Chapter 30: WWII and the End of the European World Order

Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) Franco’s Falange fascists, Germany and Italy vs. Soviet Union and Spanish republicans “Dress rehearsal” for WWII Hitler and Mussolini help Franco’s fascist government. Soviet Union provided military aid to Spain’s republican government. Fascist victory Pablo Picasso’s Guernica (1937) captures horrors of war

German Aggression Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist (Nazi) party wanted to invade and destroy the Soviet Union to attack communist threat. 1935: Germany rearmed in 1935 1936: Militarized the Rhineland 1938: Proclaimed the Anschluss (unification with Austria); seized German- speaking areas of Czechoslovakia; appeasement with GB and Fr Isolationist countries like the USA, Great Britain and France were willing to sacrifice small states like Austria and Czechoslovakia to avoid war.

Beginning of War August 1939: Stalin and Hitler signed a nonaggression pact. After the pact, Germany invaded western Poland and the Soviet Union occupied eastern Poland. September 1st, 1939: World War II began when Germany invaded Poland September 3rd, 1939: The British and French declared war on Germany. Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan Allied Powers: Great Britain, France, United States Germany used the strategy of “blitzkrieg” war by rapidly penetrating enemy territory using multiple forces. France fell to Germany quickly, a result of divided and weak leadership. By 1940, Nazis occupy Norway and Denmark

Main Theaters of World War II Two theaters: Pacific and European (including Africa)

War in Russia 1939-1941: Axis power greater Hitler’s goal: defeat Russia Winter of 1941: Germans stalled on the outskirts of Moscow and Leningrad. 1942: German offensives were never able to take key cities in the USSR. Tehran Conference (1943): “The Big Three” Focus on liberation of France; allows USSR to move troops through Eastern Europe USSR gains territory and influence in Eastern Europe as it drives into Eastern Europe to push Germans back.

War in Britain and Italy Great Britain was the only western democracy to survive Nazis, but were driven from the continent. Battle of Britain (1940): Nazi air offensive (Luftwaffe) on UK; UK withstands. Germany abandons plans to conquer the British Isles; first major Nazi defeat. 1941: Nazis able to control most of the Mediterranean and Europe, and were moving into Africa. 1941: Nazi forces drove the Soviets out of Finland, Poland and the Baltic states. 1945: Allied forces advanced into Italy, took over the fascist regime and Mussolini. May 1945: Hitler commits suicide.

US Involvement US provided assistance to Great Britain Dec. 7, 1941: US entered the war with the attack on Pearl Harbor. 1942-3: American tank divisions joined British in North Africa, helped to clear Germans from North Africa and the Middle East. June 6, 1944: General Dwight Eisenhower successfully led forces into northern France; D-Day (Allied invasion of Normandy, France) 1945: Battle of the Bulge Hitler’s last-ditch effort through forests in France, Belgium, Luxembourg. 1945: Allies began invading Germany from the west and the USSR invaded from the east.

The Holocaust 1935: Nuremberg Laws (German Jews stripped of citizenship, basic civil rights) Ghettos: Jews confined to these temporary holdings before deportation to camps (Warsaw Ghetto) Wannsee Conference of 1942: Nazi officials decided to initiate a “final solution” to the “Jewish problem.” Heinrich Himmler is put in charge of implementing plan.

The Holocaust Jews and other “undesirables” were shipped to concentration camps. Gypsies, Slavs, political prisoners, homosexuals, communists, Jehovah’s Witnesses As many as 12 million people were murdered in the Holocaust, of which 6 million were Jews. 9 million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust, approximately two-thirds were killed The more the war turned against Hitler, the more they pressed the genocidal campaign. Notable, among other things, for the degree to which is was premeditated, systematic, and carried out with precise and detailed records

China vs. Japan in WWII In late 1920s, Chiang Kai-shek able to be dominant over the warlords in China. The success of the Kuomintang (Nationalist party) in China worried Japan. 1931: Japan seized Chinese Manchuria and proclaimed it independent state of Manchukuo. Beginning of WWII in Asia Create buffer between Soviet Union and Japan. Manchuria had rich coal and iron deposits; Japan is resource-poor 1937: Japan invaded China from Manchukuo and planned to conquer all of China. Successful at first, occupying most Chinese coastal cities. December 1937: Rape of Nanking (Japanese forces took Nanking and killed between 300,000 people in the Rape of Nanking)

Japanese Empire in WWII In addition to China, Japan captures colonial territories of the British (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Burma), Dutch East Indies, French Indochina, and the American Philippines to control oil reserves. US places embargo [prohibition of trade] against Japan Japan retaliates: sneak attack on Pearl Harbor; led directly to American entry in WWII Local resistance fighters cooperated with British and American forces against the Japanese. Battle of Midway (1942): Japan tried to eliminate US as a naval power in Pacific; Allied forces decode plan and sink 5 Japanese ships.

