Download End in Europe

World War II and the
Beginning of the Cold War
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The New Prosperity
Postwar prosperity in urban America helped make the early
1920s – with new advertising through the radio and
magazines, and with profits from overseas trade. Rural
America did not obtain much of this “easy money” but still
wanted the comforts advertised in publications like the Sears
Catalog.
The Jazz Age
The prosperity
characterized the
“Roaring Twenties,” where
“flappers” smoked in
public, youth enjoyed their
own status as a “market.”
But the prosperity rested on shaky ground – people did not
make enough money to buy all that was being
manufactured. By 1927, many industries were reducing
staff and cutting wages. All that was required was a shock
to create a financial panic. The bubble burst in 1929.
Restoring World Trade
An Assurance of Peace?
In the late 1920s, U.S. Secretary
of State Frank Kellogg joined the
French foreign minister in
persuading world leaders to sign
a pact promising to “settle all
differences without resorting to
war.” Every major nation signed
it – and then ignored it.
New Nations
Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan were ‘independent’ after 1919,
the other lands were British and French “mandates” for years.
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Prosperity on shaky ground
•Despite the rising stock market, American (and
world) prosperity rested on very little more than
public confidence; this declined as dictatorships
took hold in Europe and Asia
•World trade declined as many nations imposed
high tariffs (taxes on imported foreign goods)
•The world’s gold supply was not stabilizing prices
•Unemployment was slowly growing, as fewer
people could afford modern luxury goods
•As sales of cars, radios, and other “durable goods”
(refrigerators, washing machines, etc.) slowed down,
American factories laid off workers.
THE CRASH
Over speculation in the stock market led to wild swings in
stock prices. In October 1929, the overall market fell to less
than 50% of its previous value. Hundreds of thousands loss
their jobs in the financial depression.
Bank Failures – 9000 banks holding $7 billion closed in 1
year (no deposit insurance existed)
One in four workers were unemployed by 1933
Europe and Asia
1933 – Hitler promises
Germany ‘justice’ for
its defeat in 1918.
1937 – Japan invades
China. The League of
Nations is helpless.
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Isolationism
•Financial depression in 1929-38 reduces trade and
raises international tensions.
•Neutrality Laws in 1935-1936 Restrict American
business with nations at war and prevent American
citizens from being endangered.
• U.S. journalists begin covering wars in Asia and
North Africa; their stories have an impact on how
Americans regard the situation.
•Refugees from Europe also affect how Americans
think about Europe.
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Isolationism
Neutrality Laws in 19351936, written by Gerald
Nye of North Dakota
(below), restricted
American business with
nations at war and prevent
American citizens from
being endangered.
September 1939 – Germany
Invades Poland
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Refugees
European refugees outside American consulate in
Marseilles, France, 1940.
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William L. Shirer
Vienna “looked like any German
city in the Reich – red, white and
black Swastika flags hung from
the balconies of most of the
homes. And in the streets people
raised their hands in Nazi salute
and greeted each other with ‘Heil
Hitler!’”
CBS radio correspondent
William L. Shirer on the German
control of much of Europe..
As France collapsed, President
Roosevelt faced a problem
similar to what Wilson faced in
1916. Roosevelt decided to run
for re-election in 1940. The defeat
of France had shocked Congress
into vastly increasing spending
on defense – and to accepting a 3term president. But no one
wanted war with Germany.
US Aid
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Defeat in France
In May-June, 1940, the
German armies defeated
France in 6 weeks and
forced the British to
evacuate their troops
from Belgium. The U.S.
feared Britain would
quickly sign a treaty that
gave Hitler control of
Europe.
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France Occupied
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Britain Alone
France, having promised to make no separate peace, not
only signed a separate peace but also returned to Germany
400 captured German airmen, who could now be used to
attack Great Britain.
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Cash and Carry
FDR persuaded Congress to modify the
Neutrality Laws so Britain could buy weapons for
cash and carry them away on their own ships.
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German U-boats
But German “untersee” boats were sinking one of
every three tons of goods that Britain bought – and
again threatening American ships.
