World War IISpecial Thanks to Ms. Stewart

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii

World War IIWorld War II

Standard: WHII.12a: The student will demonstrate knowledge of the worldwide impact of World War II by explaining economic and political causes, describing major events, and identifying leaders of the war, with emphasis on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George C. Marshall, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Hirohito.

Essential Questions: What were the causes of World War II? What were the major events of World War II? Who were the major leaders of World War II?

Essential Understandings: Many economic and political causes led to World War II. Major theaters of war included Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Leadership was essential to the Allied victory.

Causes of WWIICauses of WWII

• Failure of the Treaty of Versailles (to weaken Germany)

• Failure of the League of Nations (to maintain peace)

• Rise of totalitarian leaders (Germany, Italy, Japan)

• Alliances

• Aggression (extreme nationalism) by the totalitarian powers of Germany, Italy, and Japan

• Appeasement (pacifying Germany)

• Tendencies towards isolationism in Europe and the United States (not wanting to get involved)

Treaty of Versailles & Treaty of Versailles & League of NationsLeague of Nations

• League of Nations– Purpose: maintain international peace after WWI

– Reality: didn’t have policing powers and thus couldn’t enforce the treaty

• Treaty of Versailles– Purpose: weaken Germany

– Result: Germany was not pacified or weakened – in fact, Germany violated the Treaty without consequence numerous times

AlliancesAlliances

GermanyItalyJapan

FranceGreat BritainUSSRUnited States

Axis Powers: Allied Powers:

1936: Rome-Berlin Axis (Italy & Germany)

1936: Anti-Comintern Pact (Japan & Germany)

-Alliance against Communism

-Italy joined in 1937

• 1931: Invaded Manchuria

• 1933: Invaded rest of China

• 1937: ‘Rape of Nanking’

• 1940: Occupied French Indochina (Vietnam)

• 1941: Took Dutch East Indies (Indonesia)

• Dec. 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor

Japanese AggressionJapanese Aggression

Why invade Manchuria?

• Need for resources & new trade markets (industrialization)

• China protested to the League of Nations, but the League was not able to stop the aggression

• This failure showed the world that the League could not maintain world peace

• Hitler’s Goal: Lebensraum = remove inferior races to create more “living space” for the German empire and the Aryan race

• Timeline of Aggression:– March 1936: Sent troops to the Rhineland, the

demilitarized zone b/w Germany and France– March 1938: Anschluss = German union w/

Austria– September 1938: Took control of the

Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia with a large population of ethnic Germans

German AggressionGerman Aggression

• Appeasement: the political strategy of pacifying a potentially hostile nation in the hope of avoiding war, often by granting concessions

• The Munich Conference (1938): Britain, France, Germany & Italy met to address the Czechoslovakia Crisis

• Goal of Leaders: avoid war

• Hitler’s Promise: Czechoslovakia would be his “last territorial demand in Europe”

• The Munich Pact: the Sudetenland was given to Germany in exchange for this promise (appeasement)

AppeasementAppeasement

“Now we have ‘peace for our time!’ Herr Hitler is a man we can do

business with.”-British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain

• In an attempt to avoid fighting a two-front war, Germany tempted the Soviet Union into signing the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

– Hitler gave Stalin ½ of Poland in exchange for a mutual promise that Germany & the Soviet Union would not attack each other

– Hitler knew that eventually he would break the pact

– The Pact enabled him to invade Poland without fear

Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression PactNazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact

World War IIWorld War II1939-1945

Harry S TrumanUSA

Benito MussoliniITALY

Joseph StalinUSSR

Franklin D. RooseveltUSA

Hideki TojoMilitary

CommanderJAPAN

Winston ChurchillUNITED KINGDOM

Neville ChamberlainUNITED KINGDOM

Adolf HitlerGERMANY

Emperor HirohitoJAPAN

http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin/videos#joseph-stalin

http://www.history.com/topics/winston-churchill/videos#winston-churchill

http://www.history.com/topics/franklin-d-roosevelt/videos#fdrs-fourth-term-and-legacy

http://www.history.com/topics/harry-truman/videos#truman-sacks-general-macarthur

http://www.history.com/videos/adolf-hitlers-parkinsons#adolf-hitlers-parkinsons

http://www.history.com/videos/benito-mussolini#benito-mussolini

http://www.history.com/topics/hirohito/videos#emperor-hirohito

http://www.awesomestories.com/assets/neville-chamberlain-peace-in-our-time-negotiations

