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World War II
World War II in Europe
-1936 Hitler invades the demilitarized zone of Germany
-European powers try a policy of appeasement, they believed that conceding to reasonable
demands would leave Germany content.
-Germany allies with Italy and Japan
-Hitler pushes more demands, certain that the west was too weak to fight
-Hitler begins blitzkrieg (lightning warfare), takes control of France and large parts of
Europe
-Nazis are unable to take complete control of Britain.
-Germany attacks Russia, but war is brought to a stalemate because of the winter weather.
-America does not enter the war, continues policy of isolationism but sends supplies
World War II in Europe
-German control reached all the way to North Africa
-America joined the war and begin a counter offensive in North Africa
-May 1943: Allied forces attacked by Italy
-The Allied forces now have a foothold in Europe
World War II in Europe
-Since the fall of 1943 the Allies have been planning a massive invasion of Europe across
the English Channel.
-June 6, 1944 (D-Day) one of the most important days in American History
-Allied forces under Dwight D. Eisenhower landed on Normandy Beach in France to
begin the invasions of the German controlled lands of Europe.
-May 7, 1945 German Commanders surrender to the Allied forces
-Hitler committed suicide.
World War II in the Pacific
-December 7, 1941
-Attack on Pearl Harbor provokes U.S. into joining war effort
- Until now America has only provided supplies to the Allied countries. After the Pearl
Harbor attack America commits troops to the war, in both the European and Pacific
theaters
World War II in the Pacific
-Fighting took place mostly on islands in the Pacific Ocean.
-American Marines used the strategy of “Island Hopping”.
-The Battle of Midway Island (June 4) was the turning point of the war.
-American planes destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers.
World War II in the Pacific
-America used the first Atomic bombs
-August 6, 1945: Hiroshima
-August 9, 1945: Nagasaki
-Both cities were leveled to the ground and almost all citizens were killed.
-Japan surrendered August 14, 1945 (VJ Day)
Holocaust
-Jews were deported to concentration camps across Germany, Austria, and Poland in trains
used to carry cattle.
-Approximately 6 million Jews died in these camps before allied forces could liberate them.
-America had no clue the Holocaust was going on until our troops found the
concentration camps near the end of the war.
Nuremberg Trials
-An international court established to prosecute those responsible for the atrocities of the
Holocaust
-Many Nazi leaders were convicted of “crimes against humanity”
-The atrocities were revealed to the world:
-Mass murders
-Medical experiments
-Forced labor
-Inhuman conditions-starvation