Chapter 8—Lesson 2The Great Depression, the New Deal, and World War II

War Begins in Europe

• In the 1930s Adolf Hitler led the Nazi party to power in Germany.

• He violated agreements signed at the end of WWI by building up the German army and producing weapons of war, especially airplanes.

• He began persecuting German citizens who were Jewish.

War Begins in Europe

• When Hitler invaded Poland—France & Britain joined the war against Nazi Germany.

War Begins in Europe

• The U.S. was not at war, but France & Britain ordered military supplies from them.

• Iron and Steel produced in Birmingham were shipped to factories that made war equipment from these Alabama materials.

War Begins in Europe• The U.S. wanted to stay out of the war, but in

case they were attacked they began to build up military strength.

• Mobile became a center of shipbuilding, especially of cargo ships for the war effort.

• They were called “Liberty Ships.”

ALABAMA in WWII• Alabama had a number of military bases, and

other bases were constructed as the war was going on in Europe.

• Training for pilots Maxwell and Gunter Fields, Craig Field, and Camp Rucker

• Supply depot Brookley Field

• Rebuilding weapons Redstone Arsenal

• Army camps/bases Fort McClellan and Fort Benning

America and the War

• In Asia, the Japanese wanted to expand and began to strengthen their army and navy. When Japan invaded Korea and China, President Roosevelt stopped all shipments of scrap metal and oil to Japan and held all Japanese assets in the U.S.

• How do you think that made Japan feel?

America and the War• On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes from

aircraft carriers attacked American ships at anchor in Pearl Harbor.

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America and the War• Almost 2,500 American lives were lost. This was the

most costly surprise attack in U.S. history against a military target.

• The United States declared war on Japan.

• Germany & Italy declared war on the United States on December 11.

• The U.S. joined the Allies Britain, France & Russia.

• Britain and most of the other Allies joined the U.S. to fight the Japanese.

World War II 1942• During WWII children learned geography lessons every

day. People received news about the war from radio broadcasts, but not everyone had radios.

• People did not have televisions then, so one reason people went to the movies was to see the newsreels that ran between the feature films at the theater.

• Newspapers always illustrated their stories with detailed maps. Many families had a map on a wall at home, so children could place pins where relatives were stationed.

World War II 1942• Children came to

know about persons such as:

• Chiang Kai-shek of China

• Emperor Hirohito of Japan

• Benito Mussolini of Italy

World War II 1942

• Sometimes soldiers had codes that allowed them to tell their families where they were without letting a spy know.

• “I had good eggs for breakfast” could have really meant “I am in England”

• “I am enjoying the apples” could have really meant “I am in Asia”

• Army and mail censors read the mail soldiers sent home. They cut out classified information so spies would not know what was going on.

World War II 1942• Governor Frank Dixon established boards in Alabama to

oversee the draft of men into the military. The Alabama National Guard was built up to full strength.

• Children helped the war effort by joining in school drives to collect paper, aluminum, and scrap metals.

• Sugar, meat, coffee, rubber, gasoline, and nylon products were rationed.

• The manufacture of automobiles, stoves, and refrigerators stopped. Army jeeps, military trucks, and airplanes were built instead.

World War II 1942• Food was needed for soldiers as well as for people on the

home front. Families planted gardens, and they canned fruits and vegetables.

• Women went to work in war plants and took home-front jobs left by men who became soldiers. Some women, like Nancy Batson or Birmingham, began flying new planes from factories to air corps fields.

• Nurses and doctors served close to the battlefields to care for the wounded soldiers.

“Black Out”

• The Germans sent submarines into the Gulf of Mexico to attack American ships sailing from Mobile and New Orleans to the east coast.

• People who lived along the coast were ordered to “black out” at night. This meant they had to turn off all of their lights in their house and also stay off the roads at night. Lights from the coast would allow German submarines, called U-boats, spot ships sailing from ports.

Patriotism

• Comics, songs, and movies were written about the war.

• Men and women at home volunteered their services to the Red Cross or the United Service Organization (called the USO), which provided recreational programs for soldiers and sailors.

• Churches and local governments set up centers where military personnel on furlough or traveling to duty might stop for food and rest.