Download chapter 29 wwii

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THE NIGHTMARE: WORLD WAR II
CHAPTER SUMMARY
From Mussolini’s takeover of Ethiopia to Hitler’s occupation of the Rhineland, Anschluss with Austria, and the
seizure of the Sudetenland, Europe’s international system demonstrated that the use of force - or even the threat of
force - was likely to succeed. The German invasion of Poland in September, 1939 - undertaken in cooperation with
the Soviet Union - finally brought Britain and France to declare war. The conflict was slow to start and slow to reach
its apogee. At first victories fell entirely to the Axis, with the German occupation of Denmark, Norway, much of the
Balkans, and, in June, 1940, France itself. As Britain fought on alone, the forces of aggression faltered. In spring,
1941, Hitler invaded the Soviet Union.
Six months later, Japan brought the United States into the conflict. With the two giant participants involved, western
Europe would be saved, although this was not entirely clear until late 1942, when the Germans were stopped at
Stalingrad and El Alamein, and the Japanese advance in the Pacific was halted. Britain and the Soviet Union
mobilized their entire societies to the war effort, while American production surpassed that of all its enemies
combined. Germany began to be hurt by the sheer brutality of its regime. The “final solution” actually diverted
resources from the war effort, and Nazi atrocities sparked resistance movements across the continent. Gradually the
Nazis were turned back on the eastern front and in Italy, where they took over the main burden of defense after the
Anglo-American invasion of 1943. Finally, in June 1944, the Allies opened the second front in northern Europe so
long desired by Stalin. By this time the three great allies had already begun to anticipate the postwar settlement. At
Yalta, the second of the Big Three conferences, the West’s control of France and Italy was tacitly acknowledged, the
principle of zones of occupation for Germany accepted, and a temporary agreement on Poland achieved. Two
months later Germany surrendered, followed in late summer by Japan.
It would take the continent more than a decade to emerge from the war trauma in which perhaps 50 million
Europeans had been killed and countless others displaced. Fairly quickly it became apparent that the Soviet Union
would control regimes from Berlin eastward, while the western part of the continent would rely on American aid to
rebuild and to preserve democratic systems. As America and Russia lapsed into animosity the epic moments of the
Cold War unfolded: the Truman Doctrine, the Berlin airlift, the Marshall Plan, the fall of Czechoslovakia, the
Korean War. As Britain, France, and the Netherlands gradually granted independence to their former colonies or,
worse, thwarted nationalist movements, the bipolar nature of the new world order became apparent.
A number of trends characterized the development of Europe in the 1950s. In general, economic growth was
spectacular. Governments assumed new responsibilities for welfare and worked cooperatively with business for
planned economic development. Under the auspices of the Soviet Union, eastern Europe began massive
industrialization, though efforts of Poles, Hungarians, and East Germans to free themselves from Soviet control
were unsuccessful. Amid returning prosperity, the old colonial powers experienced new difficulties, epitomized by
France in Vietnam and Algeria and by Britain in Egypt. Gradually becoming restive under American tutelage,
western European countries looked for closer union among themselves.
LECTURE AND DISCUSSION TOPICS
1.
2.
3.
Trace Hitler’s remarkable military successes in the first phase of World War II. Discuss the reasons for his
successes.
Explore the global nature of the war. What role did colonial peoples play in the war? How did Japanese
imperialism in the Pacific complicate the war? Consider the different theaters in the discussion: Eastern
Front, western Europe, North Africa, Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, China, the Middle East, the Atlantic
Ocean.
Investigate the resistance movements in Europe and elsewhere. What kinds of alliances were formed in
these movements?
221
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Compare the roles and experiences of women during World War II in the Soviet Union, Germany, Britain,
and the United States.
Discuss the responsibility of German society for the Holocaust.
Assess the devastation of Europe at the conclusion of the war and the different efforts that were made to
rebuild it.
Explore the origins of the Cold War. How did competing ideologies contribute to the entrenchment of the
Cold War in the postwar period?
