Transcript WWII begins in Europe

Tensions Increase
• By the late 1930s, more and more restrictions
were being placed on the Jewish community.
• The Nazi Party also began to imprison political
opponents.
• Under the leadership of Hitler, Germany would
break the demands made in the Treaty of
Versailles by rebuilding its military and
reclaiming valuable industrious land.
Tensions Increase
• Kristallnacht or
“night of broken
glass” occurred
between November
8 and 9, 1938.
Thousands of
Jewish businesses
and homes were
destroyed and over
100 people lost
their lives.
WWII Begins in Europe
• On September 1, 1939, German forces
invade Poland.
• By 1941, Germany controlled most of the
territory throughout the continent of
Europe, as well as portions of Africa.
German Territories (1942)
Japanese Territories
Japan and WWII
• On December 13, 1937, Japanese forces
marched into what was then called Nanking, the
capital of China.
• In the following weeks over 300,000 Chinese
civilians (men, women, and children) were
brutally tortured and killed.
– The horrific acts committed by the Japanese would
come to be known as the “Rape of Nanking”
War in the Pacific
• On December 7, 1941, Japan attacks U.S.
Naval forces at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.
– Known as “a date that will live in infamy”
• The United States quickly declared war on
Japan.
The Pacific Theater
War Hysteria
• The U.S. forced 120,000
people of Japanese
decent into internment
camps during World War
II.
– 62% were US citizens.
• Internment was based on
“race prejudice, war
hysteria, and a failure of
political leadership”.
The Battle of Midway
• Considered the turning point for the United
States in fighting against the Japanese
Navy.
• June 3-6, 1942
• U.S. aircraft destroyed four Japanese
aircraft carriers during the battle.
– Midway would serve as a strategic area to
launch further attacks
Images of Midway
Iwo Jima
• Fought between
February 19 and
March 25, 1945.
– 5,931 U.S. Marines
killed (over 26,000
casualties)
• Photograph: U.S.
Marines raise the flag
on top of Mt.
Suribachi
Evolution of Weapons
WWII Aircraft
Secrets of WWII