Download CHAPTER 17 World War II and Its Aftermath 1931

CHAPTER 17
World War II and Its Aftermath
1931-1945
560
WITNESS HISTORY
A City Lies in Ruins
March 6, 1944–The Allies' mission to bomb Berlin, Germany, includes 810 bombers plus 800
fighter escorts. The stream of aircraft stretches a mile wide and a half-mile deep and takes
more than half an hour to pass over any given point. Approaching the city, the bombers
press on through flak–anti-aircraft fire from the ground–"so thick you can walk on it."
Then, bomb bay doors open, and their payloads rain down on the city. Listen to the
Witness History audio to hear more about the Allied bombing efforts.
Cologne, Germany, in ruins, 1944
Japanese pilot's goggles recovered from Pearl Harbor
Chapter Preview
Chapter Focus Question: How did aggressive world powers emerge, and what did it take to
defeat them during World War II?
"Cricket" noisemakers used by Allied paratroopers to locate each other after landing
Section 1
From Appeasement to War
Section 2
The Axis Advances
Section 3
The Allies Turn the Tide
Section 4
Victory in Europe and the Pacific
Section 5
The End of World War II
An advertisement praising the benefits of penicillin
Note Taking Study Guide Online
For: Note Taking and Concept Connector worksheets Web Code: nbd-2901
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SECTION 1
WITNESS HISTORY AUDIO
A Desperate Peace
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain spoke to a jubilant crowd upon returning to
London from a conference with Adolf Hitler in Munich, Germany, in September 1938:
"For the second time in our history, a British Prime Minister has returned from Germany
bringing peace with honor. I believe it is peace for our time ... Go home and get a nice
quiet sleep.”
Focus Question What events unfolded between Chamberlain's declaration of "peace for our
time" and the outbreak of a world war?
Neville Chamberlain and headlines announcing the Munich Pact
From Appeasement to War
Objectives
- Analyze the
threat to world peace posed by dictators in the 1930s and how the Western
democracies responded.
- Describe how
the Spanish Civil War was a "dress rehearsal" for World War II.
- Summarize the
ways in which continuing Nazi aggression led Europe to war.
Terms, People, and Places
appeasement
pacifism
Neutrality Acts
Axis powers
Francisco Franco
Anschluss
Sudetenland
Nazi-Soviet Pact
Note Taking
Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence As you read, keep track of the sequence of events that led
to the outbreak of World War II by completing a table like the one below.
After the horrors of World War I, Western democracies desperately tried to preserve peace
during the 1930s while ignoring signs that the rulers of Germany, Italy, and Japan were
preparing to build new empires. Despite the best efforts of Neville Chamberlain and other
Western leaders, the world was headed to war again.
Aggression Goes Unchecked
Throughout the 1930s, challenges to peace followed a pattern. Dictators took aggressive action
but met only verbal protests and pleas for peace from the democracies. Mussolini, Hitler,
and the leaders of Japan viewed that desire for peace as weakness and responded with new
acts of aggression. With hindsight, we can see the shortcomings of the democracies'
policies. These policies, however, were the product of long and careful deliberation. At the
time, some people believed they would work.
Japan Overruns Manchuria and Eastern China One of the earliest tests had been posed by
Japan. Japanese military leaders and ultranationalists thought that Japan should have an
empire equal to those of the Western powers. In pursuit of this goal, Japan seized
Manchuria in 1931. When the League of Nations condemned the aggression, Japan simply
withdrew from the organization. Japan's easy success strengthened the militarist faction in
Japan. In 1937, Japanese armies overran much of eastern China, starting the Second SinoJapanese War. Once again, Western protests did not stop Japan.
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Hitler Remilitarizes Germany
Hitler rebuilt the German military during the 1 930s in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. The
government's investment in armaments also helped pull Germany out of the Great
Depression. Here, German police march in goose step as Hitler salutes in the background.
How did rearmament affect the rest of Germany?
Italy Invades Ethiopia In Italy, Mussolini decided to act on his own imperialist ambitions.
Italy's defeat by the Ethiopians at the battle of Adowa in 1896 still rankled. In 1935, Italy
invaded Ethiopia, located in northeastern Africa. Although the Ethiopians resisted bravely,
their outdated weapons were no match for Mussolini's tanks, machine guns, poison gas,
and airplanes. The Ethiopian king Haile Selassie (HY luh suh lab SEE) appealed to the
League of Nations for help. The League voted sanctions against Italy for violating
international law. But the League had no power to enforce the sanctions, and by early
1936, Italy had conquered Ethiopia.
Hitler Goes Against the Treaty of Versailles By then, Hitler, too, had tested the will of the
Western democracies and found it weak. First, he built up the German military in defiance
of the treaty that had ended World War I. Then, in 1936, he sent troops into the
"demilitarized" Rhineland bordering France–another treaty violation.
Germans hated the Versailles treaty, and Hitler's successful challenge made him more popular
at home. The Western democracies denounced his moves but took no real action. Instead,
they adopted a policy of appeasement, or giving in to the demands of an aggressor in
order to keep the peace.
Keeping the Peace The Western policy of appeasement developed for a number of reasons.
France was demoralized, suffering from political divisions at home. It could not take on
Hitler without British support. The British, however, had no desire to confront the German
dictator. Some even thought that Hitler's actions constituted a justifiable response to the
terms of the Treaty of Versailles, which they believed had been too harsh on Germany.
In both Britain and France, many saw Hitler and fascism as a defense against a worse evil–the
spread of Soviet communism. Additionally, the Great Depression sapped the energies of
the Western democracies. Finally, widespread pacifism, or opposition to all war, and
disgust with the destruction from the previous war pushed many governments to seek
peace at any price.
Vocabulary Builder
sanctions–(SANGK shunz) n. penalties
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Faces of Aggression
Three leaders in Europe and one in Japan launched ambitious plans to increase their power.
- Benito
Mussolini–Italy
- Adolf Hitler–Germany
- Tojo
Hideki–Japan
- Francisco
Franco–Spain
As war clouds gathered in Europe in the mid-1930s, the United States Congress passed a series
of Neutrality Acts. One law forbade the sale of arms to any nation at war. Others outlawed
loans to warring nations and prohibited Americans from traveling on ships of warring
power the fundamental goal of American policy, however, was to avoid involvement in a
European war, not to prevent such a conflict.
Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis In the face of the apparent weakness of Britain, France, and the
United States, Germany, Italy, and Japan formed what became known as the Rome-BerlinTokyo Axis. Known as the Axis powers, the three nations agreed to fight Soviet
communism. They also agreed not to interfere with one another's plans for territorial
expansion. The agreement cleared the way for these anti-democratic, aggressor powers to
take even bolder steps.
Checkpoint Describe the German, Italian, and Japanese drives for empire.
Spain Collapses Into Civil War
In 1936, a local struggle in Spain polarized public opinion throughout Europe. Trouble in Spain
started in 1931, when popular unrest against the old order forced the king to leave Spain. A
republic was set up with a new, more liberal constitution. The government passed a series
of controversial reforms, taking land and privileges away from the Church and old ruling
classes. Still, leftists demanded more radical reforms. Conservatives, backed by the
military, rejected change.
In 1936, a conservative general named Francisco Franco led a revolt that touched off a bloody
civil war. Fascists and supporters of righting policies, called Nationalists, rallied to back
Franco. Supporters of the republic, known as Loyalists, included Communists, Socialists,
and those who wanted democracy.
People from other nations soon jumped in to support both sides. Hitler and Mussolini sent arms
and forces to help Franco. The Soviet Union sent soldiers to fight against fascism alongside
the Spanish Loyalists. Although the governments of Britain, France, and the United States
remained neutral, individuals from those countries, as well as other countries, also fought
with the Loyalists. Anti-Nazi Germans and anti-Fascist Italians joined the Loyalist cause as
well.
Both sides committed horrible atrocities. The ruinous struggle took more than 500,000 lives.
One of the worst horrors was a German air raid on Guernica, a small Spanish market town,
in April 1937. German planes dropped their load of bombs, and then swooped low to
machine-gun anyone who had survived the bombs. Nearly 1,000 innocent civilians were
killed. To Nazi leaders, the attack on Guernica was an experiment to identify what their
new planes could do. To the rest of the world, it was a grim warning of the destructive
power of modern warfare.
By 1939, Franco had triumphed. Once in power, he created a fascist dictatorship similar to the
dictatorships of Hitler and Mussolini. He rolled back earlier reforms, killed or jailed
enemies, and used terror to promote order.
Checkpoint How did the Spanish Civil War involve combatants from other countries?
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Note Taking
Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Complete this timetable of German aggression as you
read.
German Aggression Continues
In the meantime, Hitler pursued his goal of bringing all Germany spending people into the
Third Reich. He also took steps to gain "living spa'" for Germans in Eastern Europe. Hitler,
who believed in the superiority of the German people, or "Aryan race," thought that
Germany had a right to conquer the inferior Slays to the east. "Nature is cruel," he claimed,
"therefore we, too, may be cruel ... I have the right to remove millions of an inferior race
that breeds like vermin."
Austria Annexed From the beginning, Nazi propaganda had found fertile ground in Austria.
By 1938, Hitler was ready to engineer the Anschluss (AHN shloos), or union of Austria
and Germany. Early that year, he forced the Austrian chancellor to appoint Nazis to key
cabinet posts. When the Austrian leader balked at other demands in March, Hitler sent in
the German army to "preserve order." To indicate his new role as ruler of Austria, Hitler
made a speech from the Hofburg Palace, the former residence of the Hapsburg emperors.
The Anschluss violated the Versailles treaty and created a brief war scare. Some Austrians
favored annexation. Hitler quickly silenced any Austrians who opposed it. And since the
Western democracies took no action, Hitler easily had his way.
The Czech Crisis Germany turned next to Czechoslovakia. At first, Hitler insisted that the
three million Germans in the Sudetenland (soo DAY tun land)–a region of western
Czechoslovakia–be given autonomy. Czechoslovakia was one of only two remaining
democracies in Eastern Europe. (Finland was the other.) Still, Britain and France were not
willing to go to war to save it. As British and French leaders searched for a peaceful
solution, Hitler increased his demands. The Sudetenland, he said, must be annexed to
Germany.