Research the process of decolonization. How did European ideas, such as democracy or nationalism,
influence this process?
Compare and contrast economic growth and recovery in eastern and western Europe.
Discuss the role of international organizations in the postwar period. What kinds of social problems did
such organizations tackle?
SUPPLEMENTAL FILMS
A Day in the Warsaw Ghetto: A Birthday Trip to Hell. 30 min. Color. 1993. Filmaker's Library. Powerful
documentary on a German soldier's birthday-leave tour of the Warsaw Ghetto
America and the Holocaust: Deceit and Indifference. 60 min. B/W & color. 1994. PBS. Examines the complex
reasons and political considerations that shaped the U.S. response to the Holocaust.
The American Experience: America and the Holocaust. ca. 52 min. B/W & color. WGBH Education Foundation.
How the U.S. dismissed allegations of the Nazi death camps during World War II.
Berlin 1945. 60 min. B/W. German Language Video Center. With actual footage, this film shows the massive
destruction of the city during the Soviet campaign to capture the city.
Nazi War Crime Trials. 67 min. B/W. German Language Video Center. Seven short documentaries combined to
illustrate the trials and executions of leading Nazi party members. Excellent, but not for the squeamish.
Night & Fog. 30 min. B/W & color. 1946. International Historic Films. Brilliant and disturbing documentary of the
Nazi death camps.
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. 28 min. 1972. Based on William L. Shirer's classic account of the Nazi state.
World War II. 155 min. B/W. 4 vols. 1989. Video Communications. Covers the European War from its origins to the
fall of Berlin.
World War II. B/W. 7 vols. Marathon Music and Video. Examines the origins, and campaigns of the Pacific War.
Battle of Britain. 50 min. B/W. 1943. National Audio-visual Center. From the Why We Fight series.
D-Day. 50 min. B/W. 1962. Films, Inc. German and Allied footage of the landings.
Genocide. 52 min. Color. 1973. D. L. Taffner. Hitler’s plan to exterminate the Jews of Europe.
Memory of the Camps. 60 min. B/W. 1985. PBS Video. Includes the earliest footage taken of the death camps.
The Spanish Civil War: The War on Spain and The War Beyond Spain. 30 min. each. B/W. 1972. Kraus Thomson
Organization. News footage and interviews with participants.
Total War. 26 min. B/W. 1969. Learning Corporation of America. How civilians experienced the war.
222
The War Years: Britain in World War II. Five 58 min. episodes. B/W. 1990. Films for the Humanities. Different
aspects of the war experience.
World at War. Twenty-six 51 min. episodes. Color. 1974. Heritage Visual Sales Ltd. Begins with Germany in 1933
and has episodes on many aspects of the war in both Europe and the Pacific.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
The page numbers listed below indicate the correct answers and their locations in the text.
1.
Between 1939 and the U.S. entry into the war in 1941, the Germans occupied
a. most of France, most of the Balkans, all of Scandinavia
b. the Low Countries, Spain, the Balkans
c. most of the Balkans, most of France, Denmark, Norway, the Low Countries (pp.1066-1067)
d. Denmark, Norway, Spain, most of France
2.
In 1942 the tide of World War II began to turn in favor of the Allies because
a. the costs of the campaign in Russia (p.1072)
b. landing of allied forces in France diverted German resources from the Eastern Front
c. Germany had to divide its war effort in order to give aid to Japan
d. the German people were losing faith in the war effort
3.
What role did the United States play in the European conflict before December 7, 1941?
a. totally isolationist
b. fully committed military ally
c. supplier of loans and war materials to the allies (p.1071)
d. leader of the allied forces
e. supporter of the communist regime of the Soviet Union
4.
The decision of the United States to give the fight against Germany priority over the war in Asia
a. acknowledged the bonds of Western culture
b. acknowledged the importance of European industrial power
c. recognized the possibility that Soviet Russia might not survive without help
d. all of the above (p.1074)
5.
