US-VA SOL Review Assignment

The Allied Powers defeat Nazi Germany, 1939 - 1945

World War II began with Hitler’s

invasion of Poland in 1939.

Hitler had signed a non-aggression

pact with Joseph Stalin of the Soviet

Union.

As Hitler invaded Poland from the

West, Stalin’s Red Army invaded

Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania –

before invading Poland from the East.

England and France declared war on

Nazi Germany.

During the first two years of the war

in Europe, the United States remained

officially neutral.

Germany overran France and most of

Western Europe, devastating England

during the Battle of Britain.

Although most of London was turned

to rubble, England refused to

surrender.

Hitler now invaded the Soviet Union,

breaking his non-aggression pact

with Joseph Stalin.

During the Battle of Britain, the Germans turned much of

London to rubble by bombing from above. Eventually, the

Royal Air Force took control of the skies, and Hitler was

forced to pursue other plans. He launched Operation

Barbarossa to invade the Soviet Union in 1941.

Despite strong isolationist sentiment at

home, the United States increasingly

helped Britain. It gave Britain war

supplies and old naval warships in

return for military bases in Bermuda

and other parts of the Caribbean. Soon

after, the Lend-Lease Act gave the

President authority to sell or lend

equipment to countries to defend

themselves against the Axis Powers.

Franklin Roosevelt compared it to

“lending a garden hose to a next-door

neighbor whose house is on fire.”

England and the Soviet Union received weapons,

war materials, food, and machinery to fight the

Nazis from the Lend-Lease Act. But the United

States still did not join the war effort.

After Pearl Harbor, Hitler honored

a pact with Japan and declared

war on the United States. (Japan,

Italy, and Germany were the Triple

Axis.) The debates over

isolationism in the United States

were over. World War II was now a

true world war and the United

States was fully involved.

After Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan immediately… Hitler responded by declaring war on the United States,

and before long the US had declared war on all of the Triple Axis nations. The “America First” movement dissolved immediately.

The United States was unified in its efforts to defeat the Axis Powers through most of the war.

Germany hoped to defeat the

Soviet Union quickly, gain control

of Soviet oil fields, and force

Britain out of the war through a

bombing campaign and submarine

warfare before America’s industrial

and military strength could turn

the tide of the war against them.

At the height of their power, Nazi

Germany controlled most of

Europe and North Africa.

In Stalingrad, hundreds of thousands

of German soldiers were killed or

captured in a months-long siege of

the Russian city of Stalingrad. This

defeat prevented Germany from

seizing the Soviet oil fields and

turned the tide against Germany in

the east. The Soviet Union lost many,

many lives during this battle – and

others along the Eastern Front – to

defeat the Nazis.

The D-Day invasion took place on June 6,

1944 on the coast of Normandy in

France. American and Allied troops

under Dwight David Eisenhower landed

in German-occupied France on “D-Day,”

assaulting what was known as the

Atlantic sea wall at Omaha Beach (and

four other beaches: Juno, Sword, Utah,

and Gold.) Despite intense German

opposition and heavy American

casualties, the landings succeeded, and

the liberation of western Europe from

Hitler began.

American, English, and Canadian soldiers all charged the

beaches at Normandy, France on D-Day: June 6, 1944.

Americans suffered the highest casualties during the

assault on France. The landings at Omaha Beach faced a

virtually impossible challenge – assaulting an entrenched

and heavily armed position – and they prevailed.

The Geneva Convention attempted

to ensure that all prisoners of war

would be treated humanely by

establishing rules which must be

followed by all nations.

Nations which violated these rules

would be charged with war

crimes. After World War II, many

military leaders from the Axis

Powers were put to death.

