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World War II Hits Europe • In March 1935, Hitler announced he would no longer obey the Treaty of Versailles • He violated the treaty by building up an army • According to the treaty the German Rhineland was to be a demilitarized zone (no military occupation) • 1936 Hitler orders his troops to reoccupy this area • However if the French begin to mobilize Hitler’s orders were to withdrawal • France did nothing when the Rhineland is remilitarized • Britain followed the policy of appeasement or giving in to avoid war Sudetenland • In March 1938, Hitler sent his army into Austria & took over • Sudetenland = Western section of Czechoslovakia • Three million German speaking people live in this section of Czechoslovakia • Hitler contends the intent of the Versailles treaty was violated in Czech. • He wants to combine Czechoslovakia & Austria to form the Third Reich (empire) • Munich Settlement: Chamberlain (Great Britain’s Prime Minister), Daladier (France’s Leader), on Sept. 29, 1938 give Germany the Sudetenland to avoid war • March 15, 1939 Germany take the rest of Czechoslovakia Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact • The British & French leadership didn’t really trust the Communist Soviet Union • Stalin didn’t like the fact that he was left out of the Munich Conference by France & Britain • Secret Non-Aggression Treaty between Germany and Soviet Union was signed 8/23/1939 • Publically they agree not to attack each other, privately they agree to split Poland between them • Germany say it’s okay for Soviet Union to take the Baltic States & Finland • Stalin agreed to it because he thought it would keep Russia out of WWII • Axis Powers = alliance of Germany, Italy, Japan & Russia (secret) Beginning of World War II • Great Britain and France have reasserted their pledge to defend Poland • Sept. 1, 1939 Germany invades Poland from the West • France and Great Britain declare war on Germany • WWII has begun • On Sept. 17th Russia invades from the East • Oct 6, 1939 Poland surrenders Blitzkrieg • For almost 7 months after the invasion of Poland things remained calm • France & Britain mobilized (prepared) their troops along the Maginot Line • The line was a series of fortifications (defenses) along the German & French border • Hitler wanted to apply the tactic of Blitzkrieg = Lightning War • Airplanes and tanks hit strategic areas, then troops storm in from east and west • April 1940 Germany attacks Norway and Denmark • May 1940 Germany invades Belgium and the Netherlands • End of May 1940 Germany invades France • June 22, 1940 France surrenders • A French General, Charles de Gaulle fled to London where he setup a govt. to try to re-conquer France Battle of Britain (Summer 1940) • With the fall of France, Britain stood alone against the Nazis • New British Prime Minister Winston Churchill promised they would never give in • Hitler originally targeted military site and industries in Britain with his airforce (Luftwaffe) • However bombers had a 500 mile range • The British moved production beyond their range • Hitler targets heavily populated areas London • The British developed Radar to track planes & also stole the Enigma, a German code machine • British tracked the German planes from take off, and the R.A.F. (Royal Air Force) could fight them going and leaving • Germans used V1 and V2 rockets which couldn’t be shot down United State & War in Europe • Roosevelt, while not an isolationist, was determined to keep America out of the European war • Roosevelt broke a long tradition in American politics and ran for a third term which he handily won • Roosevelt constructed a plan for sending material aid to Britain without demanding payment termed the Lend-Lease Act of 1941 • The Act destroyed all pretensions of neutrality; German U-Boats began sinking American merchant ships in earnest Pearl Harbor • In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria & China in 1937 which angered the rest of the world, including the U.S. • In 1940 the U.S. stopped trade & all oil sales to Japan (embargo) • Japan, in retaliation for the economic stance of the U.S. in terms of material sales and trade, launched a surprise attack on the base on December 7 • Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was home to the American Pacific fleet in 1941 • Japan hoped the attack would cripple the U.S. & keep it out of WWII • This action unified the country and threw America into World War II The Twisting Road to War • Great Britain gained a new ally on June 22, 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union (before Pearl Harbor) • Hitler had previously signed