Download World War II (Visuals)

Standard 10.8.4
Describe the political, diplomatic, and military
leaders during the war (e.g. Winston Churchill,
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Emperor Hirohito,
Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph Stalin,
Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower).
Standard 10.8.6
Discuss the human costs of the war, with
particular attention to the civilian and military
losses in Russia, Germany, Britain, United
States, China, and Japan.
The poor economy combined with nationalist resentments
after WWI gave rise to military dictatorships
Every European nation’s economy was in turmoil
WWI left Europe physically
and psychologically devastated
Germany, Italy
and Japan formed
the Axis Powers
Intro to WWII
Germany
Japan
Italy
Adolf Hitler
Nationalists and
Militarists increased
their power in the
20’s and 30’s
Benito Mussolini
Nazis gained control of
the German government
in the early 1930’s
Il Duce (The Leader)
Leader of Italy’s Fascist Party
Nazi party was militant
and ultra-nationalistic
Used the bitterness toward
the failed government to
gain support
Blamed Jews and
socialists for
Germany’s loss in
WWI
Dissatisfied war veterans,
nationalists and those afraid
of rising communism joined
the Fascist party
They persuaded the
emperor the best
way to ensure access
to basic raw
materials was to
invade China and
Southeast Asia
Fascism-The idea that people should glorify their nation
and their race through an aggressive show of force
Italy and Germany were totalitarian states
They controlled their people through
fear, violence, and extreme patriotism
They suppressed minorities and
political opposition through
violence and propaganda
1937-Japan overran more of China
1938-Germany took over Austria
and parts of Czechoslovakia
1935-Italy took over Ethiopia
Beginning of WWII
By 1940, Germany had invaded
most of Western Europe, and in
1941 Hitler violated a secret
alliance with the Soviet Union
and invaded the USSR
Appeasement-giving
aggressor nations what they
wanted to avoid war
Hitler did not keep his promise
and invaded Poland in 1939
This led to England and France
to declare war on Germany
And were also at war with Germany’s
Axis allies Japan and Italy
European response to the
annexation of Austria by
Hitler with a policy of
appeasement
Europeans were fearful of another war,
so they supported Hitler’s actions in
return for his promise that he would not
invade any more countries
U.S. remained neutral but did start to
build up its military, thinking that it
would only be used to protect against
a possible invasion of the Western
Hemisphere
These three countries also set themselves
up as champions against Communism
All three eventually adopted forms of dictatorship that made the state
supreme and called for expansion at the expense of neighboring countries
Germany, Italy, and Japan were anxious
to regain or increase their power
League of Nations, weakened from
the start by the defection of the US
was unable to promote disarmament
Great depression allowed these totalitarian dictators to take
hold of their respective countries. Countries were too worried
about their own country to worry about another country
Rise of totalitarian, militaristic
regimes in Germany, Italy and Japan
Democratic countries had a desire for peace,
which led to their military unprepared ness
Causes of WWII
WWII
Axis
Allies
Germany,
Italy, and
Japan
Great Britain, France,
Soviet Union, and
later the United States
Economic depression sharpened
national rivalries, increased fear
and distrust, and made the
masses susceptible to the
promises of demagogues
The United States, as it did in WWI, practiced isolationism.
They did not want to fight another European war.
Policy of appeasement toward the
Axis powers by Britain and France
German-Soviet nonaggression pact removed
German fear of a possible two-front war
Began September 1, 1939 when
Germany, without a declaration
of war, invaded Poland.
The combined German and Soviet losses during the battle were
staggering-the Germans alone suffered approximately 300,000
casualties. The Soviets followed up with a westward drive and
generally remained on the offensive for the remainder of the war.
first major failure of the
Germans in World War II,
and it thwarted Hitler's plan
to force Britain to accept
peace or face invasion
Hitler reaffirmed his intention to take Stalingrad, despite
great losses and lack of reserves. He refused to withdraw
Germans gradually gave up
hope of invading England
German army exceeding 500,000 men (including
Italians, Hungarians, and Romanians), began an
all-out attack on Stalingrad
Series of air battles between
Great Britain and Germany,
fought over Britain
Battle of Britain
German forces were
destroyed, but not
without some 77,000
Allied casualties
The Germans
penetrated deep into
Belgium, creating a
dent, or bulge, in the
Allied lines and
threatening to break
through. An American
force held out, even
though surrounded and
outnumbered.
Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of the Bulge
European Theater
Pacific Theater
Battle of
Midway
Fought mostly
with aircraft,
resulted in the
destruction of four
Japanese aircraft
carriers, crippling
the Japanese navy
D-Day (Operation Overlord)
Major Battles of WWII
Allied invasion of the European
continent through Normandy
Battle of Guadalcanal
U.S. forces began their first
large-scale invasion of a
Japanese-held island; after bitter
fighting, it was conquered
Supreme command over its
execution was entrusted to Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower
A new world peace
organization would be formed
(the future United Nations)
There would be free
elections in the liberated
countries of Eastern Europe
Germany would be divided
into occupation zones
Harry S. Truman became president
Okinawa gave the U.S. a base from which
it could launch bombing raids on Japan
FDR died in May 1945
Once the US captured Okinawa, it
began fire bombing Japanese cities
End of the War
US captured Okinawa, an
important island south of Japan
It was to redraw the world map
Known as the “Big Three”
These raids killed tens of thousands of
civilians in each city and devastated cities
by creating massive fires
Potsdam
Conference
August 1945, US dropped
atomic bombs on Japan
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
In early 1945, Stalin, Churchill and
FDR met at the Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference
Truman met with
Stalin and the new
British Prime Minister
Clement Atlee to
devise a plan for
implementation of the
Yalta conference
It became clear to both the US and USSR that the
two had incompatible ideologies and post-war goals.
August 6th and August 9th respectively
Killing over 250,000 people
Truman stated that an invasion of Japan
would have cost hundred of thousands
of lives and that the nuclear warfare
therefore saved lives and resources
Korematsu v. United States (1944)
the Supreme Court ruled that the
internment was constitutional
Placed more than 110,000 Japanese
Americans to prison camps (known
as internment camps)
Fearing that Japan might attack
the West Coast and to alleviate
the possibility of JapaneseAmericans spying for Japan
They were just
doing what they
needed to do to
be a good
American
Most Japanese
left voluntarily
to their new
residences
Japanese Internment
Japanese Internment