WWII & Cold War Study GuideIdentify the who, what, where, when, how, why, and outcome of the following events:

1. Spanish Civil War2. WWII3. Holocaust4. Atomic Bombing of Japan5. Cold War6. Korean War7. Red Scare/McCarthyism8. Cuban Revolution9. Cuban Missile Crisis10. Vietnam War

List at three quality facts about the following people:1. Fidel Castro2. Dwight Eisenhower3. Francisco Franco4. Paul von Hindenburg5. Emperor Hirohito6. Adolph Hitler7. Nikita Krushchev8. Douglas MacArthur9. Ho Chi Minh10. Benito Mussolini11. George Patton12. Erwin Rommel13. Franklin Delano Roosevelt14. Hideki Tojo15. Harry Truman

Define and explain the significance of the following terms:

1. Weimar Republic2. Reichstag3. Nazi Party4. Mein Kampf 5. Aryans6. Third Reich

7. Gestapo8. SS Troops9. Nuremburg Laws10. Kristallnacht11. Anschluss12. Appeasement13. Pacifism14. Blitzkrieg15. Sudentenland16. Atlantic Charter17. Lend-Lease Act18. Allies19. Axis20. Afrika Korps21. Final Solution22. Warsaw Ghetto23. Genocide24. Altruism25. V-E Day26. Rape of Nanjing27. Kamikazi28. Bataan Death March29. Japanese Internment30. Island-Hopping/Leapfrogging31. Navaho Code-Talkers32. Manhattan Project33. Yalta Conference34. Potsdam Conference35. Nuremberg Trials36. United Nations37. Truman Doctrine38. Marshall Plan39. NATO40. Warsaw Pact41. Arms Race42. Iron Curtin43. Bloc44. Berlin Airlift45. Berlin Wall

46. Containment47. Domino Theory48. Vietcong49. Gulf of Tonkin Resolution50. Tet Offensive

German Aggression Weimar Republic

liberal democratic govt. created two days before the signing of the armistice

hated by many Germans for signing the Treaty of Versailles

conservatives believed that Germany had not been defeated but rather “stabbed in the back” by communists, Jews, and liberals

in denial - wanted someone to blame for their humiliating loss

Adolf Hitler born 1889 in Austria - son of customs official 1905 - dropped out of high school 1907 - moved to Vienna - unsuccessful attempt

to become an artist WWI - enlisted in German army after war became an extreme nationalist

1920 - Hitler became a leader of the Nazi Party aka National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP)

nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-Semitic Storm Troopers - brown shirts - harassed

communists platform to end reparations, create jobs, rearm

Germany 1921 - 6,000 members ~ 1923 - 50,000 1923 - felt he had following to overthrow govt.

and led uprising in Munich spent a year in prison for treason wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle)

1923 - inflation after government printed too much money

1924 - Dawes Plan - U.S. negotiated to reduce reparation payments to France

1924 - Hitler worked to broaden the appeal of the Nazi party to peasants, workers, and the middle class

many liked Hitler’s ideas of order, unity, and national strength

economic hard times had brought polarization of the political spectrum = conservatives v. liberals and radicals

no majority - coalitions of political parties needed to form the govt.

1932 - Nazis were the largest party in the Reichstag Hitler’s rise to power

January 30, 1933 - President Paul von Hindenburg, representing a coalition of conservative parties, asked Hitler to become chancellor - head of the govt., they thought they could manipulate him

March 1933 - Hitler called for new elections a fire destroyed the Reichstag building -

probably set by Nazis but blamed on the Communists

threat of Communist revolt convinced Hindenburg to issue emergency orders abolishing freedom of speech and assembly

March 1933 election - Nazis still did not have a majority, but party forced Reichstag to give Hitler dictatorial powers for four years

August 1934 - Hindenburg died - Hitler combined offices of president and chancellor, adopted title of Fuhrer (leader), and proclaimed birth of Third Reich

totalitarian rule established suspended civil rights, disbanded political

parties, purged his own party economic goals

reduce unemployment and make Germany self-sufficient

launched vast building projects: housing, highways, sports arenas

increased taxes and strictly controlled wages and prices to pay for programs

banned strikes and outlawed unions unemployment dropped from 6 million in

1933 to 1 million in 1936 standard of living rose for average worker

won loyalty of army officers who eagerly supported his plans for German expansion

rearmed Germany in violation of Treaty of Versailles

fascist Germany encouraged hard work, sacrifice, and service to the state

good of the state was more important than individual rights

govt. controlled press, schools, and religion radio stations were forced to play military

music and speeches glorifying the Nazi state

Hitler Youth were taught military discipline, patriotism, and obedience to the Fuhrer - wore a uniform and participated in book-burning bonfires

most private Catholic schools were forced to close

Hitler wanted all German children in public schools controlled by the Nazis

Protestant ministers were encouraged to deliver pro-Nazi sermons on Sundays

Germany was a police state SS Troops - black uniforms - state

terrorists Gestapo - secret police - hunted down

anyone suspected of opposing Nazi rule 1935 - Nuremberg Laws - severe restrictions on

Jews

deprived of German citizenship and could not: marry non-Jews, attend or teach at German schools, hold govt. jobs, practice law or medicine, publish books

