World War II Webquest

Tomás Monzón April 31st, 2008US History 2nd Period

World War II Webquest

The following webquest encompasses several important aspects of the Second World War. From here on in, all QUESTIONS will be in bold font,

while all the answers will be in regular font.

1. Read about the after-effects of World War I and the Treaty of Versailles

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/treaty_of_versailles.htm

How many people were killed and wounded in total? Who were the Big Three? What were the four areas of the Treaty? What was Germany’s reaction to the Treaty of Versailles? What two choices was Germany given in relation to the Treaty of Versailles?

1. In total, 8.5 million were killed between all nations, in addition to 21 million being wounded.

2. The Big Three, composed by David George Lloyd of Britain, Clemenceau of France, and Woodrow Wilson. The Big Three were the ones in charge of deciding what the Versailles treaty would contain, and what Germany’s treatment should be after the war.

3. The treaty contained the following sections: territorial, financial, general, and military. In the territorial section, certain pieces of land were taken away from Germany and given to countries such as Denmark and Belgium; in the military section, Germany’s army was minimized; in the financial section, it was severely industrially punished; and in the general section, Germany assumed responsibility for the war and the League of Nations was created.


Figure 1 The Treaty of Versailles was signed at the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of

Versailles.


4. The Armistice formally ended the First World War, and the Germans agreed to it in November of 1918. Following this, the Germans were promised that they would be consulted by the Allies on the contents of the Treaty. However, this did not occur, and the Germans only saw the terms of the treaty only weeks before they were due to sign it at the Palace of Versailles. Even though Germany was angry, its war machine had disintegrated, and it could not start war. Thus, Germany was given two choices – sign the Treaty or be invaded by the Allies. Despite lack of support from the German public, the German government had to sign the Treaty and agree to the punishments it imposed. The German public felt as if they were being punished for the war their government had started, and that they had not agreed with.

2. Go to the following site and scroll through the timeline.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm#stpaul

A. What year did Adolph Hitler become the leader of the National Socialist Nazi Party? (Hint - look in the 1920's)

1. On July 29th, 1921, Adolf Hitler became the leader of the National Socialist Nazi Party.

B. Go to 1925. Click on Mein Kampf. What does Mein Kampf mean? (Third or fourth paragraph)

2. Mein Kampf was the book “written” by Adolf Hitler, in which he talks about his youth, ideas on politics and race, etc. Mein Kampf, which means MY Struggle, or My Battle The original title, Four and a Half Years of Struggle against Lies, Stupidity, and Cowardice was considered too long by the publisher, whom then changed the title to Mein Kampf.


Figure 2 Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf.


C. What is an Aryan, according to Hitler? (Around the fourth paragraph)

3. In the book, Hitler places the Germanic man with “fair skin, blond hair and blue eyes” at the top of the pyramid of humans, which is based on physical appearance. He refers to this type of person as an Aryan, which he expresses is the master race.

D... Look at the bottom of the article, when did this book become hugely popular? To answer this, you have to read the article, and then go back to the timeline to find out when Hitler became Chancellor.

4. Despite poor initial sales, after Hitler became Chancellor of Germany (Jan. 30, 1933), Mein Kampf sold like hotcakes – millions of copies were sold. Such a book would become proper to give to newlyweds or high school graduates, even if few Germans ever read it cover to cover.

E. What year did the Nazis hold a book burning? List some authors whose works were destroyed.

5. The Nazis held a book burning on May 10th, 1933. They burned books that expressed ideas contrary to the Nazi’s – “unGerman ideas” – written by people such as Sigmund Freud, Thomas Mann, Jack London, Albert Einstein, H.G. Wells, etc.

F. Scroll down to 1941. Look at December. What happened on Dec. 8 and Dec. 11?

6. On Dec. 8, 1941, the US and Britain declared war on Japan; on Dec. 11, Germany declared war on the US.

G. Scroll to the very end. Click on the Statistics of World War II. Which country had the most fatalities? How many countries were involved with World War II?

