WORLD WAR IIChapter 15

Section 1: The Allies Turn the Tide

Axis and Allies Plan Strategy• The attack on Pearl Harbor brought America into World

War II

• British pilots kept a Nazi invasion from their island and U.S. Navy halted the Japanese at the Battle of Coral Sea

• Axis Powers did not have a unified effort, Hitler wanted to dominate Europe, Mussolini dreamed of an Italian empire, whileTojo wanted to control the Western pacific and Asia

Cont.…• The Allies shared more unified goals, Roosevelt,

Churchill, and Stalin considered Germany the most dangerous enemy due to their resources

• The allies adopted a “Europe First” policy giving the Pacific a secondary front label

Turning the Tide in Europe• America struck with its “arsenal of democracy.” We

produced millions of tons of guns, tanks, and other supplies

Allies Battle U-Boats in the Atlantic• The issue was not production but delivery!

• “Wolf Packs” of German U-boats patrolled the Atlantic and Caribbean sinking more than 3,500 merchant ships and killing tens of thousands of Allied seaman

• By 1943, radar, long-range bombers, convoys, and depth charges began to sink U-boats faster than Germany could manufacture them

Soviets Turn Back Nazis at Stalingrad• Germany attacked Russia in June 1941. Leningrad and

Moscow and Stalingrad were their objectives

• The Soviets fought back fiercely and the

Russian winter stopped the German

advancements

• Hitler began to concentrate on the

Caucasus oil fields, but Stalingrad

lay in the way, this was the turning

point for the war in Europe

Allies Drive Germans Out of North Africa• The British had been fighting the Germans and Italians in

North Africa since 1940

• Stalin wanted the U.S. and Britain to relieve the Soviet Union by starting a second front

• October 1942 the British won a major victory at El Alamein in Egypt

Cont.…• Dwight Eisenhower – know as Ike, commanded the

allied invasion of North Africa

• February 1943, German general Erwin Rommel (Desert Fox) led his men to break through the American lines to Algeria, America soldiers fought back and Rommel was forced to retreat. (supplies)

• George S. Patton, Jr. – an innovative tank

commander, known as Blood and Guts

Increasing the Pressure on Germany• Germany was now on the defensive, in 1943 Roosevelt

and Churchill met in Casablanca, Morocco, they first agreed to increase bombing of Germany and invade Italy

• Then FDR demanded that Germany must only accept and unconditional surrender

Allies Invade Italy• The Allied forces began their invasion of Italy through

Sicily and then drove the Axis troops north.

• The 38 day campaign resulted in the control of western Mediterranean and the eventual surrender of Italy on September 3rd 1943

Cont…• Mussolini was eventually driven to a mountaintop fortress,

where Hitler had to send a small German airborne force to rescue him

• Hitler later made him a puppet head of state in northern Italy

Cont…• The invasion of Italy was a slow because of the terain and

rivers, rain and snow

• Tanks and artillery became useless and mules were used to carry supplies

Bombers Batter Germany• Saturation Bombing – inflict maximum damage

• Strategic Bombing – goal to destroy Germany’s capacity to make war

Cont.…• Tuskegee Airmen – played a key role in the campaign

escorting bombers over enemy territory in Europe

Turning the Tide in the Pacific• The “Europe First” strategy did not mean the Pacific

theater was left on checked! Though the Japanese seemed unstoppable as they swept through American, British, and Dutch colonies along with the Philippines, Malaya, Dutch East Indies, Hong Kong, Wake Island, Guam and Burma

Turning Point: Americans Triumph at Midway• Admiral Yamamoto, commander of Japanese forces in the

pacific knew the U.S. Navy was wounded in Pearl Harbor the U.S. carrier fleet was still a threat

Cont…• Admiral Chester Nimitz – commander of the U.S. Navy in

the Pacific knew of Yamamoto’s plans thanks to Navy code breakers

• To stop the threat the Japanese posed the U.S. controlled Hawaiian Islands and Aleutians islands off the coast of Alaska Nimitz sent an intercept force to stop him at Midway

