Transcript Unit 8 - pams

American Participation in World War II
The economic devastation
of World War I caused
widespread discontent in
Europe, especially in
Germany. The high
reparations they were
responsible for caused
political instability in the
country during the 1920s
and 1930s.
 A period of worldwide
depression worsened the
crisis – the Great
Depression was not just an
American affair.
 High inflation in Germany
made money almost
completely worthless.
 Massive unemployment in
Germany crippled the
nation’s economy.

 Fascism is political philosophy in which total power
is given to a dictator (totalitarianism and
dictatorship are two characteristics.)
 All individual rights were given up to
the national
government – or dictator.
 Racism was common – Anti-Semitism , or hatred of
Jewish people, in Germany. The Nazis considered
“Aryans” – a fictional German identity - a superior
race.
BENITO MUSSOLINI
OF ITALY
ADOLF HITLER
OF NAZI GERMANY
HIDEKI TOJO
OF JAPAN
The Aggression of the
Axis Powers:
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany acted out in violation of
the Treaty of Versailles almost
immediately, and began to expand it’s
territory and influence. It occupied
the Rhineland in violation of the
treaty, annexed Austria in the
Anschluss, took over the Sudetenland
and later the remainder of
Czechoslovakia, as well. In the
meantime, Nazi Germany used it’s
increasingly powerful military to
support the fascist dictator Francisco
Franco in Spain, and formed an
alliance with Benito Mussolini – the
original Fascist dictator – in Italy.
Nazi Germany used its military power to attack surrounding
nations, including Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland.
The Aggression of the
Axis Powers:
Japanese Aggression in
Asia and the Pacific
During the early part of the
1900s, Theodore Roosevelt
suggested to the Japanese
Imperial government that he
considered the nation the most
powerful, influential, and fit to
rule in the region. Japanese
expansion into the continent of
Asia and the islands of the
Pacific had been a goal for
some time, then, when the
Japanese military made it a
major priority starting in the
1930s. Korea was subjugated,
and Manchuria was invaded in
the early part of the 1930s.
China was invaded in 1937, and
coordinated attacks upon the
islands of the Pacific – including
American territories in 1941 –
would bring on war.
Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and mainland China in
1937. In 1941, they bombed and attempted to take over
American possessions in the Philippines and Hawaii.


England and the United
States – who had promised
to defeat the Nazi tyranny by
signing the Atlantic Charter
in 1941, were the first Allies.
The Soviet Union would join
the Allies in 1941, when they
were attacked by Nazi
Germany. Many other
nations, including France,
Canada, Australia, and
China, played vital roles in
supporting the Allied Powers
during World War II.
The Leaders of the
Allied Powers
The Big Three leaders of the
Allied Powers during World War
II were (from left to right):
Joseph Stalin of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt of
the United States of American
(USA)
Winston Churchill of Great
Britain, or England.
 After World War I, the United States rejected the
Treaty of Versailles, refused to join the League of
Nations, and adopted a policy of isolationism towards
Europe between the wars.
 During the 1930s, a series of Neutrality Acts were
passed allowing Americans to provide only limited
economic and military aid to the Allies.
 When the Lend-Lease Act was passed, the United
States gave Britain war supplies and old naval
warships in return for military bases in Bermuda and
the Caribbean.
The War Starts in
Europe
Germany invaded Poland on
September 1, 1939, setting
off World War II in Europe.
At the same time, the Soviet
Union also invaded Poland
from the East.
Both England and France
immediately declared war on
Germany. Neither nation,
however, declared war on
the Soviet Union.
World War II began in Europe when Nazi Germany invaded
Poland on September 1, 1939. The United States DID NOT enter
the war until much later – when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
The Nazis Capture
Paris, and France Falls
Germany invaded France
and captured Paris in the
summer of 1940.
It was not until June 6, 1944,
- D-Day – when the United
States and the Allies opened
a second front to fight the
Nazis.
The Battle of Britain
During 1940 and 1941,
Germany began its
bombardment of London.
Although much of the city
was destroyed, the people
never surrendered.
Hitler soon turned his
attention to the East and
invaded the USSR.
The United States Goes
to War with Japan

On December 7, 1941,
Japan attacked the
United States at Pearl
Harbor without warning.

The following day, FDR
declared the attack “a
date that will live in
infamy” and asked for a
declaration of war against
the Empire of Japan.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941,
the United States entered into World War II.

The United States declared
war on Japan.

Since Japan was a member
of the Axis Powers,
Germany and Italy both
declared war on the United
States. The US responded
in kind, declaring war on all
of the Axis Powers.

Because it was the
strongest of the three
nations militarily, the US
agreed that defeating
Germany in the European
theatre of war would be
priority number one.
Fighting World War II
at Home
American involvement in
World War II brought an
end to the Great
Depression. Factories and
workers were needed to
produce goods to win the
war. Many factories had to
be converted for wartime
production, but one thing
was for certain – on
December 7, 1941, everyone
had a job in the United
States of America: to
defeat the Japanese and
the Axis powers who had
invaded our nation.
Working Women in World War II
Thousands of American women
took jobs in defense plants during
the World War II. Rosie “the
Riveter” was the symbol of the
American working woman during
World War II. Both women and
African-Americans who were hired
to work in the factories helped to
provide both munitions and supplies
for the soldiers and sailors abroad.
“Use it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or, do without!”
Americans were all asked to
make small sacrifices for the
good of the soldiers during
World War II. Rationed goods
included meat, coffee, sugar,
tires, shoes, and gasoline,
among other things.
Overcoming Racial
Differences to Work
for Victory in WW II
The need for workers temporarily
broke down some racial barriers when
it came to hiring practices during
World War II in the defense industry.
As you can see from the last names
gathered around the tank in this
picture, everyone was welcome to
help along the war effort. The cartoon
below shows the need to employ
African-American workers, too.
The Manhattan
Project
J. Robert Oppenheimer was
the scientist who led the
Manhattan Project. The goal
of the project was to create
an atomic bomb, which
would be used to help win
World War II.
“I Am Become Death The
Destroyer Of Worlds.”
HIROSHIMA (AUGUST 6, 1945) AND NAGASAKI (AUGUST 9, 1945)
The United States dropped
two atomic bombs on Japan
August of 1945, forcing
Japan to surrender and
ending World War II. Almost
250,000 Japanese civilians
died when the weapons were
used. Harry S Truman felt
justified in using the
weapons, though, because
an invasion of Japan would
have killed millions.

Anti-Semitism was at the heart of Nazism.

Jewish people experience segregation and were forbidden from
holding certain jobs.

Threats and violent pogroms were used to intimidate Jewish
people; Kristallnacht was the worst of these in November of 1938.

Aryan supremacy was the belief that Germans were the master
race, and all other races must be subjugated to them.

Adolf Hitler’s “Final Solution” was a systematic attempt to
murder the entire Jewish population of Europe.
Jewish people – and
others, including
Gypsies, political
prisoners, priests, and
homosexuals – were
imprisoned, worked
to exhausted, starved
to death, and
ultimately murdered
by the Nazis during
World War II. Most of
the men in the picture
here – from a
concentration camp
in Austria – survived.
Although the death camps of Europe were liberated in the spring of 1945, over 13 Million people had
been murdered by the Nazis. Of those, 6 Million were murdered simply because they were Jewish.
Anti-Semitism in Germany had taken a murderous toll.