1. WWII

2. Time Magazine – 1/2/1939 "Hitler became in 1938 the greatest threatening force that the democratic, freedom-loving world faces today"

5. Economic & Political Causes Failures of the Treaty of Versailles Weakness of the League of Nations Aggression by Totalitarian powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) Appeasement (giving in to Hitler) Tendencies towards isolationism and pacifism in Europe and the United States

6. The Rise of Dictators During the 1920s and 1930s totalitarian DICTATORS came to power in many nations. Totalitarian: A gov’t that exerts TOTAL CONTROL over the nation and citizen’s lives.

7. Japan Emperor HIROHITO Prime Minister TOJO MILITARISM

8. Italy BENITO MUSSOLINI Fascism

9. Germany ADOLPH HITLER NAZISM

10. Soviet Union JOESEPH STALIN Communism

11. Major Leaders of the War Franklin Roosevelt – US President Harry Truman – US President after death of Roosevelt Dwight Eisenhower – US General Douglas MacArthur – US General George Marshall – US General

12. War Begins In 1936, Germany put troops in the Rhineland, which was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles. During 1938 and 1939 Hitler begins showing aggression in Eastern Europe. It is met with appeasement by the British and French. Realizing appeasement has failed the Soviet Union promises to protect Poland The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East. Hitler forms a German-Soviet nonagression pact with Stalin. Britain and France immediately declared war on Germany.

13. The War in Europe During the first two years of the war, the United States stayed officially neutral as Germany overran France, most of Europe, and pounded Britain from the air (Battle of Britain). In mid 1941, Hitler turned on his former ally and invaded the Soviet Union

14. Battle of Britain In 1940, Hitler ordered the invasion of Britain. The Germans first bombed military targets, then changed tactics to the blitz, or bombing, of London and other cities. London did not break under the blitz. The bombing only strengthened British resolve to turn back the enemy. Now they start attacking population centers - civilians

15. Axis Strategy Germany hoped to defeat the Soviet Union quickly Gain control of Soviet oil fields Force Britain out of the war through a bombing campaign and submarine warfare Before America’s industrial and military strength could turn the tide. German U-boats used during WWII

16. Allied Strategy America and its allies (Britain and the Soviet Union, after being invaded by Germany), followed a “Defeat Hitler First” strategy. Most American military resources were targeted for Europe. Allied leaders (from left to right) Chiang Kai-shek, China; Franklin Roosevelt, USA; Winston Churchill, United Kingdom confer at Cairo, Egypt, November 22, 1943)

17. The War in Europe When the war began in 1939, the United States declared its neutrality. Despite strong isolationist sentiment at home, the United States increasingly helped Britain. It gave Britain war supplies and old naval bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean (Lend-Lease Act). Franklin Roosevelt compared it to “lending a garden hose to a next-door neighbor whose house is on fire”.

18. Growing American Involvement Japan advanced into French Indochina and the Dutch East Indies. To stop Japanese aggression, the United States banned the sale of war materials to Japan. Tensions rose between Japan and U.S. While negotiating, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (“…a date that will live in infamy.”) The United States declared war on Japan. Germany and Italy, as Japan’s allies, declared war on the United States.

19. Pearl Harbor

20. The War in Asia After Pearl Harbor (12/7/1941), Hitler honored a pact with Japan and declared war on the United States. The debates over isolationism in the United States were over. World War II was now a true world war and the United States was fully involved. President Roosevelt signs the Declaration of War against Japan, December 1941

22. Major Battles and Military Turning Points North Africa El Alamein – German forces threatening to seize Egypt and the Suez Canal were defeated by the British. This defeat prevented Hitler from gaining access to Middle Eastern oil supplies and potentially attacking the Soviet Union from the south.

23. El Alamein

24. Major Battles and Military Turning Points Europe Stalingrad – Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers were killed or captured in a months-long siege of the Russian city of Stalingrad. This defeat prevented Germany from seizing the Soviet oil fields and turned the tide against Germany in the east.

25. Stalingrad

26. Major Battles and Military Turning Points Europe Normandy landings - (D- Day) American and Allied troops under Eisenhower landed in German-occupied France on June 6, 1944. Despite intense German opposition and heavy American casualties, the landings succeeded and the liberation of western Europe from Hitler had begun.

27. Normandy

28. D-Day Map

29. WWII in the Pacific Following Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines and Indonesia and planned to invade both Australia and Hawaii – Japanese leaders then thought America would accept its predominance in Southeast Asia and the Pacific rather than conduct a bloody and costly war to reverse Japanese gains.

