Download Beginning of World War II

“Nature is cruel, so we may be cruel, too… I have the
right to remove millions of an inferior race that breeds
like vermin”
-Hitler
Adolf Hitler
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“The Appeaser”: makes
reference to Munich Pact
WW II began with
Hitler’s invasion of
Poland in 1939.
Soviet Union invaded
Poland from the east.
Hitler’s and Stalin’s
Non-Aggression Pact
kept them from fighting
each other.
France and Britain enter
to defend Poland
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In German blitzkrieg means “lightning war”.
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Hitler used blitzkrieg during his invasion of Poland.
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Blitzkrieg included surprise attacks, rapid advances
into enemy territory, and massive air attacks that
struck and shocked the enemy.
Germany achieved most of its victories in World
War II with the Blitzkrieg tactic.
Blitzkrieg
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Britain sent troops to wait with the French down
behind the Maginot Line.
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Reporters called this quiet time of not much action
the “phony war”
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The Maginot Line was a defensive for France against
an invasion of Germany.
The Maginot Line was established after World War
I.
The line showed to be little use in 1940 when
Germany invaded France for the third time.
Maginot Line
“Blitzkrieg: German soldiers being parachuted into
Holland - May 10, 1940”
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The event at Dunkirk is called a miracle because the
retreating allies had lost hope and then the British
pulled through for them and rescued 338,000 men.
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In April 1940 the quiet time of the war exploded
into action.
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Hitler launched a series of blitzkrieg.
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Norway and and Denmark both fell.
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Germany had overrun the Netherlands and Belgium.
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Germany along with Italy forced France to
surrender.
Fall of France
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On June 22, 1940 France signs an armistice with
Germany in occupied France.
An armistice is a cease fire or a truce.
The Franco-German Armistice divided France into
two zones. One zone was under German military
occupation and the other was under French control.
In 1942 Germans occupied all of France
 Germany does not invade; instead bombing
“ We will defend this island
whatever the cost!”
-- Winston Churchill
“Never in the field of human
conflict was so much owed by so
many to so few.”
--Winston Churchill 1940 on the pilots of the
RAF during the Battle of Britain and the
Blitz
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Hitler turns to the Soviet Union
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Part of Hitler’s overall plan
Invade Russia b/c the Germans would need their
wheat and Oil
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Stalin warned of German attack but did not listen
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Hitler invades Soviet Union June 22, 1941
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Operation Barbarosa
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Stalin taken by surprise
U.S. lends arms to Allies so “arsenal for democracy”
Some U.S. ships sunk in Atlantic by U-boats
Atlantic Charter
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
President Franklin Roosevelt
Discuss allied goals: the right of all people to
self-determination, freedom of speech, freedom
of religion, free from want, and freedom from
fear.
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What was the immediate cause of World War II?
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Describe the German concept of the “blitzkrieg”.
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Where were the early Axis triumphs, and what was the
“phony war”?
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What was the miracle at Dunkirk?
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What was the significance of June 22, 1940?
Ford Island,
seen on 10
October
1941 from
much the
same angle
as Japanese
bomber
pilots
viewed it on
7 December.
National
Archives
Photo 80-G279375
1934
Japan began expanding its naval forces despite
promises made at the Washington Navel Conference.
1936
Japan signed an anticommunism pact with Germany.
1937
Japan began a war against China.
1940
Japan formed a military alliance with Germany and
Italy. These nations were known as the Axis Powers.
1941
Japan moved to take control of French Indochina, which
threatened American interests. President Roosevelt
tried to reason with General Hideki Tojo, the minister
of war who took control of the country in October of
1941. But the time for compromise was over.
Causes
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Conflict between Japan and the
United States over French
Indochina
Japan’s alliance with Germany
and Italy
Japan’s prime minister, Hideki
Tojo, was hostile towards the
United States.
Effects
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Americans reacted to the news
of the Pearl Harbor attack with
anger and fear.
Californians reported seeing
submarines off the Pacific coast.
Some Americans feared that
Japanese Americans would
assist an invasion of the
mainland.
The United States declared war
on Japan.
