1. U.S. History II
World War II
SOL 6a, 6b, and 6c
Prepared by Judy Self

2. USII SOL 6a Causes of World War II

3. How did post-World War I Europe set the stage for World War II?
Political and economic conditions in Europe after World War I led to the rise of fascism and to World War II
The rise of fascism threatened peace in Europe and Asia
As conflict grew in Europe and Asia, American foreign policy evolved from neutrality to direct involvement

4. What were the causes of World War II?
Political instability and economic devastation in Europe resulting from World War I
Worldwide depression
High war debt owed by Germany
High inflation
Massive unemployment
The rise of fascism

5. What is fascism?
Fascism is a political philosophy in which total power is given to a dictator and individual freedoms are denied

6. Fascist Dictators Adolf Hitler - Germany Benito Mussolini - Italy
Hideki Tojo - Japan

7. Change in American Policy
Isolationism was a legacy of World War I
Economic aid to the Allies came out of a fear of fascist control of Europe
Rising tensions developed between the U.S. and Japan over Japanese aggression in East Asia

8. Change in American Policy
December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked the U.S. without warning by bombing Pearl Harbor
Germany also declared war on the U.S.
U.S. had gone from isolationism to direct involvement in the war after the attack by Japan and the war declaration by Germany

9. Axis Powers
The Fascist countries formed an alliance known as the Axis Powers
Germany
Italy
Japan

10. Allied Powers
The Democratic nations formed an alliance known as the Allied Powers
United States
Great Britain
Canada
Soviet Union

11. Allied Leaders Franklin D. Roosevelt - United States
Harry S Truman - United States
Winston Churchill - Great Britain
Joseph Stalin - Soviet Union

12. USII SOL 6b Major Events of World War II

13. What were the major events of World War II?
The war began on September 1, 1939 when Germany invaded Poland
The Soviet Union also invaded Poland and the Baltic nations

14. What were the major events of World War II?
Germany invaded France and captured Paris in June, 1940

15. What were the major events of World War II?
Beginning in 1940 the Germans bombed Great Britain in what was called the Battle of Britain

16. What were the major events of World War II?
United States gave Britain war supplies and old naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean
Called Lend Lease Program

17. What were the major events of World War II?
U.S. entered the war when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941

18. What were the major events of World War II?
The first major American victory over the Japanese came at Midway in June, 1942
It would be the turning point of the war in the Pacific

19. What were the major events of World War II?
Germany invaded the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union defeated Germany at Stalingrad which would be the turning point of the war in Europe

20. What were the major events of World War II?
American and Allied troops landed in Normandy, France on D-Day June 6, 1944
This invasion began the liberation of Western Europe

21. What were the major events of World War II?
United States dropped 2 atomic bombs on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Japan surrendered to end the war

22. What was the Holocaust?
Jews are descendants of the ancient Hebrews and their religion is based on the Old Testament
Many Germans were Anti-Semitic or prejudiced against the Jews
The Germans also believed in the supremacy of the German or Aryan race
As a result Hitler began a systematic program to rid Europe of all Jews

23. What was the Holocaust?
Germans began with a boycott of Jewish stores and followed it with threats against all Jews
Next the segregation of Jews in specific parts of cities
Finally imprisonment and killing of Jews and other “undesirables” in concentration camps

24. What was the Holocaust?
Allied forces liberated the Jews and others in the concentration camps
It is estimated that over 6 million Jews were killed by the Germans

25. USII SOL 6c Impact of World War II on the Homefront

26. How did the war impact Americans at home?
American involvement in the war brought an end to the Great Depression
Factories and workers were needed to produce goods to win the war

27. How did the war impact Americans at home?
Thousands of American women took jobs in defense plants
Called “Rosie the Riveter”

28. How did the war impact Americans at home?
Americans at home supported the war by conserving and rationing resources

29. How did the war impact Americans at home?
The need for workers temporarily broke down some racial barriers such as hiring in defense plants although discrimination against African Americans continued

30. How did the war impact Americans at home?
Many Japanese Americans served in the armed forces but others were treated with distrust and many were forced into internment camps

31. The End