Download Chapter 27: The Rise of Dictators and World War II

Chapter 27: The Rise of Dictators and World War II 1931-1945
Section 1: Steps to War
A. The Rise of Dictators
-By the mid-1930’s several countries had come under the control of dictators
-Italy, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union
-The cause of their rise had its roots in WWI
-These countries felt they had been treated unfairly at the end of the WWI
-Germany in particular felt cheated
-it had lost territory and its colonies
-it also had to pay huge sums as war damages
-These countries had deep economic problems made worse by the Depression
-they turned to strong leaders to solve their problems
B. Mussolini, Hitler, and Stalin
-Mussolini took power in Italy
-he started Fascism, a form of nationalism tinged with racism
-he took complete control of the country
-Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany
-he was also a fascist who preached about the racial superiority of Germans
-was elected by the people, but then became a dictator
-Joseph Stalin took control in the Soviet Union
-led the communists took over for Lenin
C. Dictators Seek to Expand Territory
-In Japan the military gained increasing power
-it pushed the country to expand
-They attacked Manchuria in China
-Italy attacked and took over Ethiopia
-Germany entered the Rhineland, a territory between Germany and France
-The Axis was the name of Germany, Italy and their allies
D. Appeasement at Munich
-Hitler wanted to take over Czechoslovakia
-Chamberlain (Britain’s Prime Minister) said they could have Sudetenland if they
stopped trying to expand
-This came to be known as appeasement and did not work
E. Germany Starts War
-In March 1939, Hitler broke his agreement and conquered Czechoslovakia
-In August 1939 Soviet Union and Germany signed a non-aggression pact
-In September Germany invaded Poland and the Great Britain and France declared war
on Germany
-The Soviets invaded eastern Poland while the Germans took over western Poland
-In June 1940 Germany conquered France
-Germany then launched an aerial attack on Britain, this was called the Battle of Britain
F. Germany Attacks the Soviet Union
-In June 1941, Hitler broke his agreement and invaded the Soviet Union
-initially successful, the attack got bogged down in heavy fighting and harsh winter
conditions in Leningrad and Moscow
-over a million civilians and soldiers died in these attacks
G. The United States Aids the Allies
-The US was not in the war, but was supplying arms and materials
-Roosevelt passed the Lend-Lease Act to aid European countries
-They sent over 50 billion dollars worth of equipment
H. Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
-1940 Japan joins the Axis
-General Hideki Tojo came to power in Japan
-They wanted to expand Japan further
-Felt the US stood in their way so on Dec. 7, 1941 they launched a surprise attack on
Pearl Harbor
-2400 Americans died and many ships and planes were destroyed
-The US declared war on Japan, Germany, and Italy
Section 2: War in Africa and Europe
A. Mobilizing for War
-After Pearl Harbor Millions of Americans were drafted or volunteered for military
service
-Despite segregation in the military millions of minorities fought in the war
-Women also contributed to the effort in non-battlefield positions
B. Battles in Africa and Italy
-Britain and Germany battled for control of Egypt and the Suez Canal
-The Americans, under Eisenhower attacked from the West in Tunisia
-After taking control over Northern Africa the allies advanced on Italy
-Italy surrendered in September 1943
C. The Allied Advance and D-Day
-Hitler had turned his forces in the S.U. to Stalingrad but again they could not take the
Russian city
-Eventually the German forces in Russia Surrendered
-June 6, 1944 the Allies invaded France, called D-Day
-thousands of allies died, but took the beach
-They continued to liberate Paris and all of France
D. Victory in Europe
-By February 1945 the Germans were retreating on all fronts
-Yalta Conference, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met to decide plans for after the war
-In April 1945 Roosevelt died
-April 1945 the Russians reached Berlin
-May 2, the Germans surrendered
E. The Horrors of the Holocaust
-As the allies liberated Europe they came across concentration camps where millions of
Jews and other groups had been murdered
-About 11 million people were killed
-Hitler’s racist ideology had blamed the Jews for many of Germany’s problems