Germany and Italy declared war
on the United States.
Defenses
The Attack
• U.S military
planners believed
an attack on Pearl
Harbor was
possible.
• On December 7,
1941, the
Japanese attacked.
• All 8 battleships
were damaged;
4 were sunk.
• Aircraft carriers
approached the
island of Oahu.
• Nearly 200
aircraft were
destroyed.
• War planes loaded
with bombs and
torpedoes left the
carriers and
destroyed
American ships and
planes.
• Some 2,400
Americans were
dead.
• Forces at the base
were unprepared
to defend it.
• No single
commander was in
charge.
• Routine defensive
steps were not in
place.
• The attack lasted 2
hours.
The Aftermath
• Japan lost only a
handful of
submarines and
fewer than 30
planes.
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The attack was planned by Isoroku
Yamamoto
The first attack occurred at 7:55 a.m.
The second attack followed at 8:54 a.m.
Deployment of attacking Japanese aircraft
183 aircraft of the first attack wave were launched from the six Imperial
Japanese Navy carriers; Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, Hiru, Zuikaku and Shokaku,
230 miles North of O'ahu at 6:00 A.M. - They were ordered to attack at
0750 A.M. by Lt. Commander Mitsuo Fuchida.
At approximately 7:15 A.M. the second wave of aircraft was launched
and 170 more aircraft were on their way to Pearl Harbor.
Shattered by a direct hit, the
USS Arizona burns and sinks,
December 7, 1941.
Damage at Pearl Harbor
Aerial view of the USS
Arizona Memorial
FDR calls this “a date which will
live in infamy”, and Congress
declares that a state of war
exists with Japan.
Roosevelt signs the Declaration of War
Map of the Japanese Empire at its height in 1942.
Island hopping was the
Pacific strategy
Every island posed new
dangers.
With only 450 feet of
'runway,' one of sixteen
Army B-25 Mitchell
bombers takes off from
the deck of the USS
HORNET on its way to
take part in the Doolittle
Raid, the first U.S.
bombing raid on Japan.
The all volunteer strike
force, trained and led
by Lt. Col. James
Doolittle, flew 800 miles
then bombed Tokyo and
3 other cities without
opposition. The raid
inflicted little damage
but gave a big boost to
Allied morale in the face
of the seemingly
unstoppable Japanese.
April 18, 1942.
Doolittle’s Raid
Bataan Death March
– Forced march of captured Americans and Filipinos in the Philippines.
Island hopping –
Strategy of invading Japanese – held islands and moving ever closer to
Japan.
General Douglas MacArthur –
“I shall return,” are his words after FDR orders him to withdraw from
the Philippines in March 1942. (same guy – drove out the WWI Bonus
Army.)
Battle of Coral Sea –
1st time in Naval history, enemy ships fought a battle without seeing
each other – aircraft carriers’ war planes fought the battle. No clear
victory for either side but America blocks their path to Australia.
(May 1942)
Battle of Midway
– naval battle between American and Japanese forces – won by
Americans. (June 1942)
Battle for Guadalcanal
– After 6 months of fierce fighting, the US wins first major land
victory against the Japanese. ( Feb. 1943)
Navajo Code Talkers
– Navajo Indians were trained to used their native language to
communicate coded messages so the Japanese couldn’t
decode our messages.
March 1945
– MacArthur returns and liberates Manila, Philippines.
Kamikaze
– Japanese suicide pilot
Iwo Jima and Okinawa –
Fiercely fought battles for these two islands places Americans
close enough to begin major bombings of Japan.
Allied POWs with hands tied behind their backs pause during the
Bataan Death March. About 76,000 prisoners including 12,000
Americans were forced on the 60 mile march under a blazing sun
without food or water toward a new POW camp in the Philippines. April,
1942.
The Holocaust
Racist Beliefs
• Hitler and Nazis say Aryans—Germanic peoples—
are “master race”
• They launch the Holocaust—systematic murder of
Jews and others
Anti-Semitism
• Nazis tap into long-held feeling of many Europeans
against Jews
• 1935 Nuremberg Laws take away rights of German
Jews
“Night
of Broken Glass”
• Kristallnacht—“night of broken glass,” November
9, 1938
• Jewish homes, businesses, synagogues
attacked; 100 Jews killed
Image
Continued . . .