Germany in Czechoslovakia A Sudeten woman grieves while dutifully saluting Hitler's troops
(below). German tanks roll through Wenceslas Square in Prague (left).
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At the Munich Conference in September 1938, British and French leaders again chose
appeasement. They caved in to Hitler's demands and then persuaded the Czechs to
surrender the Sudetenland without a fight. In exchange, Hitler assured Britain and France
that he had no further plans to expand his territory.
"Peace for Our Time" Returning from Munich, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
told cheering crowds that he had achieved "peace for our time." He told Parliament that the
Munich Pact had "saved Czechoslovakia from destruction and Europe from Armageddon."
French leader Edouard Daladier (dah land yay) reacted differently to the joyous crowds
that greeted him in Paris. "The fools, why are they cheering?" he asked. British politician
Winston Churchill, who had long warned of the Nazi threat, judged the diplomats harshly:
"They had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor; they will have war."
Checkpoint Why did Hitler feel justified in taking over Austria and the Sudetenland?
Aggression in Europe and Africa to September, 1939
Geography Interactive
For: Audio guided tour Web Code: nbp-2911
Map Skills Between 1936 and 1939, Germany and Italy repeatedly threatened peace in Europe.
1. Locate (a) Austria (b) Rhineland (c) Poland
2. Regions The strip of land between East Prussia and the rest of Germany is called the Polish
Corridor. Why is that an appropriate name for the region?
3. Predict Consequences Which countries in 1939 were probably the most likely targets for
future acts of German or Italian aggression? Explain.
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Why the West Appeased Hitler
- Fear
of the destructive power of modern technology
- Widespread
- Hitler's
actions seen as a justifiable response to the harsh Treaty of Versailles
- Widespread
- Hitler's
- Faith
pacifism following World War
economic depression
fascism seen as a defense against Soviet communism
in diplomacy and compromise
Chart Skills Agree or disagree with the following statement: "World War II was in large part a
continuation of World War I." Provide evidence from the chart and your knowledge of
history to support your view.
Europe Plunges Toward War
Just as Churchill predicted, Europe plunged rapidly toward war. In March 1939, Hitler broke
his promises and gobbled up the rest of Czechoslovakia. The democracies finally accepted
the fact that appeasement had failed. At last thoroughly alarmed, they promised to protect
Poland, most likely the next target of Hitler's expansion.
Nazi-Soviet Pact In August 1939, Hitler stunned the world by announcing a nonaggression
pact with his great enemy–Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator. Publicly, the
Nazi-Soviet Pact bound Hitler and Stalin to peaceful relations. Secretly, the two agreed not to
fight if the other went to war and to divide up Poland and other parts of Eastern Europe
between them.
The pact was based not on friendship or respect but on mutual need. Hitler feared communism
as Stalin feared fascism. But Hitler wanted a free hand in Poland. Also, he did not want to
fight a war with the Western democracies and the Soviet Union at the same time. For his
part, Stalin had sought allies among the Western democracies against the Nazi menace.
Mutual suspicions, however, kept them apart. By joining with Hitler, Stalin tried to protect
the Soviet Union from the threat of war with Germany and grabbed a chance to gain land
in Eastern Europe.
Invasion of Poland On September 1, 1939, a week after the Nazi Soviet Pact, German forces
invaded Poland. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. World War
II had begun.
The devastation of World War I and the awareness of the destructive power of modern
technology made the idea of more fighting unbearable. Unfortunately, the war proved to be
even more horrendous than anyone had imagined.
Checkpoint What convinced Britain and France to end their policy of appeasement? Why?
Vocabulary Builder
technology–(tek NAHL uh jee) n. scientific advances applied to practical purposes
SECTION 1 Assessment
Progress Monitoring Online
For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice Web Code: nba-2911
Terms, People, and Places
1. For each term, person, or place listed at the beginning of the section, write a sentence
explaining its significance.
Note Taking
2. Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Use your completed tables to answer the Focus
Question: What events unfolded between Chamberlain's declaration of "peace for our time"
and outbreak of a world war?
Comprehension and Critical Thinking
3. Identify Central Issues How did the Western democracies respond to the aggression of the
Axis powers during the 1930s?
4. Synthesize Information Why did Germany and Italy become involved in the Spanish Civil
War?
5. Recognize Cause and Effect How was the Munich Conference a turning point in the road
toward world war?
6. Analyze Information Why do you think some historians call the period between 1919 and
1939 the 20-year truce?
Writing About History
Quick Write: Explore a Topic Choose one specific event from this section and write a series
of questions that you could use to direct research on the topic. For example, on the
formation of the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis you could ask
- How did
the Axis benefit each of the member countries?
- How did
the Axis clear the way for the members to take even bolder aggressive actions?
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SECTION 2
German fighter plane
WITNESS HISTORY AUDIO
Janina's War Story
"It was 10:30 in the morning and I was helping my mother and a servant girl with bags and
baskets as they set out for the market.... Suddenly the high-pitch scream of diving planes
caused everyone to freeze.... Countless explosions shook our house followed by the rat-tattat of strafing machine guns. We could only stare at each other in horror. Later reports
would confirm that several German Stukas had screamed out of a blue sky and .. . dropped
several bombs along the main street–and then returned to strafe the market. The carnage
was terrible."
–Janina
Sulkowska, Krzemieniec, Poland, September 12, 1939
Focus Question Which regions were attacked and occupied by the Axis powers, and what was
life like under their occupation?
The Axis Advances
Objectives
- Describe how
the Axis powers came to control much of Europe, but failed to conquer Britain.
- Summarize Germany's
- Understand
invasion of the Soviet Union.
the horror of the genocide the Nazis committed.
- Describe the
role of the United States before and after joining World War II.
Terms, People, and Places
blitzkrieg
Luftwaffe
Dunkirk
Vichy
General Erwin Rommel
concentration camps
Holocaust
Lend-Lease Act
Note Taking
Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Sequence events as you read in a flowchart.
Diplomacy and compromise had not satisfied the Axis powers' hunger for empire. Western
democracies had hoped that appeasement would help establish a peaceful world order. But
Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and imperial Japan plunged ahead with their plans for
conquest.
The Axis Attacks
On September 1, 1939, Nazi forces stormed into Poland, revealing the enormous power of
Hitler's blitzkrieg, or "lightning war." The blitzkrieg utilized improved tank and airpower
technology to strike a devastating blow against the enemy. First, the Luftwaffe, or German
air force, bombed airfields, factories, towns, and cities, and screaming dive bombers fired
on troops and civilians. Then, fast-moving tanks and troop transports pushed their way into
the defending Polish army, encircling whole divisions of troops and forcing them to
surrender.
While Germany attacked from the west, Stalin's forces invaded from the east, grabbing lands
promised to them under the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Within a month, Poland ceased to exist.
Because of Poland's location and the speed of the attacks, Britain and France could do
nothing to help beyond declaring war on Germany.
Hitler passed the winter without much further action. Stalin's armies, however, forced the Baltic
states of Estonia, Latvia, and
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Lithuania to agree to host bases for the Soviet military. Soviet forces also seized part of
Finland, which put up stiff but unsuccessful resistance.
The Miracle of Dunkirk During that first winter, the French hunkered down behind the
Maginot Line. Britain sent troops to wait with them. Some reporters referred to this quiet
time as the "phony war." Then, in April 1940, Hitler launched a blitzkrieg against Norway
and Denmark, both of which soon fell. Next, his forces slammed into the Netherlands and
Belgium.
In May, German forces surprised the French and British by attacking through the Ardennes
Forest in Belgium, an area that was considered invasion proof. Bypassing the Maginot
Line, German troops poured into France. Retreating British forces were soon trapped
between the Nazi army and the English Channel. In a desperate gamble, the British sent all
available naval vessels, merchant ships, and even fishing and pleasure boats across the
channel to pluck stranded troops off the beach of Dunkirk. Despite German air attacks, the
improvised armada ferried more than 300,000 troops to safety in Britain. This heroic
rescue raised British morale.
France Falls Meanwhile, German forces headed south toward Paris. Italy declared war on
France and attacked from the south. Overrun and demoralized, France surrendered. On
June 22, 1940, Hitler forced the French to sign the surrender documents in the same
railroad car in which Germany had signed the armistice ending World War I. Following the
surrender, Germany occupied northern France. In the south, the Germans set up a "puppet
state," with its capital at Vichy (VEE shee).
The French officers escaped to England and set up a government in exile. Led by Charles de
Gaulle, these "free French" worked to liberate their homeland. Within France, resistance
fighters used guerrilla tactics against German forces.
Operation Sea Lion With the fall of France, Britain stood alone in Western Europe. Hitler was
sure that the British would sue for peace. But Winston Churchill, who had replaced Neville
Chamberlain as prime minister, had other plans. Faced with this defiance, Hitler made
plans for Operation Sea Lion–the invasion of Britain. In preparation for the invasion, he
launched massive air strikes against the island nation.
Beginning in August 1940, German bombers began a daily bombardment of England's southern
coast. For a month, Britain's Royal Air Force valiantly battled the Luftwaffe. Then, the
Germans changed their tactics. Instead of bombing military targets in the south, they began
to bomb London and other cities.
Germany Launches the Blitz German bombers first appeared over London late on September
7, 1940. All through the night, relays of aircraft showered high explosives and firebombs
on the sprawling capital. The bombing continued for 57 nights in a row and then
sporadically until the next May. These bombing attacks are known as "the blitz." Much of
London was destroyed, and thousands of people lost their lives.
Vocabulary Builder
available–(uh VAYL uh bul) adj. ready for use; at hand
Winston Churchill's defiance gave voice to the determination of the British. How did Churchill
give weight to his speech?
Primary Source
"We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in
the hills; we shall never surrender.”
–Winston Churchill, June 4,
1940
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INFOGRAPHIC
SURVIVING THE BLITZ
From 1940 to 1941, Germany tried to pummel Britain into submission during a months-long
bombing campaign known as "the blitz." From September through May, German pilots
targeted London with night after night of bombing, but other cities such as Liverpool,
Glasgow, and Belfast became targets, too. These nighttime raids sent ordinary civilians
scrambling for safety–in crowded public shelters, in homemade shelters, or even in the
London Underground. During the blitz, German bombers killed more than 40,000 British
civilians and damaged millions of homes.