an agreement with Stalin (Russia) to avoid war, but backed out. • By Dec., 1941, German mechanized divisions had destroyed a substantial part of the Soviet army and had overrun much of European Russia • However, the harsh Russian winter halted the German sweep • The drive on Moscow was foiled by a Soviet counteroffensive. War in the Pacific • General Eisenhower decided that the European war had to have priority over the Pacific campaign • Thus, the first phase of the war in the Pacific was disastrous for the Allies • Japan swiftly conquered the Philippines, Malaya, Burma, Netherlands East Indies (Indonesia), and many Pacific islands • Japan destroyed an Allied fleet in the Java Sea • By mid-1942, Japan reached its furthest points of advance in the Aleutian Islands and New Guinea. Pacific War Turns Around • Australia became the chief Allied base for the countermoves against Japan • Directed by Gen. Douglas MacArthur (Army), Admiral Nimitz, and Admiral Halsey (Navy) • To defeat Japan, Admiral Chester Nimitz developed the famous "island hopping" strategy • American forces coordinated a series of amphibious (beach landings) assaults on select Japanese island fortresses while skipping over certain others. • The first Allied naval successes against Japan were scored in the battles of the Coral Sea (5/42) and Midway (6/42) • U.S. bombers knocked out the major part of Japan's carrier fleet and forced Japan into retreat. • Midway was the first decisive blow against the Axis by Allied forces. War in Europe Looks Bad • Despite the slightly improved position in the Pacific, the late summer of 1942 was perhaps the darkest period of the war for the Allies. • In North Africa, the Axis (Nazis/Italians) forces under Field Marshal Rommel were sweeping into Egypt; • In Russia, they had penetrated the Caucasus and launched a gigantic offensive against Stalingrad • In the Atlantic, even to the shores of the United States and in the Gulf of Mexico, German submarines were sinking Allied shipping at an unprecedented rate. Nazi Persecution of Jews • Nazi propaganda started an ugly campaign against the Jews even before the war • For centuries, many Germans & other Europeans blamed the Jews for their failures • Anti-Semitism: Hostility towards Jews • As early as 1933, the Nazis made persecution of Jews a national policy • By 1935, the Nuremberg Laws deprived Jews of their right to citizenship, jobs, & property • On Nov. 9, 1938 Nazi soldiers & citizens attacked Jewish homes, businesses & synagogues • It became known as the Kristallnacht or “night of broken glass” • By the end of 1939, many Jews realized Nazi Germany was dangerous & fled the country Jews Flee Germany • However, many Jews stayed some willingly, others forced • Many countries, like the U.S., France, & Britain put a limit on the # of Jewish immigrants allowed • They feared that allowing too many in would cause a hatred of Jews • Hitler ordered all Jews in countries under his control into ghettos located in Poland • The ghettos were segregated Jewish areas • Hitler sealed off the ghettos with barbed wire & walls hoping the Jews would die or starve to death • Even in horrible conditions the Jews held on Holocaust in Europe • Hitler got tired of waiting for the Jews to die, so he came up with the “Final Solution”, which was genocide • Genocide: the deliberate killing of people based on their ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion • The Holocaust refers to Nazi Germany’s systematic genocide of various ethnic, religious, national, and secular groups during World War II • Other groups deemed "undesirable", Slavs, the disabled (mentally and/or physically) and homosexuals • Hitler’s elite security force, the S.S., rounded up Jews & others throughout Europe • These people were sent to isolated locations, called concentration camps • Concentration camps for "undesirables" were spread throughout Europe Concentration Camps • Some camps, such as Auschwitz, combined slave labor with systematic extermination. • Prisoners were divided into two groups: those too weak for work were immediately executed in gas chambers • Chambers were sometimes disguised as showers • The bodies were burned • Others were first used for slave labor in factories or industrial enterprises located in the camp or nearby • The Nazis also forced some prisoners to work in the collection and disposal of corpses, and to mutilate them when required. • Gold teeth were extracted from the corpses, and women's hair was recycled for use in products like rugs and socks • The total death toll is estimated at between 12 and 26 million. • The commonly used figure for the number of Jewish victims is six million