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Genocide: the systematic and
purposeful destruction of a
racial, political, religious, or
cultural group.
Victims: Jews, Poles, Slavs,
Gypsies, Undesirables
(homosexuals, mentally ill,
political dissidents, handicap)
Hitler’s Final Solution –
extermination of all Jews.
Nuremburg Trials – After the
war emphasized individual
responsibility for actions
regardless of orders.
Trials led to increased demand
for Jewish homeland.
11 million
were killed
6 million
were Jews
continued The Holocaust Begins
A Flood of Refugees
• Fearing more violence, many German Jews flee
to other countries
• Hitler favors emigration but other countries
limit Jewish refugees
Isolating the Jews
• Hitler has all Jews moved to designated cities
• They are forced to live in ghettos—separate
Jewish areas
• Hitler hopes that Jews in ghettos will die of
disease, starvation
• Despite bad conditions, Jews survive in these
areas
Image
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The “Final Solution”
Hitler Seeks New Answer
• “Final Solution”—Hitler’s final plan for
treatment of Jews
• Chooses genocide—systematic killing of an
entire people
Chart
The Killings Begin
• Nazis in Eastern Europe, Soviet Union create
killing squads
• They shoot men, women, children in mass
executions
• Other Jews sent to concentration camps or
slave labor prisons
Map
Continued . . .
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continued The “Final Solution”
The Final Stage
• By 1942, Nazis building huge, efficient
extermination camps
• Camps separate strong from weak people
• Weak (mostly women, children, elderly,
sick) killed immediately
The Survivors
• Nazis kill about six million European
Jews during the war
• Fewer than four million survive
Image
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Himmler sent four specially trained SS units
called “Einsatzgruppen battalions” into
German occupied territory and shot at least
1 million Jews.
Victims were taken to deserted areas where
they were made to dig their own graves and
then shot.
When the SS ran out of bullets they
sometimes killed their victims using flame
throwers.
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In January 1942,
Himmler decided to
change tactics once again
and called a special
conference at Wannsee.
At this conference it was
decided that the existing
methods were too
inefficient and that a
new ‘Final Solution’ was
necessary.
Women, children, the
old & the sick were to
be sent for ‘special
treatment.’
The young and fit would go
through a process called
‘destruction through work.’
On arrival the Jews
would go through a
process called
‘selection.’
How was the Final
Solution going to
be organized?
The remaining
Jews were to be
shipped to
‘resettlement
areas’ in the
East.
Conditions in the Ghettos were
designed to be so bad that many
die whilst the rest would be
willing to leave these areas in the
hope of better conditions
Shooting was too
inefficient as the bullets
were needed for the war
effort
Jews were to be
rounded up and put
into transit camps
called Ghettoes
The Jews living in
these Ghettos were to
be used as a cheap
source of labour.
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At the Wannsee Conference
it was decided that if one of
person’s parents was Jewish,
then they were Jewish.
However, if only one of their
grandparents had been
Jewish then they could be
classified as being German.
In 1940, all Jews had to have
their passports stamped with
the letter ‘J’ and had to wear
the yellow Star of David on
their jacket or coat.
The work of the
Einsatzgruppen
Why do you think that they located them here?
Deception
The Jews were told
that they were going
to ‘resettlement
areas’ in the East.
In some Ghettos
the Jews had to
purchase their
own train tickets.
They were told
to bring the
tools of their
trade and pots
and pans.
New arrivals at the
Death camps were
given postcards to
send to their friends.
Tactics
Starvation
The Jews in the
Warsaw Ghetto were
only fed a 1000
calories a day .
Terror
A human being needs
2,400 calories a day to
maintain their weight
The SS publicly shot people
for smuggling food or for
any act of resistance
Hungry people are
easier to control
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The SS guards who murdered the Jews were
brainwashed with Anti-Semitic propaganda.
