1. Road to War Causes of World War II

2. Great Depression 1929: Collapse of US stock market precipitates collapse of global economy – Why did this occur? – Why does this one event trigger a global depression? Significance – As a result of the misery caused by the Depression, most governments are replaced by new leadership (such as French Popular Front and Roosevelt’s “New Deal” in US)

3. Rise of Radical Politics Radical Governments – Italy: Mussolini and the rise of the Fascists – Germany: Hitler and the rise of the Nazis – Japan: Rise of the militarists Common features – Rise to power on anger over economy, treatment at the end of WWI – Political: Totalitarian single party rule, expert propaganda (new media: radio), Cult of the leader – Economic: State control of the economy – Social: Belief in racial superiority and encouraging of breeding to increase numbers – Militarism: Encourage military spending and expansion

4. New Alliances Axis Powers – Germany, Italy, and Japan sign military alliance Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact – As a prelude to a partition of Poland, the Nazis and Soviets sign an agreement not to attack each other

5. New Empires Japan – Review: Already controls Korea, etc. – 1931: Invades Manchuria, a resource rich province in northern China – 1937: Rape of Nanking Italy – 1935: Invades Ethiopia again, this time successfully conquering it Germany – Rearms its military, unites with Austria, takes land from Czechoslovakia, and moves into neutral area bordering France – Note: All actions violate Treaty of Versailles

6. World War II 1939-1945

7. War Erupts in Europe 1939: Germans “blitzkrieg” Poland – Britain and France declare war 1940: Denmark, Norway, and FRANCE fall to the Nazis – Only British left to stand against Germany – Britain under new leadership of PM Winston Churchill 1940-1: Battle of Britain – Hitler launches aerial attacks on England

8. Globalization of the War North Africa – 1941 - German advance threatens British control of critical Middle Eastern oil supplies Soviet Union – 1941 - Nazis invade Russia, striking deep into the country before winter sets in – Nazi attack forces the British and Soviets become allies

9. Globalization of the War Southeast Asia and the Pacific – Japanese establish control of the South Pacific, knocking out the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor and conquering the Dutch East Indies, U.S. Philippines, and British Burma United States – December 7, 1941 - Japan attempts to destroy U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor – U.S. Congress declares war the next day on Japan, Germany soon after, forms alliance with Britain and Russia called the “Allies” – “Europe First” - Stalin and Churchill get FDR to agree to devote full resources to defeating Hitler in Europe before Japan

10. Turning Points Midway - June 1942 – U.S. air and naval victory cripples the Japanese fleet, completely reversing the direction of the war in the Pacific El Alamein - October 1942 – British slow the German advance in North Africa, and the Americans soon arrive to help push out the Germans Stalingrad - 1942-43 – Germans get lost in the bombed out city, and they are virtually destroyed in the ensuing street battles

11. Victory in Europe Soviet Advance – Following success at Stalingrad, Soviets begin rapidly pushing the Germans back in the east Western Front – June 6, 1944: D-Day - U.S. and British troops attack beaches of Normandy and establish a foothold in France – Allied forces begin rapidly pushing the Nazis back in the west Germans Surrender – Hitler commits suicide on April 30th – May 7, 1945: VE Day - Germany surrenders to the Allies, ending the war in Europe

12. Victory in the Pacific Island-Hopping – U.S. forces invade strategic islands to get closer to Japan – Iwo Jima & Okinawa - U.S. seize islands within bomber range of Japan in very bloody operations Atomic Bombs – August 1945: Hiroshima & Nagasaki - U.S. drops newly developed atomic bombs on Japan – Hundreds of thousands are killed instantly or from radiation Japanese Surrender – Sept. 2, 1945: VJ Day - Japan surrenders to the Allies, ending WWII

13. Pondering WWII Major Issues and Effects of the War

14. “Crimes against Humanity” Attacks on Civilians – Rape of Nanking, German bombing of British cities, Allied bombing of German cities, and American use of atomic bombs all raise questions about “rules of warfare” Ethnic Cleansing – Hitler’s attempts to eliminate the European Jewish population during the Holocaust are viewed as especially hideous Significance – International movement to call individuals to account for violations of human rights committed during times of war Nuremberg War Crimes Trial: Nazi officers held accountable for actions that led to genocide

15. Recovery and Reconstruction Destruction of Europe and Japan – Fighting in Europe and Asia destroys countless miles of territory Governance of Axis countries and territories – Germany and Japan need to have new governments established, in addition to the territories controlled by them Solution – Allies divide up territories to provide assistance in rebuilding process and supervise establishment of free and democratic governments – Problem: Different philosophies and growing rivalry between United States and Soviet Union

16. United Nations U.N. – International organization designed to maintain peace – Much stronger than predecessor, the League of Nations Significance – Plays crucial role in several key post- war events Samples: Korean War, Creations of the state of Israel

17. Nationalism & Decolonization Nationalists and World War II – Many nationalists leaders aid Japanese invasion of their country in order to expel Europeans Examples: Dutch Indonesia, India, British Burma (Aung San) – However, as war progresses, some found Japanese conquerors as bad as worse as Euros Example: Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh) War for Democracy – Allies refer to fight against Hitler as a battle against “tyranny and oppression” Significance – Europe challenged to justify their foreign rule over colonies - Encourages anti-colonialism – Soon after the end of WWII, European powers lose control of most of their overseas empires

18. Cold War Conflict between the Soviets and Americans – Soviets and Americans extremely distrustful of one another at end of the war – U.S. aid pours into Western Europe, while Soviets establish pro-Soviet Communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe Significance – Competition between USA and Soviet Union leads both groups to intervene in countries all over the world, including East Asia (Korea, Vietnam) and Latin America (Cuba, Nicaragua)

19. Coach Lerch’s Final Thoughts The major developments of global history from 1945 to 1990 were dictated by the events of World War II – Conflict in the Middle East – Decolonization – Cold War – Economic and Cultural Globalization