Which is not a reason why the Nazi regime ultimately lost the war?
a. Nazi atrocities sparked resistance movements throughout the conquered territories
b. Nazi policies of extermination diverted resources from the war
c. among the first nations to mobilize totally for war, the German people were exhausted sooner
(pp.1072, 1076-1080)
d. American productivity surpassed anything Germany and her allies could match
6.
Following the ouster of Mussolini, Italy
a. was more firmly entrenched in the German camp
b. welcomed Nazi forces of occupation
c. had peace within her borders
d. joined the Allied side (p.1081)
223
7.
The last offensive mounted by the Germans was
a. the Battle of the Bulge (p.1083)
b. the invasion of Italy
c. Crimea
d. Normandy
8.
The Big Three were
a. Russia, Britain, and France
b. Japan, Germany, and Italy
c. Germany, Poland, and Austria
d. Russia, Britain, and the U.S. (p.1084)
9.
Before 1950 European recovery was hindered by
a. millions of refugees from eastern Europe flooding into the Soviet Union
b. unwillingness of Europeans to hunt out fascist collaborators
c. massive destruction of factories and transport systems (pp.1088-1089)
d. U.S. reluctance to advance aid for recovery
10.
The efforts to root out fascism after the war included
a. summary executions
b. the Nuremberg trials
c. public prosecutions
d. all of the above (p. 1090)
11.
The International Monetary Fund and the precursor to the World Bank were created to
a. administer the funds allocated by the Marshall Plan
b. prevent inflation (p.1091)
c. organize food and medical relief supplies
d. all of the above
12.
In Yugoslavia, Marshall Tito
a. acquiesced to Soviet demands
b. broke with western allies
c. resisted Soviet directives (p.1092)
d. a and b
13.
The Truman Doctrine
a. promised American aid to nations in danger of Communist take-over (p.1094)
b. brought the U.S. into the Korean War
c. proclaimed U.S. willingness to commit American troops to UN military actions
d. warned the Soviet Union not to take Czechoslovakia
14.
Which area did not gain independence from European control before 1950?
a. India
b. Burma
c. Indonesia
d. French Indochina (p.1099)
224
15.
The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union
a. was held in check by the fact that the Soviets did not have atomic weapons until the late 1950s
b. found the U.S.’s only allies, France and Britain, wishing to remain neutral
c. began in Europe but quickly moved to confrontation throughout the world (p.1095)
d. was characterized by a major commitment of Soviet land forces in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East
16.
Which best describes the role of western European governments in the economy as those countries
recovered from World War II?
a. minimal government activity as the free market was allowed to develop
b. government responsibility for welfare, but minimal activity in business
c. governments slow to pursue welfare legislation, while actively encouraging business
d. governments responsible for welfare policies and working with large business to direct economic
development (p.1101)
17.
The most pressing issue faced by the government of the Fourth French Republic was the revolt against
French rule in
a. Haiti
b. Algeria (p.1102)
c. Egypt
d. Canada
18.
The Soviet Union emerged as one of the world’s most powerful and stable nations under
a. Lenin
b. Stalin
c. Khrushchev (p.1103)
d. Gorbachev
ESSAY QUESTIONS
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
Discuss the policy of appeasement. Why was it so hard for the democratic governments of Europe to
respond to Hitler’s foreign policy initiatives?
What were Hitler’s plans with regard to the Jewish and Slavic peoples of Europe? How was he able to get
the support of the German people in carrying out these plans?
Whereas World War I had been a catastrophe for fighting forces, World War II proved equally or more
devastating for civilians. Why was this the case?
How did World War II alter life on the home front in Britain, Germany, and Soviet Russia?
How was the strategic balance of power altered in Europe by the end of World War II? Given these
realities, how do you assess the importance of the Yalta Conference and its decisions about the postwar fate
of Europe?
Why did the United States become so fearful of the Soviet Union after 1945? Why was the Soviet Union so
fearful of the United States?
Explain why the Allies would not believe reports of Nazi concentration camps during the war.