The Jews were transported in cattle cars in terrible
conditions.
Naked, dirty and half starved people look like
animals, which helped to reinforce the Nazi
propaganda.
The SS used to train their new guards by
encouraging them to set fire to a pit full of live
victims – usually children.
All new arrivals went
through a process
known as ‘selection.’
Mothers, children, the
old & sick were sent
straight to the
‘showers’ which were
really the gas
chambers.
The able bodied were
sent to work camp
were they were killed
through a process
known as ‘destruction
through work.’
At Auschwitz the trains
pulled into a mock up
of a normal station.
Deception &
Selection
At Auschwitz the new
arrivals were calmed
down by a Jewish
orchestra playing
classical music.
The Jews were helped
off the cattle trucks
by Jews who were
specially selected to
help the Nazis
At some death camps
the Nazis would play
records of classical
music to help calm
down the new arrivals.
Notice how it has been built to resemble a railway station
New Arrivals
‘Showers’
‘Destruction
Through
Work’
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The Nazis would
force large groups of
prisoners into small
cement rooms and
drop canisters of
Zyklon B, or prussic
acid, in its crystal
form through small
holes in the roof.
These gas chambers
were sometimes
disguised as showers
or bathing houses.
The SS would try and pack up to 2000 people into this gas chamber
Notice the Ovens easy located near the Gas Chambers
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Specially selected Jews
known as the
sonderkommando were
used to to remove the
gold fillings and hair of
people who had been
gassed.
The Sonderkommando
Jews were also forced to
feed the dead bodies
into the crematorium.
Taken inside a huge glass case in the Auschwitz Museum. This represents one
day's collection at the peak of the gassings, about twenty five thousand pairs.
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The Nazis aimed to
kill 11 million Jews at
the Wannsee
Conference in 1941
Today there are only
2000 Jews living in
Poland.
The Nazis managed to
kill at least 6 million
Jews.
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Men like Schindler
helped Jews escape the
Final Solution.
Not all Jews went quietly
into the gas cambers.
In 1943, the Warsaw
Ghetto, like many others
revolted against the
Nazis when the Jews
realised what was really
happening.
War in Africa and
Europe
Section 4
The Allies defeated the
Axis Powers in Europe
and in Africa.
During World War II, the
United States assumed a
leading role in world affairs
that continues today.
Terms to Know:
1. Dwight D. Eisenhower – U.S. general who led the
Allied Forces in Europe.
2. D-Day – Allied invasion of France in June 1944 to
liberate Europe.
3. Battle of the Bulge – Germany’s last major attack.
4. Yalta Conference – Meeting of Allied leaders to
discuss the end of the war plans.
5. Holocaust – Systematic murder of millions of Jews
and other people in Europe by the Nazis.
6. Anti-Semitism – hostility or discrimination against
Jews.
North African Campaign
Operation Torch
Purposes:
•Drive Axis powers out of North
Africa and Middle East
•Divert German forces from Russian
Front
Strategy: Sandwich Afrikan Corp between
British in East and Allied forces (including
US) in West
The Allied Victory
The Tide Turns on Two Fronts
The North African Campaign
• Rommel takes Tobruk, June 1942; pushes
toward Egypt
• British General Montgomery attacks at El
Alamein, forces Rommel back
• American forces land in Morocco,
November 1942
• General Dwight D. Eisenhower—American
commander in Morocco
• In May 1943, Rommel’s forces defeated
by Allies
Continued . . .
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Erwin Rommel
Commander of the Nazi
forces in North Africa
The Panzer IV was the mainstay
of the Afrika Corps
and were needed in great
numbers in the
Western Desert
SECTIO
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4
continued
The Tide Turns on Two Fronts
The Battle for Stalingrad
• German army moves to capture Soviet oil
fields
• Battle of Stalingrad—Soviets, Germans
battle
for control of city
• German troops capture city, then surrender
after long battle
The Invasion of Italy
• U.S., British forces land on, capture Sicily in
1943
• Mussolini loses power but Germans keep control
of northern Italy
• Allies invade Italy, but Germans keep fighting
there until war ends
NEXT
July - August 1943,
Operation "Husky": Allied forces invade Sicily, Italy.