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Destroyer Deal
Despite British failures, Roosevelt in September
1940 ‘traded’ 50 older destroyers to Britain in
return for 99-year leases of bases in the
Caribbean and Canada.
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Lend-Lease
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The Draft
In 1940, Congress approved the first peace-time draft in
American experience. The draftees (21 or older) were
chosen by lottery and were to serve for one year.
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Guardsmen Called Up
In the fall of 1941, the draft was extended, keeping those
from 1940 in the service. National Guard units were also
called up for training with the U.S. Army. This included
Minnesota and North Dakota guard units. People were now
expecting war as inevitable.
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Russia Invaded
When the Germans invaded
Russia in June 1941, special
“execution squads” murdered
thousands of civilians –
communists leaders,
community leaders,
intellectuals and Jews.
About 8 of every 10 German
soldiers killed in the war died
in the war with Russia.
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Genocide
The Nazi plan was to occupy
the western part of Russia as
far as the Ural mountains,
allow much of the Russian
population to starve and use
the remainder as slave labor.
“We shoot villagers on the slightest
excuse. Just stick them up against a
wall. We order the whole village out to
watch. It’s a vicious circle. We hate
them and they hate us, and on and on it
goes, everyone getting more inhuman.”
From a German soldier’s diary
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The Holocaust
In order to carry out its extermination plan, Germany pressured its
allies – Italy, Romania, Hungary and the Vichy government of
France-- to turn all Jews over to German hands. These women at
the Gurs refugee camp were likely among the victims.
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Death Camps
In 1942, the Nazis employed
their knowledge of poison gas
to speed up the murder of
Jews in special death camps,
like Auschwitz (entrance to
the Auschwitz still exists at
the memorial site in Poland.
U.S. code breakers also knew
about the activities in these
camps.
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Defeated in 1941
Despite inflicting over 2 million casualties on Russia, the
German army was halted in 1941 by better Russian tanks
and the onset of winter. With American entry in
December, Germany now faced Britain, Russia, and the
U.S.
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And the War Came
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Global War
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Where should the U.S. use its military power?
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Purpose of the War?
In a mid-ocean meeting, Roosevelt and
Churchill agreed that Germany should
be the major focus of US and British
military effort (which angered
Americans who wanted quick revenge
for Pearl Harbor).
Roosevelt also persuaded Churchill to
agree to the Atlantic Charter – a
commitment to a better postwar world.
As yet there was no talk of a “united
nations.”
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Different Agendas for Victory
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To Roosevelt the Atlantic Charter meant a
reduction of the British Empire.
To Churchill, victory in the war meant preservation
of the British empire.
Neither Roosevelt nor Churchill completely trusted
Stalin (Russia the 3rd of the Allied powers). But
Roosevelt thought Stalin could be persuaded to cooperate. Churchill doubted this.
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The Second Front
Russia began demanding
demanding a “second front”
from Britain in 1942. But
France was not invaded
until 1944. Stalin accused
Churchill and Roosevelt of
waiting until Russia and
Germany had “bled one
another white.”
“What news from the second front” – In
British newspaper, July 1942.
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“Unconditional Surrender”
After the U.S. Army fought German
troops in North Africa, Roosevelt
surprised everyone when he said that
only the “unconditional surrender”
of Germany, Italy and Japan would
end the war. He may have said this
to reassure Stalin. Britain, receiving
enormous aid from America, had to
go along with the idea of not
accepting a negotiated peace.
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War in the Air
The American air
force believed
Germany could be
forced to surrender by
bombing German
industry.
Of the 78,000
American “M.I.A.s”
of WWII, 85% are air
force fliers.
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Bombing Germany
By 1945 every German city
looked like this. More than
700,000 German civilians
died in these bombings. At
Dresden, March 1945, 35,000
died in one raid by British
bombers.
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In the Pacific
Battles in the Pacific, at Guadalcanal and elsewhere, had
taught American Marines and Soldiers that the Japanese
never surrendered, and did not take prisoners. This
would color views of Asia among Americans.
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Island Hopping
To win the Pacific
War, the United
States had to build
the largest fleet in
history and move
from island to
island, building air
bases as they
approached Japan.