U.S. Generals During World War II

General Douglas MacArthur

Commander in the Philippines

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe

General George S PattonGeneral in North Africa,

Sicily, and EuropeGeneral George C. MarshallU.S. Army Chief of Staff

http://www.history.com/topics/winston-churchill/photos#allied-military-leaders

http://www.history.com/shows/patton-360/videos#patton-the-legend

Road to World War II

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/ir1/war2act.shtml

Invasion of Poland: WW II BeginsInvasion of Poland: WW II Begins

• Nonaggression Pact between USSR and Germany shocks the world (1939)

• September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland Why is this the spark?

____________________________________________________________________________________________

• Great Britain and France declare war on Germany: September 3, 1939

The Fall ofThe Fall of FranceFrance

Battle of France: May 10 – June 22, 1940

•Germany invaded the Netherlands & Belgium to get to France•Germans trapped the entire British & French forces on the beaches of Dunkirk•A miracle allowed the British & French troops to evacuate France; however, Germany had defeated France and now controlled western and central Europe•Only Britain remained undefeated

June 4, 1940: Dunkirk Evacuated June 22, 1940:

France surrenders

• The British dominated the sea• Hitler needed to control the air before

attacking Britain

• August 1940: the Luftwaffe - German air force - began a major bombing offensive against military targets in Britain• “Blitzkrieg” = heavy and frequent

bombing attacks on London and other cities in Britain, especially at night

• Aided by a good radar system, the British fought back but suffered critical losses

• 1/3 of London was destroyed; 32,000 civilians were killed and 87,000 were seriously injured

Battle of Britain: “Blitz”Battle of Britain: “Blitz”

Bomb shelter in the Tube

http://www.history.com/videos/hitler-launches-the-battle-of-britain#hitler-launches-the-battle-of-britain

German Luftwaffe

Britain Is Not Defeated!Britain Is Not Defeated!

The failure of Germany to

achieve its objectives of 1) destroying Britain’s air defenses or

2) forcing Britain to negotiate an

armistice or outright surrender

is considered Germany’s first

major defeat and one of the

crucial turning points in the war

• June 22, 1941: Germany launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union

• This act breaks the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

• Germany had many early victories, but the Soviet winter was too brutal…– The Russian winter,

combined with Russian resistance, forced the Germans to halt their advance (marked the first time in the war that the Germans had been stopped)

Germany Invades the USSR:Germany Invades the USSR: Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa

• Neutrality Acts passed in the 1930s & a strict policy of isolationism prevented the U.S from involvement in European conflicts

• The British asked the U.S. for help & although FDR denounced the Germans, the U.S. did nothing at first

Where is the United States?Where is the United States?

BUT THEN CAME…

…Pearl Harbor

Pearl Harbor: BackgroundPearl Harbor: Background

Japan: -Wars of aggression began in Asia when Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931-Japan’s Army, Navy and Air Force were undefeated-Japan’s soldiers used the latest strategies-The only country managing to curb Japan’s aggressive expansion policies was the United States, which was restricting Japan’s oil supplies

Pearl Harbor

The Pacific ocean showing the proximity of the U.S. & Japan to Hawaii

Pearl HarborPearl Harbor

•December 7, 1941: Japan attacked three locations simultaneously:• U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii• The Philippines• The British colony of Malaya

•Why? Japan hoped to destroy the U.S. fleet & force the U.S. to accept their domination in the Pacific

•By the spring of 1942, the Japanese controlled almost all of Southeast Asia & much of the western Pacific

http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-midway/videos#attack-pearl-harbor

Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941

http://military.discovery.com/videos/pearl-harbor-news-live-from-pearl-harbor.html

http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/day-of-infamy/index.html#documents

USS Arizona Memorial

USS Arizona

•Japan’s Hopes: Destruction of U.S. Navy & acceptance of Japanese domination in the Pacific

•Reality: American people united & convinced the nation that it should enter the war against Japan

•December 8, 1941: U.S. entered the war on the Allied side & the tide turned in favor of the Allies

•Hitler thought the Americans would be too involved in the Pacific to fight in Europe

•Four days after Pearl Harbor, Hitler declared war on the United States

Pearl Harbor: Effects of the AttackPearl Harbor: Effects of the Attack

TWO FRONT WARTWO FRONT WARWAR IN EUROPE

WAR IN THE PACIFIC

Pacific TheaterPacific Theater• Allied Commander: Gen. Douglas MacArthur

• Allied strategy: Island Hopping – fleets moved from island to island to get closer to mainland Japan

– What benefit might this have?

