Download World History from World War I to World War II

Authoritarian Government
and Totalitarianism
Authoritarian Government is ruled by a single
person or party interested in political power.
 Totalitarianism is a
government which seeks
to control not only
political power, but the
economy, culture, and social life.
 These governments often use
terror and fear--utilizing
propaganda and controlling
access to information such as
the press and education.
(Examples: Italy, Germany, & USSR)
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Aggression in Asia
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1931—Japan
Invades Manchuria
League of Nations
ordered Japan
return Manchuria
to China
Japan leaves the
League of Nations
By 1938, Japan
has control of
major cities along
Chinese coast
Italy’s Conquest of Ethiopia
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Benito Mussolini
wished to enhance
Italy’s image as a
world power
League of Nations
placed sanctions,
measures designed to
stop trade and other
economic contacts
against Italy
Italy annexed Ethiopia
in May 1936
Spanish Civil War
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King Alfonso XIII
abdicated in 1931
Social Reforms brought
two sides at odds with
each other.
Nationalist v. Loyalist
• The Soviets supported
the Loyalists
• Germans and Italians
aided the Nationalists

Nationalist won
• Francisco Franco, dictator
German Expansion
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Hitler begins rebuilding German military
and marches troops into the Rhineland
(lost in WWI)
Germany annexes Austria and claims
parts of the Sudetenland
Great Britain and France pursue policy of
appeasement—rather than challenge
Hitler’s aggression
• Appeasement- granting concessions to
maintain peace
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In 1939, Hitler invades Poland
Britain and France declare war on
Germany—thus beginning World War II
The Holocaust
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Hitler’s policy of Nazi
racism targeted Jewish
people and fed on
European antisemitism
Hitler viewed Jews as a
national enemy and
began implementing his
Final Solution—
elimination of Jewish
people by sending them
to concentration camps
as slave laborers and
then executing them in
gas chambers
The extermination of
nearly 6 million Jews, as
well as Gypsies, Slavs,
and other people
deemed undesirable
came to be known as
the Holocaust
World War II --1940
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April, 1940--Germany Invades Denmark
and Norway
May, 1940 – Germany takes control of
Belgium, Netherlands, and France
July-October, 1940 – Battle of Britain,
German planes bomb Britain in
“blitzkriegs” (night air raids).
British Royal Air Force help fight off
German air assault and prevent invasion.
Axis Powers

1940,Germany, Italy and Japan form an
alliance known as the Axis Powers
US Neutrality before World War II
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1935— Neutrality Act passed by
Congress to stay out of European conflicts
1940 -- U.S. imposes embargo on Japan
after its invasion of China
March, 1941– Congress passes
Lend-Lease Act to allow President
Roosevelt to send aid to Great Britain
-Cash-and-carry policy- Great Britain traded
cash for greatly needed supplies
Eastern Europe and Africa

Mussolini dreamed of building a
Mediterranean empire for Italy
• June 10, 1940 Mussolini declared war on
France and Britain
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Britain, stationed in Egypt, attacked the
Italians in Libya and had many victories
However, Churchill diverted troops to try
to stop the German advances in Eastern
Europe
Germany overran the British in Africa
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor

Dec. 7th 1941—Japan launches surprise
attack on U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii
U.S. joins Allies in World War II

After Pearl Harbor,
the U.S. declares
war on Japan and
joins Allies (Great
Britain, USSR, and
French resistance)
against the Axis
Powers
Domestic Wartime Policies of US
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Roosevelt establishes War Production
Board –redirecting production of civilian
consumer goods to war materials
Revenue for funding the war was
generated through withholding income tax
from paychecks and selling war bonds
The Government began rationing of
resources—such as tires and food items
Women join domestic war effort
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Many women filled
industrial jobs that
had been held by
men who were
sent overseas
A popular symbol
of these women
was Rosie the
Riveter
Suspicion of Germans, Italians and
Japanese in U.S.

Since the U.S. was
at war with these
countries,
suspicion of
citizens with
origins in
Germany, Italy and
Japan led to their
removal to remote
internment
camps.
Turning Points

1942 the war was
going badly for the
Allies.
• Japan controlled
the Pacific
• Germany controlled
Northern Africa
• Germany was also
dominating in the
USSR
Stalingrad
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Named after Stalin
Hitler knew taking the
city would be a huge
blow to Soviet moral
• Attacked Aug. 1942

The Soviets encircled
the Germans cutting
off their supply line
• 100,000 Germans were
killed
• 80,000 captured
• Surrendered Feb. 1943
War in the Desert
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Allies vs. Germany
• Erwin Rommel, the Desert Fox
• Bernard Montgomery, British
General
• Dwight D. Eisenhower
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Allies’ “pincers” strategy
Rommel flew to Berlin to
tell Hitler the situation was
hopeless, but he refused
to listen
May 1943 the German
forces in Tunisia
surrendered
Invasion of Italy
General Eisenhower led the air
and sea attack on Sicily in July 1943
 The Allies were met with little
resistance until Messina
 Conquest of Sicily led to Mussolini’s
downfall
• Mussolini was arrested
• The Fascist Party was dissolved
• Italy surrendered
 Germany occupied Rome
• Mussolini was put back in control of
Northern Italy
• June 4, 1944, Allies entered Rome
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Pacific War
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The Allies made some gains in
the Pacific starting in May 1942
• Battle of the Coral Sea
• Battle of Midway
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Ended Japanese naval superiority
Guadalcanal
• General Douglas MacArthur
• Admiral Chester W. Nimitz
Kamikazes- Japanese
pilots who crashed
bomb-filled planes
in suicide attacks on
Allied targets
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Allied Powers meet at Tehran
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In 1943, leaders of
the three major
Allied Powers
(Churchill—Britain,
Roosevelt--US,
Stalin-- USSR)
met in the Tehran
Conference to
discuss plans for
defeating Germany
D-Day

At Tehran, the
leaders planned an
amphibious invasion
of Normandy
(occupied by Nazis)
named Operation
Overlord –headed
by supreme allied
commander Dwight
D. Eisenhower
The Yalta Conference
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Roosevelt, Churchill
and Stalin met in
February, 1945 at the
Yalta Conference to
discuss plans of
dividing up Europe
anticipating the defeat
of Germany
Germany was divided
and most of Eastern
Europe was controlled
by the Soviet Union
The Potsdam Conference
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The Allied leaders met
after the defeat of
Germany in July,1945
at the Potsdam
Conference to
discuss plans for
defeating Japan and
its unconditional
surrender
President Truman
(who succeeded
Roosevelt after his
death) learned of the
successful tests of the
Atomic bomb while at
the conference
The Atomic Bomb
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Led by Robert
Oppenheimer, the
Manhattan Project
successfully produced two
Atomic bombs at Los
Alamos, New Mexico
(called Fat Man and Little
Boy)
On August 6th, 1945 a B-29
bomber called the Enola
Gay dropped the first
Atomic bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan
Three days later, a second
bomb exploded over
Nagasaki
Japan surrendered on
August 14th, 1945—thus
ending World War II and
beginning the Atomic Age
Effects of the War
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70 Million soldiers fought in WWII
55 Million died
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22 Million Soviets
8 Million Germans
2 Million Japanese
300,000 Americas
Nuremburg Trials
• Nazi leaders charged with “Committing crimes
against humanity “
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WWII was the most destructive war in
history
• 12 million people were homeless
• Food, medicine, and clothing were in short supply