Nearly three million people were evacuated from Britain's cities to the safer countryside.
Small gestures of kindness helped Londoners deal with the effects of bombing raids.
London did not break under the blitz. Defiantly, Parliament continued to meet. Citizens carried
on their daily lives, seeking protection in shelters and then emerging to resume their
routines when the all-clear sounded. Even the British king and queen chose to support
Londoners by joining them in bomb shelters rather than fleeing to the countryside.
Hitler Fails to Take Britain German planes continued to bomb London and other cities off
and on until May 1941. But contrary to Hitler's hopes, the Luftwaffe could not gain air
superiority over Britain, and British morale was not destroyed. In fact, the bombing only
made the British more determined to turn back the enemy. Operation Sea Lion was a
failure.
Africa and the Balkans Axis armies also pushed into North Africa and the Balkans. In
September 1940, Mussolini ordered forces from Italy's North African colony of Libya into
Egypt. When the British army repulsed these invaders, Hitler sent one of his most brilliant
commanders, General Erwin Rommel, to North Africa. The "Desert Fox," as he was
called, chalked up a string of successes in 1941 and 1942. He pushed the British back
across the desert toward Cairo, Egypt.
In October 1940, Italian forces invaded Greece. They encountered stiff resistance, and in 1941
German troops once again provided reinforcements. Both Greece and Yugoslavia were
added to the growing-Axis empire. Even after the Axis triumph, however, Greek and
Yugoslav
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During air raids, some 60,000 Londoners sought shelter in the Underground, or subway, each
night. Thousands of others slept in church crypts, basements, and other underground
shelters.
Thinking Critically
1. Draw Conclusions What lessons might the British have learned from their experience of the
blitz?
2. Make Inferences Why do you think that the blitz failed to break the morale of the British
people?
guerrillas plagued the occupying forces. Meanwhile, both Bulgaria and Hungary had joined the
Axis alliance. By 1941, the Axis powers or their allies controlled most of Europe.
Checkpoint Which regions fell under Axis rule between 1939 and 1941?
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
After the failure in Britain, Hitler turned his military might to a new target–the Soviet Union.
The decision to invade the Soviet Union helped relieve Britain. It also proved to be one of
Hitler's costliest mistakes.
An Unstoppable German Army Stalls In June 1941, Hitler nullified the Nazi-Soviet Pact by
invading the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa, a plan which took its name from the
medieval Germanic leader, Frederick Barbarossa. Hitler made his motives clear. "If I had
the Ural Mountains with their incalculable store of treasures in raw materials," he declared,
"Siberia with its vast forests, and the Ukraine with its tremendous wheat fields, Germany
under National Socialist leadership would swig in plenty." He also wanted to crush
communism in Europe and defeat his powerful rival, Stalin.
Hitler unleashed a new blitzkrieg in the Soviet Union. About three million German soldiers
invaded. The Germans caught Stalin unprepared.
Vocabulary Builder
nullified–(NUL uh fyd) Vt. made invalid
571
His army was still suffering from the purges that had wiped out many of its top officers.
The Soviets lost two and a half million soldiers trying to fend off the invaders. As they were
forced back, Soviet troops destroyed factories and farm equipment and burned crops to
keep them out of enemy hands. But they could not stop the German war machine. By
autumn, the Nazis had smashed deep into the Soviet Union and were poised to take
Moscow and Leningrad (present-day St. Petersburg).
There, however, the German advance stalled. Like Napoleon's Grand Army in 1812, Hitler's
forces were not prepared for the fury of "General Winter." By early December,
temperatures plunged to ?40°F (-4°C). Thousands of German soldiers froze to death.
Germany's Siege of Leningrad The Soviets, meanwhile, suffered appalling hardships. In
September 1941, the two-and-a-half-year siege of Leningrad began. Food was rationed to
two pieces of bread a day. Desperate Leningraders ate almost anything. For example, they
boiled wallpaper scraped off walls because its paste was said to contain potato flour.
Although more than a million Leningraders died during the siege, the city did not fall to the
Germans. Hoping to gain some relief for his exhausted people, Stalin urged Britain to open
a second front in Western Europe. Although Churchill could not offer much real help, the
two powers did agree to work together.
Checkpoint What caused Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union to stall?
INFOGRAPHIC
The Holocaust
When Hitler's forces invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Hitler began implementing what he
called the "Final Solution"–the organized murder of all European Jews under his control.
At first, Nazi troops began rounding up Jews, executing them and burying them in mass
graves. Other Jews were sent to forced labor camps, where many were worked to death.
But the Nazis were not satisfied with the pace of these ruthless murders. Beginning in
1942, they began to force Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe into specially designed death
camps. By 1945, the Nazis had mercilessly killed some six million Jews–nearly two thirds
of all European Jews.
Terrified Jewish families surrender to Nazi soldiers.
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Nazi Concentration Camps
Survivors of the Holocaust at the Auschwitz death camp in Poland
Thinking Critically
1. Map Skills Where were the death camps located? How did this location reflect the goal of
the "Final Solution"?
2. Graph Skills How does the graph show the horror of the Holocaust?
Life Under Nazi and Japanese Occupation
While Nazi forces rampaged across Europe, the Japanese military conquered an empire in Asia
and the Pacific. Each set out to build a "new order" in the occupied lands.
Hitler's "New Order" Hitler's new order grew out of his racial obsessions. As his forces
conquered most of Europe, Hitler set up puppet governments in Western European
countries that were peopled by Aryans, or light-skinned Europeans, whom Hitler and his
followers believed to be a "master race." The Slays of Eastern Europe were considered to
be an inferior "race." They were shoved aside to provide more "living space" for Germans,
the strongest of the Aryans.
To the Nazis, occupied lands were an economic resource to be plundered and looted. The Nazis
systematically stripped conquered nations of their works of art, factories, and other
resources. To counter resistance movements that emerged in occupied countries, the Nazis
took savage revenge, shooting hostages and torturing prisoners.
But the Nazis' most sinister plans centered on the people of the occupied countries. During the
1930s, the Nazis had sent thousands of Jewish people and political opponents to
concentration camps, detention centers for civilians considered enemies of the state. Over
the course of the war, the Nazis forced these people, along with millions of Polish and
Soviet Slavs and people from other parts of Europe, to work as slave laborers. Prisoners
were poorly fed and often worked to death.
Note Taking
Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details In a concept web like the one below, fill in details
about how the Nazis and Japanese military treated people under their power during World
War II. Add circles as necessary.
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The Japanese in China
Since 1937, the Japanese had been trying to expand into Asia by taking over China. Although
the Japanese occupied much of Eastern China, the Chinese refused to surrender. The
occupying Japanese treated the Chinese brutally. Below, Japanese soldiers load Chinese
civilians onto trucks to take them to an execution ground during the sacking of Nanjing in
1937.
The Nazis Commit Genocide At the same time, Hitler pursued a vicious program to kill all
people he judged "racially inferior," particularly Europe's Jews. The Nazis also targeted
other groups who did not meet the Aryan racial ideal, including Slays, Romas (Gypsies),
homosexuals, and the disabled. Political and religious leaders who spoke out against
Nazism also suffered abuse. Starting in 1939, the Nazis forced Jews in Poland and other
countries to live in ghettos, or sections of cities where Jewish people were confined. Many
died from starvation, disease, overwork, and the harsh elements. By 1941, however,
German leaders had devised plans for the "Final Solution of the Jewish problem"–the
genocide of all European Jews.
To accomplish this goal, Hitler had six special "death camps" built in Poland. The Nazis
shipped "undesirables" from all over occupied Europe to the camps. There, Nazi engineers
designed the most efficient means of killing millions of men, women, and children.
As the prisoners reached the camps, they were stripped of their clothes and valuables. Their
heads were shaved. Guards separated men from women and children from their parents.
The young, elderly, and sick were targeted for immediate killing. Within a few days, they
were herded into "shower rooms" and gassed. The Nazis worked others to death or used
them for perverse "medical" experiments. By 1945, the Nazis had massacred some six
million Jews in what became known as the Holocaust. Nearly six million other people
were killed as well.
Jewish people resisted the Nazis even though they knew their efforts could not succeed. In July
1942, the Nazis began sending Polish Jews from the Warsaw ghetto to the Treblinka death
camp at a rate of about 5,000 per day. In the spring of 1943, knowing that their situation 'as
hopeless, the Jews took over the ghetto and used a small collection of guns and homemade
bombs to damage the Nazi forces as much as possible. On May 16, the Nazis regained
control of the ghetto and eliminated the remaining Warsaw Jews. Still, their courage has
inspired many over the years.
In some cases, friends, neighbors, or strangers protected Jews. Italian peasants hid Jews in their
villages. Denmark and Bulgaria saved almost
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all their Jewish populations. Many people, however, pretended not to notice what was
happening. Some even became collaborators and cooperated with the Nazis. In France, the
Vichy government helped ship thousands of Jewish people to their deaths. Strict
immigration policies in many Western countries as well as conscious efforts to block
Jewish immigration prevented many Jews from gaining refuge elsewhere.
The scale and savagery of the Holocaust are unequaled in history. The Nazis deliberately set
out to destroy the Jews for no reason other than their religious and ethnic heritage. Today,
the record of that slaughter is a vivid reminder of the monstrous results of racism and
intolerance.
Japan's Brutal Conquest Japanese forces took control across Asia and the Pacific. Their selfproclaimed mission was to help Asians escape Western colonial rule. In fact, the real goal
was a Japanese empire in Asia. The Japanese invaders treated the Chinese, Filipinos,
Malaysians, and other conquered people with great brutality, killing and torturing civilians
throughout East and Southeast Asia. The occupiers seized food crops, destroyed cities and
towns, and made local people into slave laborers. Whatever welcome the Japanese had first
met as "liberators" was soon turned to hatred. In the Philippines, Indochina, and elsewhere,
nationalist groups waged guerrilla warfare against the Japanese invaders.
Checkpoint How did Hitler's views about race lead to the murder of six million Jewish people
and millions of Slays, Gypsies, and others?
