World War II

The most significant event of the 20th Century!

Causes of World War II

• Hitler, Mussolini, and Tojo did not cause World War II.

• The Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I is the chief cause of World War II.

Other Causes of WWII… Germany was poor and humiliated. The Worldwide depression made life

bad for everyone, but especially Germany.

Italy, Germany, and Russia turned to fascist leaders who promised to restore national wealth and pride.

Divided and Weak Government in Germany, Chaos in the Streets!

Von Hindenburg chooses Hitler as Chancellor in 1933.

Hitler becomes “the fuehrer” when Hindenburg dies!

German Socialist Workers Party, the Nazis, a Midnight Parade!

Europe on the Brink of War In 1934, Adolph Hitler

announced a program of re-arming Germany which was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles.

In Italy, Benito Mussolini was also building a powerful military force.

Many American adults belonged to peace organizations and were determined never again to enter a foreign war.

• World War II, or the Second World War, was a worldwide conflict which lasted from 1939 to 1945.

• This global conflict split a majority of the world's nations into two opposing camps: the Allies and the Axis. Spanning much of the globe, World War II resulted in the deaths of over 60 million people, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.

World War II Facts

• World War II was the most widespread war ever experienced, mobilizing over 100 million soldiers from 61 nations.

• As a result of World War II, the United States and Soviet Union emerged as the world's two leading superpowers, dominating the world's stage for the next 40 years.

World War II Facts

Mussolini Italy

Hitler Germany

Tojo Japan

Winston Churchill

FDR – Franklin D. Roosevelt

Joseph Stalin

Chaing Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle

The Allies USA (joined the war in 1941), USSR, China, Great Britain, and

France

USA

France

Russia

China

Great Britain

War Begins in Europe Roosevelt, while not an isolationist,

was determined to keep America out of the European war.

March 1938: Hitler takes the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia and later overruns the entire country.

War Begins in Europe

August 1939: Germany and Russia sign non-aggression pact; Germany attacks Poland, making the official beginning of World War II as France and Britain were treaty-bound to come to the aid of Poland.

Appeasement:• giving Hitler what he wants to avoid

war

• The Rhineland

• Austria

• The Sudetenland

• Czechoslavakia

• Neville Chamberlain –Prime Minister of Great

Britain 1930’s

WW II Europe Red countries are Allied or Allied-controlled. Blue is Axis or Axis controlled countries, and the Soviet Union is colored green prior to joining the Allies in 1941.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army expected the attack to come along the Polish frontiers, but Hitler introduced a new kind of war called a blitzkrieg, which means “lightning war.” Waves of German bombers targeted railroads, which crippled Polish military mobilization. Hundreds of tanks smashed through Polish defenses and rolled deep into the country. The Poles fought hard, but on September 17, the Soviet Union invaded their country from the east. By the end of the month, Poland had fallen.

Germans invade France!June 1940

The French are defeated!!!

The U.S. and Lend-Lease

Before 1941, the United States stayed out of World War II.

President Roosevelt worked out a deal called lend-lease, which allowed him to give weapons to any countries on the Allies side (including tanks, airplanes, and ships).

Propaganda Propaganda is information presented in an

attempt to influence people. 2 Types that were used…

generalization – a statement that suggests all members of a group are the same in some way

scare tactics – the threat that if you do not do or believe something, something terrible will happen

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Scare Tactic

Scare Tactic

Scare Tactic

Then came the attack on Pearl

Harbor!!!

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was home to

the American Pacific Fleet in 1941.

The attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to neutralize the U.S. Pacific Fleet, who was blockading Japan from acquiring resources that it needed for the war.

Pearl Harbor The attack took place on

December 7, 1941.

188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed; 2,402 Americans were killed and 1,282 wounded

This attack unified the country and threw America into World War II.

December 7th 1941

Isoroku Yamamoto planned the December 7th attack on Pearl Harbor.

FDR asks for a declaration

of War on December 8, 1941.FDR "Day of Infamy" Speech

Above -- U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration of war against Japan, December 8, 1941. (Photo credit: U.S. National Archives)

Basic Allied Strategy:

•win the battle of supply

•Stop the Axis Advance

•Defeat Hitler First

Life expectancy in the first wave: 26 seconds!

Normandy Invasion,D-Day (June 6, 1944)

The successful invasion at Normandy was a massive victory for the Allies.

D-Day!

Paris Liberated August 1944!

Pulitzer Prize Winning Photograph of the US Marines Raise the Flag on Mt. Surabachi

The Battle for the Island of Iwo Jima!

The Atomic Bomb The first atomic bomb was dropped

on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945

The blast killed an estimated 60,000 to 70,000 people, according to United States estimates.

The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, another city in Japan, on August 9, 1945.

The Atomic Bomb Six days after the detonation over

Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers.

This officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II, as Germany had already signed its Instrument of Surrender on May 7.

The Atomic Bomb!Atomic bomb mushroom clouds over Hiroshima (left) and

Nagasaki (right).

The Atomic Bomb Why did Harry Truman decide to

drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan?

Kamikazes…

World War II Changes the World!• atomic age begins • jets, computers, and rockets invented • radar and sonar • penicillin, sulfa, and antibiotics • imperialism and colonialism end • USA & USSR emerge as Superpowers • Holocaust and the death of 6 million Jews• Cold War begins…