7. The USSR had the most fatalities (20,600,000). In total, 25 countries were involved in WWII.

3. Look at this website and write the definition of Fascism in your own words. What countries were fascist during the WW2 era?.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fascism


1. Fascism is basically a form of a totalitarian government that attempts to control every single aspect of society – culture, ideology, etc. –, in other words, it goes beyond economy and politics. It does not tolerate difference, either – it supports unity and purity, a homogenous nation.

2. During WWII, Italy and Germany were the two fascist countries.

4. Go to http://www.bartleby.com/65/to/totalita.html and find the definition for “totalitarianism”

1. Totalitarianism is a “modern autocratic government in which the state involves itself in all facets of society, including the daily life of its citizens.”

Name the 3 countries and their leaders who had a totalitarian system. What are the two most common characteristics shared by totalitarian governments?

1. The 3 countries most commonly described as totalitarian are: Joseph Stalin’s USSR, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, and China under Mao.

2. In all totalitarian systems, two main characteristics that are always present are: 1. an ideology that includes and controls all aspects of life to achieve the goal it has in mind, and 2. a single party hat controls the government, and through which people are mobilized to produce energy and support.

5. Now go to http://www.besthistorysites.net/WWII.shtml A. Scroll down until you see a link titled Japanese American

Internment. Click on that and then click on “The Camps”. Where were the Internment camps in Arizona located?

1. There were relocation centers in Gila River, AZ as well as Poston, AZ. There was also an assembly center (holding camps; held the prisoners until they were taken to the relocation centers) in Mayer, AZ.


Figure 3 The Japanese in the United States were sent to internment camps around the nation.


B. Go back and scroll down to “Shootings”. Read that section. What were the prisoners told who asked about the two sick prisoners that had been separated from the group?

2. The rest of the camp’s prisoners were told that the prisoners were being taken care of; that they were receiving medical care.

6. Go to http://www.ushmm.org/outreach/nrule.htm and read through this site. When you are done exploring, click on the Nazi Propaganda tab at the top. Which American writers were banned, why, and by whom?

3. Once Germany was turned into a totalitarian government by the Nazi, an enormous propaganda campaign was launched to win the “loyalty and cooperation” of the German public. The Nazi Propaganda Ministry, led by Dr. Joseph Goebbels, took control of all forms of communication in the country. In 1933, during the spring of that year, Nazi professors, librarians, etc. picked out books and written texts that they believed went against Nazi ideas or beliefs. Books by American authors such as Ernest Hemingway, Sinclair Lewis, and Jack London were burned, as well as the books of Helen Keller. Books by these authors were burned and, of course, banned.

7. Go to the following website.

http://www.lclark.edu/~history/HIROSHIMA/ Click on The Gallery. Go to collection 3. Hiroshima Collection. Click on pictures #2 and # 18. Read the captions under the pictures. Explain your thoughts on how the Japanese must have felt immediately after the Atomic Bomb was dropped on them.

1. Recall the mushroom cloud characteristic of atomic bombs. It rises more than 10,000 feet into the sky, manifesting itself as an evil demon, of sorts. And certainly, this is what the Japanese must’ve felt after the atomic bomb was dropped on them. Their entire city wiped out, their friends, dead, all by



this piece of metal with nothing but the objective to destroy and annihilate. They may have also felt as if they’d just witnessed the end of the world – the entire sky lighting up, everything close to the epicenter of the explosion obliterated – absolute chaos.

8. The next website is about a female spy during the war.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violette_Szabo What was her name at birth? Where was she born? How old was she when she died? She was an SOE. What do the initials stand for? What was her code name? Why were her wireless reports to SOE headquarters so important?

