Home Front & Aftermath of War CHAPTER 26 SECTION

The Mobilization of 4 Nations - USSR  The Soviets refer to the participation in WW2 as the Great Patriotic war. In order to re-establish themselves after early defeats at the hands of the Nazi’s they needed to reorganize at the expense of their civilian population. Food was so scarce that 1.5 million Russians died. Those that survived ate dogs, cats & mice as all the food was prioritized for the military.  Also as the Germans advanced, entire factories were disassembled and then reassembled somewhere in the interior of Russia so they can safely produce things for the war effort without the threat of the Nazis.  In % of the Soviet income went to the military when only 3 years earlier that number was only 15%.

The Mobilization of 4 Nations – U.S.  The United States main contribution to the war effort was producing all the vital equipment that was badly needed by their allies in Europe.  Their was an economic impact based around the American war economy, many boom towns or towns that popped up with numerous factories quickly. As a result of a lack of infrastructure many of the boomtowns faced issues with schools & homes as their weren't enough to supply the growing population of these towns.  16 million Americans joined the armed forces, including women. 1 million African Americans also joined.  African Americans also took advantage of all the new factories that were opening up in the North and began a process known as the great migration, leaving the South for the North where more economic opportunities existed.  Over 110,000 Americans of Japanese descent were sent to detention camps until they can prove their loyalty to this country.

The Mobilization of 4 Nations – Germany  Hitler knew that maintaining positivity in Germany was vital to the war effort. In order to maintain this he refused to modify his economy and continued to prioritize consumer goods over military needs.  Due to the effective blitzkrieg strategy, the Germans took valuable supplies from conquered areas which is mainly why they did not have to alter their economy.  As the war dragged Hitler needed to modify his economy as the threat of losing the war became a real possibility. He ordered Albert Speer to increase the production of armaments. Although Speer tripled the output, the economy could no recover from this late start.

The Mobilization of 4 Nations – Japan  Japan already had a mobilized economy due to their earlier conflicts with China. A government board was created to control prices, resources, wages and labor so as not to damage the war efforts.  Propaganda centered around the Samurai code eventually led to Kamikaze pilots who flew suicide missions into the side of U.S. naval ships.  Where as the war afforded women many new opportunities, Japan was quite different. Under General Hideki Tojo, women were not allowed to work in factories as had been the case in Europe. Although we do see a rise in female employment, it based around industries such as textiles.

The Bombing a Cities  Britain – Major cities eventually targeted. London was bombed nightly resulting I huge loss of civilian life. The Germans raids were called Blitz by the British.  Germany – Britain responded to the bombing of their own cities by bombing German cities. This resulted in a raids of over 1,000 planes into Cologne in The most well known bombing in Germany occurred in Dresden and resulted in 100,000 casualties in 3 days.  Japan - The destruction of nearly the entire Japanese air force left Japan vulnerable to air raids. The Americans quickly responded by activating new B-29 Bombers and quickly bombed Japan. The worst damage occurred in Hiroshima & Nagasaki, 2 cities that had been leveled by the atomic bomb.

B-29 Bomber

Peace and a New War  After the allies had gained victory a split among the U.S. & the U.S.S.R. would lead to the Cold War, and ideological struggle with The U.S. and democracy on one side and the U.S.S.R. and communism on the other.  The Tehran conference centered around the heads of state of the U.S., Britain, & the U.S.S.R. planning what to do abouththe invasion of Germany. They also agreed to divide Germany after the war.  During the Yalta conference which took place after the war was nearly over again brought up the idea of what should be done with Germany after the war. The U.S.S.R.’s army was located I Eastern Europe. As a result pro-Soviet governments were established in Eastern Europe.

Peace and a New War  In July 1945 American president Truman met with Stalin who made it clear that democracy would not be practiced in Eastern Europe. Stalin States “ A freely elected government in any of these east European countries would be anti-Soviet and this we cannot allow.”  The Nuremberg trials were also established during this time in which former Nazis were put to trial for their crimes during WW2.  From the end of WW2 until 1991 a new conflict would engulf the world known as the Cold war as both the U.S. and the Soviet Union tried to spread their sphere of influence around the globe.

The Nuremberg Trials