Download World War II

World War II
1939-1945
Causes of WWII

Rise of dictators in
Europe (1920’s/30’s)
– Benito Mussolini (Italy)
– Joseph Stalin (Soviet
Union)
– Adolf Hitler (Germany)
Hitler’s Conquests
1936-Germany
invades the Rhineland
 1938-Hitler annexes
Austria and parts of
Czeckoslovakia

Munich Conference
Hitler meets with leaders of France and
Great Britain at Munich in September
1938.
 Appeasement of Hitler: Giving in to a
stronger power to avoid future problems.

Start of War

September 1, 1939: Germany invades Poland
– Britain and France declare war on Germany
Allies vs. the Axis

Allies:
– Great Britain
– France
– Soviet Union (194045)
– USA (1941-45)

Axis:
– Germany
– Italy
– Japan
Japanese control in the Pacific 1941
America’s Role 1939-1941

Neutrality becomes ….
– FDR elected to 3rd term 1940
– Lend-Lease Act (1940): America builds
weapons and supplies Great Britain
USA Enters WWII

December 7th, 1941—”A date which will
live in infamy.”
– Japan attacks the American fleet at Pearl
Harbor, Hawaii.
– America declares war on Japan and enters
WWII.
The War Front 1942-1945
The Atlantic Theater
(fighting against
Germany and Italy in
Europe)
 The Pacific Theater
(fighting against
Japan in Asia)
 America’s goal:
Defeat Germany first

Key Events in the war in
Europe:

June 6, 1944- The D-Day Invasion
(Operation Overlord)
– Allied troops invade Europe
– Normandy, France
– “storming the beaches” to break through
Germany’s Atlantic Wall
– This is a turning point in the war
The German Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall in Normandy,
France
General Eisenhower addressing
the invading force (June 5)
Area of Invasion
On the way to Normandy
American Landing Craft
Landing Craft
Into the Water
Looking for Cover
Results of the D-Day Invasion:
Allied forces win the battle
 This is the beginning of the end for
Germany
 The victory is a major turning point in the
war
 Germany begins to retreat

American Cemetery- Normandy,
France
American Cemetery-Normandy,
France
Normandy Today
End of war in Europe timeline:

February 1945- The
Big Three meet at
Yalta to discuss what
to do with Germany
once the war is over
March 1945- FDR begins his
fourth term as president

April 12, 1945- FDR
dies; Harry Truman
becomes the new
President

April 30, 1945-
Hitler commits suicide
in his underground
bunker in Berlin
 Germany is being
overrun by American
and Russian troops
May 8, 1945-Germany
surrenders!
V-E Day (Victory in
Europe Day)
 Now the focus will be
defeating Japan

Timeline: War in the Pacific vs.
Japan

Island Hopping:
American strategy of
fighting from island to
island in the Pacific,
each victory getting
American troops
closer to Japan
Flag Raising on Iwo Jima
Japanese Strategy:
Fight to death
 Do not surrender
 Kamikaze pilots

The Manhattan Project
The top secret project
worked on from 19391945 that researched
and built the atomic
bomb
 The bomb was
successfully tested in
July 1945
 President Truman is
notified that “the
baby is born”.

End of War with Japan
August 6, 1945- The
first atomic bomb is
dropped over the city
of Hiroshima, Japan
 August 9, 1945- A
second atomic bomb
is dropped over
Nagasaki, Japan
 Japan surrenders

After the Bombings
Hiroshima Shadow
Hiroshima before and
after
August 14, 1945: V-J Day
(victory over Japan Day)