Discuss why the Allies refused to negotiate with the Axis after the Casablanca Conference in January 1943.
How did the United States and the Soviet Union utilize the emerging Third World and newly independent
countries during the Cold War?
How did World War II and subsequent political, social, and economic developments among both the
victors and vanquished contribute and encourage anti-colonial revolts from Algeria to Malaysia?
Why did newly independent countries sometimes resort to economic aid, technological and educational
expertise as well as political support from their former colonial overlords?
How does the Marshall Plan reflect the influence of the economic strategies of John Maynard Keynes?
225
CRITICAL THINKING
Evaluating Evidence
31.
How do the photos on pages 1067 and 1068 illustrate the effects of the war on civilian populations?
32.
Why did American forces require German civilians to see the Lansberg concentration camp, pictured on
page 1078?
33.
Compare the destruction seen in the photos on pages 1088 and 1089. Was the extent of the damage
justified?
34.
What does the photo on page 1102 indicate about relations between colonizers and the colonized in the
postwar period?
Critical Analysis
Stalin Appeals to Patriotism
35.
Does Stalin employing a Marxist model of history to explain the war and call for patriotism? Explain the
relative absence of communist rhetoric and slogans in this speech.
36.
How does Stalin employ both nationalism and communism in this speech? Which appeal dominated?
Why?
A Gas Chamber
37.
Genocide occurred sporadically before World War II throughout history and the world. However, what
made twentieth-century genocide unique?
38.
Why do you think André Lettich, the French doctor, is in Birkenau?
The Historians' Debate on German Genocide
39.
Which of the three authors do you find most convincing and why?
40.
Friedlander's argument contends that German elite education combined with German nationalism to
produce the Holocaust. Why then did the Holocaust not occur in European countries such as England and
France?
41.
Cite specific passages in Wehler's that maintain the Holocaust “had distinctly German roots.” What stance
do you think Friedlander would take on this issue?
42.
Nolte's thesis seems to absolve partially the Nazis and blame the Communists. Wehler's argument seems to
absolve partially the Communists and blame the Germans. How can these two divergent arguments be
reconciled?
Churchill Sees An Iron Curtain
43.
How does Churchill define the Cold War?
44.
Why do you think the western Allies (Britain, France, and the United States) had refused to recognize the
political situation for over a year?
226
45.
Describe the “Liberated Europe [the western Allies] fought for.” Could Stalin make the same charges
against the western Allies?
46.
Is Churchill actually making a distinction between the “Russians” and the “Soviets”? If so, what is the
distinction and why is Churchill making it?
The Soviet Union Denounces the United States While Calling for Arms Reduction
47.
Why did the Soviet Union call for a prohibition of nuclear arms in 1948? What advantage would such a
prohibition have given to the Soviet Union?
48.
How does the speech justify Soviet expansion while condemning U.S. expansion? What U.S. policies
would justify the Soviet charge?
IDENTIFICATIONS
49. Anschluss
73. Munich Agreement
50. Hitler-Stalin Pact
74. Rome-Berlin Axis
51. Vyacheslav Molotov
75. blitzkrieg
52. Maginot Line
76. Pétain
53. Vichy France
77. Battle of Britain
54. Royal Air Force
78. Roosevelt
55. Churchill
79. Stalingrad
56. General Rommel
80. General Eisenhower
57. Guadalcanal
81. genocide
58. Holocaust
82. Casablanca Conference
59. Teheran Conference
83. General De Gaulle
60. Battle of the Bulge
84. French resistance
61. Yalta Conference
85. Iwo Jima
62. Truman
86. atomic bomb
63. Hiroshima
87. Nagasaki
64. Potsdam
88. refugees
65. Nuremberg trials
89. United Nations Organization
66. Cold War
90. Marshall Plan
67. Comecon
91. decolonization
68. Gandhi
92. Mao Zedong
69. baby boom
93. OEEC
70. Monnet Plan
94. Fifth Republic
71. Khrushchev
95. Nasser
72. Warsaw Pact
96. satellite regimes
227