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World War II – Georgia Studies Notes
Causes:
1. World War II resulted from regional conflicts in Europe & East Asia
2. In the 1930’s, Germany & Japan wanted to expand their borders, but they needed to to conquer
new land in order to expand.
3. Each time they invaded and occupied new countries, the area of conflict expanded
4. Each country either defended their own borders or acted in defense of an ally.
5. Two sides formed:
a. Allied Powers: Britain, France, Soviet Union, & United States
b. Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, & Japan.
6. WWII lasted from 1939 to 1945.
Germany’s Third Reich:
7. Adolph Hitler created the Nazi Party and brought it to power in 1933.
8. In 1936, Germany formed alliances with Japan & Italy.
9. In 1938, Germany took over Austria to create what Hitler called “Greater Germany.”
10. Germany then took over Czechoslovakia and planned to overtake Poland as part of the German
Empire.
11. In order to defend Poland’s independence, Great Britain & France decided to move their troops
into action.
12. Neither country could move their troops to Poland fast enough to stop Germany’s invasion.
13. The British declared war after Germany ignored its request to stop its attack on Poland.
14. In less than a year, Germany had conquered almost all of Europe.
15. The German army’s tactic of overrunning country after country was known as blitzkrieg
meaning lightning war
16. The Germans used fast-moving tanks as well as other motorized equipment to make it easier for
them to pursue their attacks.
The Holocaust:
17. The Holocaust was Nazi Germany’s systematic killing of Jews, Gypsies, communists,
intellectuals, and political dissenters.
18. On November 9, 1938, anti-Jewish rioters began looting, burning, and destroying Jewish
synagogues, businesses and homes.
19. Nazi police arrested more than 30,000 Jewish men and sent them to Concentration Camps (Prison
Camps).
20. This event was known as Kristallnacht.
21. Hitler’s ultimate goal was to eliminate all Jews and minority groups in Germany.
22. During this time, Atlanta’s Jewish social services agencies raised money to combat discrimination
abroad.
23. The Holocaust ended in 1945 when the Allied Powers won the war and freed the prisoners from
Concentration Camps
Japan Builds an Empire in the East:
24. Japan invaded China in 1937.
25. Japan’s goal was to capture as much of China as possible, and control Southeast Asia’s resources.
26. When Germany defeated France, Japan was successful in gaining control of the French colonies in
SE Asia.
27. The United States opposed Japan’s aggression and threatened to cut off Japan’s oil supplies.
U.S. Involvement
28. The U.S. had a policy of isolationism in which it kept itself politically & militarily away from the
rest of the world.
29. President Franklin D. Roosevelt worried about the effect the conflict in Europe & Asia could
have on the U.S. if it continued to grow.
30. In 1940, Roosevelt announced the U.S. would sell weapons to its allies who were Great Britain &
France.
31. Because the allies were having a hard time paying for the weapons they had bought, Congress
passed the Lend-Lease Act which gave Roosevelt the right to send weapons to allied who were
fighting the common enemy, but couldn’t afford to pay.
32. Diplomacy between United States & Japan was failing and Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
on December 7, 1941.
33. The attack on Pearl Harbor led to the U.S. entering WWII.
34. The U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on two Japanese cities in August of 1945.
35. The Soviets declared war on Japan the same month.
36. These events led Japan to surrender to the Allies and ended the war.
Georgia during the War
37. Before WWII, Georgia was a mostly a rural state and people were having a hard time recovering
from the Great Depression.
38. Georgia played a significant role in the war effort, and three leaders in GA played a special part.
39. Carl Vinson: Congressman who helped build up U.S Navy by passing legislation that expanded the
navy. This legislation helped the U.S. ship supplies to Allied forces and overcome the attack at Pearl
Harbor.
40. Richard B. Russell, Jr.: Senator who served on the Naval Affairs committee. He helped bring over
a dozen military bases to Georgia, including the largest infantry school in the U.S. During his travels
to the Pacific regions and Europe, he became an expert in military strategy.
41. Franklin Roosevelt: The Bell Aircraft plant in Marietta was built in honor of his close
relationship with Georgia. This plant produced military planes and created jobs for over 28,000
Georgians. Once the war ended several of these employees used their skills to leave farming and enter
other careers Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, GA while he was still president in 1945.