1. Violette Szabo, an Allied WWII secret spy was born Violette Bushell in the city of Paris, France. She died at the age of 23, after having been captured by enemy forces. An SOE (Special Operations Executive) agent, her code name was Louise. When she embarked on a mission near Cherbourg, France, and reorganized a French resistance network there, the wireless reports she sent to the SOE were so important because they included information on the local factories producing wartime products for the Germans allowed the establishment of critical Allied bombing targets.

9. Navajo code talkers.

A. http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmcode1.html This site has information about the Navajo code talkers. Who came up with the idea to use the Navajo language? Why? Why were the code talkers heroes?

1. Philip Johnson, whom was the son of a missionary to the Navajos and one of the few non-Navajo people who spoke their language fluently, proposed the idea that the language should be used for secret, secure communications, and for several reasons – it is unwritten (thus having no alphabet or symbols), extremely complex, and simply unintelligible to anyone whom has not received lots of exposure to the language, as well as training; lastly, it is spoken only on the Navajo lands situated in the American southwest.


Figure 4 Violette Szabo.


B. Go to this website to find Navajo code words used in WWII: http://www.vandenberg.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123032028 Go to the section titled:” The Navajo Code Talker’s Dictionary”. What was the Navajo code word for submarine? (Hint: it means “iron fish” when translated into English). What was the Navajo code word for fighter plane? (Hint: it means “hummingbird” when translated into English).

2. Besh-lo was the Navajo code word for submarine.3. Dah-he-tih-hi was the Navajo code word for fighter plane.

10. Concentration camps.

A. http://history1900s.about.com/library/holocaust/blmap.htm This site has a map of all the concentration and extermination camps. What was the camp to the furthest point north? Which was the closest extermination camp to the city of Warsaw, Poland? What was the name of the concentration camp in France?

1. Kaiswerwald, located near Riga in Latvia, was the concentration camp farthest north in Europe.

2. Treblinka was the closest extermination camp to the Polish capital Warsaw.

3. Natweiler was the sole concentration camp in France.

B. http://fcit.usf.edu/holocaust/timeline/camps.htm The site shows a timeline of the holocaust. Go to the year 1941 and find the word Einsatzgruppen, then click on the definition box (DEFN). From which two groups did the Einsatzgruppen get selected? What was their responsibility? Go to the year 1942 and find a (WEBLINK) box that refers to the “Final Solution”, and click on it. What was the Madagascar Plan? On the same

WEBLINK, look at the section titles “Nazi Murder of Non-Jews”. List 5 other groups the Nazis murdered during the Holocaust.

1. The Einstazgruppen were mobile units was to kill all those who threatened the Aryan ideology, including Jews, communist functionaries, the handicapped, etc., and

they were selected from the Security Police and SS Security Service.


Figure 5 Extermination camps took the lives of many innocent people during the war.


2. Hitler’s original plan to eliminate the Jews from Germany was not to mercilessly annihilate them, but instead by way of forced emigration. In 1940, a plan was devised to send all Jews under Nazi control to the Indian Ocean island of Madagascar. It would not be until 1941 that Nazi bureaucrats would refer to the murder of European Jewry.

3. 5 other groups murdered during the Holocaust in addition to the Jews were: Gypsies, Polish Christians, Ukrainians, homosexuals, and followers of the Jehova’s Witness religion.

C. http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/holocamp.html This is a site showing the Nazi extermination camps. Look at the Timeline for Nazi Extermination Camps. There is a chart of how many were killed at each camp and how. Which two camps had the highest rate of deaths?

