Causes of WWII
1. Political Instability and Economic
problems in Europe from World War
I.
- World wide Depression
- Germany’s high World War I debt
(remember Treaty of Versailles and
reparations)
- High inflation – the value of money
goes down over time.
- Massive unemployment
Causes of WWII
2. Rise of Fascism: a political philosophy
in which total power is given to a dictator.
– Germany
– Italy
– Japan
• Dictators of these countries became known as the
Axis Powers
FascismWhat is it?
Extreme
nationalism
and racism
Individual
freedoms
are deniedCensorship/
government
controls the
media
Government
controls the
economy
Use of
violence
and terror Strong
military
3. Isolationism in Europe and
the United States
• The United States and
other European countries
did not want to get
involved in other
government’s disputes
because of the Great
Depression and the legacy
of World War I
• Appeasement = giving in
to Hitler’s actions to avoid
war
United States Great Britain
USSR – United Soviet Socialist Republic
FDR
Truman
Joseph StalinWinston Churchill
Major Leaders of the War
Franklin D. Roosevelt (Allied Power)
• U.S. President
– Elected in 1933 during the Great Depression and leads until his death in 1945.
• Enters war after attack on Pearl Harbor
• Dies three weeksbefore the end of the war
Major Leaders of the War
Harry Truman
(Allied Power)
• U.S. President after the
death of President
Roosevelt
• Important at the end of
the war by dropping
atomic bomb and giving
aid to worn-torn
countries
Major Leaders of the War
Winston Churchill
(Allied Power)
• Prime Minister of Great
Britain
• Strong stand against
Hitler
• His speeches kept
British morale high
Major Leaders of the War
Joseph Stalin
(Allied Power)
• Soviet Union (USSR)
Dictator
• Led communist party
• Ruled for 30 years by
fear and terror
• Helped defeat Nazi
Germany
“The Big Three”
Stalin, Roosevelt, Churchill
Japan
Italy
Germany
Adolf Hitler
Hideki Tojo
Hirohito
Mussolini
Major Leaders of the War
Adolf Hitler (Axis
Power)
• Fascist dictator of
Germany
• Leader of the Nazi Party
• Rose to power through
propaganda
• Started the “Third
Reich” (Reich = empire
in German)
• Preached hatred of Jews
Major Leaders of the War
Benito Mussolini (Axis
Power)
• Fascist dictator of Italy
• Aligned with Hitler
• Fired by King of Italy in
1943 but is reinstated
days later after Hitler
takes control of Italy
Major Leaders of the War
Hideki Tojo (Axis
Power)
• Japanese General –
leader of the military
• Ordered attack on
Pearl Harbor
• Executed at the end of
the war
Major Leaders of the War
Hirohito
• Emperor of Japan
• Viewed as a divine
figure (God gave him
the power to rule)
• Japan’s military gained
political influence during
his rule
1939 - 1945
1. German Invasion of Poland:
Sept. 1, 1939
Blitzkrieg -―Lightning War‖ – swift military
offense, usually combining land and air forces
• Germany invaded Poland, setting off war in
Europe
• The Soviet Union also invaded Poland and
the Baltic nations
• NAZI SOVIET PACT:1939, Germany
and Soviet Union signed a pact to invade
and control Northern and Eastern
European nations.
German troops marching into Warsaw, Poland (1939)
2. Germany invaded France
and captured Paris (1940)• Italy invades France from the South and Germany
takes over from the North – France Surrenders
The Free French
General Charles
DeGaulleThe Maquis
Examples of groups organizing French resistance from Germany
SOME FRENCH OPPOSED THE NAZIS and the Vichy Gov.
Now Britain Is All Alone!
3. Battle of Britain (1940)
• Germany bombed
London.
• Massive air strikes
between the two
countries
• Germany was defeated
• Also known as:
Operation Sea Lion
Battle of Britain excerpt:
4. Lend Lease Act – United States
gave war supplies to Britain
• At the start of the war, the United States remained
neutral; however, were closely allied with Great Britain
• The United States gave Britain war supplies and old
naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda
and the Caribbean
5. German Invasion of the
Soviet Union
• Operation Barbarossa – Hitler’s Biggest
Mistake
(Hitler breaks his treaty with Stalin)
5. German Invasion of the
Soviet Union
• Hitler’s biggest mistake because now he is
fighting on TWO FRONTS!
Operation Barbarossa: June 22, 1941
y 3,000,000 German
soldiers.
y 3,400 tanks.
6. Japanese Attack on
Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)
Known as:
“The day that will live in infamy”
Pearl Harbor
USS Arizona, Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor from the
Cockpit of a Japanese Pilot
Japanese Kamikaze Planes:The Scourge of the South
Pacific Kamikaze
Pilots
Suicide
Bombers
• After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the US declared war
on Japan, so Germany declared war on the US
• In response, the US declared war on Germany and Japan
Pearl Harbor Memorial
• 2,887 Americans Dead!