Kristallnacht - November 9-10, 1938 retaliation for the death of a German diplomat

in France by a Jewish youth Nazi-led mobs attacked Jewish communities

throughout Germany smashed windows, looted shops, plundered

homes, and burned synagogues Jews were beaten victims had to pay for the damages brought bad world press - so Hitler devised

another plan Jews had to wear a yellow Star of David and

later were systematically sent to concentration camps

Nazi critics were not united and easily silenced between 1919-26 - right-wing dictatorships emerged

throughout Eastern Europe - except Czechoslovakia and Finland

promised order, won backing of the military and wealthy, policy of anti-Semitism - wanted someone to blame for the economic hard times

1931 - Japan took over Manchuria 1935 - Italy invaded Ethiopia

King Haile Selassie appealed to League of Nations

League issued sanctions - penalties members were to stop selling war

materials to Italy - not enforced could still sell oil

March 1936 - Hitler sent troops to the Rhineland Allies responded with appeasement - policy of

giving in to the demands of an aggressor in order to keep peace

pacifism - opposition to war

October 1936 - Rome-Berlin Axis - agreement to fight Soviet communism and not interfere in one another’s plan for expansion (Tokyo hooked up in 1940)

1936 - Spanish Civil War 1920s monarchy dominated by landowning

upper class, Catholic Church, and military 1931 - republic established with liberal

constitution after popular unrest reforms ended many privileges of the upper

class and the Church Right-wing Nationalists v. Republican Loyalists 1936 - right-wing general Francisco Franco led

revolt Europe took sides - fascists supported Franco Britain, France, and the U.S. remained neutral

although they favored the republican cause Russia sent weapons and advisors to aid the

Loyalists fascist Germany and Italy supported the

Nationalists dress rehearsal for WWII terrible atrocities - 1 million lives lost Germans experimented with bomb raids 1939 - Franco triumphed = fascist dictatorship

Hitler - goal to unite all Germans and gain living space - lebensraum

Aryans - superior race - had the right to conquer inferior Slavs

Aryan superiority publicly disproved at the 1936 Olympics held in Berlin - African American tract hero Jesse Owens captured four gold medals. He later wrote about event.

“In the early 1830s, my ancestors were brought on a boat across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to America as slaves for men who felt they had the right to own other men. In August 1936, I boarded a boat to go back across the Atlantic Ocean to do battle with Adolf Hitler, a man who

thought all other men should be slaves to him and his Aryan armies.”

March 1938 - Anschluss - union of Austria and Germany

Allies did not get involved Rhineland and Austria were not worth a

war French could not act without British

support Germany was seen as barrier against

Soviet Union September 1938 - Germany encouraged

Sudetenland to demand self-government - western Czechoslovakia where 3 million German-speakers lived

September 1938 - Munich Conference - Britain and France chose appeasement - persuaded Czechoslovakia to surrender Sudetenland without a fight – area was annexed

Afterwards, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain declared to cheering crowds that he had achieved “peace for our time.”

British parliament member Winston Churchill saw it a different way. “They had to choose between war and dishonor, they chose dishonor; they will have war.”

According to Churchill, “They should know there has been gross neglect and deficiencies; they should know that we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequence of which will travel far with us… they should know that we have passed an awful milestone in our history, when the whole equilibrium of Europe has been deranged…. And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless a supreme recovery of

moral health and martial vigor, we rise again and take our stand for freedom.”

Czechoslovakia and ally Soviet Union were not invited

March 1939 - Hitler took the rest of Czechoslovakia April 1939 - Hitler demanded Danzig - independent,

international city - and Polish Corridor August 1939 - Nazi-Soviet (non-aggression) Pact

publicly - a peaceful relationship privately - agreed not to fight if either went to

war and divide up Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe

based on mutual need - not friendship or respect

Stalin had attempted to make an alliance with Britain and France - rejected

September 1, 1939 - beginning of WWII - Germans invade Poland

Britain and France declare war two days later - had promised to protect Poland

Blitzkrieg - lightening war - massive air bombings followed by fast-moving tanks and troop transports

Stalin’s troops entered from east and pushed into the Baltic states

September 27, 1939 - Poland surrendered

Axis v. AlliesMiracle at Dunkirk

French and British waited behind the Maginot Line.

No action for seven months - people began calling it the phoney war.

April 1940 - blitzkrieg against Norway and Denmark, then Netherlands and Belgium.

Allied forces were trapped. British sent every available vessel to rescue

300,000 troops stranded at Dunkirk and Ostend.

Raised British morale.France surrendered after Germany and Italy invaded.

May 1940 - Germans invaded France June 22, 1940 - French signed surrender

documents in the same railway car Germans had signed armistice 20 years earlier.

Germany occupied northern France and set up a “puppet state” with the capital at Vichy in southern France.

French officers who escaped, led by Charles de Gaulle, set up a free French govt. in exile.

Resistance fighters in France used guerrilla tactics to harass German forces.

