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The Origins of World War II • The rise of Fascist dictators in Germany, Italy, and elsewhere made war almost inevitable. • They glorified war and laid plans for conquest. • The war was postponed for several years while the dictators built up their armaments. Adolf Hitler – German Dictator Benito Mussolini – Italian Dictator Characteristics of European Fascism • • • • • • Nationalism Reaction Against Liberalism Unity of Social Classes All-Powerful Leaders Extreme Militarism The roots of Fascism ~ anti-Semitism, racism, & Social Darwinism The Road to World War II • League of Nations Fails – the league relied on collective security to prevent another war. Hitler, in violation of the Treaty of Versailles, rebuilt his armed forces. The League could not do anything about it because their members refused to take action against dictators that might lead to war. The Road to World War II • Appeasement – Hitler next claimed territories where Germans lived. He annexed Austria in 1938. Later that year, British Prime Minister Chamberlain met with Hitler in Munich and tried appeasement (granting concessions to an aggressor). Hoping to avoid war, Chamberlain agreed to Hitler’s demand for the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia Hitler accepts the ovation of the Reichstag after announcing the `peaceful' acquisition of Austria. It set the stage to annex the Czechoslovakian Sudetenland, largely inhabited by a German- speaking population. The Road to World War II • Invasion of Poland – In 1939, Hitler made a new demand for part of Poland. This time, Britain and France refused to give in. Hitler made a secret deal with Stalin to keep the Soviet Union out of the war. Germany then invaded Poland, beginning World War II. German troops marching into Warsaw, Poland World War II – Propaganda Posters World War II – Propaganda Posters The Origins of World War II • The secret protocol held an agreement between the Nazis and Soviets that greatly affected Eastern Europe. For the Soviets for agreeing to not join the possible future war, Germany was giving the Soviets the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania). Poland was also to be divided between the two - along the Narew, Vistula, and San rivers. • The new territories gave the Soviet Union the buffer (in land) that it wanted to feel safe from an invasion from the West. It would need that buffer in 1941. Soviet Foreign Commissar Vyacheslav Molotov signs the German-Soviet nonaggression pact; Joachim von Ribbentrop and Josef Stalin stand behind him. Moscow, August 23. 1939. The Road to World War II • Impacts of the Pact • When the Nazis attacked Poland in the morning on September 1, 1939, the Soviets stood by and watched. Two days later, the British declared war on Germany and World War II had begun. On September 17, the Soviets rolled into eastern Poland to occupy their "sphere of influence" designated in the secret protocol. Because of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, the Soviets did not join the fight against Germany, thus Germany was successful in its attempt to safeguard itself from a two-front war. • The Nazis and the Soviets kept the terms of the pact and the protocol until Germany's surprise attack and invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941 Nazi Blitzkrieg • Improvements in automobile engines and other technologies made new forms of warfare possible. The Germans developed Blitzkrieg (the use of planes, tanks, and troop carriers to rapidly advance into enemy territory). The Nazis quickly overran Poland, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, France, and much of North Africa. A Frenchman weeps as German soldiers march into the French capital, Paris, on June 14, 1940, after the Allied armies had been driven back across France. Adolf Hitler in Paris, June 23, 1940. The tragedy of this Sudeten woman, unable to conceal her misery as she dutifully salutes the triumphant Hitler, is the tragedy of the silent millions who have been `won over' to Hitlerism by the `everlasting use' of ruthless force The German ultimatum ordering the Dutch commander of Rotterdam to cease fire was delivered to him at 10:30 a.m. on May 14, 1940. At 1:22 p.m., German bombers set the whole inner city of Rotterdam ablaze, killing 30,000 of its inhabitants." Battle of Britain • By the end of 1940, Germany controlled most of Western Europe; only Britain held out. Hitler hoped to overcome British resistance by bombing London and other British cities from the air. Winston Churchill, the new Prime Minister, rallied the British people. The use of radar, the bravery of the British people, and the island location helped defend against German air attacks. Over 500 firemen and members of the London Auxiliary Fire Fighting Services, including many women, combined in a war exercise over the ground covered by Greenwich (London) Fire Station." Standing up gloriously out of the flames and smoke of surrounding buildings, St. Paul's Cathedral is pictured during the great fire raid of Sunday December 29th, 