4. The two extermination camps with the highest rate of deaths were Majdanek (1,380.000) and Birkenau (1,200,000).

11. D-Day

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/find_out/guides/world/d-day_/newsid_3754000/3754731.stm Use the 5 main links to answer the following questions:

A. What was D-Day? (Use link #1) What happened on D-Day? (Answer this question by summarizing in one paragraph the 5 points listed on Link #2) What were the names of the 5 beaches where the invasion forces landed? (Use link #3)

1. D-Day was one of the most important and dramatic invasions in the history of the Second World War, having taken place on

June 6th, 1944 following five years of war with Germany. 2. The D-Day offensive began when Allied planes and warships

bombed German positions along the coastline, making it easier for the landing troops to later take the beaches. As this was going, a multitude of planes and gliders dropped thousands of Allied soldiers into positions behind the German defenses. These troops took control of important roads and


Figure 6 D-Day was one of the most important invasions in the history of the war.


bridges, making it harder for coastline enemy positions to call for backup. Thirdly, thousands of ships, assisted by 13,000 planes, set out from the south coast of the England, and crossed the English Channel overnight. The landing troops storm the beachheads at 6:30 AM on June 6th. By day’s end, 156,000 troops had come ashore.

3. Landing troops came ashore at the following beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword.

B. Inside link #3 click on the link to open the interactive map of the landing beaches. Click on the Utah flag. Which American division landed here and at what time? The waves and strong winds at Utah beach meant the first soldiers landed 2km to the south of their target. Why was this a good thing?

4. The US 4th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach at 6:30 AM on D-Day. The first soldiers to disembark, as stated, landed 2km south of their target as a result of the waves and strong winds, which turned out to be a good thing because where they ended up, there were less German defenses. Thus, it can be said that the rest of the troops landed at the “wrong place at the wrong time’.

C. Click on the Omaha flag. Which division landed at Omaha beach? How many U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded trying to land ashore? How many troops landed by the end of the day?

5. The US 1st Infantry Division landed on Omaha Beach, with 116th regiment of the 29th division. The beach, being the toughest place to land at, caused 2,400 killed or wounded. By the end of the day 34,000 US troops had landed on the beach.

D. Click on the Gold flag. Who landed at Gold beach? How many casualties (dead or wounded) were there and how many troops landed?

6. This was a British landing beach; the British 50th Infantry Division, as well as the 47th Royal Marine Commando, landed here. By the end of the day, 25,000 troops had come ashore; 400 casualties occurred.

E. Click on the Juno flag. Who landed on Juno beach? How many casualties were there and how many landed?

7. This was the sole Canadian landing beach; the 3rd Canadian division, accompanied by tanks from the British Hussars, landed here. 21,000 troops came ashore, out of which 1,200 were dead or wounded.



F. Click on the Sword flag. Who landed on Sword beach? What were their orders? How many casualties were there and how many landed?

8. This was the second British landing beach; the 3rd Division, along with French and British commandos, stormed Sword Beach. Their goal was to capture the city of Caen, the centre of the local road network. Following this, they would meet up with Allied airborne troops who’d secured some vital bridges a few miles inward from the coast. 29,000 soldiers landed on the beach, with 630 casualties.

G. Click on What was D-Day? to the left of the map. Read the last paragraph. How long did D-Day last and what was its final outcome?

9. Operation Overlord (D-Day was the one day that the invasion began), otherwise the Invasion of Normandy, lasted for eleven months. It allowed the Allies to enter the Fatherland – Germany – and go all the way to its capital, Berlin; all the way to “the bunker that was Adolf Hitler’s headquarters”.

12. Battle of the Bulge

http://ice.mm.com/user/jpk/battle.htm

Click on the link and scroll through the site to get an idea of how immense it was. Go to Battle Facts. How many soldiers fought and for which country? How many casualties were there for each country? Go to Battle Action Credits and read the first paragraph. Why was the Battle of the Bulge so devastating for the Germans?

1. In total, over a million men fought – 500,000 German soldiers, 600,000 American soldiers, and 55,000 British soldiers. 3 German armies and 10 German corps; 3 American armies and 6 American corps.

2. As far as casualties,: 100,000 German casualties (killed, wounded or captured); 81,000 American casualties (incl. 23,554 captured and 19,000 killed); and 1,400 British casualties, 200 killed.

3. Recall that the Germans fought a “lightning war” style kind of battle – they went in fast, shot quickly, escaped quicker.