Battle of Britain massive bombing campaign by German Luftwaffe August 12, 1940 - military targets September 7, 1940 - London - bombed for 57

consecutive nights bombing continued through June 1941 15,000 people died British Royal Air Force (RAF) destroyed twice as

many German planes as it lost RAF had 1500 fighter pilots - including Polish,

Czech, and Commonwealth - 400 died Churchill, “Never in the field of human conflict

was so much owed by so many to so few.” British developed radar - could detect enemy

planes from 140 miles away 1940 - Italian forces invade Greece

unsuccessful until Germany assists Greece and Yugoslavia are taken Bulgaria and Hungary join Axis

U.S. remains neutral 1941 - Roosevelt convinces Congress to pass the

Lend-Lease Act to sell or lend war materials to the Allies

U.S. became the “arsenal of democracy” August 1941 - Atlantic Charter

Roosevelt and Churchill met on a warship in the Atlantic to set goals for the war, including “the final destruction of Nazi tyranny”

Japan Needed food and raw materials for its population

of 70 million and a market for its manufactured goods.

Invaded Manchuria in September 1931, took over coal and iron deposits, and set up a puppet state.

They still needed oil supplies that could be obtained in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).

When criticized by the U.S. and the League of Nations, dropped out of the League.

They began to build up their navy. December 1937 - Japanese planes attack a navy

gunboat, the U.S.S. Panay and the three oil tankers it was escorting on the Yangtze River in China. Two U.S. servicemen were killed and several were wounded. Although the Japanese immediately apologized and offered to pay for damages, it did not appear to be an accident.

July 1941 - forces Vichy French government to hand over military bases in Indochina (Vietnam and Cambodia).

FDR freezes all Japanese assets in the U.S. Japan freezes all U.S. assets. Relations between the two countries break down. October 1941 - General Hideki Tojo, a strong

militarist, becomes Premier of Japan. Japanese want the U.S. to unfreeze their assets,

supply them with oil, and stop sending lend-lease to China.

U.S. refuses and demands that Japan withdraw from China and Southeast Asia.

U.S. had broken Japan’s secret diplomatic code in December 1940 and knew Japan was planning a military attack.

The U.S. expected it to occur on the Malay Peninsula or in the Dutch East Indies.

December 7, 1941 - Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. 18 U.S. damaged or destroyed, 188 planes

destroyed, 2500 killed. FDR, “a date which will live in infamy.” Next day, Roosevelt asked Congress to declare

war on Japan - three days later Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

Early Decisions Give first priority to defeating Hitler before

engaging in an all-out effort against Japan. There was concern that Germany may crush the

Soviet Union and cut Britain off America. Once Germany was defeated, the Allies could

join forces to take Japan. Accept only unconditional surrender from the

enemy. The defeated country is at the mercy of the

victors and has no part in negotiating the peace treaty.

Some historians believe this may have encouraged Germany and Japan to fight longer and more desperately.

Atlantic Front German subs and ships attack Allied ships

causing heavy losses. May 26, 1942 - British sink the German battleship

Bismarck. This victory ended German efforts to win the

Battle of the Atlantic with surface ships. Gradually, the Allies devised new methods for

protecting their convoys against U-boats as well.

Russian Front June 1941 - Operation Barbarossa - German

conquest of Russia lebersraum and natural resources 3 million Germans invade Russia

Russians invoke scorched earth policy - crops burned - factories and farm equipment destroyed

December 1941 - Germans surround Leningrad. 3 million Russians are trapped within the

city for two years. Nearly 1 million die from cold and

starvation. Stalin urges Allies to open a 2nd front - they

don’t. July 1942

Germans approach Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga River.

Stalin again pleads for a 2nd front. August 22, 1942 - German assault on Stalingrad.

Stalin orders city to be held at all costs. September 1942 - Soviets launch a

counteroffensive by surrounding the German troops.

They cut off German supply lines, but Hitler refuses to allow retreat.

Russian winter (-20*) and scorched earth policy prevail.

February 1943 - Germans surrender at Stalingrad. Russian victory at Stalingrad is considered a

major turning point in the war. 100,000 German soldiers were killed, 80,000

were captured, and large quantities of German military equipment were seized.

It broke the back of the Nazi military machine.

North African Front 1941 - Germany came to the aid of Italy in

North Africa. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel - the Desert

Fox - commanded the seemingly invincible Afrika Korps.

British barely held the Suez Canal - lifeline to India

October 1942 - Battle of El Alamein. British forces drive Rommel’s out of Egypt. This preserves Allied control over the Suez

Canal. November 8, 1942 - Operation Torch

Americans land at Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers in western North Africa.

This area was held by the German dominated Vichy French government.

U.S. troops under George S. Patton and British troops under Bernard L. Montgomery close in on Germans in Tunisia.

Americans suffer major defeat at Kasserine Pass in Tunisia.

Patton regroups for a counteroffensive. May 13, 1943 - Remnants of the Afrika Korps

surrender. Axis lost control of Africa and the

Mediterranean.Italian Front

July 10, 1943 - American and British troops land in Sicily.

They conquer the island in 38 days. The only resistance is in Messina.

September 3, 1943 - Allies land on Italian peninsula.

Churchill referred to it as “the soft underbelly of the Axis.”

Italian King arrests Mussolini and surrenders to the Allies.

