1. World War II (1939-1945)

2. Causes of WWII

3. Post WWI Problems  The Treaty of Versailles  Germans were angered and humiliated and they believed that they were punished too harshly  Italians and Japanese were disappointed because they felt they didn’t gain enough territory or colonies  The Great Depression  Economic problems made people desperate  They wanted strong leaders to help

4.  Fascist Aggression  Dictators in Germany, Italy, and Japan wanted to build empires so they invaded other nations  Responses to Fascist Aggression  Appeasement: giving into a nation’s demands in order to avoid war  To avoid war with Germany, Great Britain and France allowed Hitler to rebuild his military and invade other nations  Isolationism: when a nation keeps to itself and remains neutral in wars between other nations  The United States ignored these aggressive actions and hoped to remain neutral when the war began

5. Key Concepts Key Concepts of WWII

6. Alliances of WWII Allied Powers (Allies) Axis Powers Great Britain Great BritainGermany FranceItaly ChinaJapan The Soviet Union The Soviet Union (from 1941) (from 1941) The United States The United States (from 1941) (from 1941)

7. Theaters of Conflict  European Theater  In Europe and the surrounding areas  Western Front – battles fought in Western Europe  Mainly Britain, France, and U.S. vs. Germany and Italy  Eastern Front – battles fought in Eastern Europe  Mainly between Germany and the Soviet Union  Africa – battles fought in deserts of North Africa  Allies fought against Germany and Italy

8.  Fighting between Allies and Japanese on islands, water, and air of the Pacific Ocean  Allies used “island hopping” or fighting island by island to push closer to Japan  Aircraft carriers (large ships that planes could takeoff of and land on) were very important Pacific Theater

9. Role of Geography  The small islands of Japan had very few natural resources so the Japanese invaded other nations to get them.  Germany’s location in Central Europe made it easy to expand in every direction.  Great Britain was an island protected from invasion by surrounding waters.  The Soviet Union was protected from invasion by lots of territory and extremely cold winter weather.

10. Key Events and Turning Points Of WWII

11. Timeline of Key Events  Major Pre-War Events (1930s)  German acts of aggression  German troops occupy the Rhineland (de-militarized area along Germany’s border with France)  Germany takes control of Austria  Germany takes control of the Sudetenland (area of Czechoslovakia with large German population) (area of Czechoslovakia with large German population)

12.  The Munich Pact  Appeasement!  Great Britain and France agree not to declare war on Germany as long as Hitler doesn’t invade any other countries  Germany takes control of the rest of Czechoslovakia  Non-Aggression Pact  Hitler and Stalin agree not to attack each other  Hitler and Stalin secretly agree to divide Poland  Germany invades Poland  Major Pre-War Events (1930s)

13.  Major Wartime Events (1939-1940)  Great Britain and France declare war on Germany (1939)  Germany invades France (1939)  French government surrenders  German army occupies Northern France  Germany fails to invade Great Britain (1940)  British vow to “Never Surrender!”

14.  Major Wartime Events (1941-1943)  Germany invades the Soviet Union (1941)  The Soviet Union joins the Allies*  Germany is unable to conquer the Soviet Union  Japan attacks Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941)  Japanese launch surprise attack on U.S. navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii killing many Americans  U.S. enters the War (1941)*  U.S. declares war on Japan  Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S.  United States helps Allies turn tide against Axis Powers *Major Turning Point of WWII

15.  Major Wartime Events (1944)  Italy surrenders (1944)  The Battle of Normandy (1944)  D-Day (June 6, 1944)*  Allies successfully invade German-occupied France  Allies gain a base in mainland Europe for fighting against the Axis Powers *Major Turning Point of WWII

16. Major Wartime Events (1945)  V-E Day (May 8, 1945)  Germany surrenders, ending war in European Theater  U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japan (1945)  Cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima are destroyed  U.S. demands Japan surrender or face more bombings  V-J Day (August 14, 1945)  Japan surrenders, ending the war in the Pacific Theater  WWII is over!

17. Outcomes of WWII

18. Major Outcomes of WWII  The Allies won!  Allies stopped the spread of fascism!  The United Nations was created to promote world peace and security  The European Economic Community (EEC) was created to remove trade barriers and improve relationships between European nations  Many nations brought out of the Great Depression  Cold War began  U.S. and Soviet Union became superpowers  Europe divided into communist and anti-communist nations  Eastern Europe occupied by Soviet military  Germany divided by Allies  East Germany – communist  West Germany – anti-communist

19. Human Costs of the War  35 to 45 million people died  Over half of these were civilians!  The war was the most expensive ever  cost over $1 trillion  millions of dollars in property damages

20. Roles of Major Leaders

21. Axis Leaders Country Leader(s) and Roles in WWII Germany Adolf Hitler – wanted to create an empire for German-speaking people; started the war by invading neighboring countries Italy Benito Mussolini – allied with Hitler so he could build a large Italian Empire Japan Hideki Tojo – military dictator of Japan Emperor Hirohito – symbolic leader of Japan who told his people to surrender after atomic bombs dropped

22. Allied Leaders Country Leader(s) and Roles in WWII Great Britain Neville Chamberlain – appeased Hitler; tried to avoid war Winston Churchill – motivated British people to “never surrender” to the Germans France Charles de Gaulle – leader of Free France Soviet Union Joseph Stalin – wanted to spread communism United States Franklin D. Roosevelt – brought U.S. into war Harry S. Truman – ordered the use of atomic bomb China Chiang Kai-shek – nationalist leader of China

23. The Holocaust

24. What was the Holocaust?  The Holocaust: the mass murder of over 6 million Jews and other groups (Gypsies, mentally and physically handicapped, etc.) by German Nazis.

25. Anti-Semitism  Anti-Semitism: hatred of Jewish people  Racist laws passed against Jews in Germany  Denied Jewish people German citizenship  Jews could not marry Germans  Jews could not publish written materials  Jews couldn’t teach  Jews couldn’t produce artwork  Jews were attacked and their property was destroyed property was destroyed

26. The Final Solution  The Final Solution: Hitler’s plan for getting rid of the Jews and other “inferior” people of Europe. the Jews and other “inferior” people of Europe.  Jews were rounded up in “ghettos”  Most Jews were then sent to concentration camps  labor camps – Jewish prisoners were forced to make supplies for the German Army until they were too weak to work  death camps – Jewish women, children, elderly people, and prisoners who were too weak to work were “exterminated”

27. War Crimes Trials at Nuremberg  The Nuremberg Trials: war crimes trials for Nazi leaders set up by an international military court in Nuremberg, Germany  Nazi leaders were given trials for war crimes such as genocide (the targeted killing of an entire group of people)  Some Nazi leaders were found guilty by the court and were executed for their crimes.

28. The Impact of the Holocaust  Between 6 and 9 million Jews and other minority groups were murdered.  Many of the survivors experienced psychological trauma (damage to mind).  After WWII, many Jews left Europe to live in Israel (a nation created for Jews in Palestine) or the United States.

29. Special Thanks To:  Google Images  Ben Bindewald