World War II

Be able to answer these by the end of class 1.What did the U.S. do to help the Allies before Pearl Harbor? 2.List two of the three ways that Georgia contributed to the Allied victory in World War II? 3.Name the two politicians from Georgia that advocated for a stronger military and list their accomplishments.

The Lend-Lease Act Congress had passed laws earlier prohibiting the President from selling weapons to any warring nation. These laws were designed to keep the United States neutral. In 1940, Congress changed the laws to allow nations to pay cash for weapons from the United States. 1941, the Allies were running out of money to purchase military equipment from the United States. The Lend-Lease Act authorized the president to lend or lease arms to the Allied nations (mostly Great Britain) during World War II.

Pearl Harbor The United States had stopped exporting airplanes, metals, aircraft parts and aviation gasoline to Japan. After the Japanese invaded French Indochina in 1941, Roosevelt seized all Japanese property in the U.S. With their oil supplies cut off by the United States, Japan decided to invade the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia). The only force that could stop the Japanese was the U.S. Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

Pearl Harbor On Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. All eight battleships in the port were severely damaged or destroyed. Over 180 planes were destroyed, and more than 2,000 people were killed and 1,000 were wounded. Almost half of the U.S. casualties were aboard the U.S.S. Arizona, which sank with most of her crew aboard. On December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan, and a few days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.

Pearl Harbor Allied Powers: United States Great Britain The Soviet Union Axis Powers Germany Japan Italy

Bell Aircraft Bell Aircraft won a contract with the federal government to build the B-29 bomber in a new factory in Marietta. It was the largest aircraft assembly plant in the world. In 1943, the plant employed 1,200 people, and by 1945, 27,000 employees were assembling planes a month. In the end, 668 planes had been built by the time the contract ended at the end of In 1950, the Air Force convinced Lockheed Aircraft Corporation to reopen the Marietta plant. The plant is still open and operated by the Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Military Bases Due to Georgia’s climate and the influence of politicians like Senator Richard Russell, Jr., Senator Walter F. George, and Representative Carl Vinson, the state became the site of several military installations. Fort Benning in Columbus, Camp Gordon in Augusta, Fort Stewart and Hunter Air Field in Savannah and Warner Robins Air Field near Macon. Fort Benning was the largest infantry center in the country. Prisoners of war were held at Forts Benning, Gordon, Oglethorpe and Stewart.

Savannah and Brunswick shipyards Cargo ships were needed to transport goods, troops and materiel (needs of a functioning army) to U.S. troops and Allied countries. Liberty ships were large cargo ships designed to be quickly and inexpensively built. In Savannah, 88 Liberty ships were built by 15,000 workers, many of whom were women. The first of Georgia’s Liberty ships was launched in November 1942 – the U.S.S. James Oglethorpe, which was sunk by a German submarine the next year.

Savannah and Brunswick shipyards In Brunswick, over 16,000 men and women worked around the clock in 1943 and 1944 on six ships at a time. In December 1944, they set a national record by building seven ships in just one month. The crews even worked on Christmas Day and donated their checks for that day to the war effort. The Brunswick shipyards produced a total of 99 Liberty ships.

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Richard B. Russell ( ) On June 27, 1931, Winder resident Richard B. Russell, Jr., became Georgia’s youngest governor (at age 33). As governor, he consolidated state offices and attempted to run the state like a successful business. He also established the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia. In 1932, Governor Russell was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he served for the next 38 years. He served on the Armed Services Committee and the Appropriations Committee. As an advocate for a strong military in the 1930’s he helped the U.S. prepare to fight in World War II. He was influential in bringing or maintaining 15 military bases in the state, along with many other research facilities (including the Centers for Disease Control). One of his most important political accomplishments was Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act which created the National School Lunch Program to provide low-cost or free school lunch meals to qualified students through subsidies to schools.

Carl Vinson ( ) Served twenty-five consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (longest in U.S. history at the time). Known as the “Father of the Two Ocean Navy” for his advocacy of a strong Navy during the 1920s and 1930s.

Grand Nephew Sam Nunn U.S. Senator Served Carl Vinson U.S. Representative Served Michelle Nunn U.S. Senate Candidate in 2014 Carl Vinson - Georgia Stories

The Holocaust The Holocaust was the name given to the systematic extermination of 6 million Jews by the Nazis during World War II. The Nazis created concentration camps as part of the “final solution to the Jewish problem.” An additional 5-6 million people, labeled as “undesirables,” were also killed by the Nazis before and during the war. The deaths of these Jews, Poles, Czechs, Russians, Gypsies, homosexuals, and the mentally or physically disabled were part of Hitler’s plan to rid Europe of what he called “inferior” people. In the camps, many died from starvation; others died from disease, mistreatment and medical experiments. Prisoners, including children, were gassed in chambers they thought were showers. Their bodies were incinerated in huge ovens or thrown into mass graves.

The Holocaust First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist. Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a Catholic. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me. - Martin Niemöller

The Holocaust Many Holocaust survivors moved to Georgia after the war. The Holocaust also made some Georgians rethink their treatment of minorities in the state, which may have influenced people to support the modern civil rights movement a decade later. 1986, Governor Joe Frank Harris established the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust to educate people about the Holocaust. Its goal is to: “take lessons from the history of the Holocaust and use them to help lead new generations of Georgians beyond racism and bigotry.” Through a variety of programs, the Commission fosters tolerance, good citizenship and character development among the young people of the state.

Roosevelt’s connection to Georgia Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Georgia over 40 times from He usually stayed at his home in Warm Springs, which became known as the “Little White House” during his presidency. Roosevelt exercised in the warm water pools of the spring to help ease the crippling effects of polio, a disease he contracted in Roosevelt’s New Deal programs provided aid to many suffering the effects of the Great Depression. Some people faulted FDR for not doing more to end segregation and the lack of civil rights in Georgia and the rest of the South. He also angered many Georgians when he spoke out against what he considered to be unfair labor practices in Georgia’s textile industry. FDR was visiting Warm Springs on April 12, 1945, when he suffered a massive stroke and died. Roosevelt’s body was carried by train from Warm Springs to Washington, D.C.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Who are these guys? Take out a clean sheet of paper for each partnership and be ready to list important elements of their lives.