WWII World War 2! brainpop

Germany had lost World War I. Like the United States, Germany’s economy in the 1930’s was also suffering through a great economic depression.

Germany wanted a strong leader. The Nazi party began to gain more power in 1932. Adolf Hitler was made Germany’s chancellor, or leader, in January 1933. He became dictator in March of that year. Many people believed that Hitler would make Germany powerful again. Brainpop-- Hitler

In 1933, Germany invaded Czechoslovakia and then Poland. Many countries joined to fight Hitler. France, Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Canada declared war on Germany in September, 1939. They called themselves the allied powers, or the allies.

Asia was already in a state of war. In July, 1937, Japan had invaded China. Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance in September , 1940. They called themselves the axis powers.

From April 1940 to December 1941, the Axis powers invaded more countries.

Germany invaded Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Italy’s leader Benito Mussolini, along with Germany, invaded countries around the Mediterranean Sea. Japan invaded Vietnam, a colony of France.

France was Great Britain’s Ally. Germany invaded France on May 10th, 1940. On that same day, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain.

In 1939, Hitler and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, signed a secret treaty. The Soviets did not want to fight the Germans. In June 1941, Germany broke the treaty by invading the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union then joined forces with the Allies.

Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941 On December 7th, 1941, Japanese planes bombed the American Naval base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. The attack destroyed 5 warships and more than 180 airplanes. It damaged more that 9 other warships. More than 2,300 people were killed. Pearl Harbor December 7th, 1941

On that same day, Japan attacked Hong Kong, Shanghai, the Philippines, and Malaysia. These areas were controlled by the United States or it’s allies. After these attacks, the United States declared war on Japan and joined the allied powers. Brainpop

The United States devoted all of its energies to fighting the war. All farms, factories, and workers were needed to help with the war effort. Men were drafted into the military. The draft was a law that required every man over the age of 18 to register for military service.

Factories that made consumer products switched to making war supplies. With so many men off fighting, women went to work in the factories and other jobs that men were doing. For the first time, women had opportunities to work in ways they did not have before.

During the war, all consumer goods were rationed. The government limited what a family could buy. Anything not absolutely necessary for survival was hard to get. Almost nobody had chocolate or new clothes. Butter, sugar, and meat were in short supply. People turned in scrap metal for factories to use to make weapons. Many grew their own produce in victory gardens in order to have enough fresh fruits and vegetables.

By the end of 1942, the Japanese controlled part of East Asia and many islands in the Pacific Ocean. Admiral Chester Nimitz led the Allied navy in the Pacific. He fought the Japanese by island hoping. The allies blocked the islands so that the Japanese could not bring in food or troops, then sent in their troops. Admiral Chester Nimitz captured the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. BBC VIDEOS

General Douglas MacArthur was the supreme commander of the South Pacific. Under his command, the Allies took back the Philippines. The Japanese were losing but they would not surrender.

The Japanese way of fighting came as a surprise to the Allied forces. Japanese pilots would crash their planes into Allied ships in suicide attacks called kamikaze attacks.

Because the United States was at war with Japan, the U. S Because the United States was at war with Japan, the U.S. government thought that the Japanese Americans might not be loyal to the United States. In 1942, the U.S. government forced 122,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans to live in internment camps in California and other western states.

Entire families lived at these crudely built camps, which were surrounded by barbed wire and guarded by armed soldiers. Japanese Americans had to leave their homes and sell their property, often at a great loss.

But most Japanese Americans were loyal Americans. About 800 Japanese Americans from the camps served in the U.S armed forces during the war. Most of them were sent to fight in Europe. They fought bravely and many were wounded and died.