― I fear all we have done is awaken a sleeping
giant and fill him with a terrible resolve.‖
Stalin switches sides & the U.S
enters the war. The ―Big
Three‖ is now created
Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin
7. Battle of Midway – June 4-7,
1942• US Navy destroyed Japan’s naval strength
• Japan’s navy never recovered and was on the defense after
this battle
• Turning point of the
war in the Pacific
Battle of Midway – June 4-7,
1942
8. Battle of Stalingrad (July
1942 - February 1943)
• Long battle
between Germany
and USSR
• Deadliest battle of
WWII – 1.5
million casualties.
• Germany lost
• Turning point of
the war in
Eastern Europe
9. D-Day - Operation Overlord (Allied invasion of Europe – June 6, 1944)
Led by General Eisenhower and the allied forces
D-Day (June 6, 1944)
• Allied troops
ferried across the
English Channel
and sailed from
Britain to the
beaches of
Normandy,
France –
Germans retreat
Normandy Landing
(June 6, 1944)
German Prisoners
10. Atomic bombs dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima – August 6, 1945
© 70,000 killed
immediately.
© 48,000 buildings.
destroyed.
© 100,000s died of
radiation poisoning &
cancer later.
“Little Boy”
Nagasaki – August 9, 1945
© 40,000 killed
immediately.
© 60,000 injured.
© 100,000s died of
radiation poisoning
& cancer later.
“Fat Man”
Japanese A-Bomb Survivors
Outcomes of WWII1. After the war, Britain and France were broke
2. Establishment of two major world powers:
The United States and the U.S.S.R.
3. War Crime Trials
• The Nuremberg War Trials:
Crimes Against Humanity
• Japanese War Crimes Trials
General
Hideki Tojo
Trial against SS German Officers
Mussolini & His Mistress,
Claretta Petacci
Are Hung in Milan, 1945
Those that did not make it to trial…
The Führer’s
Bunker
Cyanide
& Pistols
Mr. & Mrs.
Hitler
4. Division of Europe – Iron Curtain
• Line through Europe
separating West
Germany with East
Germany (through the
city of Berlin)
• Line also separated
democracy and
communism in Europe
5. Creation of the United Nations
• Replaces League
of Nations
• Purpose: settle
disputes and
keep world
peace
6. The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights
• Provided a code of conduct for the treatment of people under the protection of their government
7. Marshall Plan
• Established by George
Marshall (United States)
• Gave money to
European democratic
countries to rebuild
• Its goal was to stop the
spread of communism
8. Formation of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and Warsaw Pact
NATO
• Military alliance
between U.S., Canada,
and 9 western
European nations
• Pledged to help one
another if attacked
WARSAW PACT
• Formed in response to
NATO
• Alliance between U.S.S.R.
and 7 Eastern European
countries
WW II Casualties: Europe
Each symbol
indicates 100,000
dead in the
appropriate theater
of operations
WW II Casualties: Asia
Each symbol
indicates 100,000
dead in the
appropriate theater
of operations
WW II
Casualties
Country Men in war Battle deaths Wounded
Australia 1,000,000 26,976 180,864
Austria 800,000 280,000 350,117
Belgium 625,000 8,460 55,5131
Brazil2 40,334 943 4,222
Bulgaria 339,760 6,671 21,878
Canada 1,086,3437 42,0427 53,145
China3 17,250,521 1,324,516 1,762,006
Czechoslovakia — 6,6834 8,017
Denmark — 4,339 —
Finland 500,000 79,047 50,000
France — 201,568 400,000
Germany 20,000,000 3,250,0004 7,250,000
Greece — 17,024 47,290
Hungary — 147,435 89,313
India 2,393,891 32,121 64,354
Italy 3,100,000 149,4964 66,716
Japan 9,700,000 1,270,000 140,000
Netherlands 280,000 6,500 2,860
New Zealand 194,000 11,6254 17,000
Norway 75,000 2,000 —
Poland — 664,000 530,000
Romania 650,0005 350,0006 —
South Africa 410,056 2,473 —
U.S.S.R. — 6,115,0004 14,012,000
United Kingdom 5,896,000 357,1164 369,267
United States 16,112,566 291,557 670,846
Yugoslavia 3,741,000 305,000 425,000
1. Civilians only.
2. Army and navy figures.
3. Figures cover period July
7, 1937 to Sept. 2, 1945,
and concern only Chinese
regular troops. They do
not include casualties
suffered by guerrillas and
local military corps.
4. Deaths from all causes.
5. Against Soviet Russia;
385,847
against Nazi Germany.
6. Against Soviet Russia;
169,822
against Nazi Germany.
7. National Defense Ctr.,
Canadian
Forces Hq., Director of
History.
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