Hawaii, Aleutians, and Midway

Cont…• Battle of Midway – was the turning point of the war in the

Pacific, ending he seemingly unstoppable Japanese advance, Japan was now on the defensive to end of the war

The Home Front: Section 2

Why it matters…• The war effort stirred patriotism and promoted economic

recovery while testing civil liberties, and offering new opportunities for women and minorities

New Economic Opportunities• American companies were able to quickly refit to war time

production

• With the male work force exhausted women soon filled the gaps, eventually make up on third of the workforce

Women Work for Victory• Wartime pressures created two breaks from women in

traditional workforce jobs

• Heavy Industry, and Marriage ¾ working in wartime industry were married

African Americans Demand Fair Employment• Many African American leaders hoped the war would

change the employment opportunities for blacks in America, though jobs provided by the government and military remained segregated

• “Double V” campaign – victory against fascism abroad, and discrimination at home

• A. Philip Randolph – charismatic labor leader asserted that African Americans would no longer accept second-class citizenship

Cont.…• Executive Order 8802 – assured fair hiring practices in

any job funded with government money and established the Fair Employment Practices Committee to enforce these requirements

Workers on the Move• Wartime needs encouraged migration as people moved in

search of work

• California’s population increased by 2 million residents while cities such as Detroit, Gary, and Chicago boomed

The Population Starts to Shift• To lessen the rural population drain, the U.S. partnered

with Mexico to operate the bracero program, bringing laborers from Mexico, eventually several hundred thousand migrated to the U.S.

Migration Triggers Conflict• In 1943 wartime migration led to racial violence, the worst

was in Detroit, Michigan. Riots erupted with 34 deaths. Housing for blacks was at the root of the eruption.

Cont.…• Los Angeles also saw rioting in 1943 against the “zooters”

or Mexican American youths dressed in baggy pants and long jackets. Police arrested the victims and not the attackers

A Challenge to Civil Liberties• The Pearl Harbor attack caused fear across the U.S.

• The Federal government drafted policies against those immigrants for Axis nations, they were fingerprinted and registered and list affiliations

Aliens Face Restrictions• German, Italian, and Japanese aliens were subject to

arrest or deportation if deemed dangerous to national security

• Camps, curfews or travel restriction were place on Germans and Italians until FDR removed the restrictions

• Japanese aliens and citizens were believe to inherently disloyal

Cont.…• With Executive Order 9066 FDR designated areas as war

zones from which anyone might be removed for any reason

• 100,000 Japanese Americans were evacuated from the west coast

• Lack of political clout, smaller numbers, and racism attributed to the main movements

but not in Hawaii were one third

of the population were Japanese

Americans

Japanese Americans Are Interned• Internment – temporary imprisonment of members of

specific group (Primary Source pg. 477)

• Korematsu v. United States – the Supreme Court upheld the governments wartime policy (1988) pg. 479

• 422nd Regimental Combat Team – fought in the Italian campaign and became the most decorated military unit in American history

Supporting the War Effort• The war cost $330 billion which was double the amount of

money the U.S. had spent since the founding of the nation

• The national debt went from $42billion to $269billion

• Taxes and war bonds helped to cover some of the costs

?

The Government Manages the Economy• Increased war production led to a shortages in consumer

products with increase prices

• Rationing – coupon books were issued that limited the amount of certain goods, such as butter, tires, gas etc.....

Media Boosts Morale• Office of War Information (OWI) – worked closely with

the media to encourage support of the war effort

Section 3: Victory in Europe and the Pacific

Why it Matters• In 1942 and 1943, the Allies turned back the Axis

advances. The U.S. attacked Germany from the west and east and began to advance across the Pacific

Planning Germany’s Defeat• Up until 1943 the Soviet troops had taken on the brunt of

the fighting in Europe

• Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin debated the role of whom would start the second front Churchill recalled the slaughter of British troops in WWI and wanted to ensure the troops would be well trained and supplied

Cont…• FDR sided with Stalin and Churchill reluctantly agreed to

make a cross-channel invasion

• After years of war the Brits and Americans would start their march to push back Hitler starting in France, six months later “Operation Overlord” was a reality (Primary Source pg. 483)

