Download US Involvement in World War II

US Involvement in World War II
The United States gradually abandoned neutrality as events in
Europe and Asia pulled the nations toward war. World War II, a
global military conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, which
involved most of the world's nations, including all of the great
powers: eventually forming two opposing military alliances, the
Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history,
with more than 100 million military personnel mobilized. In a
state of "total war," the major participants placed their entire
economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities at the service of
the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and
military resources. Marked by significant events involving the
mass death of civilians, including the Holocaust and the only use of nuclear weapons in
warfare, it was the deadliest conflict in human history, resulting in 50 million to over 70
million fatalities.
The War in Europe:
In the 1920’s and 1930’s, Germany faced hard times because of the Treaty of Versailles
(disgrace) WWI reparations, and a worldwide depression. Using desperation in
Germany, Hitler rose to power. Other European powers used appeasement, giving
concessions in order to avoid armed conflict, so that war would not break out with
Germany. World War II began with Hitler’s invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939,
followed shortly after by the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland from the east and Baltic
countries. Appeasement failed. The Soviet Union, Italy, and Germany had totalitarian
regimes (government based on rule by
military forces).
During the first two years of the war, the
United States stayed officially neutral
(remaining uncommitted during conflict) as
Germany overran France, most of Europe,
and pounded Britain from the air (Battle of
Britain). In mid-1941, Hitler turned on his
former partner and invaded the Soviet
Union.
Despite strong isolationist sentiment at
home, the United States increasingly
helped Britain. It gave Britain war supplies
and old naval warships in return for
military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean (Lend-Lease Act). Franklin Roosevelt
compared it to “lending a garden hose to a next-door neighbor whose house was on fire.”
The War in Asia:
During the 1930’s, a
militaristic Japan
invaded and brutalized
Manchuria and China as
it sought military and
economic domination
over Asia. The United
States refused to
recognize Japanese
conquests in Asia and
imposed an embargo
(an order to stop trade
with another country)
on exports of oil and
steel to Japan. Tensions
rose, but both countries
negotiated to avoid war. Japan was getting desperate for raw materials.
While negotiating with the U.S.
and without any warning, Japan
carried out an air attack on the
American naval base at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7,
1941. The attack destroyed
much of the American Pacific
fleet and killed several thousand
Americans. Roosevelt called it
“a date that will live in infamy”
as he asked Congress to declare
war on Japan.
After Pearl Harbor, Hitler
honored a pact with Japan and
declared war on the United States. The debates over isolationism and the United States
were over. The United States mobilized (prepared for war). World War II was not a true
world war and the United States was fully involved.
‘CAUSE ‘MURCA! THAT’S WHY!
Strategies of World War II
Wartime strategies reflect the political and military goals of alliance, resources on hand,
and the geographical extent to the conflict.
Allied Strategy:
America and its allies (Britain and the Soviet Union, after being invaded by Germany),
followed a “Defeat Hitler First” strategy. Most American military resources were
targeted for Europe.
In the Pacific, American military strategy called for an “island hopping” campaign,
seizing islands closer and closer to Japan and using them as bases for air attacks on
Japan, and cutting off Japanese supplies through submarine warfare against Japanese
shipping.
Axis Strategy:
Germany hoped to defeat the Soviet Union quickly, gain control of
the Soviet oil fields, and force Britain out of the war through a
bombing campaign and submarine warfare before America’s
strength could turn the tide.
Following Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines and
Indonesia and planned to invade both Australia and Hawaii. Its
leaders hoped that America would then accept Japanese
predominance in Southeast Asia and the Pacific, rather than
conduct a bloody and costly war to reverse Japanese gains.
Major Battles and Turning Points in North Africa:
El Alamein (July 1-27, 1942): German forces threatening to seize
Egypt and the Suez Canal were defeated by the British. This
defeat prevented Hitler from gaining access to Middle Eastern oil
supplies and potentially attacking the Soviet Union from the South.
Major Battles and Turning Points in Europe:
Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943): Hundreds of thousands of German
soldiers were killed or captured in a months-long siege of the Russian city of Stalingrad.
This defeat prevented
Germany from seizing the
Soviet oil fields and turned the
tide against Germany in the
east.
