Download Chapter 15 - WWII - Salem Community Schools

What does this picture portray?
Instructions
Anything written in yellow (SLOW down and
pay attention) is useful information. You should
write it in your notes IN YOUR OWN WORDS.
Anything in red (STOP and pay close attention)
is critical information and should be copied
exactly.
Anything in green (GO on to the next point)
you do not have to write.
World War II
Problems in Europe led to
World War II,
the deadliest war in history.
Main Idea 1:
Economic and political problems
troubled Europe in the years after
World War I.
Economic Problems
• World War I destroyed factories and
farmland all over Europe.
• Many European countries borrowed
money from U.S. banks.
• In 1929 a U.S. stock market crash
began the Great Depression.
• American banks had no money to
loan to Europe, so European
economies declined.
Political Problems
• Many Europeans blamed weak
government for their economic troubles.
They wanted strong dictators to run
their countries.
• In Russia Vladimir Lenin formed the
Communist Soviet Union.
• Benito Mussolini took power in Italy.
• Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to
power in Germany.
Main Idea 2:
World War II broke out when
Germany invaded Poland.
Italian and German aggression led
to World War II:
• 1935
Italy invaded Ethiopia. Italy and
Germany formed the RomeBerlin Axis.
• 1938
Germany annexed Austria.
Britain and France protested the
annexation, but did not try to
stop it.
• 1938–1939
Germany conquered
Czechoslovakia, over the
objections of many other
countries. Italy invaded Albania.
• 1939
Germany invaded Poland, which
Great Britain and France had
sworn to protect. In response to
the invasion, they declared war
on Germany. This began World
War II.
World War II Begins
The Axis
Powers
•Germany
•Italy
•Japan
The Allies
•France
fought
•Great Britain
•Soviet Union
Early in the war the Axis
Powers were successful.
•After defeating Poland Germany
conquered much of Western
Europe, including France.
•The German air force launched
attacks against British cities and
other targets, hoping to force the
British to surrender.
•Germany invaded Eastern Europe
and the Soviet Union, while Italy
invaded North Africa.
•Japan attacked the United States
at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Main Idea 3:
Nazi Germany targeted the Jews
during the Holocaust.
• The Holocaust was the
attempt by the Nazi
government during World War
II to eliminate Europe’s Jews.
• The Nazis believed that
Germans were a superior race,
and they tried to destroy
people they thought were
inferior, especially the Jews.
Their efforts began even
before World War II.
• During the war the Nazis
used mass executions and
death camps, such as
Auschwitz in Poland, to
murder millions of Jews.
• Some Jews resisted the Nazis.
Some non-Jews, such as
Oskar Schindler of Germany,
also tried to save Jews from
the Nazis. Few were able to
avoid the Holocaust, though.
• By the end of World War II,
some 6 million Jews and
millions of non-Jews had been
killed by the Nazis.
Main Idea 4:
Allied victories in Europe and
Japan
brought the end of World War II.
End of the War
• The United States joined World War II after the
attack on Pearl Harbor.
• In 1943, American and British troops forced Italy
to surrender. Soviet troops forced Germany to
retreat.
• The D-Day invasion of 1944 allowed the Allies to
advance into German territory.
End of the War Continued
• In May of 1945 Germany surrendered.
• In August of 1945 the United States
dropped atomic bombs on Japan,
which then surrendered.
Results of the War
• More than 50 million people died.
• The United States and the Soviet
Union emerged from the war as the
world’s strongest countries.
• The United Nations was formed.