Download Origins of World War 1

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World War 2 Notes
Major Causes of WWII
Treaty of
Versailles
Rise of
Fascism in
Italy
Rise of
Hitler
Nationalism
Major causes
of WWII
Japanese
Expansionism
Economic
Depression
Militarism
Appeasement
American
Isolationism/
Neutrality
I. Treaty of Versailles
1. Germany punished; Was forced to:
a. Accept all the blame for the war
b. Pay millions in reparations to Britain and France
c. Territory divided
d. Felt bitter, resentful and loss of National Pride
2. Italy was disappointed that it was denied additional territory
II. Hitler and Nazi Germany
1. Rise to power result of weakness and ineffectiveness of previous government
(Weimer Republic)
2. Charismatic speaker
a. Preached German nationalism
b. Denounced Versailles Treaty
3. Blamed Jews and communists for Germany’s problems
a. Played on the people’s fears
4. Promised return of German pride
5. January 1933:
6. Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany by Weimer President Hindenburg
7. After an attack, blamed on Communists, on the Legislature (Reichstag):
a. Hitler convinces Hindenburg to pass:
i. Reichstag Fire Decree (Feb 1933)
1. Suspends Civil Rights
a. “To protect the people”
8. Hitler rearms Germany
a. Direct violation of Versailles Treaty
b. Increased Jobs
9. Hitler’s Aggression:
10.March 1936:
a. German troops march into the Rhineland
i. Region on Germany demilitarized after WWI
ii. Germany was not allowed to have troops in this region
iii. Hitler’s actions showed he was willing to challenge Treaty
11.March 1938:
a. Nazi Germany annexed Austria
i. Treaty had banned Germany from uniting with Austria
ii. Many Austrian people were excited and welcoming to German
troops
1. Austria was in a desperate economic and political situation
2. People lacked will and confidence
3. Welcomed a change
4. People thought things could only get better
12.March 1939:
a. Hitler invades Czechoslovakia
i. Claimed the German population made annexation reasonable and
legal
b. Early 1938:
i. Germany invaded Sudetenland
1. Area of Czechoslovakia with large population of German
people
c. The Munich Conference Sep 1938:
i. France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany
ii. Signed agreement to give Germany Czechoslovakia
iii. Many hoped this would be the last conquest
d. Czechoslovakia did not welcome Hitler’s troops and were forcibly
annexed
III.
Rise of Fascism in Italy
1. Fascism is a totalitarian form of Government
a. Glorifies the State
b. Intense Nationalism
c. Has one leader and one Political party
i. Benito Mussolini
1. Comes to power in 1922
d. All aspects of society are controlled by the government
e. No opposition or protests are tolerated
f. propaganda and censorship are widely practiced
IV.
World Wide Economic Depression
1. After WWI many European economies were unstable.
2. The boom in the U.S. in the 1920s helped sustain worldwide trade
3. The 1929 stock market crash in the U.S. and the resulting Great Depression
spread throughout the world.
a. U.S. restrictive tariff policies worsened the depression.
b. Economies plummeted and unemployment rose
i. People turned to powerful leaders and governments who promised
success through military buildup and the conquest of territory.
4. In Germany:
a. Depression, unemployment and hard times
i. Led to a dramatic increase in votes for Hitler and the Nazi Party
V. Japan Expansionism
1. In 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria for raw materials.
a. As an island, Japan did not have many resources
2. Japan began to attack China
a. Full-scale war breaking out in 1937 in the Sino-Japanese War.
3. US issued an Embargo and sanctions
a. Refused to trade with Japan
4. Hideki Tojo
a. Militarism
i. Sought total control of Pacific resources
b. Japan’s Prime Minister and Commanding General
VI.
Anti-Communism
1. Under communism:
a. All means of production, property, media and culture are controlled by
the government,
2. The 1930s saw the rise of many totalitarian regimes;
a. Most governments chose fascism over communism.