Japan Attacks the United States
When the war began in 1939, the United States declared its neutrality. Still, although
isolationist feeling remained strong, many Americans sympathized with those who battled
the Axis powers. As one of those sympathizers, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(FDR) looked for ways around the Neutrality Acts to provide warships and other aid to
Britain as it stood alone against Hitler.
American Involvement Grows In March 1941, FDR persuaded Congress to pass the LendLease Act. It allowed him to sell or lend war materials to "any country whose defense the
President deems vital to the defense of the United States." The United States, said
Roosevelt, would not be drawn into the war, but it would become "the arsenal of
democracy," supplying arms to those who were fighting for freedom.
To show further support, Roosevelt met secretly with Churchill on a warship in the Atlantic in
August 1941. The two leaders issued the Atlantic Charter, which set goals for the war–"the
final destruction of the Nazi tyranny"–and for the postwar world. They pledged to support
"the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live" and
called for a "permanent system of general security."
Japan and the United States Face Off When war broke out in Europe in 1939, the Japanese
saw a chance to grab European possessions in Southeast Asia. The rich resources of the
region, including oil, rubber, and tin, would be of immense value in fighting its war against
the Chinese.
In 1940, Japan advanced into French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies. To stop Japanese
aggression, the United States banned the sale of war materials, such as iron, steel, and oil to
Japan. Japanese leaders saw this move as an attempt to interfere in Japan's sphere of
influence.
Meeting at Sea
President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter in August 1941.
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Japan and the United States held talks to ease the growing tension. But extreme militarists, such
as General Tojo Hideki, hoped to expand Japan's empire, and the United States was
interfering with their plans.
Attack on Pearl Harbor With talks at a standstill, General Tojo ordered a surprise attack.
Early on December 7, 1941, Japanese airplanes bombed the American fleet at Pearl Harbor
in Hawaii. The attack took the lives of about 2,400 people and destroyed battleships and
aircraft. The next day, a grim-faced President Roosevelt told the nation that December 7
was "a date which will live in infamy." He asked Congress to declare war on Japan. On
December 11, Germany and Italy, as Japan's allies, declared war on the United States.
Japanese Victories In the long run, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor would be as serious a
mistake as Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. But in the months after Pearl Harbor,
possessions in the Pacific fell to the Japanese one by one. The Japanese captured the
Philippines and other islands held by the United States. They overran the British colonies
of Hong Kong, Burma, and Malaya, and advanced deeper into the Dutch East Indies and
French Indochina. By 1942, the Japanese empire stretched from Southeast Asia to the
western Pacific Ocean.
Checkpoint Why did Japanese leaders view the United States as an enemy?
December 7, 1941
On the sleepy Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, the military complex at Pearl Harbor was
suddenly jolted awake by a surprise attack. Planes screamed down from the sky, dropping
bombs and torpedoes. Americans were shocked and horrified by the attacks. How did Pearl
Harbor change the isolationist policies of the United States?
SECTION 2 Assessment
Progress Monitoring Online
For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice Web Code: nba-2921
Terms, People, and Places
1. For each term, person, or place listed at the beginning of the section, write a sentence
explaining its significance.
Note Taking
2. Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Use your completed flowchart and concept web to
answer the Focus Question Which regions were attacked and occupied by the Axis powers,
and what was life like under their occupation?
Comprehension and Critical Thinking
3. Summarize Describe Hitler's blitzkrieg tactics.
4. Recognize Effects Referring to the Battle of Britain in 1940, Winston Churchill said "Never
in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." What did he
mean?
5. Recognize Ideologies Hitler translated his hatred into a program of genocide. How do
ethnic, racial, and religious hatreds weaken society?
Writing About History
Quick Write: Gather Information Use the library and reliable Internet sources to find
information about Pearl Harbor. Create a source card for each book or Web site you use.
Then create note cards to record and organize at least three pieces of information.
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SECTION 3
British poster encouraging women to work in factories to increase production
American medal awarded for supporting the war
WITNESS HISTORY AUDIO
Support the War!
For the Allies to succeed against the relentless Axis war machine, everyone–on the home front as well as on the
battlefield–had to work tirelessly. Ships needed to be built in a matter of days, not months. Airplanes, tanks,
and ammunition had to be mass-produced. As factories converted to war production, the production of
consumer goods such as automobiles ceased. All efforts were focused on the massive production of the
materials of war.
Focus Question How did the Allies begin to push back the Axis powers?
The Allies Turn the Tide
Objectives
- Understand how nations devoted all of their resources to fighting World War II.
- Explain how Allied victories began to push back the Axis powers.
- Describe D-Day and the Allied advance toward Germany.
Terms, People, and Places
Rosie the Riveter
aircraft carrier
Dwight Eisenhower
Stalingrad
D-Day
Yalta Conference
Note Taking
Recognize Sequence In a flowchart like the one below, sequence the events that turned the tide of the war towards
the Allies.
As 1942 began, the Allies were in trouble. German bombers flew unrelenting raids over Britain, and the German
army advanced deep into the Soviet Union. In the Pacific, the Japanese onslaught seemed unstoppable. But
helped by extraordinary efforts on the home front and a series of military victories, the tide was about to turn.
All-Out War
To defeat the Axis war machine, the Allies had to commit themselves to total war. Total war means nations devote
all of their resources to the war effort.
Governments Increase Power To achieve maximum war production, democratic governments in the United
States and Great Britain increased their political power. They directed economic resources into the war effort,
ordering factories to stop making cars or refrigerators and to turn out airplanes or tanks instead. Governments
implemented programs to ration or control the amount of food and other vital goods consumers could buy.
They raised money by holding war bond drives, in which citizens lent their government certain sums of
money that would be returned with interest later. Prices and wages were also regulated. While the war
brought some shortages and hardships, the increase in production ended the unemployment of the depression
era.
Under the pressures of war, even democratic governments limited the rights of citizens, censored the press, and
used propaganda to win public support for the war. In the United States and Canada, many citizens of
Japanese descent lost their jobs, property, and civil rights. Many Japanese Americans and Japanese
Canadians were even interned in camps after their governments
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decided that they were a security risk. The British took similar action against German refugees. Some 40 years
later, both the United States and Canada provided former internees with reparations, or payment for damages,
but for many the compensation came too late.
Women Help Win the War As men joined the military, millions of women around the world replaced them in
essential war industry jobs. Women, symbolized by the character "Rosie the Riveter" in the United States,
built ships and planes and produced munitions.
British and American women served in the armed forces in many auxiliary roles–driving ambulances, delivering
airplanes, and decoding messages. In occupied Europe, women fought in the resistance. Marie Fourcade, a
French woman, helped downed Allied pilots escape to safety. Soviet women served in combat roles. Soviet
pilot Lily Litvak, for example, shot down 12 German planes before she herself was killed.
Checkpoint How did the Allies mobilize all of their resources for the war effort?
The Allies Forge Ahead
The years 1942-1943 marked the turning point of the war. The Allies won victories on four fronts–the Pacific,
North Africa and Italy, the Soviet Union, and France–to push back the Axis tide.
Japanese Navy Battered In the Pacific, the Japanese suffered their first serious setback at the Battle of the Coral
Sea. The battle lasted for five days in May 1942. For the first time in naval history, the enemy ships never
even saw each other. Attacks were carried out by planes launched from aircraft carriers, or ships that
transport aircraft and accommodate the take-off and landing of airplanes. The Japanese were prevented from
seizing several important islands. More importantly, the Americans sank one Japanese aircraft carrier and
several cruisers and destroyers.
This Allied victory was followed by an even more impressive win at the Battle of Midway in June 1942, which
was also fought entirely from the air. The Americans destroyed four Japanese carriers and more than 250
planes. The battle was a devastating blow to the Japanese. After Midway, Japan was unable to launch any
more offensive operations.
The Big Three Plot Their Strategy After the United States entered the war, the Allied leaders met periodically to
hammer out their strategy.
Air War in the Pacific
Allied forces won decisive victories in the Coral Sea and at Midway Island. The Japanese pilots below may have
taken part in these battles, which were fought from planes launched from aircraft carriers. How do you think
aircraft carriers changed naval warfare?
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INFOGRAPHIC
Technology That Helped Win the War
Deadlier bombs, machines that broke secret codes, dive-bombers–all of these technologies gave those who used
them a military advantage. Scientists and engineers on both sides of World War II created and improved
technologies at a fast and furious pace in a desperate effort to win the war.
Nylon replaced silk as a lightweight material used to make parachutes.
Radar uses the behavior of electromagnetic waves to detect objects. It helped defenders to "see" and destroy planes
before they could reach their targets.
Improved sonar technology allowed submarines to use sound waves .underwater to "see" enemy submarines.
Thinking Critically
1. Draw Conclusions Radar helped the British win the Battle of Britain. Explain why it made such a difference.
2. Determine Relevance How did Hitler use technology in his blitzkrieg tactics?
In 1942, the "Big Three"–Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin–agreed to focus on finishing the war in Europe before
trying to end the war in Asia.
From the outset, the Allies distrusted one another. Churchill and Roosevelt feared that Stalin wanted to dominate
Europe. Stalin believed the West wanted to destroy communism. None of the new Allies wanted to risk a
breakdown in their alliance, however. At a conference in Tehran, Iran, in late 1943, Churchill and Roosevelt
yielded to Stalin by agreeing to let the borders outlined in the Nazi-Soviet Pact stand, against the wishes of
Poland's government-in-exile. However, Stalin also wanted Roosevelt and Churchill to open a second front
against Germany in Western Europe to relieve the pressure on the Soviet Union. Roosevelt and Churchill
replied that they did not yet have the resources. Stalin saw the delay as a deliberate policy to weaken the
Soviet Union.
Allied Victory in North Africa In North Africa, the British led by General Bernard Montgomery fought Rommel.
After the fierce Battle of El Alamein in November 1942, the Allies finally halted the Desert Fox's advance.
Allied tanks drove the Axis back across Libya into Tunisia.
Later in 1942, American General Dwight Eisenhower took command of a joint British and American force in
Morocco and Algeria. Advancing on Tunisia from the west, the Allies trapped Rommel's army, which
surrendered in May 1943.
