World War II Notes

Causes of WWII Rise of dictators ▫Joseph Stalin – Soviet Union ▫Benito Mussolini – Italy ▫Adolf Hitler – Germany ▫Hideki Tojo – Japan Germans angry over their defeat in WWI & harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles Military aggression ▫Japan attacks China ▫Italy invades Ethopia ▫Germany – Hitler wanted to create an empire that would include taking over Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland while ridding Europe of those he felt were inferior

American Neutrality 1935 – Congress passed Neutrality Act ▫Designed to keep the U.S. at peace ▫Forbade President from selling weapons, making loans or giving another type of assistance to a warring nation

WWII Begins Aug – Hitler & Stalin signed a nonaggression pact promising not to attack each other’s country and secretly divide Poland Sept. 1, 1939 – Hitler invades Poland Sept. 3, 1939 – Great Britain & France declare war on Germany April 1940 – Germany seizes Denmark and Norway moving on to conquer the Netherlands, Luxembourg & Belgium before invading France June 22, 1940 – France surrenders Battle of Britain – Germany bombed Britain in air raids but never invaded June 22, 1941 – Hitler breaks pact & invades Soviet Union

U.S. Involvement Lend-Lease Act ▫Passed by Congress in 1940 to allow U.S. to lend or lease supplies to Britain & other nations fighting the Nazis, soon extended to China and Soviet Union U.S. began building up military just in case U.S. banned exports of iron, steel and oil to Japan

Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941 – Japan attacks Pearl Harbor in Hawaii FDR said it was “a day that will live in infamy” December 8 th Congress declared war on Japan Germany and Italy declared war on U.S.

Axis v. Allies Axis Powers Germany Italy Japan +6 other countries Allied Powers Great Britain France China Soviet Union United States +45 other countries

Homefront Built up military with draftees and volunteers Industry quickly converted output to military goods ▫ War abruptly ended Great Depression – unemployment fell and economy improved All Americans expected to play role in supplying Allied forces with food, clothing and war equipment ▫ Govt. imposed rationing – act of setting limits on amount of scarce goods people can buy With men going to fight, millions of women took over jobs in factories and shipyards Because of wartime fears, many Japanese Americans were forced to live in internment camps

Japan and the Pacific 1942 Japan attacks Philippines – U.S. moves troops to Bataan Peninsula ▫Japanese capture and move troops – Bataan Death March Battle of Midway Island hopping – American forces would capture some Japanese held islands and go around others

WWII in Africa June 1940 – May 1943 Both Allies and Axis powers had colonial interests in North Africa Italy starts the fighting in Africa Germany’s General Erwin Rommel won many quick victories October 1942, British troops defeated German forces at El Alamein, Egypt November 1942, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and his American troops occupy Morocco and Algeria May 1943 – Rommel’s army is surrounded, they surrender Africa

Victory in Europe Sept – Italy surrendered June 6, 1944 – D-Day – Allied forces storm beaches of Normandy in France pushing Germans out Dec. 16, 1944 – Battle of the Bulge Jan – Germany invaded April 12, 1945 – FDR died & Truman became President April 30, 1945 – Hitler committed suicide Week later Germany surrenders V-E Day – Victory in Europe – May 8, 1945

Torpedo Junction Off coast of NC – near Cape Hatteras From Jan. – June 1942 – 397 ships sunk in American protected waters by German U-boats ▫most of the ships were civilian merchant ships

Manhattan Project Top secret project funded by the U.S. government to create an atomic bomb (explosion caused by splitting an atom) Bombs were tested in New Mexico

G.I. Bill 1944 – law that provided range of benefits for returning WWII veterans ▫Low cost mortgages, low interest loans to start a business or farm, cash payments of tuition and living expenses to attend college, and one year of unemployment compensation Available to every veteran who had been in active duty for at least 90 days during WWII

Victory in Japan After defeating Germany, Allies could focus on Japan American ships destroyed shipping on Japan’s coast U.S. faced the choice of invading Japan or dropping the atomic bomb Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan to save American lives Enola Gay - bomber plane - dropped “Little Boy” (a-bomb) on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945

Victory in Japan (cont.)

August 9, 1945, Soviet Union invades Manchuria which was held by Japan Truman asked Japan to surrender; they refused Truman decided to drop the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 August 10, 1945 – Japan’s Emperor Hirohito gives unconditional surrender – surrender without conditions; no guarantees to surrendering party Official surrender of Japan – August 14, 1945 Victory in Japan (cont.)

Nuremburg Trials 1946 Series of military tribunals held by the Allies Prosecuted prominent members of political, military and economic leaders of the Nazi Party Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany Many were sentenced to death