Prisoners of war in Europe were treated more closely in line with the Geneva Convention, with some very, very obvious exceptions:

1. Nazi Germany ran concentration camps which murdered civilians and members of the resistance.

2. Soviet POWs were often killed, or sent off to the concentration camps.

3. The Russians brutalized and murdered many German POWs and thousands died in forced labor camps, as well.

4. American POWs tended to be better treated in Europe than they were in Japanese prisons.

English and American Soldiers defeat Nazi Germany Abroad…

At El Alamein, German forces

threatening to seize Egypt and the

Suez Canal were defeated by the

British. American and British

armies had worked cooperatively

to defeat Erwin Rommel – “The

Desert Fox” in North Africa. This

defeat prevented Hitler from

gaining access to Middle Eastern

oil supplies and attacking the

Soviet Union from the south.

The Battle of El Alamein in Egypt was a critical turning point

during World War II. Because American and British forces

managed to stop the Nazi invasion of North Africa, protect the

Suez Canal, and prevent an assault on Middle Eastern oil fields,

German momentum was slowed.

The United States defeats the Empire of Japan, 1941 - 1945

During the 1930s, a militaristic

Japan invaded and brutalized

Manchuria and China as it sought

military and economic domination

over all of Asia. The United States

refused to recognize Japanese

conquests in Asia and imposed an

embargo on exports of oil and steel

to Japan – thereby hampering their

efforts at expansion. Tensions rose

between the US and Japan, but

negotiations remained open.

While negotiating with the United

States and without any warning,

Japan carried out an air attack on

the American naval base at Pearl

Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7,

1941. The attack destroyed much of

the American Pacific fleet and killed

several thousand Americans. FDR

called it “a date that will live in

infamy” as he asked Congress to

declare war on Japan.

The attack on Pearl Harbor came without warning, and over

two thousand American sailors died during the bombing. But

the event was not decisive, and Americans immediately

declared war on Japan – vowing to avenge Pearl Harbor.

The United States and her Allies

(England, led by Winston Churchill

and the Soviet Union, led by

Joseph Stalin) followed a “Defeat

Hitler First” strategy. Even though

the United States had been

attacked by the Japanese,

defeating Hitler was priority

number one. Most of Americans

military resources were targeted to

Europe. Revenge against Japan

would come later.

The Japanese did not abide by the

Geneva Convention and treated prisoners

of war in the most atrocious manner.

Many Japanese soldiers would not

surrender to the Americans, and would

launch suicidal assaults instead.

When American and Filipino soldiers

surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the

Bataan Death March resulted in the

deaths of close to 10,000 soldiers –

brutally murdered without regard for

the rules of war.

Any American or Filipino soldier who stepped out of line,

begged for water, or fell down during the “Bataan Death

March” was instantly murdered by the Japanese during the

Bataan Death March in 1942. Americans were fearful of

falling into Japanese hands as prisoners – for good reason

– for the remainder of the war.

In the Pacific, American military

strategy called for an “island

hopping” campaign, seizing islands

closer and closer to Japan and using

them as bases for air attacks on

Japan. Meanwhile, American forces

focused on cutting Japanese supplies

lines through submarine warfare

against Japanese shipping. Americans

had soon crippled the Japanese Navy

and it’s merchant marine.

By capturing a few islands at a time, the United States

slowly but surely made their way closer and closer to the

Japanese mainland. Once Americans captured the islands

of Okinawa and Iwo Jima, they were able to launch air

strikes on the Japanese directly. The creation of the atomic

bomb in the summer of 1945 helped to bring the war to a

more rapid end.

Following Pearl Harbor, the

Japanese invaded the

Philippines and Indonesia,

and planed to invade both

Hawaii and Australia. Japan’s

leaders hoped that America

would then accept Japanese

predominance in Southeast

Asia and the Pacific, rather

than conduct a bloody and

costly war to reverse

Japanese gains.

The United States Navy won a dramatic victory at Midway Island in 1942. In the Battle of Midway (termed the “Miracle at Midway”), American naval forces defeated a much larger Japanese force as it prepared to seize Midway Island. Coming only a few months after Pearl Harbor, a Japanese victory at Midway would have enabled Japan to launch an assault on Hawaii. The American victory ended the Japanese threat to Hawaii, sank several aircraft carriers, and allowed Americans to begin their “island hopping campaign.”