The Battle of MidwayThe Battle of MidwayJune 1942June 1942

• Turning point in the Pacific

– Japanese hoped to capture Midway Island as a base to attack Pearl Harbor again

– U.S. caught Japanese by surprise and defeated the Japanese navy badly

– Established U.S. naval superiority

– Kamikaze (suicide) pilots http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-midway/videos#battle-at-midway

StalingradStalingradWinter of 1942-1943Winter of 1942-1943

• Turning Point on the Eastern Front

• Brutal battle b/w Russia & Germany during Russian winter leads to the German army’s surrender & retreat; their defeat was a disaster

• Hitler said after this battle that, “The Gods of War have gone over to the other side”

http://www.history.com/shows/wwii-in-hd/videos/world-war-ii-battle-of-stalingrad#world-war-ii-battle-of-stalingrad

Grand Alliance: Great Britain, the Soviet Union & the U.S.

Military Strategy: • Defeat Germany first• Fight until the Axis

Powers–Germany, Italy, & Japan – surrendered unconditionally

A Grand Alliance: A Grand Alliance:

Unconditional SurrenderUnconditional Surrender

Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, & Joseph Stalin

D-Day (The Battle of Normandy)D-Day (The Battle of Normandy)June 6, 1944June 6, 1944

• Turning point on the Western Front

• HUGE Allied assault to take back control of France

• Coast of France – Normandy – led by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

• The liberation of Paris took place on August 25, 1944

• This gave the Allies a foothold in Western Europe as they began to move inland on the final offense against the Nazishttp://www.history.com/topics/d-day/videos#d-day-invasion

http://www.history.com/topics/d-day/videos#d-day-allied-invasion-at-normandy

• France & Germany• Germans began a

counterattack against the Allies

• The Allies fought back, attempting to drive the Germans completely out of France

• This battle showed the desperation of the German forces

• The Germans were able to slow down the Allied advance, but could not stop it completely

Battle of the Bulge: December 16, 1944Battle of the Bulge: December 16, 1944

http://www.history.com/shows/wwii-in-hd/videos/battle-bulge#battle-bulge

• Hitler moved into an underground bunker in Berlin

• April 28, 1945: Italian partisans (resistance fighters) shot Mussolini

• April 30, 1945: Hitler committed suicide during the Battle of Berlin

• May 7, 1945: German commanders surrendered unconditionally & the war in Europe was over

The End of the War in Europe:The End of the War in Europe:

Victory in Europe Day: May 8, 1945Victory in Europe Day: May 8, 1945

http://www.history.com/speeches/germanys-surrender-in-wwii#germanys-surrender-in-wwii

V-E DayV-E Day

The Allies were able to defeat the Germans for many reasons:

• The Germans had to fight on several fronts at the same time (Eastern Front & Western Front)

• Hitler made poor decisions (he underestimated the Soviet Union’s ability to fight & the harshness of Russian winters)

• The enormous production capacity of the United States (by 1944, the U.S. was producing twice as much as all of the Axis powers combined)

• Bombing hurt German production and kept the Luftwaffe from flying

• Japan and Germany fought separate wars, each on two fronts; they never coordinated strategies

– Island Hopping Continued: The Allies took back islands from the Japanese to use as steppingstones to Japan

– Japan would not surrender

– 1945: U.S. began targeting civilians in order to coerce Japan to surrender

• 66 cities bombed (Tokyo firebombing)

• Major industries destroyed

• 500,000 Japanese civilians killed

War in Asia Continued…War in Asia Continued…

• In 1945, the Allies came closer to the Japanese home islands

• The Manhattan Project was conducted during WWII, primarily by the U.S., to develop the first atomic bomb (funded by FDR; tested by Dr. Robert Oppenheimer)

• FDR died; U.S. President Harry S. Truman decided to drop atomic bombs on Japanese cities in order to coerce the Japanese to surrender

• Goals: – Avoid an invasion of Japan– Save American lives (an amphibious invasion

could cost over 350,000 Allied casualties)