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The Pain of Defeat
German prisoners are marched through the snowy streets of Stalingrad after their defeat by the Soviet army.
Allies Advance Through Italy With North Africa under their control, the Allies were able to cross the
Mediterranean into Italy. In July 1944, a combined British and American army landed first in Sicily and then
in southern Italy. They defeated the Italian forces there in about a month.
After the defeats, the Italians overthrew Mussolini and signed an armistice, but fighting did not end. Hitler sent
German troops to rescue Mussolini and stiffen the will of Italians fighting in the north. For the next 18
months, the Allies pushed slowly up the Italian peninsula, suffering heavy losses against strong German
resistance. Still, the Italian invasion was a decisive event for the Allies because it weakened Hitler by forcing
him to fight on another front.
Germans Defeated at Stalingrad A major turning point occurred in the Soviet Union. After their lightning
advance in 1941, the Germans were stalled outside Moscow and Leningrad. In 1942, Hitler launched a new
offensive. This time, he aimed for the rich oil fields of the south. His troops, however, got only as far as
Stalingrad.
The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the costliest of the war. Hitler was determined to capture Stalin's namesake
city, and Stalin was equally determined to defend it. The battle began when the Germans surrounded the city.
As winter closed in, a bitter street-by-street, house-by-house struggle raged. A German officer wrote that
soldiers fought for two weeks for a single building. Corpses "are strewn in the cellars, on the landings and the
staircases," he said. In November, the Soviets encircled their attackers. Trapped, without food or ammunition
and with no hope of rescue, the German commander finally surrendered in January 1943.
After the Battle of Stalingrad, the Red Army took the offensive and drove the invaders out of the Soviet Union
entirely. Hitler's forces suffered irreplaceable losses of both troops and equipment. By early 1944, Soviet
troops were advancing into Eastern Europe.
Checkpoint How did the Allies push back the Axis powers on four fronts?
The Allies Push Toward Germany
By 1944, the Western Allies were at last ready to open a second front in Europe by invading France. Allied leaders
under Eisenhower faced the enormous task of planning the operation and assembling troops and supplies. To
prepare the way for the invasion, Allied bombers flew constant missions over Germany. They targeted
factories and destroyed aircraft that might be used against the invasion force. They also bombed railroads and
bridges in France.
The D-Day Assault The Allies chose June 6, 1944—known as D-Day—for the invasion of France. Just before
midnight on June 5, Allied planes dropped paratroopers behind enemy lines. Then, at dawn, thousand of
ships ferried 156,000 Allied troops across the English Channel. The troops
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World War II in Europe and North Africa 1942-1945
Geography Interactive
For: Interactive map and timeline Web Code: nbp-2931
Map Skills Axis power reached its height in Europe in 1942. Then the tide began to turn.
1. Locate (a) Vichy France (b) Soviet Union (c) El Alamein (d) Normandy (e) Berlin
2. Place Describe the extent of Axis control in 1942.
3. Make Inferences How did geography both help and hinder Allied advances?
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BIOGRAPHY
Churchill
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was a staunch antisocialist and defender of the British Empire. As a member of
Parliament, he loudly warned the British of the threat posed by Nazi Germany. After Neville Chamberlain's
government failed to defend Norway from Hitler, Churchill replaced him as prime minister on May 10, 1940.
Within seven weeks, France had surrendered, and Nazi forces threatened Britain. Churchill's courage and
defiance steeled British resolve in the darkest days of the war when Britain stood alone against the Nazis.
How did Churchill inspire the British people?
Roosevelt
In 1933, Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) started his first term as president, promising to bring the United
States out of the Great Depression. During his second term, FDR lent, and then gave, millions of dollars in
war supplies to the struggling British. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor quickly brought the United States into
the war. From the start of American involvement, Roosevelt took the lead in establishing alliances among all
countries fighting the Axis powers—including the Soviet Union. How did Roosevelt influence World War II
before Pearl Harbor?
Stalin
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) was born Joseph Dzhugashvili (joo gush VYEE lyee). He changed his name to Stalin,
meaning "man of steel," after he joined the Bolshevik underground in the early 1900s. Stalin emerged as the
sole ruler of the Soviet Union in the 1920s, and he maintained an iron grasp on the nation until his death in
1953. When Hitler's army invaded the Soviet Union and threatened Moscow in 1941, Stalin refused to leave
the capital city. He eventually forced the Germans into retreat. Why would Churchill and Roosevelt have
distrusted Stalin?
WITNESS HISTORY VIDEO
Watch Triumph at Normandy on the Witness History Discovery School™ video program to experience the
planning and execution of the D-Day invasion.
Vocabulary Builder
incessant—(in SES unt) adj. uninterrupted, ceaseless
fought their way to shore amid underwater mines and raking machine-gun fire. As one soldier who landed in the
first wave of D-Day assault recalled,
Primary Source
“It all seemed unreal, a sort of dreaming while awake, men were screaming and dying all around me... I honestly
could have walked the full length of the beach without touching the ground, they were that thickly strewn
about.”
—Melvin B. Farrell, War Memories
Still, the Allied troops clawed their way inland through the tangled hedges of Normandy. In early August, a
massive armored division under American General George S. Patton helped the joint British and American
forces break through German defenses and advance toward Paris. Meanwhile, other Allied forces sailed from
Italy to land in southern France. In Paris, French resistance forces rose up against the occupying Germans.
Under pressure from all sides, the Germans retreated. On August 25, the Allies entered Paris. Within a
month, all of France was free.
Allies Continue to Advance By this time, Germany was reeling under incessant, round-the-clock bombing. For
two years, Allied bombers had hammered military bases, factories, railroads, oil depots, and cities.
582
The goal of this kind of bombing was to cripple Germany's industries and destroy the morale of its civilians. In
one 10-day period, bombing almost erased the huge industrial city of Hamburg, killing 40,000 civilians and
forcing one million to flee their homes. In February 1945, Allied raids on Dresden, not an industrial target,
but considered one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, killed as many as 135,000 people.
After freeing France, Allied forces battled toward Germany. As their armies advanced into Belgium in December,
Germany launched a massive counterattack. At the bloody Battle of the Bulge, which lasted more than a
month, both sides took terrible losses. The Germans were unable to break through. The battle delayed the
Allied advance from the west, but only for six weeks. Meanwhile, the Soviet army battled through Germany
and advanced on Berlin from the east. Hitler's support within Germany was declining, and he had already
survived one assassination attempt by senior officers in the German military. By early 1945, the defeat of
Germany seemed inevitable.
Uneasy Agreement at Yalta In February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met again at Yalta, in the
southern Soviet Union. Once again, the Big Three planned strategy in an atmosphere of distrust. Stalin
insisted that the Soviet Union needed to maintain control of Eastern Europe to be able to protect itself from
future aggression. Churchill and Roosevelt favored self-determination for Eastern Europe, which would give
people the right to choose their own form of government. However, Churchill and Roosevelt needed Stalin's
help to win the war.
At the Yalta Conference, the three leaders agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan within
three months of Germany's surrender. In return, Churchill and Roosevelt promised Stalin that the Soviets
would take possession of southern Sakhalin Island, the Kuril Islands, and an occupation zone in Korea. They
also agreed that Germany would be temporarily divided into four zones, to be governed by American,
French, British, and Soviet forces. Stalin agreed to hold free elections in Eastern Europe. However, as you
will read later, growing mistrust would later cause a split between the Allies.
Checkpoint What agreements did Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin come to at Yalta?
Vocabulary Builder
inevitable—(in EV ih tub bul) adj. unavoidable, inescapable
SECTION 3 Assessment
Progress Monitoring Online
For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice Web Code: nba-2931
Terms, People, and Places
1. For each term, person, or place listed at the beginning of the section, write a sentence explaining its
significance.
Note Taking
2. Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Use your completed timeline to answer the Focus Question: How did the
Allies begin to push back the Axis powers?
Comprehension and Critical Thinking
3. Analyze Information How did democratic governments mobilize their economies for war?
4. Determine Relevance Explain why the battles of Midway, El Alamein, and Stalingrad were important turning
points in the war.
5. Predict Consequences Why didn't the Yalta Conference lead to lasting unity among the Big Three leaders?
Writing About History
Quick Write: Develop a Thesis A thesis statement summarizes the main idea of your research paper. The thesis
statement should express an idea that can be defended or refuted. It should also be narrow enough to be
addressed clearly in your writing.
Based on what you have read, write a thesis statement for an essay explaining the importance of the Battle of
Stalingrad.
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History Interactive Events That Changed the World
D-DAY
In the earliest hours of June 6, 1944, the Allies launched a surprise invasion of Normandy in France—the largest
amphibious, or land and water, invasion in history. More than 156,000 Allied troops crossed the English
Channel. Thousands of these troops landed on the beaches, fighting and clawing their way up the steep cliffs
under heavy German fire. Paratroopers dropped from the sky. By the end of the day, about 2,500 men had
given their lives. But by August, the Allies had made their way to Paris and freed it from German control.
Overcoming Hitler's Defenses at Normandy
Allied troops landed at five Normandy beaches, code-named Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword.
11,590 Allied aircraft fly 14,674 sorties (missions) to protect the invading troops.
Nearly 7,000 Allied ships head for Normandy.
More than 132,000 troops land on the beaches.
10,000 Allied vehicles land.
German naval mines
Underwater obstacles to impale landing craft
Allied troops faced daunting obstacles on D-Day. Naval mines threatened ships trying to land. Steel obstacles on
the beaches could rip the bottoms out of landing craft at high tide.
584
The Germans waited atop the steep cliffs. British special forces storm the beach.
Allied Troop Strengths And Casualties on D-Day
Country / Troops / Estimated Casualties*
United States / 73,000 / 6,603
Britain / 61,715 / 2,700
Canada / 21,400 / 946
Allied Total / 156,115 / 10,249
*includes those killed, wounded, missing, and captured
SOURCE: The D-Day Museum Online
Wounded Allied soldiers after the battle
23,500 Allied airborne troops parachute in to protect the beachhead from German attacks.