-Hitler developed a plan called the “Final Solution” to kill all Jews under German control
Section 3: War in the Pacific
A. Japan Expands Its Empire
-Japan quickly expanded its empire following Pearl Harbor
-Took many areas quickly but got bogged down in the Philippines
-US troops under Douglas MacArthur fought hard on the Bataan Peninsula
-MacArthur retreated to Australia
-many US troops were captured and forced to endure the Bataan death
march
B. The Allies Turn the Tide at Midway
-In April 1942 US began bombing Tokyo
-Several large Naval battles took place in the Pacific
-During the battle of Midway both sides lost planes
-Japanese lost four aircraft carriers and the US lost one
-This was a turning point in the war
C. The Allies Advance
-after Midway Allies began attacking islands one by one, they called this island hopping
-1943, after six months of fighting allies won at Guadalcanal
-US used Navajo code talkers to keep their communications secret
-1945 the US retook the Philippines, MacArthur kept his word to return
-Japan’s navy was severely weakened and they began turning to kamikaze attacks
D. Iwo Jima and Okinawa
-in 1945 the US began repeated bombings of the Japanese mainland
-US took Iwo Jima and Okinawa, which got them close to the Japanese mainland
E. Atomic Weapons End the War
-The US was ready to invade Japan, but feared losing many lives
-Manhattan project had built the first atomic weapons
-August 6, 1945 the US dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima
-August 9, 1945 another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki
-Japan surrendered on August 14th.
IV. The Home Front
A. Wartime Production
-War Production Board (WPB) oversaw the production of war materials
-Jobs became easy to find
-The US economy began to boom
-Citizens had to ration items because the military needed so much food and raw materials
-income taxes were raised and war bonds were sold
B. Opportunities for Women and Minorities
-more women went to work to fill jobs usually occupied by men
-African Americans also found new employment opportunities
-Many AA migrated North and West during the war for these jobs
-at times this lead to racial tensions
-A. Philip Randolph convinced Roosevelt to issue an order banning racial discrimination
in the defense industry
-Brecero Program encouraged Mexicans to migrate to the United States to help with
agricultural production
-While they provided a great service, they often were met with discrimination
C. The Interment of Japanese Americans
-Even before the war Asians faced discrimination in America
-After Pearl Harbor many Americans saw Japanese Americans as a threat
-In February 1942 he ordered Japanese and Japanese Americans to be removed to
internment camps
-The fear of these Japanese Americans was unfounded
-They were patriotic
-thousands volunteered to fight in the war
V. The Legacy of the War
A. The War’s Human Cost
-20 million soldiers killed
-Soviet Union alone lost 7.5 million military
-400,000 American deaths and 600,000 wounded
-There were also huge numbers of civilian casualties
-cities were bombed, battles took place in civilian areas
-Soviet Union lost about 20 million civilians
-China lost about 10 million citizens
B. Economic Winners and Losers
-only the US came out of the war with a strong economy
-the war had pulled the US out of the Great Depression
-The US helped rebuild Japan and Europe with aid and support
-they knew that to avoid more conflict these nations needed strong economies
-The Marshal Plan was the name of US support for Europe
C. Changes in American Society
-G.I. Bill of Rights- provided aid to returning soldiers, paid for their education
-There was also a housing crunch
D. The Nuremberg Trials
-an international court was put together to try Nazi leaders
-at first 24 of the top leaders were tried
-19 were found guilty and 12 were sentenced to death
-185 more were put on trial in the following years
E. Creation of the United Nations
-1945 the United Nations was founded
-it was hoped that through international cooperation conflicts could be solved in more
peaceful ways
F. International Tensions
-1948 the UN helped found Israel so that Jews would have a homeland in Palestine
-Israel’s neighbors objected to its creation and it faced constant threats
-the US and the Soviet Union became adversaries
-The Soviet Union had conquered part of Eastern Europe and made them live
under communism
-The reality of atomic weapons increased these tensions