3. Hitler exploited people’s fear of a communist takeover in Germany to rise to
power
VII. Appeasement
1. Appeasement
a. The act of giving in to an enemy’s demands in hopes of avoiding further
conflict.
2. In 1938, Hitler demanded that Czechoslovakia cede the Sudetenland to
Germany.
a. He claimed that the German population living there was being
mistreated.
b. The British and French prime ministers agreed to Hitler’s demands
without consulting Czechoslovakian leaders,
i. Hoping that this would avoid a war in Europe.
3. Munich Conference (1938):
a. British Prime Minister Chamberlain and French Prime Minister Daladier
allow Hitler to take territories
b. Chamberlain declared:
i. “Peace in our time” is assured
4. British rearmament
a. After WWI nations wound down its military capability
b. 1932-33 Britain led a substantial program of re-arming the nation was
undertaken
i. After Munich Conference, additional resources were dedicated to
rearmament
VIII. Militarism
1. The glorification of war
a. A nation strengthens its military and stockpiles weapons in preparation
for war.
b. The glorification of war is incorporated into all levels of society,
i. Including education of the nation’s youth through intense
indoctrination.
IX.
Nationalism
1. The belief in the superiority of one’s own nation over all others.
a. In the extreme, it can lead to major conflicts between nations.
i. Hitler, Mussolini, and Japan’s Tojo
1. Highlighted their nation’s ability to dominate all others in
the years leading up to WWII.
b. Nationalism in WWII worked together with the idea of Militarism
X. American Isolationism
2. Domestic issues:
a. U.S. in midst of Great Depression
b. Public intent on remaining neutral
3. Arms:
a. 1935: First Neutrality Act (no sale of arms to belligerent nations)
b. 1937: Arm sales only on “cash and carry” basis
4. FDR warns of impending problems
5. Conflict in Europe seemed distant
a. U.S. tried to remain neutral.
i. This policy weakened the European democracies.
6. Economic, military reasons for neutrality.
a. Great Depression was still going
b. Money for defense and size of the military small
c. Even though neutral, still was involved with global politics
7. Tried to prevent mistakes that led to WWI involvement
a. Did not want to be pulled into war by aiding either side
8. FDR “Let no one imagine that we will escape…that this western hemisphere
will not be attacked”
a. FDR outraged many isolationists
b. FDR believed neutrality would eventually be impossible
XI.
War Erupts
1. August 1939a. Hitler signs nonaggression pact with rival USSR
i. USSR gets part of Poland if they let Germany take the other part
2. September 1, 1939a. “Blitzkrieg” German invasion of Poland
i. Britain and France declare war on Germany
XII. Hitler Moves in Europe
3. Hitler seizes Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg
4. Hitler invades and controls France
a. Installs a puppet Government
i. Vichy France
1. “Free-Zone” government
5. Fall 1940- Battle of Britain
b. London heavily bombed but Churchill remains defiant and will not surrender
c. Winston Churchill – Prime Minister of Britain
XIII. United States and Britain
1. 1939- Roosevelt revises Neutrality Act
a. Allows for arms trade with Allies
2. Public opinion divided
a. Do not want another WWI
3. Election of 1940- FDR wins 3rd term
a. Support for FDR’s Policies
i. Destroyers for Bases
1. called for 50 American destroyers to be exchanged for the use
of 8 British naval bases along the North Atlantic coast
ii. Lend Lease Act:
2. made it possible to lend or lease supplies to any country whose
interests were vital
Great Britain- $50 billion
Soviet Union- $11.3 billion
France- $3.2 billion
China- $1.6 billion
Other Allies- $2.6 billion
XIV. United States and Japan
1. Japan wanted to extend influence in Far East
a. July 1940: U.S. embargo of raw materials to Japan
i. Japan relied on our Coal, Iron and Oil for production
2. 1941: U.S. Lend-Lease aid to China
a. Further upset foreign relations with Japan
3. U.S. was anticipating a Japanese attack in the Philippines
4. December 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
XV. Pearl Harbor
1. “A date which will live in infamy”- FDR
a. Pearl Harbor attack devastates nation
2. FDR addresses Congress:
a. Plea for action
3. December 8, 1941a. FDR receives war declaration from Congress against Japan
i. Germany and Italy declare war on United States
XVI. Effects on Americans
1. Life in the United States changed grammatically
a. The Great Depression ended
2. Rationing
a. A system for limiting the distribution of food, gasoline, and other goods
i. The military had to have the weapons, equipment, and supplies it
needed.