This Operation was the greatest AirborneAmphibious Operation of WWII until D-DAY
3,000 ships and landing-craft with 160,000 men
(8 Divisions), 14,000 vehicles, 600 tanks and 1800
guns.
Operation continues in Sicily and Italy 1943-1945
Operation
Husky
Invasion
of Italy
First Allied attacks on Monte Cassino
The Allied Home Fronts
Mobilizing for War
• Fighting the war requires complete use of all
national resources
• 17 to 18 million U.S. workers—many of them
women—make weapons
• People at home face shortages of consumer
goods
• Propaganda aims to inspire civilians to aid war
effort
War Limits Civil Rights
• Japanese Americans face prejudice, fear
• Army puts Japanese Americans in interment
camps in 1942
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Victory in Europe
The D-Day Invasion
• Allies plan invasion of France; use deception to
confuse Germans
• D-Day—June 6, 1944; day of “Operation
Overlord” invasion of France
• Allied forces capture Normandy beaches;
liberate Paris by September
The Battle of the Bulge
• U.S., British forces advance on Germany from
west, Soviets from east
• Battle of the Bulge—German counterattack in
December 1944
• Germans gain early success but forced to retreat
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Landing on Omaha Beach
Landing on the beach was difficult.
1. Surprise attack
2. Poor weather conditions
3. German fortifications
13 June, 1944 - till 20 June,
V-1 named "Vergeltungswaffe". Germany launches
its first V-1 rocket attack on England,
•8000 V-1's fired to London.
•Up to 100 V-1s fell every hour on London.
•Over an 80 day period, more than 6,000 persons were
killed.
Those witnessing the
event cannot explain
the cause of the
explosion because the
speed of the
projectile is such
that it arrives
before the sound of
its passage is heard.
Launched a V-2 rocket.
8 September 1944,
Last major offensive German
action.
"The Battle of the Bulge”
December 1944 - January 1945
Victory in
Europe
Germany’s Unconditional Surrender
• By 1945, Allied armies approach
Germany from two sides
• Soviets surround Berlin in April
1945
• Hitler commits suicide
• On May 9, 1945, Germany
officially surrenders, marking V-E
Day
• President Roosevelt dies in April;
Harry Truman becomes president
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Victory in the Pacific
The Japanese in Retreat
• Allies move to retake the Philippines in late 1944
• Battle of Leyte Gulf leaves Japanese navy badly
damaged
• Kamikazes—Japanese pilots who fly suicide
missions
• In March 1945, American forces capture Iwo Jima
• U.S. takes Okinawa in June 1945; Japan suffers
huge casualties
Marines of the 5th Division inch their way up a slope on Red Beach
No. 1 toward Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, defended by seven
Japanese Battalions. By nightfall, 566 Marines were killed and 1,854
wounded. February 19, 1945.
19 February 1945, (till 26 March).
•US Marines divisions land on Iwo Jima
In the Pacific Iwo Jima is strategically and politically important to
both sides. The Americans need the island as a fighter base
(Mustangs P-51 fighters) for their Japanese raids (B-29's) and a
relief base for damaged bombers.
•On the first day some 30,000 marines landed on the 8 square mile
island. About 23,000 Japanese soldiers had prepared defences but
allowed the landing to take place before opening fire. The Japanese
had prepared for the invasion with a system of underground tunnels,
bunkers, and pillboxes, designed to entrap and decimate the
Americans.
•Over the next 36 days - 6,281 US soldiers are killed (in the first 2
days, 4000 US soldiers died), and 21,865 are wounded in capturing
the island from 23,000 defenders.
21,000 Japanese soldiers died.
23 February
1945,
U.S. Marines
plant a U.S. flag
on Mount
Suribachi, Iwo
Jima.
The flag raising
photo and
subsequent
statue came to
symbolize being a
Marine.
26 May 1945,
Tokyo, Japan is fire bombed by American bombers.
The city burns, uncontrolled, for two days.