Obstacles placed in flat fields to deter landing planes
Rocks, seawall, and steep 50-foot cliffs topped with barbed wire
Minefields and anti-tank ditches
Entrenched enemy troops and tank divisions
Fortified German bunkers for machine guns
Omaha Beach at the end of D-Day
Thinking Critically
1. Chart Skills Which of the Allies suffered the greatest losses on D-Day?
2. Draw Conclusions Why do you think the D-Day landings were made on beaches instead of at established
harbors?
3. Diagram Skills What do you think was the greatest obstacle the Allies had to overcome on D-Day? Explain.
History Interactive
For: interactive map, audio, and more Visit: PHSchool.com Web Code: nbp-2932
585
SECTION 4
1St Marine Division patch from Guadalcanal
Allied soldier in the Pacific
WITNESS HISTORY AUDIO
A Soldier Remembers
A defeated General Douglas MacArthur left the Philippines in 1942. As he departed, he pledged his determination
to free the islands with the words "I shall return." In October 1944, that pledge became a reality when
MacArthur landed on the Philippine island of Leyte. As one soldier recalled,
"When I heard that he had returned, I finally had the feeling that I might have a chance of living through the war....
[O]nce they landed in Leyte, I knew it was only a question of hanging on for a few more months and I would
be able to live through it.”
—Edwin Ramsey
Focus Question How did the Allies finally defeat the Axis powers?
Victory in Europe and the Pacific
Objectives
- Describe the reasons for the final defeat of the Nazis.
- Summarize how the Allies began to push back the Japanese in the Pacific.
- Explain the American strategy for ending the war against Japan and the consequences of that strategy.
Terms, People, and Places
V-E Day
Bataan Death March
Douglas MacArthur
island-hopping
kamikaze
Manhattan Project
Hiroshima
Nagasaki
Note Taking
Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Use a timeline like the one below to sequence the events that led to the
defeat of the Axis powers.
By early spring 1945, the war in Europe was nearing its end and the Allies turned their attention to winning the
war in the Pacific. There remained a series of bloody battles ahead, as well as an agonizing decision for
American President Harry Truman.
Nazis Defeated
By March 1945, the Allies had crossed the Rhine into western Germany. From the east, Soviet troops closed in on
Berlin. In late April, American and Russian soldiers met and shook hands at the Elbe River. All over Europe,
Axis armies began to surrender.
In Italy, guerrillas captured and executed Mussolini. As Soviet troops fought their way into Berlin, Hitler
committed suicide in his underground bunker. On May 7, Germany surrendered. Officially, the war in Europe
ended the next day, May 8, 1945, which was proclaimed V-E Day (Victory in Europe). After just 12 years,
Hitler's "thousand-year Reich" was bomb-ravaged and in ruins.
The Allies were able to defeat the Axis powers in Europe for a number of reasons. Because of the location of
Germany and its allies, they had to fight on several fronts simultaneously. Hitler, who took almost complete
control over military decisions, made some poor ones. He underestimated the ability of the Soviet Union to
fight his armies.
The enormous productive capacity of the United States was another factor. By 1944, the United States was
producing twice as much as all of the Axis powers combined. Meanwhile, Allied bombing hindered German
production. Oil became so scarce because of
586
Map Skills After the Battle of Midway, the Allies took the offensive in the Pacific. They gradually worked their
way north towards Japan itself.
1. Locate (a) Japan (b) Pearl Harbor (c) Iwo Jima (d) Okinawa (e) Hiroshima (f) Manila
2. Regions Describe the extent of Japanese control in 1942.
3. Draw Conclusions How did geography make it difficult for Japan to maintain control of its empire?
Geography Interactive
For: Audio guided tour Web Code: nbp-2941
bombing that the Luftwaffe was almost grounded by the time of the D-Day invasion. With victory in Europe
achieved, the Allies now had to triumph over Japan in the Pacific.
Checkpoint How did the Allied forces finally defeat the Germans?
Struggle for the Pacific
Until mid-1942, the Japanese had won an uninterrupted series of victories. They controlled much of Southeast
Asia and many Pacific islands. By May 1942, the Japanese had gained control of the Philippines, killing
several hundred American soldiers and as many as 10,000 Filipino soldiers during the 65-mile Bataan Death
March. One survivor described the ordeal as "a macabre litany of heat, dust, starvation, thirst, flies, filth,
stench, murder, torture, corpses, and wholesale brutality that numbs the memory." Many Filipino civilians
risked—and sometimes lost their lives to give food and water to captives on the march.
After the battles of Midway and the Coral Sea, however, the United States took the offensive. That summer,
United States Marines landed at Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Victory at Guadalcanal marked the
General Douglas MacArthur
587
Vocabulary Builder
objective—(ub JEK tiv) n. something worked toward; a goal
beginning of an "island-hopping" campaign. The goal of the campaign was to recapture some Japanese-held
islands while bypassing others. The captured islands served as steppingstones to the next objective. In this
way, American forces, led by General Douglas MacArthur, gradually moved north towards Japan. By 1944,
the United States Navy, commanded by Admiral Chester Nimitz, was blockading Japan, and American
bombers pounded Japanese cities and industries. In October 1944, MacArthur began the fight to retake the
Philippines. The British, meanwhile, were pushing Japanese forces back into the jungles of Burma and
Malaya.
Checkpoint What strategy did General MacArthur use to fight the Japanese in the Pacific?
Defeat for Japan
With war won in Europe, the Allies poured their resources into defeating Japan. By mid-1945, most of the
Japanese navy and air force had been destroyed. Yet the Japanese still had an army of two million men. The
road to victory, it appeared, would be long and costly.
Invasion or the Bomb? In bloody battles on the islands of Iwo Jima from February to March 1945 and Okinawa
from April to July 1945, the Japanese had shown that they would fight to the death rather than surrender.
Beginning in 1944, some young Japanese men chose to become kamikaze (kah muh KAH zee) pilots who
undertook suicide missions, crashing their explosive-laden airplanes into American warships.
While Allied military leaders planned for invasion, scientists offered another way to end the war. Scientists
understood that by splitting the atom, they could create an explosion far more powerful than any yet known.
Allied scientists, some of them German and Italian refugees, conducted research, code-named the
Manhattan Project, racing to harness the atom. In July 1945, they successfully tested the first atomic bomb
at Alamogordo, New Mexico.
News of this test was brought to the new American president, Harry Truman. Truman had taken office after
Franklin Roosevelt died unexpectedly on April 12. He realized that the atomic bomb was a terrible new force
for destruction. Still, after consulting with his advisors, and
Nuclear Blast
The world's first nuclear explosion instantly vaporized the tower from which it was launched. Seconds later an
enormous blast sent searing heat across the desert and knocked observers to the ground. Shown here is an
atomic bomb's characteristic mushroom cloud. Why might the scientists who created the bomb have
counseled leaders not to use it?
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determining that it would save American lives, he decided to use the new weapon against Japan.
At the time, Truman was meeting with other Allied leaders in the city of Potsdam, Germany. They issued a
warning to Japan to surrender or face "complete destruction" and "utter devastation." When the Japanese
ignored the warning, the United States took action.
Utter Devastation On August 6, 1945, an American plane dropped an atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima.
The bomb flattened four square miles and instantly killed more than 70,000 people. In the months that
followed, many more would die from radiation sickness, a deadly after-effect of exposure to radioactive
materials.
On August 8, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria. Again, Japanese leaders did not
respond. The next day, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the city of Nagasaki.
More than 40,000 people were killed in this second explosion.
Finally, on August 10, Emperor Hirohito intervened, an action unheard of for a Japanese emperor, and forced the
government to surrender. On September 2, 1945, the formal peace treaty was signed on board the American
battleship Missouri, anchored in Tokyo Bay.
Checkpoint What strategies did the Allies use to end the war with Japan?
Hiroshima in Ruins
The atomic bomb reduced the center of Hiroshima to smoldering ruins (top left), but the full effect of the bomb
would take years to materialize. A woman (above) pays respects to the victims of the atomic bomb at the
Memorial Cenotaph in Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. A cenotaph is a monument that honors people
who are buried elsewhere.
SECTION 4 Assessment
Progress Monitoring Online
For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice Web Code: nba-2941
Terms, People, and Places
1. For each term, person, or place listed at the beginning of the section, write a sentence explaining its
significance.
Note Taking
2. Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Use your completed flowchart to answer the Focus Question: How did the
Allies finally defeat the Axis powers?
Comprehension and Critical Thinking
3. Determine Relevance How did the location of the Axis powers in Europe contribute to their defeat?
4. Draw Inferences What factors besides ending the war in the Pacific might have contributed to President Harry
Truman's decision to drop the atomic bomb?
Writing About History
Quick Write: Make an Outline Once you have a thesis and have gathered research on your topics, you must
choose an organization. Some choices are compare and contrast, order of importance, chronological, and
cause and effect. Using one of these organizations, create an outline for the following thesis statement: The
atomic bomb was a decisive weapon in World War II.
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SECTION 5
WITNESS HISTORY AUDIO
The War Is Over!
American President Harry Truman made these remarks on the day the Japanese surrendered:
“Our first thoughts, of course—thoughts of gratefulness and deep obligation—go out to those of our loved ones
who have been killed or maimed in this terrible war. On land and sea and in the air, American men and
women have given their lives so that this day of ultimate victory might come and assure the survival of a
civilized world.”
Focus Question What issues arose in the aftermath of World War II and how did new tensions develop?
A sailor embraces a nurse when the end of the war is announced.
The End of World War II
Objectives
- Describe the issues faced by the Allies after World War II ended.
- Summarize the organization of the United Nations.
- Analyze how new conflicts developed among the former Allies after World War II.
Terms, People, and Places
Nuremberg
United Nations (UN)
Cold War
Truman Doctrine
Marshall Plan
North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO)
Warsaw Pact
Note Taking
Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Sequence the events following World War II by creating an outline of this
section. Use the outline below as a starting point.
Even as the Allies celebrated victory, the appalling costs of the war began to emerge. The war had killed as many
as 50 million people around the world. In Europe alone, over 30 million people had lost their lives, more than
half of them civilians. The Soviet Union suffered the worst casualties, with over 20 million dead. As they had
after World War I, the Allies faced difficult decisions about the future.
