World War II
1939-1945
Hitler’s Lightning War
Germany used “Blitzkrieg” – or lightening war Planes bombed airfields, factories, towns, etc. Then tanks and troops roared into the country
Poland was conquered within a month Soviet forces took control of
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and part of Finland
April 1940 – Germans in Norway, Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium
France Falls to Axis Powers
Germany heads toward Paris – Italy declares war on FranceJune 22, 1940 – French surrenderSouthern part left as a puppet government
headed by Marshal Philippe Petain. Headquarters in the city of Vichy
France (cont.)
Charles de Gaulle – French general, set up a government in exile in London.Committed to re-conquering France.Organized Free French military who battled
the Nazis until France was liberated in 1944.
Hitler and the Nazis in Paris
WWII Technology
Air power takes prominent roleLuftwaffe- German air forceParachute troops role increases
Tanks were much improved from WWI Deadlier bombs Radar – to detect planes Sonar – to detect submarines
Operation Sea Lion
The Battle of Britain Known as the “London Blitz”
8/12/1940 – air attacks on southern England Germans bombed London for 57 nights Considered a failure because British did not quit Continued until May 10,1941
Damages from the London Blitz
Damages from the London Blitz
Damages from the London Blitz
The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front Mussolini takes North Africa in September
of 1940 while the Battle of Britain was going on.
Attacked British controlled Egypt. Britain strikes back in December and by
February 1941 Italy needs help.
The Mediterranean and the Eastern Front (Cont.) Germans come in with the Afrika Korps
and win victories over the British in northern AfricaLed by General Erwin Rommel “Desert Fox”
Italy takes Greece and Yugoslavia
The Desert Fox – Erwin Rommel
Operation Barbarossa
1941 attempted conquest of the USSR Why invade USSR?
Plentiful Soviet resources
3 million Germans caught Stalin unprepared USSR lost 2.5 million troops Germans were halted by Russian weather Many Russian people suffered starvation
American Involvement Grows
Lend-Lease Act (1941) Selling or lending of war
materials to countries “Vital to US defense”
Atlantic Charter (Aug. 1941) FDR and Churchill agree
on the “Final destruction of Nazi tyranny”
Pearl Harbor – Day of Infamy
12/7/1941–Japan surprise attacks American fleet @ Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) 2,400 American deaths
US declares war on Japan (12/8/1941) Germany, Italy declare war on US four days
later
Total War
Factories stopped making cars & refrigerators & made planes & tanks
Shoes and sugar were rationed Use of propaganda War ended unemployment of the depression Japanese people in US and Canada
Lost their jobs and property Forced into camps Seen as a security risk
US Propaganda Anti - German
US Propaganda – Anti - Japanese
US Propaganda Anti - Japanese
War Bond Advertisements
“Do your part” Campaign
No room for debate
Japanese Internment Camps 1942-1945
US government forced over 100,000 Japanese-Americans to relocate Mostly from the western states
Many lost their homes and businesses Could only keep what they could carry
Conditions in camps Barbed-wire-surrounded Un-partitioned toilets Cots for beds Armed guards
Japanese Internment Camps
Operation Torch
The North African Campaign (1942)Allied invasion of North Africa
Led by British and US ForcesBritish led by Gen. Bernard MontgomeryUS led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur
Turning point in North AfricaEl Alamein, Egypt
British forces finally stop Gen. Irwin Rommel
The Red Army Resists
Turning Point in the Soviet UnionBattle of Stalingrad
Street by street and house by house battles Over one million Soviet soldiers died 1943 Germans surrender – 300,000 killed or
injured
Soviets then drive Germans back through USSR
Mission to Take Back France
Turning Point in EuropeD-Day June 6th 1944
Allied paratroopers and ferried troops (176,000) Fought against heavy gunfire @ the Battle of
Normandy
By September France was free Now Allies push towards Germany
Allies advance into Germany
Allies advance into Italy
Allied forced landed in Sicily in 1943Controlled Sicily in one month
Italy surrendered within two monthsFighting continued until the end of the warGuerillas capture and execute Mussolini
Created another front for the Germans to worry about
Battle of the Bulge
Germany fought on three frontsUS to the west (in France)Soviet Union to the eastUS and UK to the south (in Italy)
Germany on the offensive for the last time75-mile front in the Ardennes ForestGermans able to push into Allied linesUltimately unsuccessful push
The End in Europe
Germany surrounded by Allied Forces Hitler commits suicide (4/30/1945) in his
underground bunker May 7th Germany surrendersMay 8th = VE Day or Victory in Europe Day
Surrender in USSR
Surrender in France
The Pacific Campaign
Major BattlesBattle of the Coral Sea
New style of fighting – ships used airplanes instead of mounted guns
US stopped the Japanese southward advanceBattle of Guadalcanal
Six month battle US Marines captured a huge Japanese Air Force base Japanese lost 24,000 troops
Toward Victory
Turning Point in the Pacific Campaign Battle of Midway Island
Japanese Navy would reach no further
US now started to push closer to Japan
Marked the beginning of “Island Hopping”
The recapture some islands while bypassing others
Island Hopping
Island Hopping
Defeat of Japan: Invasion vs. the Bomb FDR dies--Harry Truman takes office US estimated that an invasion would cost
millions or more in casualties Why did Truman drop the A-Bomb?
