Download Intro WWII Forum Lecture

Introduction to
WWII
The Road to World War II
Who are the other people
in this picture and what
does the cartoonist think
of them?
Part One: The League of Nations
Encourage
co-operation
Stop aggression
AIMS
Disarmament
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Improve
social conditions
Membership
42 members - by 1930’s 59
Defeated countries could not join e.g. Germany
Russia excluded because communist
USA did not join - isolation from world affairs
A club for the victorious?
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Structure
The Assembly
Each country one vote
Permanent court of
International Justice
Based at The Hague
Settle disputes peacefully
No power of enforcement
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The Council
Met several times a year
and in emergencies
5 permanent members
Each had right to veto any idea
The Secretariat
Kept records - civil service
Powers of the League
If a country ignored the ruling of the League it could:
Put pressure on
Refuse to trade - sanctions
Send in troops - member countries join together
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Strengths of the League
Many countries supported it in early days - they wanted peace
Had some early successes:
Settled some land disputes in 1920’s
helped refugees, dealt with spread of disease, fought for better
conditions for people
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Weaknesses of League
USA didn’t join
No real power - relied on goodwill and persuasion
No permanent army
Disarmament not realistic
Structure a disaster - everyone had to agree before any action taken
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Quick Facts (write 2-3)
A. War Costs
1. US Debt 1940 - $9 billion
US Debt 1945 - $98 billion
•
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The war cost $330 billion -- 10 times the cost of WWI &
as much as all previous federal spending since 1776
Quick Facts (write 2-3)
B. Human Costs
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Quick Facts (write 2-3)
B. Human Costs
1. 50 million people died (compared to 15 million in
WWI)
• 21.3 million Russians (7.7 million civilians)
• 11 million died as a result of the HOLOCAUST
(6 million Jews + 5 million others)
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When?
•1939-1945
•US involvement 1941-1945
1939
Sept.1 Germany
invades Poland
(official start to
the war)
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1941
1945
Sept. 3 -
Dec. 7 – Japan
May -
Sept. - Atomic
Britain &
France declare
war on
Germany
bombs Pearl
Harbor; US enters
the War
Germans
Surrender
Bombing of
Hiroshima &
Nagasaki,
Japanese
Surrender
Who?
Allies
(major powers)
(major powers)
Great Britain
Germany
Russia
Italy
United States
Japan
France
(note: France surrendered to Germany
in 1940 (after 6 weeks of fighting)
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Axis
Major Leaders
Adolf Hitler
Nazi Germany
Benito Mussolini
Italy
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Major Leaders
Hideki Tojo
Japanese Prime Minister
Winston Churchill
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British Prime Minister
Major Leaders
Joseph Stalin
Russian Leader
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
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US President
Why? (underlying causes of WWII)
1. Treaty of Versailles
A. Germany lost land to surrounding
nations
B. War Reparations
1) Allies collect $ to pay back war
debts to U.S.
2) Germany must pay $57 trillion
(modern equivalent)
3) Bankrupted the German economy
& embarrassed Germans
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Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson
during negotiations for the Treaty
Why? (underlying causes of WWII)
2. World-wide Depression
A. The Depression made Germany’s
debt even worse
B. Desperate people turn to desperate
leaders
1) Hitler seemed to provide
solutions to Germany’s
problems
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1923 - Wallpapering with German Deutchmarks
Why? (underlying causes of WWII)
2. World-wide Depression
2) Hitler provided scapegoats
for Germany’s problems
(foreigners, Jews, communists,
Roma (Gypsies), mentally ill,
homosexuals)
3) Kristallnacht - vandalism &
destruction of Jewish property
& synagogues
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Why?
3. Rise of Totalitarian Regimes
A. In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as important as the
needs of the nation
Communist Dictatorship
(USSR)
Fascist Dictatorship
(Germany, Italy)
Totalitarianism
Military Dictatorship
(Japan)
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Fascism: military government
with based on racism &
nationalism with strong support
from the business community
Why?
