Transcript Utah in the 1st Half of the 20th Century: 1900-1945

Utah in the 1st Half of the
20th Century: 1900-1945
World War II &
Nuclear Testing
“Utah Man” Video clip
 What was the “Utah Man”?
 How did this individual Utahan impact World
War II?
 Colonel Walter T. Stewart- Air Force pilot from
Benjamin Utah
 1943
 Part of mission to take out Nazi oil refineries in
Romania- (supplied 1/3rd of all Nazi oil)
 Stewart's plane, named "Utah Man," came back
with 365 holes in it.
World War II Basics 101
 What years was it? From 1939 to 1945
 What countries were the Axis powers? Germany, Italy, &
Japan
 What countries were the Allied powers? Great Britain,
United States, & Soviet Union (USSR)
 How did the war start? Germany’s invasion of Poland in 1939
 How did the United States get involved in World War II?
Attack of Pearl Harbor December 1941
Utah During World War II
 Do you know your ABC’s?
 Armed Forces- 1000s of Utahans left their homes & fought
in armed forces around the world
 Boot Camps & Bases- Utah was an ideal place for military
training
 Courageous Women in the Workforce- “Rosie the Riveters”
helped war production
 Daily Rationing & Gardening- Utahans sacrificed food &
supplies & planted victory gardens to help support the war
Readings
Pop Quiz!
 Get out a blank sheet of paper
 Name, date, period
 Number 1-5
 TRUE OR FALSE
1. Germany, Great Britain, & China made up the Axis powers.
2. During World War II, 1000s of Utahns left their homes & fought in
the armed forces around the world.
3. World War II started with Germany invaded Poland in September
1939.
4. “The Utah Man” was a heroic pilot who died in World War II.
5. Utahns helped the war effort by sacrificing food & supplies &
planting victory gardens.
Answers
 Switch paper with neighbor
 Get out red pen
 Answers:
1. Germany, Great Britain, & China made up the Axis powers.
 FALSE: Germany, Italy, & Japan made up the Axis powers
2.
During World War II, 1000s of Utahns left their homes & fought in the
armed forces around the world.
 TRUE (Letter A of ABC’s)
3.
World War II started with Germany invaded Poland in September 1939.
 TRUE (Pearl Harbor did NOT start the war)
4.
“The Utah Man” was a heroic pilot who died in World War II.
 FALSE: “The Utah Man” was a plane flown by Colonel Walter Stewart that helped take out
Nazi oil refineries during World War II.
5.
Utahns helped the war effort by sacrificing food & supplies & planting
victory gardens.
 TRUE (Letter D of ABC’s)
 Put total correct our of 5 & pass up.
Holocaust
 Definition: Systematic, intentional
persecution & genocide of approximately
6 million European Jews by the Nazi
regime & its collaborators during World
War II.
 Why did this happen?
 Hitler & Nazis blamed Jews for
Germany loosing in World War I
 They believed that Jews were “less
human” than others
 Told others that Jews were a racial
threat
 Why does it matter?
 Loss of millions of people
 Learn the dangers of hatred, prejudice,
ideas of superiority
 Amazing examples of kindness &
sacrifice
 Some Holocaust survivors in Utah
today
Navajo Code Talkers
 Who: 400-500 Native Americans who
served in the United States Marine
Corps
 What: transmitted secret
communications on the battlefields of
WWII
 Importance: code never broken
 Navajo Code Talker from Utah- Samuel
Holiday
D-Day
 What: Massive invasion of Allied




powers on beaches of Northern
France (Normandy) to liberate
mainland Europe from Nazi control
When: June 6th 1944
Who: 156,000 American, British, &
Canadian forces
Importance: one of the largest
amphibious military assaults in history
Code name for one of the five landing
sites: Utah Beach
Internment Camps
 Relocation and internment by the
United States government in 1942 of
about 110,000 Japanese Americans &
Japanese who lived along the Pacific
coast.
 Of those who were interned, 62%
were American citizens.
 Topaz Relocation Center in Utah, one
of 10 locations in U.S.
 Impact on Utah: Many men & women
worked at Topaz. Thousands of people
relocated there for the war.
V-E Day & V-J Day
 V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day
 May 8th 1945
 End of War in Europe
 Utahns & all Americans celebrate,
many come home!
 V-J Day: Victory in Japan Day
 August 15th 1945
 After dropping of 2 atomic bombs on
Japan
 End of War in Pacific
 THE WAR IS OFFICIALLY OVER!
World War II Links
 http://www.history.com/topics/d-day/interactives/inside-
wwii-interactive
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/
 http://amhistory.si.edu/militaryhistory/exhibition/flash.ht
ml (click on World War II)
 http://www.earthstation1.com/wwii.html
Nuclear Testing
 Experiments to discover the
strength, & explosive capability
of various nuclear weapons
 At the Nevada Test Sitebetween 1951 & 1992 there
were a total of 928 nuclear
tests. 828 of these were
underground.
 During the 1950s, the
mushroom clouds from these
tests could be seen for almost
100 miles in either direction.
Nuclear Testing Video
 How would you feel if you knew these tests were going on
100-200 miles away from you?
 What would be your reaction?
 What would you be afraid of?
Nuclear Testing’s Effect on
Utah
 On May 19, 1953, the United States government detonated the 32-
kiloton atomic bomb (nicknamed “Harry”) at the Nevada Test Site. The
bomb later gained the name “Dirty Harry” because of the huge amount
of off-site fallout generated by the bomb. Winds carried fallout 135 miles
to St. George, where residents reported, “an oddly metallic sort of
taste in the air.” St. George received the most of the fallout of
above-ground nuclear testing.
 Increases in cancers such as leukemia, lymphoma, thyroid cancer, breast
cancer, melanoma, bone cancer, & brain tumors, were reported from the
mid-1950s through 1980 in Utah.
 A 1979 study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine
concluded that: “A significant excess of leukemia deaths
occurred in children up to 14 years of age living in Utah
between 1959 and 1967. This excess was concentrated in the
group of children born between 1951 and 1958, and was
most pronounced in those residing in counties receiving high
fallout.” p12
Downwinders
 Downwinders: individuals and communities
who are exposed to radioactive contamination
or nuclear fallout from atmospheric or
underground nuclear weapons testing, and
nuclear accidents.
 Or in other words: People who live(d) “Down
Wind” from nuclear testing sites & have
suffered health consequences from the
radiation
 Infertility, blood disorders, genetic effects,
birth defects, cancer, cataracts
 By January 2006, over 10,500 claims had been
approved, and around 3,000 denied, for a
total amount of over $525 million in
compensation dispensed to “downwinders”
Journal Write
 Pretend a member of your family was affected by the nuclear
testing in Nevada and has many unexplainable health
problems. Many call your family member a, “downwinder.”
Write a letter to the United States government and express
your concern and alarm about nuclear testing and what you
think they should do to fix the problem and help your family.
(4 sentences at least)