b. The key to the system was the ration book
i. Contained coupons that allowed consumers to buy rationed items,
such as canned goods, sugar, coffee, and dairy products.
3. War Productions Board (WPB)
a. Manage the conversion of industries to military production
4. GI’s
a. Young Americans left the comforts of home to join the military.
i. The government provided all of their food and supplies.
1. Those items were often labeled “government issue,” or GI
2. Soldiers had GI soap, GI socks, a GI helmet, and a GI rifle.
a. For that reason, they began referring to themselves as
GI soldiers, or simply GIs.
5. Women
a. Many men had left to serve in the military
i. To fill the void of absent male workers, women took many
industrial jobs.
b. Women worked in shipyards and other heavy industries.
i. The famous “Rosie the Riveter” became the symbol of women in
the workforce
c. Women often faced hostility on the job
i. Even though they were doing their part to help America win the
war.
ii. Women received less pay than men for the same work
iii. Most women had to care for children and homes after their work
shift ended.
d. US leaders realized that women could serve in the military
ii. Congress created a female military unit of clerks, nurses, and pilots
iii. Known as the Women’s Army Corps or “WACs.”
iv. This unit was the first of its kind.
i. For the first time in US history, females were officially admitted
into the military
6. Japanese Americans and Internment Camps
a. When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor:
i. Many Americans were afraid that the Japanese would soon invade
America.
ii. President Roosevelt quickly signed a proclamation declaring all
people of Japanese descent to be “enemy aliens.”
1. February 1942: FDR issues Executive Order 9066
2. All of these “enemy aliens” had to register with the US
government and carry special IDs
b. Executive Order 9066
i. Declared large areas of US as military zones off-limits to JapaneseAmericans
ii. The US government relocated Japanese-Americans and
descendants to internment camps
1. Over 100,000 Japanese-Americans on the west coast were
moved into interior states
iii. Japanese farms/businesses were bought for far less value
c. Most pf the Japanese were US citizens
i. This forced relocation violated their Constitutional rights
ii. One Japanese American citizen was arrested because he refused to
leave his home.
1. Fred Korematsu appealed his arrest charges to the Supreme
Court.
1. Korematsu vs United States
a. Mr. Korematsu sued the government for violating his
rights as a US citizen.
2. The Supreme Court upheld his conviction on the grounds
that one’s civil rights can be set aside in a time of war.
7. African Americans
a. The US was fighting in Europe in the name of democracy against Nazi
Germany.
i. The Nazis were guilty of practicing racism against European Jews.
b. African Americans in the US were still dealing with racism
i. Black leaders called for an American war against racism on two
fronts.
ii. The Double V Campaign was an effort to win a victory for
democracy in Europe and in America.
c. Segregated Units
i. Racism still had a strong foothold in the US military.
d. Early in WW2
i. The military refused to accept any African Americans.
ii. Black leaders pressed the US government to end military
discrimination
1. In time began to allow blacks the opportunity to serve and
become officers.
e. The Tuskegee Airmen
i. The first all-black combat pilots in the US military.
ii. They trained in Tuskegee Alabama.
iii. They flew fighter planes that escorted and protected Allied
bombers.
iv. Their unit has the distinction of never losing a bomber during
WW2.
