World War IIThe Deadliest Conflict in Human History

1939 WWII begins

in Europe

1941 U.S. and

Japan enter war

1945 WWII ends

Key PlayersAllied Powers Axis Powers

Britain (Chamberlin/Churchill) Germany (Hitler)

France (Charles de Gaulle) Italy (Mussolini)

U.S. (FDR) Japan (Tojo)

Soviet Union (Stalin)

China

15+ other countries…

Long-term causes• Treaty of Versailles (1919)*• League of Nations (1920)*• Rise of Dictatorships

• Mussolini takes over Italy (1922)• Hitler gains complete power in Germany, wants

to unite all German-speaking people and create a “Master Race” (1933)

• Hideki Tojo takes control of Japan, desires vast colonial empire in the Pacific – even though the U.S. has warned them not to expand (1941)

appeasement• Appeasement – Britain and France wanted

to avoid war so they continually give in to Hitler’s demands• Britain – realized the Treaty of Versailles was too

harsh towards Germany and was sympathetic• France – would not do anything without Britain• U.S. – dealing with the Great Depression and

trying to return to its isolationist stance

• Consequence: Hitler becomes confident that the Allies were weak and would not fight – no matter what he does

Hitler on the move• Germany needs lebensraum (“living space”) to build its civilization

of the “Master Race”• 1936 – reoccupies the demilitarized Rhineland• 1938 – annexes Austria• 1938 – Munich Pact gives Germany control of the Sudetenland in

Czechoslovakia• *High point of Western appeasement: Pact signed by Britain and France• Chamberlain (Britain): “The agreement establishes peace for our time.”

• 1939 – signs a nonaggression pact with USSR (and agree to divide Poland between the two countries)

• 1939 – invasion of Poland • Official beginning of WWII: September 1, 1939• Blitzkrieg (“lightning war”)

European theater

Pacific theater

1940 axis advances

• May-June 1940 – Battle of France • 3/5 of France is conquered by

the Axis

• September 1940 – May 1941 – The BlitzGerman bombing of the United Kingdom Bombing every night for 57 days straight1 million houses destroyed40,000 civilians killed

1941war becomes global

• June 1941 – Germany breaks pact with USSR and invades Soviet Union • (Hitler convinced that the only reason Britain was

remaining in the war was because they were hoping for Soviet support.)

• December 7, 1941 – Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor• US enters WWII• Japanese simultaneously attacked across the

Pacific and creates the Greater East-Asia Co-prosperity Sphere (ruled by Japan)

1942Axis advance stopped

• Japan loses series of battles in the Pacific• Battle of Midway (June 1942)

• (DE Video)

• Germany halted in the Soviet Union• Did not learn lesson from Napoleon –

invading Russia is never a good idea!• No winter uniforms• Supply line stretched thousands of miles

• Battle of Stalingrad• Germans surrounded and cut off in frigid

winter conditions – the best of the German troops (German Sixth Army) forced to surrender

1943axis retreats

• Allies agree to fight until the Axis Powers surrender unconditionally

• May 1943 – Axis troops surrender in North Africa

• July 1943 – Soviet counteroffensive into eastern Europe

• September 1943 – Allied invasion of Italy• Mussolini removed from office

1944Allies close in

• June 6, 1944 – D-Day – Allied invasion of France• 2 million men and 500,000 vehicles

landed in France and pushed inland• August 1944 – Allies liberate Paris

• December 1944 – January 1945 – Allied victory at the Battle of the Bulge

1945axis collapses

• March 1945 – Allies cross the Rhine River into Germany and link up with the Soviets

• April 28, 1945 – Mussolini shot by resistance fighters• April 30, 1945 – Hitler commits suicide• May 7, 1945 – Germany surrenders • Japanese continue to fight in the Pacific

• August 1945 – U.S. drops two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• September 1945 – Japan surrenders

Wwii deathsCountry Military Civilian TotalChina 3-4 million 7-16 million 10-20 millionFrance 217,600 350,000 567,600Germany 5.5 million 1.1-3.1 million 6.6-8.6 millionItaly 301,400 153,200 454,600Japan 2.1 million 0.5-1 million 2.6-3.1 millionSoviet Union 8.8-10.7

million12.7-14.6 million

23.4 million

United Kingdom

383,800 67,100 450,900

United States 416,800 1,700 418,500TOTAL 22.4-25.5

million37-54 million

62-78 million

Major consequences of the war

• Deadliest conflict in human history• Cost of war caused the decline of European

power – decolonization in Asia and Africa• United Nations (UN) created to replace the

League and prevent a future conflict• U.S. and Soviet Union emerge as the two

superpowers – leading to the Cold War

WWII Propaganda