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D-Day, 1944
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End in Europe
The war ended in
Europe in May
1945, after the
Russian armies
captured Berlin and
Hitler committed
suicide.
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End of Japanese Navy
Total destruction of Japan’s navy by April 1945
opened the home islands to endless bombing.
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End in the Pacific
Atomic bombs dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
August 1945, forced Japan to
surrender (but only on the
condition that the Japanese
emperor remain on the thrown).
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Allies No Longer
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Postwar Europe and
American Leadership
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U.S. was the guiding force in creating a
United Nations to replace the old League
US played major part in occupying
Germany and japan from 1945-52. The
aim was to “build democracy.”
US “Marshall Plan” provides billions of
dollars to restore European economy
(eastern Europe does not participate).
US creates NATO to counter Soviet
military power.
US leads in the creation of West German
Republic.
US “containment” policy is key to cold
war strategy.
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Russia and Its Security
Russia had
suffered highest
losses of the war –
20 million deaths
and much of its
industry
destroyed. But it
had the largest
army in Europe.
Russia’s “Eastern Bloc”
Poland
Czech.
Hungary
Romania
Yugo.
Bulgaria
The Russian armies controlled much of
eastern Europe as the war ended.
Unity with Tanks
Russian tanks crush
uprising in Hungary,
1956
The Soviet Union kept its hold over Eastern Europe with
military force, using armed force to suppress independence
movements in Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Dividing and Occupying
The US, Britain, Russia,
and France, occupied
Germany, dividing the
country (and the capitol)
into 4 zones. Cooperation
soon became difficult.
Russia literally looted its
zone of anything of value.
“Iron Curtain”
In response to the
Russian domination of
Poland, Truman cut
off aid to Russia and
invited Churchill to
the U.S. in 1946, to
warn Americans that
an “iron curtain” was
falling over eastern
Europe. The Cold
War was on.
Truman Doctrine
Angry over Stalin’s failure to
keep his Potsdam promises,
Truman stopped Lend Lease
aid to Russia. In 1947, he
also promised extensive aid to
Greece to prevent its
government from falling to
communist insurgents. This
“Truman Doctrine” was a key
step in the U.S.-Soviet rivalry
for influence in Europe.
Europe in Shambles
Secretary of State George
Marshal warned Truman
and Congress that, without
substantial American help,
the economy of Europe
would not recover from
the war. Another worldwide depression could
result in war – and a
communist victory.
Marshall Plan
A much more extensive aid
program was the Marshall Plan,
inaugurated in 1947-48, it
granted extensive aid toward
restoring the economy of
western Europe. Because the
Soviet Union would not permit
American agents to inspect
economic conditions in the
eastern nations his armies
occupied, no aid went to those
countries.
National Security
In 1947, the U.S. Congress
passed the National Security
Act, which merged the armed
services under the Department
of Defense, created the CIA and
the National Security, and set a
goal of coordinating national
defense with the policy of
“containment” of Soviet
influence.
Berlin Airlift
In 1948-49, the Soviet
Union tried to drive the U.S.
and Britain out of Germany
with the the blockade of
Berlin. The U.S. used
aircraft to fly supplies to
west Berlin.
Russia tested its own Abomb in August 1949. The
arms race was on.
NATO
In 1949, the U.S. led in the
organization of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), an alliance that
pledged the U.S. to bring
military aid to any NATO
member attacked by
“aggressors” – the first U.S.
military peacetime alliance
commitment in its history.
Containment
Because another major war
would involve atomic bombs, the
U.S. sought another strategy for
dealing with Russia. George
Kennan (right) a senior State
Department analyst, suggested
containment – use American
financial (and military) power to
keep Russian influence out of
other countries; wait for Russia’s
population to tire of Soviet rule.
The War for Hearts and
Minds
Containment would dominate
the Cold War’s struggle
within the “Third World” -the poorer nations in Africa,
Asia and South America that
could opt for communism or
capitalism as their guide for
economic growth.
Critics charged that this
meant creating either a slave
world or a “consumer world.”