1940." Children of an eastern suburb of London, who have been made homeless by the random bombs of the Nazi night raiders, waiting outside the wreckage of what was their home." September 1940. Two bewildered old ladies stand amid the leveled ruins of the almshouse which was Home; until Jerry dropped his bombs. Total war knows no bounds. Almshouse bombed Feb. 10, Newbury, Berks., England. Aircraft spotter on the roof of a building in London. St. Paul's Cathedral is in the background Germany Invades the Soviet Union • In 1941, Hitler betrayed Stalin and attacked the Soviet Union. The bitterly cold winter froze German trucks and tanks before they could reach Moscow. Soviet forces then gradually pushed the Germans back over the next several years, in heavy fighting. German troops in Russia, 1941. Turning Points of the War • The Axis powers won quick victories in the first several years of the war. Several events after 1940, however, are seen as turning points for the Allies. The United States Enters the War • In December of 1941, Japan attacked American ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Hitler declared war on the United States. Now Germany, Italy, and Japan called the Axis Powers, faced Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the U.S., called the Allied Powers. The Allies decided to concentrate on defeating Germany in Europe before turning to Japan. December 7, 1941… Pearl Harbor Over 2,000 Americans perished and much our Naval fleet destroyed. FDR Asks Congress to declare war the next day. Captured Japanese photograph taken aboard a Japanese carrier before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. USS SHAW exploding during the Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor." December 7, 1941 The USS ARIZONA burning after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor." December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor, T.H. taken by surprise, during the Japanese aerial attack. USS WEST VIRGINIA aflame." Captured Japanese photograph taken during the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. In the distance, the smoke rises from Hickam Field. Pearl Harbor Video from Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor… and the aftermath … we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain . . . Remember Dec. 7th Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) • The Germans invaded the Soviet Union in 1941. After steadily advancing, they became stalled outside Moscow and Leningrad. Hitler turned south in 1942 to try to take Stalingrad. Russian troops and a freezing winter caused the Germans to surrender in 1943. The Red Army drove the Germans out of the Soviet Union. Soon the Soviet troops were advancing toward Germany. El Alamein (1942) • Germany and General Erwin Rommel gained many victories in North Africa in 1941 & 1942. British forces in Egypt finally stopped Rommel’s advance during the battle of El Alamein in 1942. The American forces helped the advancement from the west, the Allies trapped Rommel’s army in 1943, and he surrendered. Gen. Erwin Rommel with the 15th Panzer Division between Tobruk and Sidi Omar. Sdf. Zwilling, Libya, January or November 24, 1941 Invasion of Italy (1943) • The victory in North Africa allowed the British and Americans to land in Italy in 1943. Hitler was forced to send troops to Italy, weakening his forces in Western Europe. Front view of 240mm howitzer of Battery `B', 697th Field Artillery Battalion, just before firing into German held territory. Mignano area, Italy." Invasion of Normandy (1944) • The Allies invaded France on June 6, 1944. Allied troops were ferried across the English Channel, landing on the beaches of Normandy. They broke through German defenses to advance toward Paris and freed France from German control. The Allies then moved from France into Germany. The War Ends • The war in Europe ended on May 7, 1945, with the Germans’ surrender. • Fighting in the Pacific would continue until the Japanese surrended in August 1945. Yalta Conference • February 1945, with the war coming to an end. The three allied leaders decided at the wars end, they would divide Germany temporarily. • British, American, French, and Soviet forces would each control a zone of Germany. • They agreed that Stalin would oversee the creation of new governments in Eastern Europe. Victory in the Pacific • Japan was greatly weakened, and the US took the offensive after two Japanese fleets were severely damaged by Americans in 1942. • Gradually, American forces recaptured Japanese-held islands south of Japan and advanced north. • By 1944, the Americans had begun to bomb Japanese cities. The Japanese, however, refused to surrender. Hiroshima and Nagasaki • By mid-1945 most of the Japanese airforce and navy had been destroyed. • On August 6, 1945, an American plane dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb flattened 4 square miles of the city and killed 70,000 people. • The U.S. dropped another bomb on Nagasaki, killing 40,000 people. • On August 10th, Japanese emperor Hirohito forced his government to surrender.