4. Isolationism of Major Powers
A. Why was the U.S. Isolationist?
1. Great Depression (problems at home)
2. Perceptions of WWI
a. WWI did not seem to solve much
b. People began to think that we’d got into WWI for the
wrong reasons (greedy American businessmen!)
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Why?
4. Isolationism of Major Powers
3. Opposition to war (Pacifism)
a. Washington Conference - Limits on size of
country's navies
b. Kellogg-Briand pact - condemned war as a way
to solving conflicts
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Why?
4. Isolationism of Major Powers
B. This led to policies of “Appeasement”
1. Appeasement: give dictators what they want and hope
that they won’t want anything else
2. Begins with Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Italian
invasion of Ethiopia, and continues with Hitler . . .
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So What Was Hitler Asking For?
Return of German Speaking Lands - “Lebensraum”
•Austria - Peacefully Annexed
in 1938
German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca. 1939
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So What Was Hitler Asking For?
Return of German Speaking Lands - “Lebensraum”
•Sudentenland - (now part of
Czech Republic)
•Munich Conference - Great
Britain & France give to Hitler
in return for peace
•Hitler then invades the rest of
Czechoslovakia
German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca. 1939
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May 1940: Germany turned west and invaded France and the Netherlands
In May 1940, Germany used Blitzkrieg
tactics to attack France and the
Netherlands.
British troops were forced to retreat from
the beaches of Dunkirk in northern France.
Captured British
troops, May 1940
By June 1940, France had surrendered to the Germans
Britain now stood alone as the last
remaining enemy of Hitler’s Germany
in Western Europe.
Adolf Hitler tours Paris after his
successful invasion.
September 1940-May 1941: the Blitz
For the following nine months, the German air force (Luftwaffe)
launched repeated bombing raids on British towns and cities. This
was known as the BLITZ and was an attempt to bomb Britain into
submission.
Operation Barbarossa, June 1941
But in May, 1941, Hitler ordered a change of tactics. He decided to halt the bombing of Britain and launch an
attack against Russia. He betrayed Stalin and ignored the promises he had made.
This was a bold move that would prove to be an important turning point in the War.
Tasks
Firstly, use the timeline to indicate the order of events on your World War II maps.
Then answer the following questions:
1)
In what ways did Hitler ignore the Treaty of Versailles?
2)
At what stage do you think other countries should have attempted to stop Hitler by using force? Why
do you think they did not?
3)
How was Hitler able to take over Western Europe so quickly?
4)
Why did he create problems for the German army by deciding to invade Russia?
So What Was Hitler Asking For?
Return of German Speaking Lands
•Nonaggression Pact Russia
stays out of the war in return
for 1/2 of Poland
•Great Britain & France finally
declare war on Germany
Hitler's triumphal entry into Danzig, Poland 1939
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How Did Hitler Make War?
Blitzkrieg “Lightning War”
In the next year, Hitler
invades:
•Denmark
•Norway
• The Netherlands,
•France
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Hitler in Paris
US Assistance
Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies:
Lend-Lease - 1939
•US “lent” war materials
to cash-strapped Great
Britain
Atlantic Charter
•US secretly meets with
England to commit to
defeating Germany
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London Firefighter Tackles an Air Raid Blaze
Meanwhile … in the Pacific
Pearl Harbor: “a date which will live in infamy”
What?
•Surprise attack by the Japanese on
American forces in Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii
Effect?
•US declares war on Japan & other Axis
powers
USS Arizona Sinking in Pearl Harbor
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World War II
Carnage Abroad and Changes At Home, 1941-1945
U. S. Entry into War
Response to Japanese gamble that it could effect the Greater East
Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere and U. S. wouldn’t effectively challenge
U. S. war in Europe resulted from Hitler’s declaration of War on U.
S. on Dec. 11, following U. S. declaration of War on Japan on Dec. 8.
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World War II
Transforming event at home and abroad
U. S. had to mobilize society and economy at unprecedented levels
War shape experiences of a generation and had particular impacts on Women,
African-Americans, Mexicanos, and Japanese-Americans.