The War's Aftermath
"Give me ten years and you will not be able to recognize Germany," said Hitler in 1933. Indeed, Germany in 1945
was an unrecognizable ruin. Parts of Poland, the Soviet Union, Japan, China, and other countries also lay in
ruins. Total war had gutted cities, factories, harbors, bridges, railroads, farms, and homes. Over twenty
million refugees wandered Europe. Amid the devastation, hunger, disease, and mental illness took their toll
for years after the fighting ended. As they had after World War I, the Allies faced difficult decisions about
the future.
Horrors of the Holocaust Numbers alone did not tell the story of the Nazi nightmare in Europe or the Japanese
brutality in Asia. During the war, the Allies were aware of the existence of Nazi concentration camps and
death camps. But only at war's end did they learn the full extent of the inhumanity of the Holocaust.
American General Dwight Eisenhower, who visited the camps, was stunned to come "face to face with
indisputable evidence of Nazi brutality and ruthless disregard of every sense of decency."
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War Crimes Trials At wartime meetings, the Allies had agreed that Axis leaders should be tried for "crimes
against humanity." In Germany, the Allies held war crimes trials in Nuremburg, where Hitler had staged
mass rallies in the 1930s. Nearly 200 Germans and Austrians were tried, and most were found guilty. A
handful of top Nazis received death sentences. Others were imprisoned. Similar war crimes trials were held in
Japan. Many of those accused of war crimes were never captured or brought to trial. However, the trials
showed that political and military leaders could be held accountable for actions in wartime.
Occupying Allies The war crimes trials further discredited the totalitarian ideologies that had led to the war. Yet
disturbing questions remained. Why had ordinary people in Germany, Poland, France, and elsewhere
accepted—and even collaborated in—Hitler's "Final Solution"?
The United States felt that strengthening democracy would ensure tolerance and peace. The Western Allies built
new governments in occupied Germany and Japan with democratic constitutions to protect the rights of all
citizens. In Japan, the occupying forces under General MacArthur helped Japanese politicians to create a new
constitution that gave power to the Japanese people, rather than the emperor.
Checkpoint Why did the Allies hold war crimes trials for Axis leaders?
Establishing the United Nations
In April 1945, delegates from 50 nations convened in San Francisco to draft a charter for the United Nations
(UN). The UN would play a greater role in world affairs than did its predecessor, the League of Nations.
Under the UN Charter, each of the member nations has one vote in the General Assembly. A much smaller body
called the Security Council has greater power. Each of its five permanent members—the United States, the
Soviet Union (today Russia), Britain, France, and China—has the right to veto any council decision. The goal
was to give these great powers the authority to ensure the peace. The Security Council has the power to apply
economic sanctions or send a peace-keeping military force to try to resolve disputes. Differences among the
nations on the Security Council, most notably the United States and the Soviet Union, have often kept the UN
from taking action. Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, more peacekeeping delegations have been
approved.
The UN's work would go far beyond peacekeeping. The organization would take on many world problems—from
preventing the outbreak of disease and improving education to protecting refugees and helping nations to
develop economically. UN agencies like the World Health Organization and the Food and Agricultural
Organization have provided aid to millions of people around the world.
Checkpoint Compare and contrast the United Nations and the League of Nations.
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The Alliance Breaks Apart
Amid the rubble of war, a new power structure emerged. In Europe, Germany was defeated. France and Britain
were exhausted. Two other powers, the United States and the Soviet Union, emerged as the new world
leaders. The United States abandoned its traditional policy of isolationism to counter what President Truman
saw as the communist threat.
Differences Grow Between the Allies During the war, the Soviet Union and the nations of the West had
cooperated to defeat Nazi Germany. After the war's end, the Allies set up councils made up of foreign
ministers from Britain, France, China, the United States, and the Soviet Union to iron out the peace
agreements discussed at various conferences during the war. The councils concluded peace agreements with
several Axis nations in 1947. However, reparations in Germany and the nature of the governments of Eastern
Europe caused divisions to deepen between the former Allies. Conflicting ideologies and mutual distrust soon
led to the conflict known as the Cold War. The Cold War was a state of tension and hostility between
nations aligned with the United States on one side and the Soviet Union on the other, without armed conflict
between the major rivals.
The Cold War Begins Stalin had two goals in Eastern Europe. First, he wanted to spread communism in the area.
Second, he wanted to create a buffer zone of friendly governments as a defense against Germany, which had
invaded Russia during World War I and again in 1941.
As the Red Army had pushed German forces out of Eastern Europe, it had left behind occupying forces. At
wartime conferences, Stalin tried to persuade the West to accept Soviet influence in Eastern Europe. The
Soviet dictator pointed out that the United States was not consulting the Soviet Union about peace terms for
Italy or Japan, both of which were defeated and occupied by American and British troops. In the same way,
the Soviet Union would determine the fate of the Eastern European lands that it occupied.
Roosevelt and Churchill rejected Stalin's view, making him promise "free elections" in Eastern Europe. Stalin
ignored that pledge. Most Eastern European countries had existing Communist parties, many of which had
actively resisted the Nazis during the war. Backed by the Red Army, these local Communists in Poland,
Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere destroyed rival political parties and even assassinated democratic leaders. By
1948, pro-Soviet communist governments were in place throughout Eastern Europe.
Checkpoint What post-war issues caused the Western Allies and the Soviet Union to disagree?
New Conflicts Develop
Stalin soon showed his aggressive intentions outside of Eastern Europe. In Greece, Stalin backed communist
rebels who were fighting to overturn a right-wing monarchy supported by Britain. By 1947, however, Britain
could no longer afford to defend Greece. Stalin was also menacing Turkey in the Dardanelles.
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The Truman Doctrine Truman took action. On March 12, 1947, Truman outlined a new policy to Congress: "I
believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted
subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures." This policy, known as the Truman Doctrine, was
rooted in the idea of containment, limiting communism to the areas already under Soviet control.
The Truman Doctrine would guide the United States for decades. It made clear that Americans would resist Soviet
expansion in Europe or elsewhere in the world. Truman soon sent military and economic aid and advisors to
Greece and Turkey so that they could withstand the communist threat.
The Berlin Airlift
After World War II, Germany, and Berlin within it, was divided into communist and noncommunist zones. In the
photo below, children in West Berlin greet a plane delivering supplies during the Berlin Airlift.
The Marshall Plan Postwar hunger and poverty made Western European lands fertile ground for communist
ideas. To strengthen democratic governments, the United States offered a massive aid package, called the
Marshall Plan. Under it, the United States funneled food and economic assistance to Europe to help countries
rebuild. Billions of dollars in American aid helped war-shattered Europe recover rapidly.
President Truman also offered aid to the Soviet Union and its satellites, or dependent states, in Eastern Europe.
However, Stalin declined and forbade Eastern European countries to accept American aid. Instead, he
promised help from the Soviet Union in its place.
Germany Stays Divided Defeated Germany became another focus of the Cold War. The Soviet Union took
reparations for its massive war losses by dismantling and moving factories and other resources in its
occupation zone to help rebuild the Soviet Union. France, Britain, and the United Staves also took some
reparations out of their portions of Germany. However, Western leaders wanted the German economy to
recover in order to restore political stability to the region. The Western Allies decided to unite their zones of
occupation. Then, they extended the Marshall Plan to western Germany. The Soviets were furious at Western
moves to rebuild the German economy and deny them further reparations. They strengthened their hold on
eastern Germany.
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Germany thus became a divided nation. In West Germany, the democratic nations allowed the people to write their
own constitution and regain self-government. In East Germany, the Soviet Union installed a socialist
dictatorship under Stalin's control.
The Berlin Airlift Stalin's resentment at Western moves to rebuild Germany triggered a crisis over Berlin. Even
though it lay deep within the Soviet zone, the former German capital was occupied by all four victorious
Allies. In June 1948, Stalin tried to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by sealing off every railroad and
highway into the Western sectors of the city. The Western powers responded to the blockade by mounting a
round-the-clock airlift. For more than a year, cargo planes supplied West Berliners with food and fuel. Their
success forced the Soviets to end the blockade. Although the West had won, the crisis deepened.
Opposing Alliances Tensions continued to grow. In 1949, the United States, Canada, and ten other countries
formed a new military alliance called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Members pledged
to help one another if any one of them were attacked.
In 1955, the Soviet Union responded by forming its own military alliance, the Warsaw Pact. It included the
Soviet Union and seven satellites in Eastern Europe. Unlike NATO, however, the Warsaw Pact was often
invoked by the Soviets to keep its satellites in order. The Warsaw Pact cemented the division of Europe into
"eastern" and "western" blocs. In the East were the Soviet-dominated countries of Eastern Europe. These
countries were communist in name but dictatorships in practice, like the Soviet Union itself. In the West were
the Western democracies, led by the United States.
The Red Menace The Propaganda War Both sides participated in a propaganda war. Films like The Red Menace
(1949) dramatized the threat of communism in the United States and formed a vital part of the propaganda
war.
The Propaganda War Both sides participated in a propaganda war. The United States spoke of defending
capitalism and democracy against communism and totalitarianism. The Soviet Union claimed the moral high
ground in the struggle against Western imperialism. Yet linked to those stands, both sides sought world
power.
Checkpoint What foreign policy pattern did the United States establish with the Truman Doctrine?
SECTION 5 Assessment
Progress Monitoring Online
For: Self-quiz with vocabulary practice Web Code: nba-2951
Terms, People, and Places
1. What do many of the key terms listed at the beginning of the section have in common? Explain.
Note Taking
2. Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence Use your completed outline to answer the Focus Question: What issues
arose in the aftermath of World War II and how did new tensions develop?
Comprehension and Critical Thinking
3. Compare and Contrast How did the peace made after World War II differ from that made after World War I?
4. Identify Central Issues What was the main purpose of the UN when it was founded?
5. Recognize Causes List two causes of the Cold War.
6. Draw Conclusions Why is it important to remember the inhumanity of the Holocaust?
Writing About History
Quick Write: Credit Sources When you use quotes or ideas from your sources in your paper, you must give
proper credit. One way to do this is to list the author and page number of the material you have used in
parentheses following the statement. Then, include a bibliography at the end of your paper. Research a topic
from the section and write a paragraph using two sources. Credit the sources where appropriate and list them
at the end.