At the battle of Midway Island, the United States Navy

happened upon a large portion of the Japanese fleet as they

prepared to attack Midway Island. Several aircraft carriers

were sunk, and the Japanese Navy was crippled going

forward. No attack on Hawaii would be generated.

The United States Marines amphibious

landings at Iwo Jima and Okinawa

brought American forces closer than

ever to Japan, but both invasions cost

thousands of American lives and even

more Japanese lives. Japanese

soldiers fought fiercely over every

square inch of the islands, fighting to

the death. The Japanese soldiers –

and many civilians – committed

suicide rather than surrender to the

United States military.

Facing the prospects of horrendous

American and Japanese casualties if

American forces were required to

invade Japan itself, President Harry S

Truman ordered the use of atomic

bombs on the Japanese cities of

Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of

1945. In both cities, hundreds of

thousands of Japanese were killed.

Shortly after the bombs were

dropped, Japan surrendered.

Americans Work to Defeat the Axis Powers, 1941 - 1945

African-Americans generally served in

segregated military units and were

assigned to noncombat roles during

World War II.

African-Americans demanded an

integrated military, and won gains in

this regard, particularly in the US Navy.

Several ships were integrated on an

experimental basis during the war.

African-Americans demanded that they

be allowed to take positions other than

mess hall attendants and stevedores.

Serving in an all black segregated

unit during the war, the Tuskegee

Airmen flew with distinction over

Europe during World War II. The

men were assigned to protect the

slow moving, heavy bombers of the

US Army Air Corps. During World War

II, they were responsible for the safe

conduct of these bombers, and also

fought off the German Luftwaffe.

Benjamin Davis was the leader.

During World War II, most Japanese

Americans were rounded up and forced

into “relocation camps” where the United

States government imprisoned them as a

threat to the community. (Interestingly,

no German-Americans or Italian-Americans

suffered this fate…) Within the camps,

some Japanese Americans – the Nisei –

were organized to fight the Axis Powers.

Usually these troops were deployed to the

Italian Front in Europe, or to the North

African/European theatres of war, rather

than to the Pacific. The soldier to the

right was serving in France, after D-Day.

The Navajo Indians who served in World

War II offered the United States a unique

gift – a code that was never broken by

the Japanese. Using their own dying

language, members of the Navajo tribe

came up with a secret code in order to

relay messages during battles. For each

letter of the alphabet, they assigned a

Navajo word. The Navajo word for

apple, for example, might mean “A.”

Since no one in Japan spoke the Navajo

language, the code was never broken.

This is another example of strength

through diversity in American history.

Mexican-Americans joined the United

States Armed Forces and served in

integrated regiments throughout the

war. The United States and Mexico

organized the “Bracero Program”

during World War II, in order to fill

jobs in the defense industry. With

millions of Americans serving in the

military, jobs in military production,

factory work, and agricultural labor

were filled by immigrants, invited by

the government to the United States.

The United States government

worked hard to forge a close

working relationship with

industries in order to allocate

resources effectively.

Businesses were encouraged to

retool from peacetime to wartime

production. For example, making

tanks or airplanes rather than

automobiles.

Americans were forced to ration certain

goods during World War II to be certain

that no shortages of war supplies and

materials emerged. Essential products

for the war effort could not be purchased

without rationing coupons, and even

then, severe controls were placed on the

amount of a certain product one could

have. Price controls were also set.

Rationed goods included gasoline, rubber

goods, shoes, sugar, meat, coffee, tires,

and many, many other products.

Money was raised in order to conduct

the war effort by selling war bonds.

Americans were encouraged to spend

as much as they could for the war

effort, with the expectation that the

bonds could be redeemed after the

war had been concluded victoriously.

The income tax, established by the

16th Amendment in 1913, was also

used to fund the war efforts.

More women and minorities entered

into the labor force. With over 15

Million men and women serving

abroad as a part of the US Military

effort, women were asked to

volunteer to help run factories all

across America. The “Rosie the

Riveter” campaign of the World War

II period encouraged millions of

women to take on jobs slightly

outside the realm of traditional

gender roles.