D-Day Invasion of Normandy• Overlord involved the most experienced Allied officers in

Europe, General Dwight D. Eisenhower served as Supreme Commandeer while British General Bernard Montgomery served as commander of the ground forces

Eisenhower Plans the Invasion• Overlord involved landing 21 American divisions and 26

British, Canadian, and polish divisions along a 50 mile stretch of beaches in Normandy. The fleet was the largest ever assembled with more then 4,400 ships and landing craft

• Patton was put in charge of an elaborate “paper army” to make the Germans think the Allies would cross the channel from Calais

Patton’s Paper Army

Heroes Storm the Beaches• June 6th 1944 is known as D-Day

• 11,000 planes were used destroy German communication and transportation networks

• Most of the landings were lightly opposed but at Omaha one of the Americans two beaches the Germans offered strong defensives

Omaha Beach

Liberation of Europe• After D-Day, Germany faced a hopeless two-front war

• Little by little Soviet soldiers forced Germany to retreat back through lands they once overrode, Latvia, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary, losing not only land but natural resources

Allies Advance• In 1944 the Allies liberated Paris, Hitler had ordered his

generals to destroy the French Capital, but they disobeyed him

• As a feeling of hopelessness fell over Germany, Rommel and other leading generals plotted to overthrow Hitler, on July 20th 1944 a bomb was planted at his headquarters but Hitler survived

Germany Counterattacks• In December 1944 Hitler ordered a counter attack at

Ardennes

• The counterattack was known as Battle of the Bulge, the Allies were caught by surprise and bad weather kept them from using their air superiority

• At Bastogne a small Belgian town, Americans forces held despite frostbite and brutal German assaults

Allies Push to Victory• By January the Soviet Army had reached the Oder River

outside Berlin

• The Allies had advanced through Italy, Mussolini tried to flee to Switzerland but was captured and executed

• The U.S. and British had crossed the Rhine River into Germany

Cont…• Hitler by now was a physical wreck: shaken by tremors,

paranoid from drugs and kept alive by dreams of victory

• On April 30 he and a few of his closest associates committed suicide

• On May 7th in France Germany surrendered and America celebrated V-E day, FDR died just weeks before

• Harry S. Truman – would see the nation through to the end of the war

V-E Day (Victory in Europe)

Advancing in the Pacific• While the war was still playing out in Europe the American

forces in the Pacific were leaping forward

• Island Hopping – strategy, capturing some Japanese-held islands and ignoring others in a steady path toward Japan

Japanese Troops Fight to the Death• Each island the American forces took they meet

unbelievable struggle, Japanese defenders fought to the last man

• Kamikaze - pilots deliberately crashed their planes into American ships (3,000 Japanese airman by the end of the war)

• MacArthur was able to retake the Philippines

American Forces Near Japan• One of the fiercest battles in the island hopping campaign

took place on Iwo Jima, a 5 mile-long island

• 36 days of fighting with 23,000 marines casualties

Cont…• On Okinawa 340 miles from Japan it tooke half a million

troops and 1,213 warships and 50,000 casualties

• With this airbase U.S. B-29 bombers could now reach Japanese factories, military bases and cities

The Atomic Bomb Ends the War• Advances in technology, made planes faster, bombs

deadlier, and weapons more accurate, along with the atomic bomb

The Manhattan Project Develops the A-Bomb• Albert Einstein – signed a letter that alerted FDR abouth

the need to proceed with atomic development

• Manhattan Project - cost billions of dollars and employed tens of thousands

• J. Robert Oppenheimer – was responsible

for building facilities, acquiring the materials

and recruiting scientist and providing security

(Hindu poem: “Now I am become Death, the

destroyer of Worlds”)

Truman Makes His Decision• The decision to use the bomb fell directly on Truman,

there was the ethical issue, civilians… would it save lives?

