Transcript World War II - History Connections

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The impact of the Treaty of Versailles and economic
depression
Totalitarian regimes (Germany, Japan, Italy)
The rise of military power in Japan
Fascism vs. Communism
The influence of propaganda
FDR and Hitler come into office 1933
Hitler’s justification of military aggression
1930’s US Isolationism
Policy of “appeasement”
US steps from isolationism to international
involvements (1930’s)
US entrance into war
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Post war plans among Allied leaders
Critical role of European battles : Operation
Torch, Stalingrad, D-Day and the Battle of the
Bulge
Battles in the Pacific's theater : Midway, Iwo
Jima, Okinawa
Decision to drop the “atomic bomb”
Role of the Soviet Union in the Pacific theater
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US war mobilization – war bond drives,
rationing
Impact of the war on women and minorities
Racial and ethnic tensions during the war (use
of internment camps)
Events surrounding the Holocaust
Nuremburg War Crimes Trials
Scientific and technological developments
Impact of the war on the standard of living
Impact on demographic patterns
Interventionism
Disarmament
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Collective security
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Isolationism
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“Wilsonianism”
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Nativists
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Business interests
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Anti-War movement
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Conservative
Republicans
Important to have all
nations in the Western
Hemisphere united in
lieu of foreign
aggressions.
FDR  The good neighbor
respects himself and
the rights of others.
Policy of non-intervention
and cooperation.
 When the President proclaimed the existence of a foreign war,
certain restrictions would automatically go into effect:
 Prohibited sales of arms to belligerent nations.
 Prohibited loans and credits to belligerent nations.
 Forbade Americans to travel on vessels of nations at
war [in contrast to WW I].
 Non-military goods must be purchased on a “cash-andcarry” basis  pay when goods are picked up.
 Banned involvement in the Spanish Civil War.
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This limited the options of the President in a crisis.
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America in the 1930s declined to build up its forces!
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Rise of totalitarian govt.
Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini
Fascism / Nazism (Third Reich)
Pre War aggression and appeasement
Mussolini invades Ethiopia; Hitler advances into
Rhineland, annexed Austria, right to annex W.
Czechoslovakia
Munich Pact – France and Great Britain agreed to
terms w/ Hitler along w/ a promise of no more
aggression
PM Chamberlain said this was a “peace with
honor”
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1931, Japan’s democracy collapsed
Under military power, occupied province of
Manchuria
China felt compelled to sign a treaty with Japan
1937, Japan began to seize the rest of China
1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan form the Axis
Powers
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World War I caused the deaths of millions and the destruction of
numerous cities and farms. The European economy was in
ruins.
The Treaty of Versailles left many European nations unhappy.
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France thought the treaty was too easy on Germany.
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Italy had been on the winning side of the war but was ignored
during the peace talks. They had hoped to gain territory.
Germany was most affected by the Treaty of Versailles.
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Germany gave up control of some of its land, including some
important industrial areas.
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German was forced to pay reparations to other countries,
which led to a period of severe inflation.
The Weimer Republic was not a strong government.
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It faced opposition from the Communists and the far right.
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The German military was greatly reduced in size and power.
Hitler’s policies:
- He created a totalitarian state, in which the Nazi’s
controlled every aspect of German society.
- Citizens must always obey the government, and the
government could not be criticized.
- Jews had their German citizenship taken away, they were
forbidden from using public facilities, and they were removed
from most types of work.
- Hitler built up his armed forces, in violation of the Versailles
Treaty.
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Neutrality Act 1935 – prohibited sale of
weapons
Quarantine Speech – (1937) Roosevelt called for
a “quarantine” against aggressor nations
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Sept 1939, Hitler invaded Poland using
“blitzkrieg”
Great Britain and France declared war on
Germany Sept 3, 1939
May 10, 1940german forces began a blitzkrieg
across Belgium, Netherlands, and France
June 1940, France surrendered
Roosevelt claimed “If great Britain goes down, all
of us in the Americas would be living at the
point of a gun. We must be the great arsenal of
democracy”
 Lend – Lease Act
 Atlantic Charter – Churchill and Roosevelt
agreed on principles of war ; eventually serves
as foundation for United Nations
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North Africa and Italy
Operation Torch
Stalingrad
D-Day
Battle of the Bulge
V-E Day / V-J Day
Bataan death March
Battle of Midway
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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Dwight Eisenhower
George Patton
Joseph Stalin
Winston Churchill
Douglas MacArthur
Harry S Truman
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Unconditional surrender
Puppet government
Tehran Conference
Yalta Conference (Yalta Declaration)
Big Three
Kamikazes
Manhattan Project
Potsdam Declaration
“We look forward to a world founded upon four
essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of
speech and expression--everywhere in the world.
The second is freedom of every person to worship
God in his own way-- everywhere in the world.
The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in
the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . .
anywhere in the world”
--President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Message to
Congress, January 6, 1941
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1940, Congress authorized Selective Service Act , first
peace time draft
Govt. realized they needed to keep morale and public
support
Govt will pay for patriotic posters, movie theaters
showed news reels
War Production Board led the switch from peacetime
production to wartime production
Economic result was a boom and increased standard of
living
Called on citizens to make sacrifices; income taxes
increased, (intro withholding tax); sell of war bonds;
people grew victory gardens; started rationing of
supplies and the public was forced to conserve
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WAC – (Women’s Army Corps) 275,000 women served
in the war
1 million African Americans were drafted or
volunteered ; found themselves banned from combat
roles; casualties changed that policy
Tuskegee Airmen – most notable; a black squadron of
fighter pilots, they successfully protected every single
bomber they escorted during war
“Code Talkers” – marines developed a code for
communication based on Navajo language; Navajo
marines will serve
1943, Japanese were accepted into the military; the
442nd served valiantly in Europe and became the most
decorated unit in US history
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Women became an important part in the
workforce at home
a popular song of the day was “Rosie the
Riveter” - described a women who worked in a
factory as a riveter while her boyfriend served
in the marines
Became the symbol of women who entered the
workforce to fill the gap left vacnt
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Zoot Suit Riots – riots that broke out in 1943 in Los
Angeles targeting Hispanics ; a similar riot took place
in Detroit
Many African Americans called for a “double v”;
began more open and bold challenges to segregation at
home
Japanese Americans – 1942, FDR ordered (Executive
Order 9066) ordered all Japanese Americans away from
military bases, more then 100,000 were forced from
their homes and businesses and sent to remote places
(internment camps)
1944, Fred Korematsu challenged this is in Korematsu
vs. US; SC ruled that it was not unconstitutional
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Anti-Semitism – led to Hitler’s rise
Portrayed Jews as problems for Germany’ financial
problems
Began to implement laws that discriminated
“Final Solution” to the “Jewish Problem”
Jews were sent to concentration camps
Roughly 6 million were killed
Nuremburg Trials began in Nov 1945 and placed
Nazi war criminals on trial ; several were
sentenced to death and others sent to prison for life
More than 2,000 war crimes trials took place
between Japan and Europe