8. Jewish Americans
a. Many European Jews escaped Nazi occupied Europe and attempted to
reach the safety of Allied shores.
b. May 13, 2939 the ship St. Louis carried 937 refugees to Cuba and
eventually was supposed to sail on to America.
i. The majority of the Jewish passengers had applied for US Visas
ii. They were refused entry at both counties.
iii. The ship had no choice but to return to Europe
iv. Most of the refugees were eventually re-captured and soon died at
the hands of Nazis.
c. Jewish Americans often heard the tragic tales of Nazi oppression of their
Jewish relatives.
i. Much of what was happening was still unknown or could not be
verified
d. Jewish-Americans and Organizations pressured the US government to
Act
i. Although Hitler was exterminating Jews in a systematic way, it
wasn’t until 1944 that Roosevelt acted.
2. FDR issued an executive order creating the War Refugee
Board.
e. The War Refugee Board was an agency that relocated escaped Jews to
centers in Italy, North Africa, and former Army camps in the US.
9. Mexican Americans
a. Mexican American men and women served in WW2.
i. They were pilots, Infantry, Nurses, Clerks and Priests
ii. In US, many Hispanic civilians remained victims of racial tensions
at home
b. Many Mexican Americans of that time wore “Zoot Suits.”
i. Mostly youth and young adults
ii. It was believed that Hispanics wearing a “Zoot Suit” were antiAmerican
1. In some cities, Zoot Suits were “linked” to gangs
2. Cloth was rationed, but Zoot Suits used a lot of cloth
3. It was considered un-American to use cloth unwisely
iii. These ideas led to violent acts of racism against many Mexican
Americans.
c. In California, Hispanics often lived close to Naval Stations.
i. Many worked for the government
d. Relations between Mexican American civilians and Naval servicemen
from these stations was hostile.
i. In the summer of 1943, the “Zoot Suit Riot” erupted between
Hispanics and servicemen
1. Believed to be because of the clothes worn by the Mexican
Americans.
2. The local police broke up the riots after several nights
3. The only people they arrested were Mexicans.
XVII. Allied Military Strategy (1941-1945)
1. Allies
Great Britain
France
Soviet Union (After June 1941)
United States (After Dec 1941)
+ Smaller European nations
2. Axis Powers
Germany
Japan
Italy
3.
4.
5.
6.
XVIII.
+ Smaller nations
Theaters of War:
a. WWII was fought:
i. Europe, North Africa, Asia, Pacific and Atlantic
The Plan for the Liberation of Europe
a. “Europe First” Strategy
i. Subdue Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
ii. Turn all efforts to Japan when Europe was safe
b. Allies push Axis out of North Africa
i. Cut off Germany’s oil supply
ii. Chase Erwin Rommel (German General nicknamed the “desert
fox) through Egypt
Battle of Stalingrad
a. Germans violated nonaggression pact with Soviet Union and attacked
i. Hitler hoped to capture Soviet oil fields and resources
b. Stalingrad was the key to moving into BAKU (the soviet Oil Fields)
i. Germany nearly won (Controlled 9/10 of the city)
c. Winter of 1943
i. Hitler forced Germans to stay put without enough resources
1. Germans lost over 150,000 men fighting the Soviets at
Stalingrad
2. Soviets lost over 1 million soldiers and civilians in this
battle
d. Soviet Union used cold weather to their advantage
i. Soviets eventually stopped Germany’s advance into their country
ii. Soviet-Jewish Pilots fought off the Luftwaffe Blitzkrieg
e. Stalingrad was turning point of the war in Europe
i. Moral and Tactical win for Soviets and Allies
Operation Overlord
a. D-Day: June 6, 1944: Invasion of Normandy
i. Led by General Eisenhower
1. British supplies, aircraft and soldiers were used to support
US
ii. The Allies landed on the shores of Normandy France to retake
France from German control
b. Normandy Invasion
i. 60 mile stretch of beach
ii. 156,000 troops; 4,000 landing craft; 600 warships; 11,000 planes
iii. Largest land-sea-air operation in history
1. Omaha beach known as one of the most brutal areas
c. Allies Liberate France
i. Hard fighting against German fortified positions
Germany’s Last Offensive
1. December 1944: Battle of the Bulge
a. Hitler was caught between Allied troops coming from the West and
Stalin’s forces coming from the East.
