Transcript Il Duce
World War II (1939-1945) Prelude to War • Italy after World War I – Dissatisfied – Rise of FASCISM • Totalitarian, nationalistic • Violent! – BENITO MUSSOLINI (1883-1945) • Il Duce • Prime minister of Italy Mussolini addressing a crowd Prelude to War • Japanese Aggression – Causes of militarism • Unhappy with World War I • Overpopulation • Nationalist China – “Mukden Incident” (1931) invasion of Manchuria – Full-scale invasion, blockade (1937) – Chinese resistance Japanese fury! Prelude to War • Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) – German nationalist – Hated German republic, Western powers – Dominated Nazi party – Chancellor of Germany (1933) – Der Führer Prelude to War • Nazi Worldview – Nationalistic, totalitarian – German expansion a must! – Racist • People are subject to laws of selection • Aryans vs. Jews • Goals: pure racial community, sense of belonging Prelude to War Nazi Party rally, Nuremberg (1934) Prelude to War • The Axis Strike – AXIS powers: Germany, Italy, Japan – Italy seized Ethiopia (1935-36), Albania (1939) – Moves by Germany (1936-39) • Remilitarized Rhineland • Annexed Austria, Czechoslovakia Prelude to War • The Invasion of Poland – NONAGGRESSION PACT (August 23, 1939) • Germany and USSR • Poland to be divided between them – Germany invaded (Sept. 1) • Strategy: BLITZKRIEG – Britain and France declared war (Sept. 3) Prelude to War • Questions? World War II World War II • The Battle of Britain (July-October 1940) – German goal: invasion – Series of air battles – Blitz of London (Sept. to Nov.) – British resistance Hitler’s first check – WINSTON CHURCHILL (18741965) Planes of Royal Air Force Churchill World War II Devastation near St. Paul’s Cathedral World War II Devastation in Balham, London World War II A Tube station being used as a bomb shelter World War II • Churchill’s “We Shall Never Surrender” Speech (June 4, 1940) – “When Napoleon lay at Boulogne for a year with his flatbottomed boats and his Grand Army, he was told by someone, ‘There are bitter weeds in England.’ There are certainly a great many more of them since the British Expeditionary Force returned…I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once more able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government – every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.” World War II • “We Shall Never Surrender” Speech Continued – “The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength…We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.” World War II • Operation Barbarossa – Launched against USSR (June 1941) – Successful first offensive – Stalin caught off guard! – Second offensive (November) unsuccessful • Early winter • Stalin invoked nationalism fierce resistance! World War II • Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) – President (1933-1945) – Led USA through Great Depression – Pursued by Churchill – Opposed to foreign despotism World War II • Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor – Impasse in China southeast Asia – Attacked Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941) – USA declared war (December 8) – Axis declared war on USA World War II • Questions? World War II World War II • Battle of Stalingrad – July 1942 to Feb. 1943 – Germans claimed victory – Soviets resisted! – German defeat now on defensive Soviet soldiers, Stalingrad World War II • Retaking Western Europe – Allies invaded Italy from North Africa (July 1943) • Mussolini overthrown • Italy declared war (October) • Advance blocked by Germans – D-DAY (June 6, 1944) Landing at Normandy • Amphibious invasion • English Channel Normandy • Germans in retreat World War II World War II • The Axis Defeat in Europe (1945) – Allies advanced – Unconditional surrender of Germany (May 7) – Fate of the Axis leaders • Mussolini: shot (April 28) • Hitler: suicide (April 30) Soviet soldiers raising their flag over the Reichstag, Berlin World War II • The Holocaust – Restrictions, attacks begin in 1930s – “The Final Solution” (1942) • Ghettos • Extermination camps – Approx. 6 million perished Jews on board cattle cars World War II Gas chamber, Auschwitz World War II Scratch marks on gas chamber walls World War II Crematorium World War II World War II The Pacific Theater World War II • Defeat of Japan (1945) – American ultimatum to Japan ignored – Atomic bombs • Hiroshima (August 6) • Nagasaki (August 9) Cloud above Nagasaki – Emperor Hirohito surrendered (August 15) World War II Hiroshima (March 1946) World War II • Questions?