An invasion would be too costlyTo impress the Soviet Union with US power
The Atomic Bomb
Hiroshima (8/6/45) Plane was the “Enola Gay” Atomic Bomb named “Little Boy” Killed more than 70,000
Nagasaki (8/9/45) Plane was “Bockscar” Atomic bomb named “Fat Man” Killed more than 40,000 people
September 2nd 1945 Peace treaty is signed
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
Nagasaki
Atomic Bomb Survivors
Atomic Bomb Survivors
The Holocaust: Nazi Genocide of the Jews Kill all people who were racially inferior Jews, Slavs, gypsies and mentally ill Forced Jews to live in ghettos and
concentration camps and wear yellow stars
“Final Solution” of the Jewish problem = Genocide
The Death Camps
Auschwitz, Sobidor, Treblinka & Lodz Gassed in showers and used in medical
experiments By 1945, over 6 million Jews were killed
5 million other people were killed as well
The Infamous Yellow Stars
THE WARSAW GHETTO
Auschwitz
Location: Poland: 37 miles west of Krakow Operational May 1940 – Jan. 1945 Estimated 1.1 million killed here Largest of the German concentration camps. The SS authorities established three main camps near
the Polish city of Oswiecim Auschwitz I in May 1940; Auschwitz II (also called Auschwitz-Birkenau) in early 1942 Auschwitz III (also called Auschwitz-Monowitz) in October 1942.
Wall where prisoners were shot after trials.
Auschwitz I
Block 11, also known as the death block, since it was known no
prisoners who went in here
came back alive.
Gallow, where the SS officer in charge of the camp was hung at the end of the
war.
Auschwitz- Birkenau
Death's Gate
The brick camp, currently undergoing preservation
What is left of the wood camp.
Tracks leading into Birkenau
Track platform, where selection took place. Before liberation there had been two gas chambers at the end of the tracks on each side.
Auschwitz (cont.)
On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which
By 1994 had seen 22 million visitors—700,000 annually—pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes you free").
Results of World War II
CasualtiesEstimated 60 million people died from the war
GenocideDue to the “Final Solution”
OccupationControl of Germany and Japan
Aftermath of World War II
War Crimes Trials The Split of Germany The Creation of the United Nations The Beginning of the Cold War
War Crimes Trials The Holocaust
Death camp evidence discovered after the war
Nuremberg Trials“Crimes against humanity”Trials showed that political & military leaders
could be accountable for wartime actions
Postwar Japan
Defeat left country in ruins.
Was stripped of its colonial empire.
Occupied by the US
US General Douglas MacArthur and Emperor Hirohito
Occupation by US
General Douglas MacArthur in charge of US occupation
Began process of demilitarization Disbanded Japanese army. Left with a small by police force.
Democratization of Japan Drew up new constitution for Japan – Feb. 1946 Accepted and went into affect May 3, 1947.
Occupation Brings Deep Changes
Japan now a constitutional monarchy. Emperor no longer considered divine
Became just a figurehead New constitution guaranteed that the political power
rest the people Two House Parliament elected by the people called
the Diet All citizens over the age of 20, including women had
the right to vote Article 9 stated the Japanese could no longer make
war, only fight if they were attacked.
Occupation (cont.)
Sept. 1951 the US and 47 other national sign of formal treaty with Japan.This officially ended the war.Six months later US occupation was over.Japan agreed to a continuing US presence to
protect their country.
The Creation of the United Nations
Allies set up international organization to ensure peace
General Assembly – all nations belong Security Council
5 Permanent members: US, Russia, Britain, France and China
The United Nations