troops were the same ones rescued from Dunkirk in 1940.

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Major Events of WW II• Germany

Surrenders – May 1945: After the Invasion of Normandy, U.S., British, and French troops begin pushing the Germans out of France. At the same time, Russian troops were pushing the Germans out of the U.S.S.R. After the war, these four countries will retain control of Germany for several years.

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Major Events of WW II• Japan Surrenders

– August 1945: The Atomic Bomb, a horrific new weapon, is dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese Emperor Hirohito agrees to the surrender terms.

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Major Events of WW II

•Kissing the War Goodbye: Americans celebrate the end of World War II

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The End of WW II

• American War Casualties

• 405,399 Dead

• 670,846 Wounded

• 30,314 Still Missing

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Our Response -

• We remember and honor those who risked their lives to fight for the freedom that we enjoy. Without their efforts, the world would be a much different and more frightening place.

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Kilroy Was Here

•James Kilroy from Halifax, Mass. was a 46-year old shipyard worker during the war. He worked as a checker at the Fore River Shipyard in Quincy. His job was to go around and check on the number of rivets completed. He put his checkmark on each job he inspected, added KILROY WAS HERE in king-sizedletters next to the check, and eventually added the sketch. Kilroy’s inspection “trademark” was seen by thousands of servicemen who boarded the troopships the yard produced. His messageapparently rang a bell with the servicemen, because they picked it up and spread it all over Europe and the South Pacific.

•delontin1.wordpress.com/.../21/kilroy-was-here/

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