i. German tanks broke through American lines (80 mile front)
b. Fought in Belgium
i. Germany was trying to capture Antwerp
1. Very important port
c. Very brutal
i. One of the most expensive of US military
1. 610,000 GI’s fought
2. 89,000 killed, wounded and/or missing
ii. Germans were winning in the beginning
1. 120,000 Germans died
2. Lost 600 tanks and guns and 1,600 planes
3. Leading to defeat
d. Allies just barely won
2. Battle of Berlin
a. began with bombings April 16 and ended May 2
i. April 25, 1945: Russia and Allied Forces meet at the Elbe River
ii. Most of Berlin was taken April 29, 1945
b. May 8, 1945: Germany surrenders (Victory in Europe)
XIX. Victory in Europe (V-E Day) and Consequences of War
1. April 30, 1945
a. Hitler closed himself in his bunker in Berlin earlier that month
i. German officers report Hitler’s suicide and gives Soviet Union a
burned and unrecognizable body
b. Americans rejoice for a brief period
i. Focus on ending the war in the Pacific against the Japanese
c. The genocide of Europe’s Jews under the Nazis became real
i. More and more concentration camps uncovered
ii. Total of at least 23 camps and 900 “sub-camps”
XX. The Holocaust; Hitler’s “Final Solution”
1. The Final Solution
a. Hitler’s way of Permanently riding Germany of:
i. Jews, Soviets, Poles, Serbs, Disabled, Romans, Freemasons, Slavs,
Gypsies, Homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses and Spanish
Republicans
b. Nazis systematically exterminate the Jews
i. Genocide: The deliberate killing of a large group of people,
especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation
c. Concentration camps built
i. Over 20 camps used, 7 strictly used as extermination camps still in
operation at the end of war
ii. Thousands built and closed throughout the war
d. Shipped in cramped and hot cattle cars to camps
e. Exterminated mainly in Gas Chambers (though not exclusively)
i. Pregnant women, young children, elderly and sick were killed
immediately; were not housed in the camps
f. Able-bodied were kept alive to work as slaves
2. Camp Liberation
a. Germans were being forced out of the Soviet Union into Poland by the
Red army
i. As the Soviet Union moved into Poland:
1. Red Army discovered many Concentration camps
ii. As Germans moved out of Poland
1. Tried to destroy evidence of camps
iii. Camp inhabitants described as “Living Skeletons”
iv. Auschwitz: largest Camp
1. Over 1 million dead
2. When Germans left Auschwitz, forced 60,000 to march to
other camps
b. Holocaust: “Sacrifice by fire”
XXI. War in the Pacific
1. Allied Military Strategy in the Pacific
a. By 1942:
i. Japan had controlled almost the entirety of the Pacific
ii. Allies were able to hold onto only Hawaii and Samoa
b. Major Battles:
i. Coral Sea (May 1942); Midway (June 1942); Guadalcanal (Aug
1942- Feb 1943)
c. Strategy:
i. Island Hopping (Leapfrogging)
1. Did not engage Japan on the islands where they held the
greatest advantage
2. The US used each battle to move closer to the main islands
of Japan
d. Japan’s military code of honor and Kamikazes
i. Dying in war was a glorious death
ii. Japanese pilots would crash planes into US Ships in suicide
missions
e. After V-E Day
i. American Government feared the loss of life that a homeland
invasion of Japan would bring
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
ii. Looked to the Atomic Bomb as an answer
Island Hopping
a. General Douglas McArthur was the commander of the U.S. forces in the
Pacific
i. Had been forced to surrender the Philippines to Japan
1. Had promised “I will return”
b. McArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz began he Island Hopping
campaign
i. Meant to retake lands the Japanese had captured in the Pacific
ii. Get US troops closer to Japan
c. American Forces took back Philippines, Guam, Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Navajo Code Talkers
a. The US Marines recruited 29 Navajos to become “code talkers”
i. They used a code that replaced military terms with Navajo words
ii. They played a key role in Pacific campaign
iii. Japan was never able to break the Navajo code
The Battle of Coral Sea
a. Military used broken code
b. The U.S. destroyed several vital Japanese aircraft/personal carriers
c. Admiral Chester Nimitz led the attack to protect our ally, Australia
The Battle of Midway
a. Major Turning Points in the Pacific War
b. Involved planes trying to sink the other’s battleships
i. Japan was now on the defensive
c. As the U.S. got closer to the main island of Japan, fighting got more
brutal
Iwo Jima & Okinawa
a. We needed to destroy the perimeter around Japan by taking Okinawa and
Iwo Jima
b. Iwo Jima:
i. A month long battle, among the bloodiest of the war.