Col. Paul W. Tibbets, pilot of
the B-29 Superfortress
ENOLA GAY, drops the
world's first atomic bomb,
Little Boy, on Hiroshima.
The 9,000 lb. bomb was
dropped from 31,600 feet and
detonated at 8:15 a.m.,
August 6, 1945, about 1,900
feet above the center of
Hiroshima. A blinding light,
tremendous explosion and
dark gray cloud enveloped
the city, followed by a rising
mushroom shaped cloud.
The Japanese estimated
72,000 were killed and 70,000
out of 76,000 buildings in the
city were destroyed.
Enola Gay
At the time of the
bombing, Hiroshima
was a prosperous
city of nearly
320,000. The bomb
exploded almost
directly over the
center of the city.
Two square miles of
the city were
completely leveled by
the bomb, and the
intense heat
generated by the
explosion started
fires as far as two
miles
from ground zero.
About one hour after the
bombing on 6 August 1945.
A Roman Catholic cathedral on a hill is all that remains in this section
of Nagasaki following the dropping of the second Atomic Bomb from
a B-29 flown by Major Charles W. Sweeney, August 9, 1945. The
Japanese estimated 25,680 were killed and 44 percent of the city
was destroyed.
Victory in the
Pacific
The Japanese Surrender
• Advisors warn Truman that invasion of
Japan will cost many lives
• He has alternative; powerful new weapon
called atomic bomb
• Manhattan Project—secret program to
develop the bomb
• Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima,
August 6, 1945, about 75,000 die
• Nagasaki bombed on August 9; 70,000 die
immediately
• Japanese surrender on September 2,
1945
NEXT
•8 August 1945, The Soviet Union declares war on Japan.
Soviet forces invade Manchuria and North-Korea.
•9 August 1945, The world's second (and last) atomic bomb
(Plutonium), Fat Man, is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
One minute after explosion 39,000 were killed and 25,000
wounded.
•14 August 1945, Emperor Hirohito announces the Japan
defeat to his people. Japan accepts an unconditional
surrender. The
fear of more atomic weapon attacks and the certainty of land
defeat by the Soviets have combined to secure the
complete surrender.
•2 September 1945, Japanese Foreign Minister Mamoru
Shigemitsu signs the instrument of surrender aboard the
battleship
U.S.S. Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan.
End of World War II.
Gen. Douglas MacArthur signs as Supreme Allied
Commander during formal surrender ceremonies on the
USS MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay. September 2, 1945.
Sept 2, 1945
Japanese sign surrender
agreement
Gen. Douglas MacArthur signs as
Supreme Allied Commander during
formal surrender ceremonies on the USS
MISSOURI in Tokyo Bay.
Devastation in Europe
A Harvest of Destruction
• Many cities across Europe badly damaged by
war
• Many people displaced by war and peace
agreements
Misery Continues After the War
• Lack of food, destruction of roads, factories lead
to hardship
• Many people suffer from hunger, disease after
war
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Postwar Governments and Politics
Need for New Leaders
• Many conquered countries went back to old
governments
• New leaders needed in Germany, Italy, and
France
• Communist parties make gains in Italy,
France by promising change
• Communist interest fades as economies
recover
The Nuremberg Trials
•Nuremberg Trials—trials of 22 Nazi leaders for
war crimes
• Some Nazi leaders are executed for their
actions
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Postwar Japan
Serious Damage
• In war, Japan loses two million people;
severe damage to many cities
Occupied Japan
• MacArthur takes charge of U.S. occupation of
Japan
• Starts process of demilitarization—disbanding
Japan’s armed forces
• Also launches democratization—creating
democracy in Japan
• Japanese people adopt new constitution in
1947
• MacArthur puts economic reforms in place
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Occupation Brings Deep
Changes
Changing Japanese Society
• Emperor kept on, but he loses power
and becomes figurehead
• Japanese people elect two-house
legislature
• Bill of rights guarantees freedoms;
women also have right to vote
• Constitution says Japan cannot attack
another country
• In 1951, peace treaty with Japan
signed; U.S. occupation ends
• U.S. and Japan become allies
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