The 106th Infantry Division, which fought in the Battle of the Bulge, played an important role because it pinned down the Germans in the St. Vith area. Time, which was a crucial component in the Nazi’s style of fighting, was lost, and much of the precious battle resources of the Nazis were used in this holdup. The Nazis were not able to recoup ever again. This was a key factor in their downfall – the loss of their resources, “both human and equipment”.

WWII in Europe ended with the surrender of German forces on May 7, 1945. May 8th was proclaimed V-E (Victory in Europe) Day.

13. North African Campaign

Go to

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

and launch the animation. Read the information below the map. Why was it so important for the Germans to control North Africa? Give 3 reasons.

1. Controlling North Africa would allow the Axis powers to gain access to the Middle East oilfield. In addition to this, they would be able to starve Britain of oil, cut Britain off from Indian, and threaten the Russian southern flank.

Play all the animations (always click on the key) until you get to “Rommel Advances to El Alamein”. Play this animation and read the information under the map. Based on the animation, when was the battle of El Alamein? Based on the reading, when was the 2nd battle of El Alamein?

2. A desperate series of counterattacks circa July 1st, 1942, compose the First Battle of Alamein. The Second Battle of El Alamein, which occurred on October 23rd, 1942, was launched by the British general Charles Montgomery.

Continue playing the animations until you get to “the Allies Land in Morocco and Algeria” and play the animation. Based on the animation, in which 5 cities did the allies land? In which cities did the Axis troops land?

3. The Allies landed at the following cities: Safi, Casablanca, Port Lyautev, Casablanca, Oran, Algiers. The Axis troops landed at Bizerte, Tunis.

Now play the animation” Allied Victory in North Africa” and read the information under the map. According to the reading,



where and when did Rommel launch his major offensive? Where did the Allies make the final assault? When did the Allies declare victory? How many prisoners did they take?

4. Rommel launched his major offensive against the American troops at the Kasserine Pass, on the 14th of February, 1943. The final allied assault begins on the 3rd of May of that year – on May 7th, the Allies enter Tunis, and later Bizerte on May 9th. Victory is finally declared on May 13th, 1943, and 275,000 prisoners are taken.

After the Japanese victory at Pearl Harbor, the United States Pacific fleet was so badly damaged that it took 6 months for it to recover its battle readiness. From December 1941 to April 1942, the Japanese war machine conquered many areas in Asia. These included Burma, Singapore, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines, were they again defeated the United States. The Doolittle Raid marks the first offensive military action taken by the U.S. again Japan since Pearl Harbor. It was a psychological shock to Japan, because it proved that they were not protected from invasion as they believed.

14. The Fall of the Philippines

A. Go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Philippines_(1942)

Who was the American general in command at the Philippines? How many Americans were killed, wounded, and captured?

1. General Douglas MacArthur was the American general in command at the Philippines.

2. As far as losses, 2,500 American troops were killed, 5,000 were wounded, and 100,000 were captured.


Figure 7 Erwin Rommel, out of uniform.


B. Go to http://www.historyanimated.com/PhilippinesPage.html

After reading the introductory paragraph, click on “Animation”. Click on all the blue animation squares to look at the animations and to hear historic radio broadcasts. When you get to the blue square called “The Death March”, listen carefully to the audio as you watch the animation. How many U.S. and Philippine soldiers died on the death march? In 3 – 5 sentences, describe the experience of the U.S. soldiers using examples from the audio. How does this make you feel?

1. Approximately 600 US troops had died on the Death March; between 5,000 and 10,000 Philippine soldiers died there as well.

2. Torture is worse than death, and this is a prime example of it. Even the soldier speaking said it would’ve been better had he died. I feel nothing but sadness for these American troops – forced to walk a sort of “walk of shame”, or certainly it seemed like it, as their Japanese captors would laugh at them and beat them senseless because they’d lost the battle. They would not even allow the captors to live out their lives calmly; they would torture them, hit them, beat them, injure them severely. It reminds me about the evils of this world.

