World War II 1939 - 1945

Warm Up Considering your work from the previous class day and your reading, when do you think the US should have entered WWII? Explain your rationale.

Why did the US wait until 1941, after nearly every European nation had fallen to Germany to enter WWII? What were the sources of American political isolationism? In what ways did WWII impact daily life of the majority of Americans? Overall, what impact did WWII have on women & various minority groups? Evaluate the contributions of the Soviets & the Americans to the allied victory. What tensions developed b/w the two nations in terms of strategy & post-war territorial issues? Why did the US use atomic weapons against Japan?

Totalitarianism in Europe: Pre-1939 Hitler Mussolini Stalin Rise to power Methods to keep power Pre-WWII conquest for land

Europe moves towards war Hitler calls for lebensraum “living space” for German people Take over lands of inferior peoples (Slavs & Poles) & occupy German speaking lands of Europe European leaders try appeasement to avoid war with Germany Germany begins building a large army & producing weapons in 1933 –violating the Treaty of Versailles Anschluss of 1938, Germany enters Austria “Peace for our time” –English Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain gets Hitler to agree to stop “annexing” parts of Europe on September 30, 1938 Next day, Germany occupies the Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia)

War Begins: Blitzkrieg 9-1-1939 with the invasion of Poland Days before Hitler signs nonaggression pact with USSR USSR will not stop German attacks in Europe France & GB declare war on Germany Spring of 1940 –Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium & France invaded

August –October ,1940 Battle of Britain “the Blitz” (blitzkrieg=lightning war) bombing Germany uses U-boats to prevent supplies from reaching Britain British hold out with radar & US supplied food & weapons thru the Lend-Lease Act

US enters the war December 7th, 1941 “A date that will live in infamy” Japan attacks US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Punish U.S. for banning the sale of oil to Japan Gen. Hideki Tojo also attacks the Philippines and several islands in the Pacific held by US Isolationism: refusal to be involved in political events abroad -ends for US

Germany Attacks the USSR June 1941, Hitler sends 3 million men into Russia Blitzkrieg effective at first By autumn still had not conquered Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad (St. Petersburg) USSR cuts off all supplies to Stalingrad Stalin “sieges a siege” -winter 1942 -1943 1 million Soviets die Out of 250,000 Germans: 90,000 captured, nearly 100,000 died

Battle of the Atlantic German navy is small Largest warship of it’s time “The Bismarck” destroyed by British in less than 2 weeks Germany relies on U-boats to disrupt supply lines and enigma code to send secret communications By 1943, the U.S. can out-produce destroyed airplanes and ships

War in North Africa & Italy German-Italian Afrika Korps has many early wins, but has vulnerable supply lines Allies want control of Suez Canal to get Middle East oil supplies Battle of El Alamein (1942), German General Erwin Rommel loses to British due to lack of supplies By May 1943, American, French & British troops control all of Africa

Battle of the Pacific Japanese control much of the Pacific b/c they’re well supplied & near home US Navy severely weakened by Pearl Harbor attack Capture more than 70,000 Allies –Bataan Death March Battle of Midway -1st Allied Victory due to code breaking Allies begin “island hopping” –Battle of Guadalcanal Japan retaliates with Kamikazes

The End of the War -Europe Soviets push west from Stalingrad; US, British, French push east from the Atlantic D-day: Allied attack of Normandy, France June 6, 1944 150,000 men landed on the same day by sea & air Germayn continues to fight for 11 more months V-E Day, May 7, 1945 war in Europe ends

The Holocaust –”Great Raging Fire” Long tradition of anti-Semitism in Europe Nuremburg Laws passed in 1937 to exclude Jews from mainstream German life Kristallnacht “night of broken glass”: November 1938 in Germany & Austria Jewish homes & businesses vandalized Synagogues destroyed 25% of Jewish men in Germany arrested

“The Final Solution” Ghettos –walled off sections of cities where all Jews had to live Concentration camps From France, Poland & other German held territory –Jews put on trains to work in slave labor camps in Eastern Europe Used to produce necessities for the army Those who were not “essential” –the old, sick and young children were gassed & cremated Death marches Hitler’s ultimate goal was to exterminate “the Jewish race”

The End of the War -Asia US bombing raids of Tokyo begin in summer 0f 1944 Battle of Iwo Jima & Battle of Okinawa Japanese fight to the death and heavy American losses July, 1945 US asks for Japanese surrender Atomic Bomb Aug. 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima Aug. 9, 1945 bombing of Nagasaki V-J Day Japan surrenders, August 15, 1945