30. WWII in the Pacific In the Pacific, American military strategy called for the “island hopping” campaign, seizing islands closer and closer to Japan Using them as bases for air attacks on Japan Cutting off Japanese supplies through submarine warfare against Japanese shipping.

32. Major Battles and Military Turning Points Pacific Midway – In the “Miracle of Midway”, American naval forces defeated a much larger Japanese force as it prepared to seize Midway Island. Coming only a few months after Pearl Harbor, a Japanese victory at Midway would have enabled Japan to invade Hawaii. The American victory ended the Japanese threat to Hawaii and began a series of American victories in the “island hopping” campaign that carried the war closer and closer to Japan.

33. Midway

34. Major Battles and Military Turning Points Pacific Iwo Jima and Okinawa – The American invasions of the islands if Iwo Jima and Okinawa brought American forces closer than ever to Japan Both invasions cost thousands of American lives and even more Japanese lives Japanese soldiers fought fiercely over every square inch of the islands and Japanese soldiers and civilians committed suicide rather than surrender.

35. Iwo Jima

36. The Atomic Bomb/Manhattan Project Dropping the atomic bomb brought a quick end to the war. It also unleashed terrifying destruction. Truman was convinced that Japan would not surrender without an invasion that would result in enormous losses of both American and Japanese lives. Truman may also have thought it would show the Soviet Union American power

37. Major battles and military turning points Pacific Use of the atomic bomb – Facing the prospect of horrendous casualties among both Americans and Japanese if American forces had to invade Japan itself, President Harry Truman ordered the use of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force the Japanese to surrender. Tens of thousands of people were killed in both cities. Shortly after the bombs were used, the Japanese leaders surrendered, avoiding the need for American forces to invade Japan.

38. Hiroshima

39. The Geneva Convention The Geneva Convention attempted to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners of war by establishing rules to be followed by all nations.

41. The Geneva Convention In the Bataan Death March, American POWs suffered brutal treatment by Japanese after surrender of the Philippines.

42. The Geneva Convention Japanese soldiers often committed suicide rather than surrender. Suicide Cliff where thousands of Japanese committed suicide, soldiers and civilians. (Tourist stop?)

43. The Geneva Convention The treatment of prisoners in the Pacific Theater often reflected the savagery of the fighting there.

44. The Geneva Convention The treatment of prisoners in Europe more closely followed the ideas of the Geneva Convention.

45. Elements Leading to the Holocaust History of Anti-Semitism Defeat in WWI and economic depression blamed on German Jews Hitler’s belief in the master race Final solution – Germany’s decision to exterminate all Jews (Death camps, gas chambers) Auschwitz

46. Holocaust Genocide: systematic and purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or cultural group

47. Affected Groups Jews Poles Slavs Gypsies “Undesirables” Homosexuals Mentally ill Political dissidents

48. Defeating Nazi Germany To win the assault on Germany, the Allies had to use devastating force. As Allied armies advanced into Belgium in 1944, Germany launched a massive counterattack. Both sides suffered terrible losses at the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler’s support in Germany was declining. Germany faced round-the-clock bombing. The Allies crossed the Rhine into western Germany. Soviet troops closed in on Berlin. Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered.

49. Outcomes of WWII European powers’ loss of empires Establishment of two major powers in the world: The US and the USSR War crimes trials Division of Europe – Iron Curtain Establishment of the UN Marshall Plan Formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Warsaw Pact

51. Significance In the Nuremberg trials, Nazi leaders and others were convicted of war crimes. The Nuremberg trials emphasized individual responsibility for actions during a war, regardless of orders received. The trials led to increased demand for a Jewish homeland. The Nuremberg War Crimes Trials brought 22 Nazi officials to court in 1945- 46. The defendants are seen on the right side of the photo.

52. Nuremberg Trials

53. Minority Participation African Americans generally served in segregated military units and were assigned to non- combat roles but demanded the right to serve in combat rather than support roles.

54. All-Minority Military Units Tuskegee Airmen (African American) served in Europe with distinction. (pictured) Nisei regiments (Asian American) earned a high number of decorations.

55. Additional Contributions of Minorities Communication codes of the Navajo were used (oral, not written language; impossible for the Japanese to break). Mexican Americans also fought, but in units not segregated. Minority units suffered high casualties and won numerous unit citations and individual medals for bravery in action.

56. Navajo War Codes