15. Midway

Go to http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761552739/Battle_of_Midway.html

Why was this battle so significant? When did it take place? Which American and Japanese forces fought in it? How many ships


Figure 8 General Douglas Macarthur was in charge of the American troops during the Battle of the Philippines.

Figure 9 The Battle of midway was a turning point in the Pacific theater of WWII.


did the Japanese lose? How many ships did the Americans lose?

1. The Battle of Midway was an important naval encounter between US and Japanese aircraft carriers of WWII, and it took place in June 1942, near the Midway Islands. On the American side – American fighters and bombers, along with three aircraft carriers, fought the battle, with ship losses being the Yorktown (an aircraft carrier) and one destroyer. On the Japanese side, an armada of 185 ships, along with aircraft carriers, cruisers, and a slew of aircraft; as far as losses, these included four aircraft carriers, two cruisers, and three destroyers.

2. The significance of this battle in the war’s history is due to the fact that the prevention of the Japanese capturing the Midway Islands also prevented the possible invasion of Hawaii, which may have come next. The encounter also turned the Pacific Ocean war tide in favor of the United States.

16. Iwo Jima

Go the following link and watch the video. (Great American History Quiz: Iwo Jima) http://www.history.com/media.do?action=clip&id=gahq_aw_teri_garr_broadband

(immediately minimize your other windows and click on the “video gallery” link on the bottom task bar. If the video already started, just rewind and begin again.) Write the question and correct answer shown on the video quiz.



1. What was the strategic importance of Iwo Jima to the US? It was a good base for US planes.

17. Okinawa

Go to http://www.ccds.charlotte.nc.us/History/Japan/04/vaughn/vaughn.htm

What was a significant historical WWII fact about the Battle of Okinawa? (Hint: it has to do with when it happened). What was the military code name for the Battle of Okinawa? How many U.S. soldiers died? How many Japanese soldiers died? How many civilians died? What was the Japanese goal in Okinawa? The Japanese used Kamikaze planes in Okinawa. What was the pilots’ responsibility?

1. A significant historical fact about the battle – it began on April 1st, 1945, and Japanese resistance ended eighty-two days later.


Figure 10 The most famous photograph of the way – US soldiers raise the American flag at Iwo jJima.


2. The military code name of the Battle of Okinawa was “Operation Iceberg”.

3. 12,250 US soldiers died. 4. 109,629 Japanese soldiers died. 5. The Battle took the lives of over 150,000 civilians. 6. The Japanese goal in the battle was basically to hold back the

American advance, and defeat it. This is because Okinawa was the last line of defense for them – were they not to win, the invasion of Japan would likely be imminent.

7. The kamikaze pilot’s responsibility was to aid in bringing down the Americans by ramming their planes into the side of US naval forces, i.e. their ships. Although somewhat effective, the tactic was not sufficient to wipe out the US naval forces.

18. Planned Invasion of Japan

The capture of Okinawa made it possible for the United States to prepare an invasion of Japan. The invasion was planned but never happened. It never happened because the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (8/06/45) and Nagasaki (8/09/45), resulting in Japanese surrender and the end of WWII.

Go to http://www.waszak.com/japanww2.htm

What was the code name of the planned invasion? What percentage of total American servicemen were going to take part in this massive invasion? According to General Charles Willoughby, how many estimated American casualties would there be by the fall of 1946?

1. The code name of the planned invasion was Operation Olympic.

2. More than 40% of American servicemen were going to participate.

3. General Charles Willoughby (chief of intelligence for General Douglas MacArthur) estimated one million American casualties.

19 Hiroshima & Nagasaki

According to some estimates, more than 240,000 Japanese lost their lives when the bombs fell in both cities. Thousands more have died from radiation illnesses up until 1950, and many



babies who were born weeks and months after the blasts, were born with birth defects.