First Fusion Bomb Test: This test was conducted on an island; after the bomb went off, the entire island was gone

Atom DiplomacyAtom Diplomacy

Warning to Japan:

“Surrender or face utter and complete destruction”

• August 6, 1945: The first bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay on the city of Hiroshima

– Over 100,000 dead; tens of thousands injured; 80% of buildings destroyed in a 5-mile radius

• The Japanese did not surrender

• August 9, 1945: The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki

– 70,000 dead; 60,000 injured

• The Japanese (Emperor Hirohito) surrendered on August 14, 1945: V-J Day (Victory in Japan)

The Atomic Bomb is DroppedThe Atomic Bomb is Dropped

Enola Gay: B-29 Superfortress bomber

Hiroshima before and after

Nagasaki before and after

Postwar EffortsPostwar Effortsat Revengeat Revenge

The Nuremberg Trials of 1945-46

– Allied powers tried the highest-ranking Nazi officers for “crimes against humanity”

– 22 Nazi leaders were tried at an international military tribunal at Nuremburg, Germany, of which 12 were sentenced to death

– Similar trials occurred in the east and throughout the world (e.g., The Tokyo Trial (1946-48))

Postwar Efforts at PeacePostwar Efforts at Peace

The United Nations (created in 1945) – an

organization to promote international stability

– A General Assembly where representatives from all countries could debate international issues

– Key: the U.S. joined!! (unlike the League of Nations after WWI)

Potsdam ConferencePotsdam ConferenceJuly 1945July 1945

– Held in the suburbs of Berlin– Truman, Stalin & Churchill

finalized plans on Germany: • Germany would be demilitarized

• Germany would remain divided

Country Borders 1939 - Pre War

Country Borders1945 – Post War

Postwar Reality: Consequences of WWIIPostwar Reality: Consequences of WWII• War crimes trials (e.g., Nuremburg, Tokyo)

• Creation of the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Warsaw Pact & the Marshall Plan

• Reconstruction of Germany

– Germany & Berlin divided among the four Allied powers

– Democratic government installed in West Germany and West Berlin

– Emergence of West Germany as economic power in postwar Europe

• Reconstruction of Japan

– U.S. occupation of Japan under MacArthur’s administration (democratic & economic development)

– Elimination of Japan’s military offensive capabilities

• Decolonization: Loss of empires by European powers (colonies start to gain independence)

• Two major world powers emerge: The U.S. & the U.S.S.R.

– Division of Europe: Iron Curtain (democracy vs. communism)

– Soviet Union had a political agenda

• During 1944-1945, Stalin started shaping the post-war world by occupying SE Europe w/ Soviet troops that should have been on the Polish front pushing toward Berlin

– Unlike the isolation after WWI, the U.S. was engaged in world affairs

Majors Events of WWII: TimelineMajors Events of WWII: Timeline• Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland

• Sept. 3, 1939: Great Britain and France declare war on Germany

• May 10, 1940: Churchill becomes Prime Minister of France

• May 10 – June 22, 1940: Battle of France

• June 22, 1940: France surrenders

• August 1940: German Luftwaffe began a major bombing offensive against military targets in Britain (the Battle of Britain begins)

• 1941: U.S. Lend-Lease Act

• June 22, 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union (breaks Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact)

• December 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

• December 11, 1941: Germany declares war on the United States

• June 1942: Battle of Midway

• November 1942 – February 1943: Battle of Stalingrad

• 1943: Grand Alliance (Great Britain, Soviet Union & U.S.) agree to continue fighting until Germany, Italy & Japan surrender unconditionally

• June 6, 1944: D-Day – Battle of Normandy

• February 4-11, 1945: Yalta Conference

• May 8, 1945: V-E Day – War in Europe is over

• August 6 and 9, 1945: Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• August 14, 1945: V-J Day – War in Pacific is over

AGRESSION: TimelineAGRESSION: Timeline 1931: Japan invades Manchuria 1933: Germany begins to rearm 1935: Italy invades Ethiopia 1936: Germany invades Rhineland 1936: Rome-Berlin Axis/Anti-Comintern Pact 1937: Japan invades China 1938: Germany annexes Austria 1938: Germany annexes Czechoslovakia Sept. 1938: Munich Conference 1939: Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact 1939: Germany invades Poland Sept. 1939: France and Great Britain declare war on Germany