Normandy landings (D-Day) (June 6, 1944):
American and Allied troops under Eisenhower landed in
German occupied France. Despite intense
German opposition and heavy American
casualties, the landings
succeeded and the liberation of
Western Europe from Hitler
began.
Battle of the Bulge (December 16, 1944 –January 25, 1945):
This was a major German offensive launched at the Allies
on the Western Front (France, Belgium, and Luxembourg)
towards the end of World War II. The Germans were
attempting to regain lost territory. This was one of the
bloodiest battle in US history. The allied victory in this
battle, along with depleted German resources, allowed the
Allies to push the German armies back toward Germany.
Most Nazi leaders recognized defeat after this battle.
Major Battles and Turning Points in the
Pacific:
Battle of Midway (June 4 to 7, 1942): In the
“Miracle of Midway,” American naval forces
defeated a much larger Japanese force as it
prepared to seize Midway Island. Coming only a
few months after Pearl Harbor, a Japanese victory
at Midway would have enabled Japan to invade
Hawaii. The American victory ended the
Japanese threat to Hawaii and began a series of
American victories in the “island hopping”
campaign that carried the war closer to Japan.
The Battle of Guadalcanal (August 7, 1942 to February 9, 1943):
The Guadalcanal Campaign, codenamed
Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was
fought on and around the island of
Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World
War II. It was part of the Allied strategic plan
to protect the convoy routes between the US,
Australia and New Zealand. It was the
second major offensive by Allied forces
against the Empire of Japan. Along with
Midway, it marked a turning point in the
Pacific theater and started the United States’
offensive in the Pacific, eventually leading to
Japan’s defeat.
Battles of Iwo Jima (February 19, 1945 to March 26, 1945) and
Okinawa (April 1, 1945 to June 21, 1945): The American
invasions of these two islands
brought American forces closer
than ever to Japan, but both
invasions cost thousands of
American lives and even more
Japanese lives, as Japanese soldiers
fought fiercely over every inch of
the islands and Japanese soldiers
and civilians committed suicide
rather than surrender.
The Use of the Atomic Bombs
(Hiroshima: August 6, 1945 and
Nagasaki: August 9, 1945): Facing
the prospect of horrendous casualties
among both Americans and Japanese if American
forces had to invade Japan itself, President
Harry Truman ordered the use of
atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
to force the Japanese to surrender. Tens of thousands of people
were killed in both cities shortly after the bombs were used, the
Japanese leaders surrendered, avoiding the need for American
forces to invade Japan.
World War II on the Home Front
Success in the war required the total commitment of the nation’s resources. On the home
front, public education and the mass media promoted nationalism.
Economic Resources:
US government and industry forged a close working relationship to allocate resources
effectively.
Rationing was used to maintain a supply of essential products to
the war effort.
War bonds and income tax were used for financing the war.
Business retooled from peacetime to wartime production (e.g.,
car manufacturing to tank manufacturing).
Human Resources:
Contributions to a war effort came from all segments of a
society. Women entered into previously male jobs roles as
African Americans and others struggled to obtain desegregation
of the armed forces and end discriminatory
hiring practices. More women and
minorities entered the labor force as men entered the armed forces.
Citizens volunteered in support of the war effort.
Women During World War II:
Women increasingly participated in the workforce to replace men
serving in the military Rosie the Riveter served as a model for the
working Women in World War II. Women typically participated in
non-combat military roles.
Military Resources:
The Draft/Selective Service was used to provide personnel for the military. This was a
fast, efficient way of getting people into the military.
African Americans during World War II:
African Americans migrated to cities in search of jobs in war plants. African Americans
campaigned for victory in war and equality at home.
Media/Communications during World War II:
During World War II, the media and entertainment industries saw
their role as supporting the war effort by promoting nationalism.
Propaganda, which is the use of various forms of media as a tool
of opinion setting, was used to spark nationalism.
The US government maintained strict censorship of reporting the
war.
Public morale and ad campaigns kept Americans focused on the
war effort. The entertainment industry produced movies, plays,
and shows that boosted the morale and patriotic support for the
war effort as well as portrayed the enemy in stereotypical ways.
Stereotyping is describing or portraying all people of a particular
race, culture, or attitude as being the same and having the same
characteristics.
Japanese Internment:
Japanese Americans were placed
in internment camps during
World War II. There was a false
belief that Japanese Americans
were aiding the enemy.
Internment is incarceration for
safety and security purposes.