Germans rescue Mussolini by dropping 100 parachutists at his mountain prison and then flying him off to Germany.

Pietro Badoglio, new leader of Italy, sides with the Allies.

Germany moves in eight divisions, establishing a powerful defensive line south of Rome.

The Allied landings at Salerno in September 1943 and “Bloody Anzio” in January 1944 gave Americans some of the hardest fighting they encountered in Europe.

June 4, 1944 - Allies capture Rome. Italians partisans (members of the

underground resistance movement) recaptured Mussolini on April 28, 1945. He was shot, and his body was hung in a Milan square.

The invasion of Italy delayed the invasion of France for a year.

The Soviets believed it was a deliberate strategy by the British and Americans to allow them to experience the brunt of the fighting.

D-Day/Operation Overlord/Normandy Invasion Preparation

October 1943 - May 1944 - Americans bombed Germany by day and the British bombed it by night.

Industrial centers were destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

June 1944 - Allies had a 30 to 1 superiority over the German air force.

June 6, 1944 Convoys sailed across the English Channel.

Involved 600 warships, 4,000 landing craft, 11,000 aircraft, and 176,000 soldiers.

It was the largest amphibious - combined land and sea - operation in history and took two years of planning and preparation.

German defenses: 250,000 troops, underwater mines, tank traps, guns mounted in concrete forts.

Allies tricked Germans by bombing an area east of the actual landing place so heavily that the Germans shifted men and equipment to that location.

Method of Attack British bombers attacked German coastal

defenses. Allied airborne troops parachuted into France

to assist. Battleship guns pounded German positions. Men fought their way onto the beaches against

machine gun fire. Of the five actual landing sites, the German fire

at Omaha Beach was so intense, the invaders were almost wiped out.

Foothold The Allies gained a foothold on all beachheads

to launch an offensive against the Germans. Within a month, the Allied had landed a million

troops, 567,000 tons of supplies, and 170,000 vehicles.

Patton led troops across France. August 25, 1944 - Allied troops led by Free

French Forces entered Paris. September 1944 - France, Belgium,

Luxembourg, and part of the Netherlands were liberated.

December 1944 - Battle of the Bulge Under a cloud of fog in the Ardennes Forest,

the Germans cut through the center of the American forces creating a bulge in the Allied line of troops.

The Germans were checked by the Allies at Bastogne, Belgium.

The Final Days March 1945 - Allies stormed across the Rhine

River, the German historic defensive barrier. The Soviets had been advancing from the east.

Summer 1944 - Soviets were in Eastern Europe.

Spring 1945 - Soviets were in Germany, inflicting savage revenge on the German population as they fought their way to Berlin.

April 1945 - Soviet and American troops met on the Elbe River.

April 30, 1945 - in a bunker (underground chamber) in Berlin, Hitler committed suicide by shooting himself in the head as his longtime friend and new bride Eva Braun took poison. Orders were given for their bodies to be burned.

May 7, 1945 - Eisenhower accepted Germany’s unconditional surrender.

May 8 - V-E (Victory in Europe) Day in the U.S. and Britain.

May 9 - V-E Day in the Soviet Union.

Pacific FrontPrelude

Following Pearl Harbor, the Japanese overran most of Southeast Asia and the Pacific, including the Philippines, Hong Kong, French Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam), Malaya (including Singapore), Burma, Thailand, the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Guam, Wake Island, and even two islands in the Aleutian chain in Alaska.

The prestige of whites in Southeast Asia was based on their unquestioned military superiority. As a result of Japan’s conquests, people in the area were never again willing to live under white imperialist rule.

At first, the Japanese were welcomed as liberators.

Soon they were hated by locals for killing civilians and taking property.

Resistance groups rose up to fight Japanese forces.

In the Philippines, 36,000 American and Filipino troops under General Douglas MacArthur held off a Japanese force of 200,000 for four months in the Bataan peninsula and for an additional month on the fortress island of Corregidor at the entrance to Manila Bay.

When the situation became hopeless, Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall ordered MacArthur to escape to Australia.

As he left, MacArthur said, “I shall return.” Spring 1942 - the Japanese fleet was

threatening India, Australia, and even the west coast of the U.S.

April 1942 - U.S. bombs Tokyo Sixteen B-25 bombers under the command of

Colonel James Doolittle took off from the aircraft carrier Hornet and managed to bomb Tokyo before going down in China.

Although the action had no strategic value, it boosted American morale.

It also let the Japanese know that their islands were vulnerable.

May 1942 - Battle of the Coral Sea All fighting was done by carrier-based plane -

no ship to ship contact. Although the U.S. and Australia lost more ships

than Japan, it was an Allied victory. It halted Japan’s attempt to invade Australia.

June 1942 - Battle of Midway Japan lost 4 aircraft carriers and 250 planes. U.S. lost one aircraft carrier, one destroyer,

and 150 planes. Again, carrier aircraft rather than ships were

the decisive element.

Ended Japanese naval superiority in the Pacific and turned back an intended strike on Hawaii.

Leapfrogging/Island-Hopping Strategy devised by MacArthur to capture some

islands and bypass others. Australian and New Zealanders would bomb

and mop up Japanese garrisons on the bypassed islands.

