Transcript World War II

World War II
World War II
• During the 1930s, Italy, Germany, and Japan,
sought to build new empires and their
aggression went unchecked until it became
impossible to ignore in 1939
• With advanced technology, the war covered a
larger area and was more destructive than any
before
Unit Essential Questions
1. What events led up to World War II?
2. How did new weapons technology affect the
course of the war?
3. How were the lives of individuals affected
by the war?
4. What were the major turning points of the
war that helped determine its outcome?
The Road to War
• In the 1930s, Italy,
Germany, and Japan
aggressively sought to
build new empires
• These acts of aggressions
went unchecked…
– Why?
• The League of Nations was
weak
• Western countries were
recovering from the Great
Depression
• Western countries did not
want to fight another war
Japan Invades China
• Japan wanted to build an
overseas empire
• In 1931, Japan invaded
Manchuria and the
League of Nations
condemned the action
– As a result, Japan
withdrew
• In 1937 the Japanese
army invaded China again
and established a puppet
government in Nanjing
• The invasion was so
brutal it was called the
‘rape of Nanjing’
Italy Attacks Ethiopia
• In 1935, Italy attacked
Ethiopia
• Although they resisted,
the Ethiopian army
was no match for the
superior Italian Army
• The League of Nations
tried to intervene but
could do little to stop
the Italian Army
German Aggression in Europe
• Hitler rebuilt the German
army, in direct violation of
the Treaty of Versailles
• In 1936, Hitler sent troops
into the Rhineland, an area
between France and
Germany where German
troops were forbidden to
go
• In 1938, Hitler incorporated
Austria into the German
empire and forced
Czechoslovakia to give the
Sudetenland to Germany
Appeasement
• Western democracies
adopted a policy of
appeasement
– Nations gave in to the
aggressive demands to
maintain peace
• The western democracies
responded weakly to
German aggression
• At the Munich Conference
in 1938, western
democracies agreed that
Germany should be allowed
to seize the Sudetenland
World War II Begins
• Recognizing weakness, Japan, Italy, and
Germany formed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
• Agreed to stop the spread of communism
• It became increasingly clear that appeasement
had failed miserably
– In March 1939, Hitler took over Czechoslovakia
– Later, Hitler and Stalin signed a non-aggression pact
– In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland
– Great Britain and France declared war on Germany
Military Aggression Leading to World War II
1935
1937
Italy invades Japan
Ethiopia
invades
China
1930
1932
1931
Japan invades
Manchuria
1934
1939
Germany invades
Poland and takes
Czechoslovakia
1936
1938
1940
1936
Germany
occupies
Rhineland
1938
Germany invades Austria and
seizes Sudetenland
The Axis Powers Advance
• Axis Powers
– Germany, Italy, Japan
• Allied Powers
– Great Britain, France
• Later joined by China, Soviet Union, United States
The Axis Powers Advance
• At first, Germany and its
allies dominated the war
– Nazis conquered Poland
using the tactic known as
blitzkrieg
– In April 1940, Hitler
overran Norway, Denmark,
the Netherlands, and
Belgium
– By June 1940, the Germans
had made it to Paris
– Charles de Gaulle formed a
French government in exile
to fight Germany
Turning Points of the War
• The Axis powers won quick victories early, but
there were several events after 1940 that
served as turning points in the war
– The Entry of the US (1941)
– Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)
– Invasion of Normandy (1944)
The Entry of the United States (1941)
• Initially, the US declared its
neutrality in the war
• FDR met with Winston Churchill
in August of 1941 to declare
their goal of ridding the world
of Nazi tyranny
– Roosevelt supplied weapons to
the Allies and bans sale of arms
to Japan
• Japan launched a surprise
attack on the base at Pearl
Harbor on December 7 1941
• More than 2400 people were
killed and most of the ships in
the US fleet were destroyed
• The entry of the US into the
war gave the Allies added
strength
Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943)
• The Germans invaded the
Soviet Union in 1941
• After steady advances,
Nazi forces stalled at
Moscow and Leningrad
• Hitler turned South in
1942 towards Stalingrad
• Russian troops and a
freezing winter caused the
German invaders to
surrender in 1943
Invasion of Normandy (1944)
• The allies invaded France on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day
• Allied troops were ferried across the English Channel, landing
on the beaches of Normandy
• The Allies moved to Paris and freed France from German
control
The War Ends
• The war in Europe
ended on May 7,
1945, with the
Germans’ surrender
• Fighting in the Pacific
would continue until
the Japanese
surrendered in
August 1945
Yalta Conference
• In February 1945,
Roosevelt, Churchill,
and Stalin met in the
USSR at Yalta
• The Allies would divide
up Germany
• Stalin would coordinate
division of Eastern
European governments
Victory in the Pacific
• Japan was greatly
weakened, and the US
took the offensive after
two Japanese fleets were
severely damaged by the
US in 1942
• US ‘island-hopped’ and
advanced north towards
Japan
• By 1944, US had begun
bombing Japanese cities
but they refused to
surrender
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
•
•
•
•
With the war in Europe over, the
Allies devoted their resources into
the Pacific theater
Although their navy and air force
were destroyed, the Japanese army
remained strong
On August 6, 1945, an American
plane dropped an atomic bomb on
Hiroshima
– The bomb flattened the city and
killed 70,000 people
– A second bomb, dropped on
Nagasaki, killed 40,000 people
Militants wanted to hold out, but
Emperor Hirohito force the surrender
and Japan signed a treaty on
September 2, 1945
Technology and World War II
• Throughout the war,
advanced technology
led to more power,
greater speed, and
better communications
• Technological
innovation resulted in
more widespread
destruction than ever
before
Civilian Life and Total War
• Cities became targets
• Democratic governments
increased their power
and ‘commanded’ the
economies
• Once again, women were
called upon to work in
factories
– Women served as
ambulance drivers,
decoders, and nurses
Wartime Atrocities
• The Holocaust
• ‘Rape of Nanjing’
• Bataan Death March
– In the Philippines, Japanese soldiers forced
American and Filipino prisoners of war on a march
up the Bataan peninsula
– Prisoners were beaten, stabbed, and shot
Impact of World War II
Impact of World War II
• Economic Losses
– Aerial bombardment
wiped whole cities off
the map
– Coventry in England;
Hamburg and Dresden in
Germany; and Tokyo,
Hiroshima, and Nagasaki
were some of the
hardest hit
Impact of World War II
• War Crime Trials
– During the war, Allied
leaders decided they
would punish those
responsible for ‘crimes
against humanity’
– Nuremburg Trials led to
the imprisonment or
execution of 22 Nazi
leaders
• Rudolph Hoess
– Leaders could be held
accountable for their
actions during war
Impact of World War II
• Occupied Nations
– West Germany and
Japan were occupied by
democratic
governments to help
create new democratic
governments
– Soviet Union occupied
Eastern Europe and East
Germany and
established communist
governments back by
the USSR
Impact of World War II
• The United Nations
– In April 1945, the UN is
created with two main
bodies
• The General Assembly,
which includes
representatives from all
member nations
– Each member has one
vote
• The Security Council, with
15 member nations, 5 of
which are permanent
– The US, Russia, France,
Great Britain, China
Unit Essential Questions
1. What events led up to World War II?
2. How did new weapons technology affect the
course of the war?
3. How were the lives of individuals affected
by the war?
4. What were the major turning points of the
war that helped determine its outcome?