Internment affected Japanese
American populations along the West Coast. The
Supreme Court upheld the
government’s right to act against
Japanese Americans living on the
West Coast of the United States. On Dec. 18, 1944, the Supreme
Court ruled in Korematsu v. United States that the wartime
internment of Japanese-Americans was constitutional.
A public apology was eventually issued by the United States
government. In 1988, financial payment was made to
survivors of internment camps (reparations).
Minority Participation in World War II
World War II solidified the nation’s role as a global power and ushered in social changes
and established reform agendas that would preoccupy public discourse in the United
States for the remainder of the 20th century.
Americans and others struggled to obtain desegregation of the armed forces and end
discriminatory hiring practices.
Minority Participation and Minority Military Units:
African Americans served in segregated units and
were assigned to non-combat roles, but demanded
the right to serve in combat rather than in support
roles.
The Tuskegee Airmen
(African Americans)
served in Europe with
distinction.
Nisei regiments (Asian American) earned a high
number of decorations.
Communication codes of the Navajo were used (oral, nonwritten language; impossible for the Japanese to break).
They communicated military intelligence (information
gathering or spying) in the Pacific.
Mexican Americans fought, but in non-segregated units.
Minority units suffered high casualties and won numerous unit citations and individual
medals for bravery in action.
Treatment of Various Groups during World War II
The conduct of war often reflects social and moral
codes of a nation. The treatment of prisoners of war
often reflected the savage nature of conflict and the
cultural norms of the nation.
Treatment of Prisoners:
The treatment of prisoners in the Pacific Theater often
reflected the savagery of the fighting there. A POW
is a prisoner of war captured by the enemy.
In the Bataan Death March, American POW’s suffered
brutal treatment by Japanese after surrender of the
Philippines.
Japanese soldiers often committed suicide rather than
surrender.
On February 19, 1942, soon after the beginning of World
War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an Executive Order
which rounded-up and evacuated 120,000 Americans of
Japanese heritage to internment camps. They were
officially called “relocation centers”. This took place in
California, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Wyoming, Colorado, and Arkansas.
The treatment of prisoners in Europe more closely followed the ideas of
the Geneva Convention. The Geneva Convention attempted to ensure
the humane treatment of prisoners of war by establishing rules to be
followed by all nations. Japanese soldiers responded by stating “*teeth
suck* there’s too many rules, I’m going back to Japan, dawg!”
The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the systematic effort to exterminate the Jews. The systematic and
purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or
cultural group is called genocide.
Affected Groups/Victims of the Holocaust:
Jews: Hitler blamed the Jews for many of Germany’s
economic problems. He rallied the country against them.
Since 1945, the most commonly cited figure for the total
number of Jews killed has been six million. The Final
Solution was Germany’s decision to exterminate the Jews.
Poles: During World War II Poland suffered greatly under five
years of German occupation. Nazi ideology viewed "Poles"the predominantly Roman Catholic ethnic majority- as "subhumans" occupying lands vital to Germany. As part of the
policy to destroy the Polish resistance, the Germans killed
many of the nation's political, religious, and intellectual
leaders. They also kidnapped children judged racially suitable
for adoption by Germans and confined Poles in dozens of
prisons and concentration and forced labor camps, where many
perished.
Gypsies: "Gypsies," or the "Roma" as they prefer to be called,
are an ethnic group which originated in India (their languageRomany-is directly descended from Sanskrit) which for
unknown reasons took to a wandering lifestyle in the late
Middle Ages. Eventually they reached Europe and became part
of the ethnic mix of many countries. Because they were
strangers to many of the people they moved among, strong
prejudices grew up, and indeed continue to this day.
Slavs: A Slav is any member of the people of Eastern Europe
or Asian Russia who speak a Slavonic language.
“Undesirables” (Homosexuals, mentally ill, political dissidents): Anybody who was
considered to be un-pure or genetically diseased were also sent to concentration and
death camps. Dissidents are people who openly criticize the policies of his or her
government.
The Nuremburg Trials:
In the Nuremberg trials, Nazi leaders and others
were convicted of war crimes.
There were long term effects of the Nuremberg
Trials. The Nuremberg Trials emphasized
individual responsibility for actions during a war,
regardless of orders
received. The trials led
to increased demand for
a Jewish homeland.