Any missed islands were cut off from supplies and left to wither on the vine.

August 1942 - February 1943 - Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands

Marines land and establish a beachhead within two days.

Japanese cruisers sink almost all the American transport ships.

Marines are short of food and equipment, but hold the island’s airstrip.

Japanese and American ships and planes fight one engagement after another.

U.S. fleet under Admiral James Halsey defeats the massive Japanese fleet in November.

In early 1943, the Japanese withdraw, leaving the U.S. with a valuable base to launch their offensive.

Return to the Philippines General Douglas MacArthur moved land troops

in from the south. General Chester W. Nimitz moved the navy in

from the east. February 1944 - U.S. captures Solomon,

Gilbert, and Marshall islands. June 1944 - U.S. attacks Mariana Islands -

Battle of the Philippine Sea.October 1944 - Battle of Leyte Gulf

U.S. forces of 174,000 soldiers on 738 ships converge on Leyte Island in the Philippines.

MacArthur and a few officers who had who fled the Philippines two years earlier headed for land on a small barge.

Fifty yards from shore, MacArthur stepped into the knee-deep water, waded to the beach, and announced, “I have returned.”

The Japanese used their entire fleet in the battle.

Kamikazes - Japanese pilots who volunteered for suicide missions - crashed bomb-laden planes into American ships.

Kamikaze means “divine wind” after a typhoon that in 1281 destroyed Kublai Khan’s fleet when it tried to invade Japan from China.

After three days of fighting, the Japanese lost three battleships, four aircraft carriers, thirteen cruisers, and almost 400 planes.

Spring 1945 - Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa Iwo Jima - February to March 1945 Okinawa - April to June 1945 They were two of the worst battles in the war. The Japanese savagely defended these islands

so close to home. Navajo Code Talkers

1943 - U.S. Marines recruited the Navajo Indians to develop a military code based on their oral language.

They created the only unbreakable code in military history.

Japanese Internment February 19, 1942 - President Roosevelt signed

Executive Order 9066, which authorized the War Department to relocate 127,000 Japanese Americans.

Those living in California, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona were rounded up by the army and the FBI on the grounds that they posed a threat to national security.

They were sent to ten crude internment camps in inland areas.

They were surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by soldiers.

They lost their homes, business, and property. It was a violation of their constitutional rights.

Japanese Americans living in Hawaii were not interned.

Americans of Japanese descent joined the U.S. military

Over 17,000 Japanese Americans fought for the U.S., some in intelligence and other in Italy, France, and Germany.

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team was popularly known as Go for Broke, they received more decorations than any other American combat unit.

Korematsu v. United States (1944) Supreme Court upheld internment. Justice Hugo Black, speaking for the

majority, argued that the government’s action was caused by “military necessity.”

Justice Frank Murphy, speaking for the minority, said that the treatment of Japanese Americans reminded him of the Nazi treatment of the Jews.

Historians agree that Japanese American interment grew out of racism.

No American of Japanese ancestry was ever tried for espionage or sabotage.

Americans of German or Italian descent were not relocated.

After the war, the federal government paid Japanese Americans $35 million to compensate them for their lost property, which was actually valued at $400 million.

1988 - U.S. government acknowledged its wrongdoing. President Reagan signed a

bill giving surviving internees a formal apology and reparations of $20,000 tax-free.

Yalta Conference: 2/4/45 - 2/11/45 “Big Three” - Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin planned for the end of the war and the post-war

world Stalin to supervise provisional govt. in

Eastern Europe and hold free democratic elections

eastern Poland goes to Soviet Union eastern Germany goes to Poland Germany and Berlin to be divided into four

zones of occupation 4/12/45 - Roosevelt dies of a cerebral

hemorrhage - succeeded by Vice President Harry Truman

United Nations: 4/45 delegates from 51 nations meet in San

Francisco to draft the charter each member has one vote

Security Council - greater power five permanent members: U.S., U.S.S.R.,

Britain, France, China - six other nations elected on a rotating basis

goal to maintain peace address other world problems: prevent disease,

improve education, economic development, refugee issues

located in New YorkPotsdam Conference - Germany : 7/17/45 - 8/2/45

Truman, Stalin, Churchill who is replaced by his successor Clement Attlee

confirmed four zones of Germany, establishment of a tribunal to prosecute war crimes, only accept unconditional surrender from Japan

Truman reveals news of atomic bomb Japan warned of utter and complete destruction

The Bomb German scientists discovered the possibility of

nuclear fission in 1938 Three Hungarian-born American physicists

hooked up with Nazi-refugee Albert Einstein who wrote a letter to FDR warning him of Germany’s nuclear weapons research.

Late 1939, FDR authorized the program to develop the bomb know as the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos, N.M., under the scientific direction of Robert Oppenheimer.

July 16, 1945 - successfully detonated at Alamogordo, NM.