ii. 22,000 Japanese troops and 6,800 American troops died.
c. Okinawa:
i. Amphibious attack, (sea to land)
ii. 100,000 Japanese soldiers and about 12,000 American soldiers
died here.
Philippines and the Bataan Death March
a. Oct1944- March 1945
i. The recapture of the Philippines was the highlight of the Pacific
strategy
ii. Amphibious landings on eastern Philippine Islands
iii. US and Philippine military worked together
b. Japanese military surrendered after the atomic bombs fell
Bataan Death March
a. April 9, 1942
i. US Surrendered the Bataan Peninsula on the main island to
Japanese
b. Approximately 75,000 Filipino and American troops left
i. They were forced to make 65-mile march to POW camps
ii. Up to 8,000 Filipino and 650 Americans were killed on march
iii. Japan inflicted severe physical abuse and unnecessary killings
1. Later judged to be a War Crime
XXII. Tokyo Fire Bombings
1. March 9 1945
a. US Dropped 2,000 tons of incendiary bombs over 48 hours
i. Almost 16 square miles in and around Tokyo
ii. Between 80,000-90,000 civilians were killed
b. Worst single firestorm in recorded history
i. Main raid lasted slightly longer than 3 hours
c. Only 243 American airmen were lost
XXIII.
Manhattan Project
1. 1942
a. President FDR sent scientists to New Mexico desert to develop the first
Atomic Bomb
i. Led by Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einstein
2. 1945
a. Bomb had been tested and was ready to use
b. Controversy over the use of the bomb
i. Should this weapon be used against the enemy
ii. Some felt it could save GI lives by shortening the war with Japan
XXIV.
The Decision to drop the Bomb
1. April 12, 1945
a. President FDR died right before Germany surrendered
i. Vice-President Harry Truman replaced him as President
2. Truman asked Japan for Unconditional Surrender
a. Japan believed they could fight as long as Russia stayed out of the Pacific
War
b. Japan refused to surrender because it would humiliate the Emperor and
their way of life
3. Truman chose to drop the bombs
a. He believed he was preserving American lives
b. Did not want Russia to gain more territory during fighting
c. Wanted to showcase U.S. new atomic power to the world
XXV. Dropping the Atomic Bombs
1. August 6, 1945
a. Enola Gay loaded with world’s first atomic weapon
2. The cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were selected to be targeted
a. They had not been destroyed in the fire bombings and would showcase
the effects of the new weapon
b. Both cities were destroyed with 230,000 people killed instantly, more
would die from radiation poisoning
3. August 6, 1945, 8:15 AM
a. Little Boy explodes 2000 feet over Hiroshima
b. Most buildings within 1.5 miles of the detonation site destroyed
4. August 9, 11:02 AM
a. Fat Man hits Nagasaki
b. Bomb more powerful, but less damage because of geography
XXVI.
