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World War II
Causes of World War II
-Resentment at the harsh
peace of World War
• Political instability and
One fuelled the rise of
economic devastation in
Adolf Hitler. Anxious to
Europe resulting from
avoid
war,
Britain
and
WWI
France chose to
– Worldwide depression
appease German
– High war debt owed by
territorial demands
Germany
before finally 'drawing a
– High Inflation
line in the sand' over
– Massive unemployment
Poland.
• Fascism
–Fascism is a
political
philosophy in
which total
power is given
to a dictator and
individual
freedoms are
denied
• Dictator
–A person who
rules with total
authority, often
in a cruel
manner.
Rise of Fascism
• Fascist dictators
included:
–Adolph Hitler
(Germany)
Benito Mussolini (Italy)
Hideki Tojo (Japan)
●These dictators led the countries that
became known as the Axis Powers
Start of World War II
• Germany and the
Soviet Union
signed a
nonaggression
pact – agreeing to
never attack each
other.
• Germany invaded
Poland September 1,
1939. This marks
the beginning of
WWII.
• The Soviet Union also
invaded Poland and the
Baltic nations.
German Advances
• Germany
invaded France
and captured
Paris.
• Germany Bombed
London in the
Battle of Britain.
• The British were able
to turn away the
Germans due to the
invention of RADAR
Gradual change in American policy from
neutrality to direct involvement
• 1. Isolationism
– The U.S. refuses to
join the League of
Nations after WWI
– The U.S. stays
isolated during the
Great Depression
2. Lend-Lease Act
• The United States gave
Britain war supplies and
old naval warships in
return for military bases
in Bermuda and the
Caribbean
War in the Pacific
• Rising tension developed between the U.S. and Japan
because of Japanese aggression in East Asia.
Pearl Harbor
• On Dec. 7, 1941, Japan
attacked the U.S. at
Pearl Harbor without
warning.
3. Direct Involvement in the war
• Japan declared war on the U.S., so the U.S.
declared war on Japan and Germany.
The Allies
• Democratic nations
(The United States,
Great Britain, Canada)
were known as the
Allies.
• The Soviet Union joined
the Allies after being
invaded by Germany
• Allied leaders included:
– Franklin D. Roosevelt
and later Harry S.
Truman – U.S.
– Winston Churchill –
Great Britain
– Joseph Stalin – Soviet
Union
Turning point in the Pacific
• The Battle of Midway, fought over and near
the tiny U.S. mid-Pacific base at Midway atoll,
represents the strategic high water mark of
Japan's Pacific Ocean war.
• Prior to this action, Japan possessed general
naval superiority over the United States and
could usually choose where and when to
attack. After Midway, the two opposing fleets
were essentially equals, and the United States
soon took the offensive.
Turning point in Europe
• In September 1943 a German army entered
the city of Stalingrad and began fighting for
the city. The main battle, The Battle of
Stalingrad was a fierce struggle. Soldiers
fought for each city block. In November 1942,
more Soviet troops arrived and surrounded
the German army. In late January 1943, with
supplies running low, the remaining German
troops in Stalingrad surrendered to the Soviet
Union.
D – Day
• American and Allied
troops landed in
Normandy, France,
on D-Day to begin
the liberation of
Western Europe.
End of War in Europe
• Liberation of France (DDay)
• Liberation of Western
Europe by the U.S.,
French, and British after
D-Day
• Death of FDR April 12,
1945
• Liberation of Eastern
Europe by the Soviets
• Suicide of Adolph Hitler,
April 30, 1945
End of War in The Pacific
• Truman takes over as
president.
• Truman decides to drop
the Atomic bomb on
Japan.
– Atomic Bomb will save
American soldiers lives,
but will cost many
innocent women and
children theirs.
Hiroshima
• As many know, the atomic bomb has been used only twice in
warfare. The first was at Hiroshima. A uranium bomb nicknamed
"Little Boy" (despite weighing in at over four and a half tons) was
dropped on Hiroshima August 6, 1945.
• The Aioi Bridge, one of 81 bridges connecting the sevenbranched delta of the Ota River, was the target; ground zero was
set at 1,980 feet. At 0815 hours, the bomb was dropped from
the Enola Gay. It missed by only 800 feet. At 0816 hours, in an
instant, 66,000 people were killed and 69,000 injured by a 10kiloton atomic explosion.
• The area of total vaporization from the atomic bomb blast
measured one half mile in diameter; total destruction one mile
in diameter; severe blast damage as much as two miles in
diameter. Within a diameter of two and a half miles, everything
flammable burned. The remaining area of the blast zone was
riddled with serious blazes that stretched out to the final edge at
a little over three miles in diameter.
Little Boy and Fat Man
• After the Hiroshima
bombing, President
Truman announced, "If
they do not now accept
our terms, they may
expect a rain of ruin
from the air the likes of
which has never been
seen on this earth."
Japan still refused to
surrender.
Nagasaki
• On August 9, 1945, Nagasaki fell to the same treatment.
This time a Plutonium bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" was
dropped on the city. Though "Fat Man" missed its target by
over a mile and a half, it still leveled nearly half the city. In a
split second, Nagasaki's population dropped from 422,000
to 383,000. Over 25,000 people were injured.
• Japan offered to surrender on August 10, 1945, ending
WWII.
• NOTE: Physicists who have studied these two atomic
explosions estimate that the bombs utilized only 1/10th of
1 percent of their respective explosive capabilities.
Effects of Atomic Bombs
RayBurns
WWII on the Home Front
• American involvement
in WWII brought an end
to the Great
Depression. Factories
and workers were
needed to produce
goods to win the war.
-Thousands of American
women took jobs in defense
plants during the war (e.g.,
Rosie the Riveter).
WWII Propaganda
• What does this poster
mean?
• It is asking Americans to
save gas by riding
together.
• Those that ride alone
are helping the
Germans win the war,
by wasting fuel.
• Why did this woman
turn her bumpers into
the scrap heap?
• So they could be turned
into weapons for the
war.
Rationing
• Americans at home
supported the war by
conserving and rationing
resources.
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Racial Barriers
• The need for workers
temporarily broke down
some racial barriers
(e.g., hiring in defense
plants) although
discrimination against
African Americans
continued.
• Truman desegregated
the Armed Forces
Internment Camps
• While many Japanese
Americans served in the
armed forces, others were
treated with distrust and
prejudice, and many were
forced into internment camps.