8/6/45 - “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima - obliterated the city in 3/5 of a second - killed 80,000+

8/9/45 - “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki - destroyed half the city - killed 40,000+

many more later died of radiation poisoning 8/10/45 - Emperor Hirohito forced govt. to

surrender 9/2/45 - formal peace treaty signed dropping the bomb - pros

anticipated 1 million American casualties and ½ million British to invade Japan

Japanese would fight to the death Code of Bushido - ultimate disgrace of a

Japanese soldier was to be taken prisoner 11/43 - Battle of Tarawa - 42,000

Japanese killed - only 8 captured hope to impress Soviets

Holocaust Holocaust - the systemic murder of the Jews carried

out by the Nazis. Genocide - the systematic killing of a whole people

or a nation.

Final Solution - total extermination of Jews in Europe.

6 million Jews were killed Nuremberg Trials (1945-1947) - Nazis were tried for

waging aggressive war and for crimes against humanity (atrocities beyond laws and customs of war, such as the use of slave labor and the operation of extermination camps).

Nuremberg: birthplace and deathplace of Nazism

had a hall big enough to hold the war crimes trial

most German cities were bombed out although the evidence was overwhelming, they

were allowed to defend themselves said they were just following orders

20 top Nazis: 3 acquitted, 7 life imprisonment, 10 death.

Altruism - regard for or devotion to the interests of others

War crimes in Tokyo: General Tojo, who approved the attack on Pearl Harbor was convicted as a war criminal and executed.

Israel - established 1948 November 29, 1947 - United Nations voted to

partition Palestine which divided into two states: Arab and Jewish.

David Ben-Gurion: first Prime Minister conflicts with Arab Palestinians began

immediately wars: 1948, 1956, 1967, 1973 center of guerrilla and terrorist activity -

including bombings, plane hijackings, and the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympics at Munich

PLO - Palestine Liberation Organization – formerly headed by Yasir Arafat

Cold War Post WWII

alliance between the Soviet Union and the West deteriorated

U.S. and the Soviet Union emerged as the two Super Powers

they were unequaled in military strength and political influence

conflicting ideologies and mutual distrust led to the conflict known as the Cold War

The Cold War was a state of tension and hostility, with no direct armed conflict that lasted for 40 years. Threat of force, use of propaganda, and military and economic aid to weaker nations were the weapons of the Cold War.

Eastern Europe Occupying forces had been left in Eastern

Europe as the Russians pushed their way toward Germany during WWII.

Stalin had two goals in Eastern Europe spread communism create a buffer zone against Germany

Stalin broke the promise he made in Yalta to hold democratic elections

by 1948, pro-Soviet communist governments were installed

Iron Curtain Churchill - 1946

“A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victories…. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, and Sophia, all these famous cities and populations around them lie in what I call the Soviet sphere and all are subject to a very high

and, in many cases, increasing measure of control from Moscow.”

divided Europe into a communist eastern bloc and a democratic western bloc

bloc - group of nations led by a superpower became a symbol of the Cold War

Containment - idea that communism should be limited to the areas already under Soviet control.

Truman Doctrine March 12, 1947 ~ “I believe that it must be the

policy of the United States to support free people who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures…. The free peoples of the world look to us for support in maintaining their freedoms.”

U.S. would resist Soviet expansion in Europe and around the world.

Marshall Plan - U.S. sent massive economic aid to Western Europe to resist Soviet expansion. Aid was offered to Eastern European countries as well, but Stalin forced them to decline.

Germany divided into four zones after the war: British,

French, American, and Soviet Soviet-controlled zone became East Germany

(German Democratic Republic) and the other zones became West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany).

East Germany became a communist government tied to Moscow.

Berlin, the German capital was in East Germany. It had also been divided into four zones after the war. In 1948, Stalin tried to force the western allies out of West Berlin by sealing off railroads and highways. The Berlin airlift was organized to overcome the blockade. For over a year, around-the-clock airlifts supplied West Berlin with food and fuel. The Soviets were forced to end the blockade.

East Berliners were constantly escaping to West Berlin. In 1961, the East German government built a wall enclosing West Berlin. It was a massive concrete structure, 26 miles long and up to 15 feet high, topped with barbed wire and patrolled by guards. It became an ugly symbol of the Cold War.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization - NATO (1949) alliance formed between the U.S., Canada, and nine western European nations due to growing tensions with the Soviet Union. They pledged to help one another if anyone of them was attacked.

Warsaw Pact (1955-1991) - military agreement between the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites. Primary purpose was to keep the satellites in order.

Arms Race - buildup of conventional and nuclear weapons by the U.S. and the Soviets.

Each side wanted to be able to withstand an attack from the other. At first, the U.S. was ahead in the race because we had atomic weapons, but in 1949, the Soviets developed their own atomic bomb.

Increasing amounts of money were spent developing more deadly nuclear and conventional weapons to create a “balance of power.”

Winston Churchill called this “balance of power” a “balance of terror.”

The cost was huge. Money spent on high military budgets meant cutbacks in other areas of the economy. The cost of one heavy bomber equaled the cost of 30 schools.

journalist Fred J. Cook - 1964 “Now we have in our nuclear stock pile

[weapons] equivalent in destruction to some 22 billion tons of TNT. Each of our 1,300 Strategic Air Force bombers, our intercontinental ballistic missiles, our

Polaris submarines is equipped with hydrogen bombs 5,000 times more powerful than the primitive Hiroshima device that exterminated 100,000 lives in one blinding flash. To carry the analogy one step further, there are only 2,000 cities in the entire world with population of 100,000. We have enough hydrogen bombs in our stock pile to deliver the equivalent of 2.5 million tons of TNT, 125 times the force of Hiroshima, upon each 100,000 population, not just upon each city—and we can deliver it not once, not twice, but 125 times.”