Japan Surrenders
1. Russia was fighting Japanese in China
a. Japan knew they would soon be overwhelmed by Allied forces
b. The bombs were the final end to their war-machine
2. The condition of surrender:
c. The Emperor remain in the throne
3. The Pacific war is over
d. Japan Surrenders
i. V-J Day
ii. “Victory in Japan:” August 14, 1945
XXVII.
A Plan for the Post-War world: The Big 3
1. Tehran: Nov-Dec-1943
a. Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt
i. Coordinated military strategy
ii. Soviet Union focus on East and US/Britain focus on West
iii. Soviet Union wants a communist friendly government in Poland
after the war
2. Yalta: Feb 1945
a. Stalin mistrusts Allies and 3 cannot decide what to do with Germany
after war
i. Roosevelt wants Stalin to help fight Japan
ii. Big 3 agree to support new organization: The United Nations
3. Potsdam: In defeated Germany, July 1945
a. Stalin, Churchill and Pres. Truman
b. Truman did not like other leaders and made demands
i. Go against FDR’s previous agreements
c. Stalin refused Truman’s demands
4. Yalta:
a. Plans for German surrender demands
b. Stalin agrees to hold free-elections in Germany and Italy and help with
japan
i. USSR’s position in Eastern Europe is strengthened
c. Set up United Nations
d. Beginnings of Cold War contentions (gets worse at Potsdam)
i. Revealed mutual feelings of mistrust between nations
XXVIII.
War Tech
1. Allies were victorious because of its technological advantages
a. The Atomic Bomb
b. Radar
i. Gave ability to detect a moving object’s altitude and direction
c. Sonar
i. Allowed for detection of subs
d. Cryptic code breaking
i. Gave us secret information
e. Antibiotics
i. Save thousands of lives
XXIX.
Legacy of WWII
1. WWII was a global disaster of unprecedented proportions
a. U.S. troop deaths- 400,000
b. US troops wounded- 672,000
c. Deaths worldwide- 70 million soldiers and civilians
2. 2 Superpowers emerge:
a. United States vs. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
3. New fears arise after the war
a. Fight to contain Communism
4. THE COLD WAR ERA begins!!
XXX. The Nuremberg Trials
1. 1945-1946
a. Liberation of Concentration camps revealed millions dead and halfstarved survivors
i. Full extent of Nazi brutality was brought to light
b. Nazi leaders were put on trial for “crimes against humanity” in
Nuremberg. Germany
i. Many defended themselves saying they were just following orders
c. Demonstrated that individuals are responsible for their actions, regardless
of orders
XXXI.
Denazification and Division
1. After war:
a. Germany was divided into 4 Zones
i. Controlled by USA, Britain, France and USSR
b. Berlin was Split between the Western Allies and USSR
c. Programs were introduced to show Germans the evils of Nazi beliefs
XXXII.
Occupation of Japan
1. General McArthur was assigned the job of rebuilding and reforming post-war
Japan
a. Important changes made Japan less aggressive and unable to build an
army
i. Japan’s colonies were taken away
ii. Japan’s war leaders were put on trial (much like Nazi leaders)
iii. Japan also renounced use of nuclear weapons and waging war
XXXIII.
The United Nation
1. 1919:The League of Nations
a. Started at the end of WWI
i. Failed and was not used
b. FDR and Churchill decided on a new way to achieve international peace
2. The United Nations
a. Established in 1945 to maintain world peace
b. Members agreed to give up the use of force, except in self-defense
i. The Security Council is made up of 5 leading world powers
ii. The General Assembly includes all member nations
XXXIV.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Post-War Legislation
GATT
a. General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
i. International agreement that aimed to lower trade barriers
ii. Encourage world trade
Geneva Convention
a. International agreement governing the humane treatment of wounded
soldiers and prisoners of war
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
a. FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt defined the rights of the people
i. No slavery or torture, uphold freedom of speech and religion,
ii. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the
health and well-being of himself
GI Bill
a. A law that provided federal funds to help returning soldiers make the
transition back to civilian life