Fall of the Japanese Empire June 1944: The Allies began bombing the Japanese islands. Japan does not cease The US dropped two atomic bombs: one on Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945 and Nagasaki on August 9th, 1945. Over 100,000 people were killed immediately and about 100,000 people died later from radiation poisoning. August 15th, 1945: Japan surrendered, ending WWII. US occupies Japan; Korea divided between USSR (N) and US (S); China regains most of territory

Peace Conferences WWII killed 35 million people (20 million in Soviet Union) Leaders from the Axis and Allied Powers met to build a more lasting peace. Yalta Conference (February 1945): Discuss Europe post-WWII Germany to be divided into four zones after the war. USSR will fight Japan in exchange for Manchuria Potsdam Conference (July/August1945): Final post- war settlements were reached. Final arrangements for Germany’s division USSR controls eastern Poland; Poland gains German territory October 1945: United Nations established Initiated international diplomacy and assistance beyond the Western world. Primary mission: provide a forum to settle international disputes.

Growing Power of US and USSR The devastation of World War II drained the resources of the European powers, but WWII also enhanced the power of the United States and the USSR. Independent nations created in 1918 were restored and most fell under Soviet domination. Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria Atlantic Charter of 1941: an agreement between the United States and Great Britain that outlined goals of the war (later agreed to by all Allies) Restore self-government to colonies 1946: US grants Philippines independence France resists: Algeria and Indochina stay French colonies

Independence in South Asia (1947) 1935: Government of India Act Grants increased suffrage to Indians and transferred local governments to Indians 1942: “Quit India Movement” was a massive civil disobedience movement to end British control of India. Demands for a separate Muslim state, led by the Muslim League and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Region saw vicious Hindu-Muslim, Muslim-Sikh rioting before, during, and after partition. 1945-1947: power handed over to the leaders of the NCP in India. Pakistan was created with Jinnah as the first president; Eastern and western regions. Major migrations 1970s: Bangladesh Liberation War 1972: East Pakistan becomes Bangladesh 1948: Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Burma (Myanmar) and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) also gained independence from Britain, but peacefully. Independence in South Asia (1947)

Independence in Ghana (1957) African colonies were affected by WWII by forced labor, confiscation of crops and resources, and inflation. Since African colonies had to supply materials for mid-WWII Europe, industrialization occurred in Africa. Kwame Nkrumah led the decolonization process to establish Ghana. Nkrumah established the Convention Peoples’ Party, and organized mass rallies, boycotts, and strikes against British. 1957: Great Britain recognized Nkrumah as the prime minister of independent Ghana. First African colony to gain independence

The Problem in Settler Colonies After independence in Ghana (1957), all of France’s west African colonies had independence by 1960. 1960: Belgium gave up the Congo, although there was no real nationalist movement for independence. Settler colonies (Algeria, Kenya, South Africa) saw more violence in decolonization because European settlers were reluctant to turn political control over to the African majority. In Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta and his nationalist party, the Kenya African Union, formed the Land Freedom Army in the 1950s and used terror and guerilla warfare against the British. Kenya received independence in 1963; Kenyatta serves as first Prime Minister.

Tension in South Africa Whites in South Africa are minority: split between Afrikaners (Dutch descendants) and English settlers. In South Africa, the Afrikaners (Dutch descendants) had no option to return to Europe. The Afrikaner National Party emerged as the majority party in an all-white South African legislature. 1948: Apartheid, extremely restrictive racial segregation, was established to keep Afrikaners in political and economic dominance. Africans cannot vote, separate living, poor jobs 1961: win complete independence from Britain, which came without violence.

Creation of Israel (1948) The Holocaust fueled international support for Zionism. Post-WWII, Zionists were determined to carve out a Jewish state in Palestine. Jewish immigration (Holocaust survivors) to Palestine increased. May 14th, 1948, the United Nations approved the partition of Palestine into Arab regions and Israel. Arab protests; May 15th, 1948 Arab- Israeli War; Israeli victory and expansion of Jewish territory