Propaganda was used by both sides. The West condemned communism and totalitarianism in the Soviet Union, and the Soviets criticized western imperialism.

Although there was no WWIII, many smaller wars broke out.

Soviet-backed governments in North Korea and North Vietnam battled American-backed governments in South Korea (1950-1953) and South Vietnam (1964-1973). The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) brought a real threat of nuclear war.

Nikita Khrushchev (1955-1964) - publicly denounced Stalin’s abuse of power. He enacted a policy of de-Stalinization, wherein many political prisoners were freed and censorship was eased. “He sought a thaw in the Cold War, calling for a peaceful coexistence with the West.” In 1964, Khrushchev resigned due to economic and foreign policy setbacks.

Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982) - suppressed dissidents (people who spoke out against the government). Critics were imprisoned or locked away in insane asylums. He carried on a huge military buildup and asserted that the Soviets had

the right to intervene militarily in any Warsaw Pact nation (Brezhnev Doctrine). At the same time, he pursued détente and disarmament talks with the U.S.

Many disarmament talks were held. In 1963, the U.S. and the Soviets agreed to a Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited above-ground nuclear testing. Underground testing continued.

Détente - relaxing of tensions between the U.S. and Soviets during the 1970s. It included agreements to reduce nuclear stockpiles. It ended in 1979 when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. In 1980, the U.S. refused to attend the Olympic Games held in Moscow. In 1984, the Soviets refused to attend the Olympic Games held in Los Angeles.

Successes of the Soviet Union massive industrialization, including weapons

manufacturing achievements in space exploration; first

artificial satellite was launched by the Soviets in 1957 - Sputnik !

low rents, cheap bread, free healthcare and childcare

no unemployment, but low wagesProblems of the Soviet Union

Command economy could not match the free-market economy in the West for producing consumer goods in quality or quantity.

Collectivized agriculture was so unproductive that the Soviets frequently had to import grain to feed their people.

There were long lines to buy food and other goods.

People had to stay on a waiting list for years to buy a car.

Inefficient central planning was done by bureaucrats in Moscow who decided what and how much to produce. High production quotas

meant poor quality products. If needed supplies did not arrive, factories were forced to shut down.

Lifetime job security did not inspire hard work.

Cuban Revolution and Missile Crisis Cuban Independence in 1898 replaced Spanish

domination with U.S. domination. Every Cuban leader had to be acceptable to the U.S.

or our military would go down to restore order. January 1, 1959 - Fidel Castro - a lawyer and major

league baseball hopeful - overthrew the corrupt regime of U.S.-supported dictator Fulgencio Batista after months of guerrilla warfare.

Shortly afterward, Castro announced his intention of turning Cuba into a socialist state.

He nationalized foreign-owned sugar plantations and businesses, set up govt.-run farms, distributed some land to peasant farmers, and drew up plans to industrialize.

Critics were jailed or silenced. After American properties in Cuba were seized

without compensation, relations between the two nations chilled.

When the U.S. quit purchasing Cuban-grown sugar, Cuba sought out a new market, the Soviet Union.

January 1961 - U.S. cut off diplomatic ties with Cuba.

April 17, 1961 - 1,500 -2,000 Cuban exiles land at the Bay of Pigs on the southwestern coast of Cuba.

They had trained in the U.S and were supported by the U.S government.

The invasion was a total disaster. Kennedy did not follow through on U.S. air support

he promised, fearing Soviet reprisal. The CIA thought that the landing would set off a

general uprising – it didn’t.

April 19 - invasion was crushed and 1,200 survivors were captured. (They were released in December 1962, in exchange for $53 million worth of U.S. medicines and provisions.)

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev saw the failure as a sign of weakness and began construction of nuclear-ready missiles Cuba.

A U.S. spy plane photographed the missile bases under construction.

October 22, 1962 - Kennedy went on TV to address the nation, announcing a naval blockade of Cuba to keep the missiles from arriving.

He demanded that the Soviets dismantle the bases. By October 24, the blockade was in place. Cuba is 90 miles off the coast of the U.S. Americans braced themselves for the “big one” –

thermonuclear war. October 28, Khrushchev backed down and offered to

remove the missiles under U.N. supervision. Kennedy promised never again to invade Cuba and

removed U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles from Turkish bases near the Soviet border.

October 29, the blockade was lifted.

Vietnam WarIn The Beginning Indochina – French imperialist holding.

Included Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Introduced Catholicism. Instituted forced labor.

During WWII, the French lost control to the Japanese. Resistance from Vietminh, who got support from

U.S. 1945 - France sent troops to reestablish control.

Opposition came from Ho Chi Minh, a Vietnamese communist.

Soviet Union and People’s Republic of China sent aid to the communists.

U.S. financially backed the French. Truman and Eisenhower did not send troops.

May 1954 - French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu. 1954 - Geneva Accords divided Indochina into

Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, and the French withdrew.