Women increasingly took jobs within the

workforce during World War II. With so

many men serving in the military, women

were relied upon to operate factories and

meet the demands of the War Production

Board.

Women also served in the military during

World War II, mostly in non-combat roles.

The Women’s Air Corps (WAC) and The

Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency

Service (WAVES) played crucial non-combat

roles in the US Military.

Just as they had during World War I, when the

“Great Migration” caused many African-

Americans to relocate to major Northern cities,

black Americans worked in the defense

industries during World War II.

The Double-V campaign of African Americans

was both a military and a social movement,

fighting for victories over fascism abroad and

over racism in the United States. Defeating

both the Axis Powers and “Jim Crow” was the

goal of African-Americans during World War II.

Japanese-Americans were rounded up,

robbed of their possessions and their

property, and forced into relocation

camps all across the desert West.

Strong anti-Japanese sentiment,

especially after Pearl Harbor, was a cause

of this policy.

Many Americans falsely accused

Japanese-Americans of disloyalty.

Japanese-Americans, in general,

supported American war goals. Some

Japanese Nisei even joined the US

Military and served in the army.

Japanese Americans were relocated into

internment camps scattered across the

American West.

Internment affected Japanese American

populations along the West Coast. The

Supreme Court upheld the government’s

right to restrict the liberties of Japanese-

Americans living on the West Coast of the

United States.

In the 1980s, a public apology and

financial compensation was granted to

Japanese-Americans who had been

imprisoned through the war.

The United States government

maintained strict censorship of

reporting of the war.

Public morale and ad campaigns kept

Americans focused on the war effort.

The entertainment industry produced

movies, plays, and shows that

boosted morale and patriotic support

for the war effort as well as

portrayed the enemy in stereotypical

ways.

The draft – created by the

Selective Service Act – was used to

provide personnel for the United

States Military during World War

II. Millions of Americans

volunteered for service in the

United States military following

Pearl Harbor. Nevertheless, the

draft compelled millions more to

take up arms against the Axis

Powers.

Hitler’s Final Solution and the Extermination of Minority Groups in Europe

The Holocaust was a genocide carried

out against Jewish people in Europe

during World War II. During the

Holocaust, over six million Jewish

people were systematically murdered by

Nazi Germany. Over seven million

others, including Polish people, Slavs,

Gypsies (Roma) and other

“undesirables”: homosexuals, the

mentally ill, and political dissenters,

were murdered by Nazi Germany.

Hitler and the Germans called the

systematic murder of all Jewish people

in Germany “The Final Solution.”

Genocide: the systematic and purposeful destruction of a

racial, political, religious, or cultural group. During the

Holocaust, a genocide was carried out against Jewish people

by the Nazis.

The Final Solution: Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany’s

decision to murder all Jewish people in Europe was “The Final

Solution.”

Over six million Jewish people were systematically murdered by the Nazis, and many of the nations which had been invaded by Nazi Germany participated in the genocide.

Polish people were murdered.

Slavic people, from Southeastern Europe and Eastern Europe (Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Macedonia, etc…) were murdered by the Nazis.

Homosexuals

Mentally Ill or Mentally Disabled people including newborns.

Political Dissidents.

After World War II, a series of war

crimes trials were held at Nuremberg in

Germany. During these trials, many of

the leaders of Nazi Germany were

convicted of war crimes.

Although many of those put on trial

insisted they were “following orders”

they were nevertheless convicted.

Individual responsibility was

emphasized during the trial. Many of

the leaders of the Holocaust were

convicted of war crimes – crimes

against humanity – and sentenced to

death.

The Nuremberg Trials, which gave the

world insights into the atrocities of the

Holocaust and the vicious nature of Anti-

Semitism in Europe, led to an increased

demand for a Jewish homeland. By

1948, the nation of Israel was

established as a homeland for Jewish

people. The state of Israel in the Middle

East has been recognized and supported

by the United States since it’s foundation

in 1948.