World War Two

AppeasementGreat Britain, PM Neville Chamberlain, attempted to meet German grievances in an effort to avoid war. Examples:Hitler took advantage of this policy by annexing Austria on March 13, 1938He demanded the return of the Sudentenland, a part of Czechoslovakia inhabited by GermansPromised Poland complete support - Germany demanding the Polish corridor and access to Danzig, on the Baltic Sea

“Peace in our time”-Chamberlain

Non-Aggression PactHitler and Stalin signed the Pact.Hitler didn’t want to fight a war on two fronts,

Both wanted Poland

Stalin needed time to mobilize.Stalin purged his generals so it gave him an excuse to not fight Germany

Operation BarbarossaWeather- Germans weren’t prepared for Russian winter. froze to death, stopped assault

Logistical planning- Couldn't utilize Russian railway system because the bearings were different

Underestimated the soviet mobilization time.

Spanish Civil War ● The Spanish Civil War :1936-1939● The forces on the right were lead by Generals Franco and

Sanjurjo. They were known as Nationalists.● The forces on the left were lead by Azana and were known as

Republicans.● The Nationalists received help from Nazi Germany in the form of

the Condor Legion from the Luftwaffe - Germany's air force. 50,000 "volunteers" from Mussolini's Italy also helped the Nationalists.

● The Republicans received help from Russia. Stalin sent advisers and technicians. An International Brigade comprising of volunteers from all over the world also helped the Republicans.

● In 1939, Republican resistance all but collapsed● The war is thought to have cost 500,000 lives though official

figures have now put the casualty figure as high as 1 million.

Phoney War ● The Phoney War name given to the time period in WW2 ● September 1939 to April 1940● After the attack in Poland in September 1939 ● The title “Phoney War” summarises what happened in Western

Europe ● During the war Britain was engaged in the “bombing”raids over

Germany -- but they were dropping propaganda leaflets not bombs

● The “Raids” were to serve two purposes : The Germans would read about the evils of Nazi Germany . It was show the leaders of Germany just how vulnerable their country was to bombing raids

● September 3rd 1939 the English dropped 6 million copies(13 tons of paper) of “Note To The German People”in just one night

DunkirkAfter the French and British army had been flanked by the German Blitzkrieg they were circled and pushed back into the port city of Dunkirk. The Allied forces there were heavily outnumbered and short of supplies thus being forced to retreat on any available vessel to sail across the English channel back to Britain. Though this would not have been possible if the Germans had not delayed an attack on the Allies in Dunkirk. Some say that this was a gesture for peace Hitler wanted to show the English in particular that he didn't want war while others say the disorganization of the Germans delayed their advance on Dunkirk.

Battle of Britain

The battle of Britain was mostly fought in the air. Hitlers plan was to bomb England into submission with his Luftwaffe. This however did not happen as soon Hitler had exhausted his aerial provisions and England had proven time and again there was no way they would submit to Germany without first being completely conquered.

Teheran Conference- 1943● meeting between U.S. President - Franklin

Roosevelt, British Prime Minister- Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier - Joseph Stalin

● meeting in Tehran, Iran ● coordinated military strategies against Germany

and Japan and next phases of the war ○ Operation Overlord ○ Soviet Union would declare war over Japan ○ discussion of the United Nations ○ postwar concerns

■ Poland and Soviet Union border moved ■ German-Polish border moved

○ issued a “Declaration of the Three Powers Regarding Iran” ■ promised economic assistance

Yalta Conference - 1945● located in Russian town ● Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin ● discussion how Soviet Union would enter the war against

Japan, in return Soviets would be granted a portion of Manchuria after Japan’s surrender

● discussed the future of Germany, Eastern Europe, United Nations

● agreed to include France in governing of Germany ● Germany responsible for war reparations

Potsdam Conference- 1945● met in Germany to determine

postwar boundaries ● Truman, Stalin, Churchill● German industries- militarization to

be dismantled, remade into democracy

● wanted to avoid WW1 - Treaty of Versailles

● talk of atomic bombs Truman to Stalin- Soviet Union

End of the war for Germany49% of German losses happened in the last 10 months of the war - refusal to surrender - only very young and very old left to fight - few supplies leftterrible bombing of Dresden and BerlinHitler commits suicide in his Berlin bunker - April 1945discovery of concentration camps, underground bunkers and galleriesVE Day May 8, 1945

Tripartite Pact 27 September, 1940

A defensive agreement signed by Italy, Germany, and Japan then later, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Slovakia, and Croatia. Mainly used for propaganda targeted at theUnited States and had limited practical effects.

Rape of nanking The rape of nanking is a six week period starting on december in

the city of nanking which was the capital of china at the time. During this time 40,000 to over 300,000 chinese civilian and POW were raped and murdered along with widespread looting. They would kill and torture the men and would rape the women sometimes even forcing fathers to rape their children before their whole family was killed it is rumored that some generals actually held killing races and competitions.

although there was many westerners living in nanking only 15 stayed after the city was captured these westerners eventually set up a safe zone inside of the city creating a area of safety for the chinese civilians possibly saving many lives.

Attack on Pearl Harbor 7 December, 1941

Pearl Harbor was hit with a surprise attack by Japan while Allies were distracted fighting Germany and Italy in Europe. This attack led the United States to enter World War 2.

188 U.S. aircrafts destroyed, 2,403killed, 1,178 injured.

The effects of WW2 on social and political life

Cold War began - USA and USSR superpowersgovernment welfare and other government activities became welcome - trust in government, people saw the need to help others the exclusion of ethnic and religious groups after the holocaust lead to civil rights movementnew technologies - atomic bomb, synthetics, radar, etcstruggle for national independence - end of colonialism United Nations, IMF, World Banknew waves of immigration, creation of Israelrebuilding of Europe - the Marshall Plan