Transcript File

Issues and Politics of the Second World War
WORLD WAR 2
Technology and Communications
 WW2 caused a very quick improvement in
technology used to fight the war
 In Europe the plane and the tank were the
main weapons
 These two machines improved greatly during the
war
 Airplanes became faster, more maneuverable, and
could carry more goods
 Tanks also became larger, faster, and were more
destructive
Technology and Communications
 Not all technological improvements involved
weapons
 British developed radar – needed for the Battle
of Britain
 British and Americans developed sonar – needed
for Battle of the Atlantic
 As a result the Allies had a huge advantage over
the Germans
 German scientists developed the rocket and jet
engine
 But the war ended before they could use them
Technology and Communications
 The radio was used by both sides to help keep
the home front safe and aware of the events that
were happening during the war
 This was used to boost morale and also used to
broadcast a lot of propaganda
 The ultimate tool of war was the development of
the nuclear bomb
 This weapon brought the war to an end and also
provided a warning to the possibilities involving
any future wars
War Time Conferences
 During the war, the Allied leaders met often
to discuss war strategy and what would
happen once the Allies won the war
 There were 7 major conferences in all
 Tehran, November-December 1943
 Tehran conference was held in Iran
 First time that Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met
 Meeting did not accomplish a lot but friendly
relations were made between the two democratic
leaders and the dictator - Stalin
War Time Conferences
 Yalta, February 1945
 This conference was in the south of the Soviet
Union and made many decisions about the future
of Germany
1. Germany was to be divided into zones of
occupation once the war was over
2. War crimes court was to be established at
Nuremburg
3. Stalin promised to hold free elections in the
countries he was liberating from the Nazis
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(He did not keep his promise)
War Time Conferences
 Postdam, July 1945
 Was held in near Berlin
 The Allies were to make a decision about the future of
Germany and Europe
 This was to be for planning the peace conference
 But since democratic and communist leaders didn’t trust
each other, now that the war was over, it was more like
setting up the next war (the Cold War)
The Holocaust
 Holocaust : from the Greek holos (whole) and
kaustos (burnt)
 A term used to describe Hitler’s attempt to
exterminate all Jewish people in Europe during the
Second World War
 This resulted in the death of over 6 million
Jewish people
 Hitler was obsessed with the complete removal
of the Jewish race
The Holocaust
 Anti-Semitism
 Before WW2 there were 600,000 German people who were of
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Jewish decent
Some Germans, who were envious of the success of Germany’s
Jews, were easily convinced by Nazi propaganda again Jewish
people
Anti-Semitism spread quickly throughout Germany
Adolf Hitler believed that this hate for Jewish people would
bring all German people closer together, and also make them
more loyal and obedient
As a result of persecution (being treated badly for religious,
racial, or political reasons) the Jewish people fled to
neighbouring countries
The countries that the Jews fled to were soon occupied by the
Nazis
Many countries would not accept Jewish refugees because of
anti-Semitic feelings among their own populations
The Holocaust
 The St. Louis Incident
 After Kristallnacht in 1938, many Jewish people tried
to leave Germany
 It had become more and more difficult and costly to
obtain visas and the amount of money needed to
enter another country
 Immigration policies were much stricter now
 The ocean liner: St. Louis provided an opportunity
that seemed to be the last chance for Jews to escape
 The ship was to take Jewish people from Germany and
take them to Cuba
 In Cuba the Jewish people would wait to enter the USA
The Holocaust
 The St. Louis Incident
 When they arrived in Cuba, the ship was told to anchor in
the harbour, but was not allowed on land
 Long negotiations began
 Unknown to the captain of the St. Louis, Cuba had passed
a new law mid-voyage, that cancelled landing permits
that the Jewish people had purchased
 Many people in Cuba blamed incoming refugees for the
poor economic status
 During negotiations to allow the St. Louis to land, Nazi
Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, sent agents to
Cuba
 He wanted to promote anti-Semitism and to create fake
criminal backgrounds for the passengers
 The refugees were now seen as a threat
The Holocaust
 The St. Louis Incident
 After being turned away, the St. Loius attempted
to land on Canada’s East Coast with 907 Jewish
people
 The Canadian government determined that
Jewish refugees would not make good settlers
 The St. Louis was forced to return to Europe and
many of those passengers died in Nazi
concentration camps
The Holocaust
 Ghettos
 By 1939, 80,000 Jewish people were forced into
ghettos
 These are designated areas in a city where Jews
were forced to live
The Holocaust
 Final Solution
 By 1941, Hitler’s obsession with the eliminating the
Jewish race became a horrible reality called the final
solution
 Hitler ordered all Jews in Nazi occupied Europe to be
captured and sent to extermination camps
 They were to be killed in mass in gas chambers
 The was called genocide – the organized
extermination of a religious or racial group
 Jewish communities were herded into railcars and
shipped to concentration camps across German
occupied territories
 Many Jewish people died on their way to the camps, due
to lack of food, water and air on the trains
The Holocaust
 Final Solution
 Once they arrived at the camps, Jewish people were killed
by starvation, exhaustion, disease, torture, or execution
 The Nazis also performed inhumane medical experiments,
which was a horrible method of torture
 Prisoners were forced to ingest toxic and fatal substances to
test their immunity (ex. Tetanus, malaria)
 Powdered glass and wood splinters were mixed with
water and injected into their veins
 Jewish people were thrown into vats of boiling or freezing
water
 They were burned or denied medical treatment
 Healthy prisoners were operated on without anesthesia to
test the effects of shock on a person
The Holocaust
 Final Solution
 After facing gas chambers, the gold fillings in
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teeth were collected and given to Hitler
Skin was made into lampshades and gloves
Bones were used as fertilizer
Hair was shaved upon arrival and used to stuff
mattresses
At Auschwitz Death camp alone, over one million
people were killed by Nazis
Millions of others were executed at other sites
because of their beliefs, race, or sexual orientation
The Holocaust
 Final Solution
 In total, it is estimated that 10 million people died
in Nazi concentration camps during WW2
 Of those 6 million were Jews, who remain the
largest group ever to face genocide
 It is estimated that one million children were also
killed in the Holocaust
War Criminals and
Crimes Against Humanity
 The atrocities (murder, violence) committed by
the Nazis were on a scale never seen before
 As the war in Europe was ending, more and
more death camps were found. Making it clear
how cruel the Nazis were
 A decision was made by the Allies that the Nazis
would be punished
 Never before has the victorious leaders legally
charged the other leaders for their immoral
actions during war
War Criminals and
Crimes Against Humanity
 In 1946, the Allies set up a war crimes court at
Nuremberg
 177 Nazis were indicted (charged) for crimes
related to starting the war and during the
Holocaust
 Of the 177, only 3 were acquitted
 Several of the guilty were hanged, while most
were given lengthy prison sentences