• Truman’s advisors thought an invasion of Japan might cost 1,000,000 American lives

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are Destroyed

• On August 6th 1945 the first of two atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima (Primary Source pg. 491)

• Within two minutes 60,000 were dead or missing in Hiroshima

• On August 9th the Soviets declared war against Japan and the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing 35,000

• On September 2nd Japan officially surrendered aboard the USS Missouri

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Section 4: The Holocaust

Roots of the Holocaust• Holocaust – Nazi attempt to kill all Jews under their

control.

• Anti-Semitism – prejudice and discrimination against Jewish people

• Nuremberg Laws – denied German citizenship to Jews, banned marriage between Jews and non-Jews, and segregated Jews in all aspects of society

• Hitler hinted to the future and the “Final Solution”

Nuremberg Laws

Roots of the Holocaust Cont…• Kristallnacht (KRIHS tahl nacht) – “Night of the Broken

Glass,” secret police and military units destroyed more than 1,500 synagogues and 7,500 Jewish-owned businesses, killed 200 and injured 600 more

Jewish Refugees Face Obstacles• Between 1933 and 1937, about 129,000

Jews fled Germany and Nazi-controlled Austria. Notably Albert Einstein.

• More would have left but most countries did not want them!

• 1939 ocean liner St. Louis, was turned away with 900 Jews on board 600 later died in concentration camps

Nazis Adopt the “Final Solution”• Concentration camps – camps used by the Nazis to

imprison “undesirable” members of society

• Labor leaders, Socialists, communists, journalists, novelists, ministers, priests, Gypsies, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, beggars, drunkards, conscientious objectors, physically disabled, mentally ill

Millions Are Murdered in Death Camps

• Death Camps – where prisoners were systematically exterminated

The Allies and the Holocaust• Early response was weak: immigration policies, Great

Depression, underestimate Hitler's genocidal plans

• American government takes action in 1942 by acknowledging that Jews were being taken to Poland and killed

• War Refugee Board – worked with the Red Cross to save thousands of Eastern European Jews

Allied Soldiers Liberated the Camps

What is this???

Medical Experiments and Dr. Josef Mengele

Section 5: Effects of War

Allies Set Postwar Goals• The US was forever changed by WWII, many were

determined to extend the ideals of democracy and we became a vital player in world affairs.

• The Germans and Japanese fought WWII to the bitter end.

Allies Make Plans at Yalta• Yalta Conference – the Big Three – Roosevelt, Churchill,

and Stalin agreed that Poland, Bulgaria, and Romania would hold free election. Stalin later reneged on this promise.

Truman Faces Stalin at Potsdam• While in Potsdam, Germany, Truman learned of the

successful test of the atomic bomb. The Big Three formalized the decision to divide Germany into four zones, US, Soviet, British and French. Stalin also agreed to enter the war against Japan.

A New World Takes Shape• The differences between the Soviet Union and its former

Allies led to the division of Germany into two countries; communist East and noncommunist West Germany.

• Civil resumed in China between the Nationalists and communists

• General Douglas MacArthur supervised the rebuilding of Japan; new constitution, abolished armed forces except for defense, women could vote, democratic reforms, and economic recovery.

Imperialism Goes Into Decline• The aggressive acquisition of territories by Japan and

Germany underscored the abuses of imperialism. After WWII Colonialism began to decline

The Balance of Power Shifts• The US and Soviet Union emerged from the war confident

and strong, they became known as superpowers because of this strength. The US was clearly stronger because no major battles had been fought on its land except for Pearl Harbor.

International Cooperation• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) – a

1948 treaty designed to expand world trade by reducing tariffs.

• United Nations (UN) – an organization that many hoped would succeed where the League of Nations had failed. In 1945 delegates from 50 nations met in San Fran to write a charter and later moved the UN to N.Y.

Cont.• Universal Declaration of Human Right – 1948 (Primary

Source pg. 501)

War Criminal Go on Trial• Geneva Convention – an international agreement

governing the humane treatment of wounded soldiers and prisoners of war.

• Nuremberg Trials – the Allies prosecuted Nazis for war crimes, showed the glaring evils of the Third Reich.

• “I was following orders”