Vietnam was temporarily divided into communist North and noncommunist South Vietnam at the 17th Parallel. Population shift occurred as Catholics in the

north went south and communists went north, leaving behind 5,000 political organizers.

1956 - scheduled elections never took place, because President Ngo Dihn Diem knew that Ho Chi Minh would win.

Ngo Dihn Diem – abolished village elections and appointed Catholics from the north who knew nothing about local conditions, favored Catholics over the Buddhist majority, censored the press, did not institute trial by jury, and imprisoned people who objected to his policies.

Ho Chi Minh – set up single-party govt., carried out land reform, nationalized large industries, and jailed or executed opposition.

Many South Vietnamese joined the Vietcong - communist guerrilla forces in South Vietnam that were supported by North Vietnam.

To eliminate influence of the Vietcong, Diem govt. enacted the strategic hamlet program wherein entire villages were relocated to new areas surrounded by moats and walls. Despite the medical services and farming

instruction they received, Vietnamese peasants wanted to be in their ancestral lands.

U.S. Involvement Cold War – Containment mentality inspired Kennedy

to commit troops to Vietnam.

December 22, 1961 - first U.S. serviceman died in Vietnam.

By Fall of 1963, over 16,000 American soldiers were serving as “advisors.”

Ngo Dihn Diem sought aid from the U.S. We urged him to make reforms to help the peasants and win popular support. Did not happen. Several Buddhist monks and nuns publicly set themselves on fire to protest the destruction of temples and the imprisonment of monks and nuns.

Nov. 1963 – U.S. looked the other way when a military coup overthrew and executed Diem.

New govt. was unstable, ineffective, and corrupt. One general replaced another. Vietcong influence covered almost 80% of the countryside.

August 2, 1964 - U.S. destroyer was attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats in the Gulf of Tonkin. President Johnson said it was attacked without cause, but it was protecting South Vietnamese gunboats making raids on the North. U.S. claimed that another attack occurred two days later on two destroyers. North Vietnamese denied it, and today historians believe that it was a lie.

Americanization - Undeclared War Officially Begins August 7, 1964 - Congress adopted the Gulf of

Tonkin Resolution authorizing the president to “take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack and to prevent further aggression.” Only two senators voted no.

Johnson had the resolution prepared in advance and was just waiting for the right opportunity to escalate the war.

He used the resolution to justify Americanization of the war.

U.S. became involved in a civil war, but Johnson saw it as part of a larger conflict directed by China against the U.S.

Domino Theory - if one country falls to communism, it will set off a chain reaction.

U.S. wanted to save reputation as a country that protected other nations that stood up to communism.

American Troops 1960 - 800 American military advisors. 1965 - 185,000 troops. 1966 - 400,000 troops. 1967 - 475,000 troops. 1968 - 500,000 American troops fighting

alongside South Vietnamese. To supply all these soldiers, a draft and lottery

system were instituted. Operation “Rolling Thunder” – massive bombing of

North Vietnam began in April 1965 – more bombs dropped in one year than all the bombs dropped on Germany in WWII.

Ground Troops used search and destroy missions wherein entire villages who were suspected of aiding or being controlled by the Vietcong were burnt down. It resulted in 4 million refugees in a population of 20 million.

Defoliants, such as Agent Orange, were sprayed to destroy groundcover. It devastated 30% of the landscape. Rice had to be imported to prevent starvation, and children were born with birth defects – both Vietnamese and those of U.S. servicemen.

U.S. encouraged the North to accept the Saigon regime and withdraw troops to 17th parallel, but they refused to negotiate unless all U.S. troops withdrew.

January 30, 1968 - Tet Offensive - Vietnamese New Year farmers came to town to celebrate – many

funerals were also taking place North Vietnamese launched their strongest

offensive fierce fighting for a few days 42,000 Vietcong casualties

General Westmoreland – U.S. commander – declared it a major defeat for the communists. He was wrong – it showed that the cities were not safe, previous enemy body counts had been exaggerated, and the war was not winnable.

Robert McNamara – Secretary of Defense – resigned.

Vietnamization After his election, Nixon began gradually pulling

out U.S. troops, but the bombing continued. March 1969 - Nixon began secret bombings in

Cambodia to destroy Vietcong bases along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. He did not tell Congress or U.S. public

By 1972, only 27,000 troops were left. January 1973 - a cease-fire was negotiated in Paris

Peace Accords and U.S. troops were withdrawn. Nixon referred to it as “peace with honor.”

Aftermath U.S. casualties: about 50,000 dead & 1,200 missing

in action. The war did not end until April 1975 when the

communists defeated the south. 1976 - Vietnam was united. Saigon - the capital of

South Vietnam - became Ho Chi Minh City. After the war, both Cambodia and Laos became

communist. Khmer Rouge - communists in Cambodia - imposed

a reign of terror, killing 2 million - about 1/3 of the population. Depicted in the movie: The Killing Fields.

300,000 refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia Tens of thousands of “boat people” attempted to

escape - many drowned or died of hunger and thirst. Thanks to Vietnam, the 1960s was a decade of

change in the U.S. war protesters, drug culture, sexual

promiscuousness