World War II & Nuclear Testing Utah in the 1 st Half of the 20 th Century:

“Utah Man” Video clip What was the “Utah Man”? How did this individual Utahan impact World War II? Colonel Walter T. Stewart- Air Force pilot from Benjamin Utah 1943 Part of mission to take out Nazi oil refineries in Romania- (supplied 1/3 rd of all Nazi oil) Stewart's plane, named "Utah Man," came back with 365 holes in it.

World War II Basics 101 What years was it? From 1939 to 1945 What countries were the Axis powers? Germany, Italy, & Japan What countries were the Allied powers? Great Britain, United States, & Soviet Union (USSR) How did the war start? Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939 How did the United States get involved in World War II? Attack of Pearl Harbor December 1941

Utah During World War II Do you know your ABC’s? A rmed Forces- 1000s of Utahans left their homes & fought in armed forces around the world B oot Camps & Bases- Utah was an ideal place for military training C ourageous Women in the Workforce- “Rosie the Riveters” helped war production D aily Rationing & Gardening- Utahans sacrificed food & supplies & planted victory gardens to help support the war

Readings

Pop Quiz! Get out a blank sheet of paper Name, date, period Number 1-5 TRUE OR FALSE 1.Germany, Great Britain, & China made up the Axis powers. 2.During World War II, 1000s of Utahns left their homes & fought in the armed forces around the world. 3.World War II started with Germany invaded Poland in September “The Utah Man” was a heroic pilot who died in World War II. 5.Utahns helped the war effort by sacrificing food & supplies & planting victory gardens.

Answers Switch paper with neighbor Get out red pen Answers: 1. Germany, Great Britain, & China made up the Axis powers. FALSE: Germany, Italy, & Japan made up the Axis powers 2. During World War II, 1000s of Utahns left their homes & fought in the armed forces around the world. TRUE (Letter A of ABC’s) 3. World War II started with Germany invaded Poland in September TRUE (Pearl Harbor did NOT start the war) 4. “The Utah Man” was a heroic pilot who died in World War II. FALSE: “The Utah Man” was a plane flown by Colonel Walter Stewart that helped take out Nazi oil refineries during World War II. 5. Utahns helped the war effort by sacrificing food & supplies & planting victory gardens. TRUE (Letter D of ABC’s) Put total correct our of 5 & pass up.

Holocaust Definition: Systematic, intentional persecution & genocide of approximately 6 million European Jews by the Nazi regime & its collaborators during World War II. Why did this happen? Hitler & Nazis blamed Jews for Germany loosing in World War I They believed that Jews were “less human” than others Told others that Jews were a racial threat Why does it matter? Loss of millions of people Learn the dangers of hatred, prejudice, ideas of superiority Amazing examples of kindness & sacrifice Some Holocaust survivors in Utah today

Navajo Code Talkers Who: Native Americans who served in the United States Marine Corps What: transmitted secret communications on the battlefields of WWII Importance: code never broken Navajo Code Talker from Utah- Samuel Holiday

D-Day What: Massive invasion of Allied powers on beaches of Northern France (Normandy) to liberate mainland Europe from Nazi control When: June 6 th 1944 Who: 156,000 American, British, & Canadian forces Importance: one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history Code name for one of the five landing sites: Utah Beach

Internment Camps Relocation and internment by the United States government in 1942 of about 110,000 Japanese Americans & Japanese who lived along the Pacific coast. Of those who were interned, 62% were American citizens. Topaz Relocation Center in Utah, one of 10 locations in U.S. Impact on Utah: Many men & women worked at Topaz. Thousands of people relocated there for the war.

V-E Day & V-J Day V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day May 8 th 1945 End of War in Europe Utahns & all Americans celebrate, many come home! V-J Day: Victory in Japan Day August 15 th 1945 After dropping of 2 atomic bombs on Japan End of War in Pacific THE WAR IS OFFICIALLY OVER!

World War II Links wwii-interactive wwii-interactive ml (click on World War II) ml

Nuclear Testing Experiments to discover the strength, & explosive capability of various nuclear weapons At the Nevada Test Site- between 1951 & 1992 there were a total of 928 nuclear tests. 828 of these were underground. During the 1950s, the mushroom clouds from these tests could be seen for almost 100 miles in either direction.

Nuclear Testing Video How would you feel if you knew these tests were going on miles away from you? What would be your reaction? What would you be afraid of?

Nuclear Testing’s Effect on Utah On May 19, 1953, the United States government detonated the 32- kiloton atomic bomb (nicknamed “Harry”) at the Nevada Test Site. The bomb later gained the name “Dirty Harry” because of the huge amount of off-site fallout generated by the bomb. Winds carried fallout 135 miles to St. George, where residents reported, “an oddly metallic sort of taste in the air.” St. George received the most of the fallout of above-ground nuclear testing. Increases in cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, breast cancer, melanoma, bone cancer, & brain tumors, were reported from the mid-1950s through 1980 in Utah.

A 1979 study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that: “A significant excess of leukemia deaths occurred in children up to 14 years of age living in Utah between 1959 and This excess was concentrated in the group of children born between 1951 and 1958, and was most pronounced in those residing in counties receiving high fallout.” p12

Downwinders Downwinders: individuals and communities who are exposed to radioactive contamination or nuclear fallout from atmospheric or underground nuclear weapons testing, and nuclear accidents. Or in other words: People who live(d) “Down Wind” from nuclear testing sites & have suffered health consequences from the radiation Infertility, blood disorders, genetic effects, birth defects, cancer, cataracts By January 2006, over 10,500 claims had been approved, and around 3,000 denied, for a total amount of over $525 million in compensation dispensed to “downwinders”

Journal Write Pretend a member of your family was affected by the nuclear testing in Nevada and has many unexplainable health problems. Many call your family member a, “downwinder.” Write a letter to the United States government and express your concern and alarm about nuclear testing and what you think they should do to fix the problem and help your family. (4 sentences at least)