U. S. military strategy in war: Europe first, then Japan.
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Holding Action in Pacific
Pacific had become a Japanese lake by Spring ’42, with the fall of
the Philippines.
U. S. victories at Coral Sea (May 7-8, 1942), Midway (June 4-5,
1942), and Guadalcanal (August 7, 1942-February 21, 1943)
arrested Japanese expansion, and crippled their naval airpower
This permits U. S. to focus on Europe
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The War at Home
War Production Board managed conversion from civilian to military production
OSRAD—created the bazooka, techniques to isolate blood plasma
OPA—ration coupons and price ceilings
Smith-Connally War Labor Disputes Act allowed government to seize plants useful to war
when there were strikes
War inflated national debt by 6x, but 45% of total war costs were paid with tax revenues
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War Transforms a Nation
Western states experience population boom due to war industries
Women serve in military (over 200,000) and 6 million worked in war related industries.
Executive Order 8802 provides non-discrimination in Defense hiring for African Americans
Double V
Military remained racially-segregated: Tuskegee Airmen defy stereo-types, but race riots
occurred around bases where large numbers of African Americans were stationed.
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War Transforms a Nation
Bracero program brought 200,000 Mexican laborers to U. S.
17 Mexicanos win CMH
1943 Zoot Suit Riots
33% of eligible Native Americans Serve in War—many as “Code Talkers”
Executive Order 9066—Japanese Americans interned: affirmed by Supreme
Court in Korematsu v. U. S.
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Dine Code Talkers
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Zoot Suit rioters: Why didn’t they arrest the white boys?
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You pay for who your parents are.
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War Transforms a Nation
Rural people flock to cities and many acquire useful skills for the
post war economy
Service Personnel eligible for benefits under Serviceman’s
Readjustment Act (G. I. Bill)—loans to start small businesses and
$s to go to college.
Origin of Middle Class norm in U. S.
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War in Europe
Operation Torch (November 1943)
Casablanca Conference (1943)—unconditional surrender of Axis
Battle of Atlantic—won by U. S. in 1943
Sicily invaded on July 10, 1943
September 1944, Italy mainland invaded
Anzio landings on January 22, 1944
Rome fell on June 4, 1944
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Operation Overlord and After
Teheran Conference—Cross-channel invasion
June 6, 1944—landings in Normandy (5,000 U. S. casualties on Day One)
Paris fell August 25, 1944
Battle of the Bulge, Dec. 16, 1944—January 26, 1945
March 7, 1945, Bridge at Remagen seized
May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered
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Ike with Paratroopers
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What the Allies found in the 3rd Reich
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War in the Pacific
Island Hoping and Leapfrogging
January 1943, New Guinea Invaded
Tarawa invaded, Nov. 20, 1943
Marianas secured on June 19, 20, 1944
Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 25, 1944
Iwo Jima, February 19, 1945
Okinawa, April 1, 1945
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War in the Pacific
U. S. plans to invade Japan: Operations Coronet and Olympic, but war
casualties rise
Firebombing raids on Tokyo, March 1945
Decision to use Atomic Bomb
August 6, 1945—Hiroshima; August 9, 1945, Nagasaki
Japanese sue for peace on August 14, 1945
Formal Surrender on U. S. Missouri, September 2, 1945.
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Hiroshima: courtesy RW & B
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Ongoing Controversies
Did FDR know about Pear Habor in advance?
Could U. S. have done something to liberate death camps sooner?
Did the U. S. really need to nuke Japan?
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Balance Sheet
17 Million soldiers and 19 million civilians died world wide
War cost approximately $1,000,000,000,000
6 million Soviets died in Battle
U. S. lost 294,000 servicemen in combat, 600,000 wounded, and 114,000
others killed in war related accidents.
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U. S. Military Cemetery at Omaha Beach
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U. S. Cemetery, Luxembourg
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