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Concept Connector Genocide
What factors have led groups of people or governments to commit genocide?
After learning the extent of the Jewish Holocaust in World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
called genocide "a crime that has no name." As a result of the Nuremberg trials in which Nazi officials were
tried for "crimes against humanity," the United Nations drew up a treaty defining and criminalizing genocide.
Genocide is any act committed with the idea of destroying an entire national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
The Holocaust is perhaps the most well-known case of genocide, but consider these other examples from the
twentieth century:
Armenia
In 1915, as World War I raged, the government of the Ottoman empire ordered the systematic extermination of
most of the male Armenian population and the forced deportation of Armenian women, children, and elderly.
By the end of the brutal deportation, up to 1.5 million Ottoman Armenians had been exterminated.
Several German military leaders who later became Nazis were stationed in the Ottoman empire during World War
I, and may have applied what they observed there to their persecution of Jewish people during World War II.
Cambodia
In 1975, after years of civil war, Pol Pot, leader of the Khmer Rouge, came to power in Cambodia, a Southeast
Asian country. Pol Pot attempted to transform Cambodia into a communist agricultural society by
exterminating the country's professional and educated middle class. Over the course of four years of Khmer
Rouge rule, between one and two million people were massacred or worked to death through forced labor.
Jean Paul Akayesu, a local government official, being tried by a UN court for ordering mass killings in Rwanda.
Rwanda
In the African nation of Rwanda, the Tutsi and Hutu groups share the same language and other cultural
characteristics. But social, political, and economic factors divide them. In 1994, the Hutu-led government
called on military personnel to eliminate members of the Tutsi political opposition. The hatred and violence
spread quickly. Soon Hutu civilians were murdering their Tutsi neighbors. In 100 days, more than 800,000
Tutsis were slaughtered.
Thinking Critically
1. How was the role of government similar in the Holocaust and in the genocides described above?
2. Conduct research at your school or local library to find out more about these and other examples of genocide.
Write a brief essay about what happened and why.
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CHAPTER 17
Quick Study Guide
Progress Monitoring Online
For: Self-test with vocabulary practice Web Code: nba-2661
Key Political Leaders
Allies
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, U.S. president
Harry S Truman, U.S. president
Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister
Winston Churchill, British prime minister
Joseph Stalin, Soviet dictator
Charles de Gaulle, leader of Free French
Axis Powers
Adolf Hitler, German dictator
Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator
Hirohito, Japanese emperor
Tojo Hideki, Japanese prime minister
Reasons for Allied Victory
Location of Germany—surrounded by enemies
Location of Japan—dependent on imported goods
Poor military decisions by Axis leaders
Huge productive capability of the United States
Better technology developed and used by Allies
Sept. 1939 Germany invades Poland. France and Britain declare war on Germany.
June-July 1940 France falls to Germany. Germany begins Battle of Britain.
June 1941 Germany invades the Soviet Union.
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Nov. 1942 The Allies push Rommel back in North Africa.
Jan. 1943 Germans surrender at Stalingrad.
June 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy
May 1945 Germany surrenders.
June 1942 Japan defeated at Battle of Midway.
Feb. 1943 Japan defeated at Guadalcanal.
Oct. 1944 Japan defeated at Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Aug-Sept. 1945 U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Japan surrenders.
Concept Connector
Cumulative Review
Record the answers to the questions below on your Concept Connector worksheets. In addition, record
information from this chapter about the following concepts:
- Cooperation: United Nations
- Conflict: World War II
- Technology: Nuclear Power
1. Democracy During World War II, the United States government interned Japanese Americans in camps, citing
security concerns. This was a curtailment of American citizens' individual rights. Do you think such actions
are ever justified by a democratic government? Why or why not?
2. Genocide What was the Holocaust? Compare the Holocaust to the Armenian genocide carried out by the
Ottoman Turks. How were they similar and different? Consider:
- nation-building and nationalism
- murder of minority leaders
- large-scale deportations
- systematic torture and murder
- use of concentration camps
3. Science Several advances in science improved the survival rates of injured soldiers during World War II. Do
research to learn more about one of the following medical advances during World War II and then compare it
to Louis Pasteur's advances. Which do you think was more significant?
- blood plasma
- sulfanilamide or sulfa powder
- widespread use of penicillin
Connections to Today
1. Conflict: The Arab-Israeli Conflict Partly in response to the horrors of the Holocaust, the United Nations
created a plan to divide Palestine into two states—one Arab and one Jewish. Jews accepted the plan, but
Arabs rejected it. When the Jewish state of Israel was born in 1948, the surrounding Arab countries invaded
Israel. Between 1956 and 1973, three more wars erupted between Israel and Arab states. Conflict between
Arabs and Israelis continued into the early 2000s despite many attempts at peace. What historical reasons did
the United Nations have for creating a Jewish state in Palestine?
2. Cooperation: The United Nations Is Established Fifty nations met in April 1945 to draft a charter for the
United Nations. Today, the UN's work goes far beyond peacekeeping to include economic development,
disease prevention, and refugee protection. Conduct research and write two paragraphs about a program
sponsored by the UN in the last five years.
History Interactive
For: Interactive timeline Web Code: nbp-2962
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Chapter Assessment
Terms, People, and Places
1. Define appeasement and Anschluss. How was Hitler's Anschluss an example of British and French
appeasement?
2. Define blitzkrieg. What were the advantages of this war tactic?
3. Where did the D-Day invasion take place? What was its significance?
4. What happened at the Yalta Conference? How did it foreshadow later events?
5. What technological advantage did the Manhattan Project give the Allies? How was it used?
6. Describe how the Marshall Plan was part of the Truman Doctrine.
Main Ideas
Section 1 (pp. 562-567)
7. Summarize the steps that Axis powers took to achieve world power prior to World War II.
Section 2 (pp. 568-576)
8. How did the people of Britain fend off a German invasion?
9. How did Germany and Japan rule the people they conquered? How did this contribute to their hold on power?
Section 3 (pp. 577-583)
10. How did government control of economic production help defeat Germany and Japan?
11. Summarize how the Allies defeated Germany.
Section 4 (pp. 586-589)
12. What strategy did the Allies use to defeat Japan?
Section 5 (pp. 590-594)
13. What conflicts emerged between the former Allies after the end of World War II?
Chapter Focus Question
14. How did aggressive world powers emerge, and what did it take to defeat them during World War II?
Critical Thinking
15. Recognize Cause and Effect How did the World War I peace settlement help cause World War II?
16. Analyze Information What lessons does the Holocaust have for people today?
17. Analyzing Cartoons How does this cartoon reflect cause of Hitler's defeat?
18. Predict Consequences The Atlantic Charter called for the establishment of a "permanent system of general
security." What form did this "system" take when it was established following the war?
19. Synthesize Information Was participation by the United States crucial to winning the war? Explain.
20. Draw Conclusions Which battle was most important in the war in Europe? In the war in the Pacific? Explain.
Writing About History
Writing a Research Report The history of World War II includes many stories of great courage and personal
sacrifice. Write a research report on one of the following topics in which you describe the actions of the
person or group: the Kindertransport, Oskar Schindler, Miep Gies, Raoul Wallenberg, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Consult pages SH13?SH15 of the Writing Handbook for additional help.
Prewriting
- Do some preliminary research on each of the topics listed above.
- Choose the topic that interests you most and take notes about the people involved and the personal risks they
took.
- Create a set of questions about the topic and gather additional resources.
Drafting
- Develop a working thesis and choose information to support the thesis.
- Make an outline organizing the report.
- Write an introduction in which you explain why the topic is interesting, a body, and a conclusion.
Revising
- Use the guidelines for revising your report on page SH1 5 of the Writing Handbook.
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Document-Based Assessment
The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb
Perhaps no decision in American history has been more hotly debated than Harry S. Truman's decision to drop
atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945. Documents A and B are two historians'
views on Truman's decision.
Document A
"It was believed with deep apprehension that many thousands, probably tens of thousands, of lives of Allied
combatants would have been spent in the continuation of our air and sea bombardment and blockade.... But
the people who would have suffered most, had the war gone on much longer and their country invaded, were
the Japanese. One American incendiary air raid on the Tokyo area in March 1945 did more damage and
killed and injured more Japanese than the bomb on Hiroshima."
—From The Atomic Bomb and the End of World War II by Herbert Feis
Document B
"Even without the use of the atomic bombs, the war would probably have ended before an American invasion of
Kyushu [one of the four main islands of Japan] became necessary. Conditions in Japan were steadily
deteriorating ... The destruction of cities by B-29 raids, diminishing food supplies, [and] decreased public
morale fostered enough discontent to worry the emperor and his advisors.... Even without the atomic attacks,
it seems likely that the emperor at some point would have acted in the same way that he did in the aftermath
of Hiroshima to end the war."
—From Prompt and Utter Destruction: Truman and the Use of Atomic Bombs Against Japan by J. Samuel
Walker
Document C
In the spring of 1945, the Allies' island-hopping campaign in the Pacific brought them closer to the heart of Japan.
When American troops invaded first the island of Iwo Jima, then the island of Okinawa, the Japanese fought
fiercely, but unsuccessfully, to keep them from gaining control. They knew that the Allies planned to use the
islands as a base for an invasion of Japan itself.
Document D
Analyzing Documents
Use your knowledge of World War II and Documents A, B, C, and D to answer questions 1-4.
1. Which of the following cities experienced the most damage from the American bombing raids?
A Tokyo
B Yokohama
C Hiroshima
D Osaka
2. Which of the following statements BEST summarizes Herbert Feis's explanation for Truman's use of the atomic
bomb?
A Use of the atomic bombs would cause more destruction.
B Use of the atomic bombs would save lives.
C Use of the atomic bombs would ensure surrender.
D Use of the atomic bombs would make it more difficult for Japan to rebuild its military.
3. J. Samuel Walker's main argument against the use of atomic bombs is that
A atomic bombs were more destructive than conventional bombs.
B an American invasion would not have been as destructive as the bombs.
C the war would have ended anyway.
D the Japanese emperor opposed the use of atomic bombs.
4. Writing Task Which of the historians quoted in Documents A and B do you agree with most strongly? Why?
Use your knowledge of World War II and specific evidence from the documents to support your opinion.
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