Go to http://www.history.com/media.do?action=clip&id=mf1_atomicbombings_63

A. Watch the video of the atomic bombs and then re-read An Invasion Not Found in the History Books on http://www.waszak.com/japanww2.htm

B. In one paragraph, write a persuasive response to the following question:

Should the U.S. have dropped the two Atomic bombs on Japan, or should they have invaded Japan instead? Why?

1. While it may sound inhumane to say so, I do believe that the US was strategically correct in dropping the atomic bombs. The reason why I say this is the following: the invasion of Japan could present several setbacks, even if the tide of the war was in favor of the Americans. More than 40% of American servicemen would participate, in two amphibious invasions, and casualties were expected to be extremely heavy. Even though the Japanese war machine was already tired and worn out, the Japanese still were building up their defenses for the invasion – artillery, amphibious tanks – the works. The US risked getting a lot of its men killed, wounded or captured. And, dropping the atomic bomb was a more surefire way of winning the war. Had the US invaded Japan, by luck, skill, or whatever other motive, the Japanese could’ve won. They would’ve used all the resources they had left against the Americans, and they could have won. Whereas the atomic bomb, despite the fact that I still believe it is a horrible creation of mankind, was a more surefire way to victory for several reasons: 1. it had never been used before, and thus using it would be a demonstration of the American society’s intelligence and skill at war, 2. the


Figure 11 The mushroom cloud characteristic of atomic bomb explosions.


weapon was extremely effective on its own, and 3. it was the most awing, horrific, intimidating way of an attack. Recall the mushroom cloud, and the “end of the world” kind of feeling that is characteristic of atomic bomb. This would horrify the Japanese population, and the rest of the world, and certainly force the Japanese government to surrender. Besides, the people would protest were the government not to do this, because the people care only for their welfare, and have no interest in politics or economy, especially in such a time of desperation, worry, grief, and death.

Use information from the reading on question 19 above, the video and the reading of the planned Japan invasion to support your answer.

V-J (Victory in Japan Day was proclaimed on August 15th, 1945, when Japan promised to surrender unconditionally. World War II formally ended on September 2nd, 1945, when Japan formally surrendered to the United Nations

20 Consequences and Aftermath

With 55 million dead, over one trillion dollars in money spent, and billions of dollars in damage, WWII was the most destructive war in the history of the world

A. Go to http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleId=226140

and read the section “Costs of the War”. Then answer the following questions: How many countries participated in World War II? Which country spent the most money on the war? Which country suffered the most casualties (dead and wounded)? How many? How many total Allied human losses were there, both military and civilian? How many total Axis human losses?

1. All in all 61 countries and 1.6 billion people participated in the war, with the United States spending the most money on the conflict (about $341 billion).

2. The largest toll was taken on the USSR, whose military and civilian deaths amount to more than 20 million killed.

3. The Allies sustained 44 million military and civilian deaths; the Axis, 11 million.



B. The end of WWII changed the military balance of power in the world. Go to the last paragraph of “Human Losses” Which countries lost power and which two countries became the world’s only superpowers?

4. Britain, France, Germany, and Japan ceased to be superpowers. Instead, the US and the Soviet Union became the world’s new superpowers, and between them, a bitter political conflict would take place – the Cold War.

Congratulations! You have reached the end of this web quest and are now a certified expert on World War II!!!


Figure 12 Following the war, a bitter space and arms race began between the world’s two new superpowers: the US and the Soviet Union. Ever since then, more conflicts have come to the world - the Korean War, Vietnam, the current War in Iraq, etc. Perhaps the sole possibility of

peace may be found somewhere out in the universe. At the current rate of development of space technology, living in space may soon be a reality. Perhaps there we will begin a new race, one that does not see death and war.. But, for now, we must cope with the evils of the world and try to find happiness in other things, smaller things perhaps. Love, success, and

welfare are three things one ought to be proud to have – for nothing is better in this world than to be alive to experience it all.

World War II Webquest

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