WORLD WAR II

The Path To War

■ In March of 1935, Hitler

announced the creation of a
German air force and a policy of
conscription to enlarge the size of
the army.
■ Britain followed a policy of
appeasement, giving in to the
demands of another country in
hopes of keeping the peace.

World War II
■ Hitler sought new allies to help him acquire
Lebensraum (living space) for the new German
empire.
■ Hitler formed a military pact with Fascist Italy,
the Rome-Berlin Axis, then created a military
alliance with Japan (aka the Anti-Comintern Pact
against communism)
■ Before the pact between the three, two of the
three Axis powers had initiated conflicts that
would become theaters of war in World War II.
■ The alliance between these three nations became
the Axis Powers
■ Hitler supported the Fascist Spanish nationalist
government during the Spanish Civil War
(1936-1939).
■ In 1937, German and Italian planes bombed the
city of Guernica, Spain, held by republic forces.

Hitler & Mussolini with Franco during the

Spanish Civil War
■ Hitler created the German Empire, Third
Reich. It was named Third Reich because the
Nazi perceived that time period as the third
glorious age of Germany.
■ Hitler planed to bring Austria (where he was
born) under German rule.
■ Hitler used the threat of invasion to pressure
the Austrian chancellor into giving more
power to the Austrian Nazi Party.
■ Austria became a part of the Third Reich in
March 1938.
■ In September 1938, Hitler issued a demand to
Czechoslovakia for the border territory of the
Sudetenland.
■ Hitler seized control of all of Czechoslovakia
in 1939 when he saw that the British were not
willing to stand up to his illegal land grabs.
The Path to War: The Conflict over Poland
■ Britain agreed to protect Poland from a German attack.
Britain and France formed a stronger alliance against
Germany.
■ Germany was already negotiating with the Soviets.
■ The German-Soviet Nonaggression Pack was signed in
August 23, 1939, and the two nations pledged not to
attack each other.
■ Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939,
claiming that Poland had attacked Germany first.
Meanwhile, Stalin agreed to stand by the invasion of
Poland in exchange for Soviet control of Eastern
Poland

World War II: Destruction in Poland

Japan & Imperialist Policies

■ Japan began an invasion of

Manchuria in northern China in
September 1931.
■ 1932 – Japanese set up a puppet state
called Manchukuo.
■ Japanese soldiers killed or raped
many Chinese in the city of Nanjing
which was later called the Rape of
Nanjing (aka Nanking).
New Order in East Asia

■ Japanese wanted to expand into

Soviet Siberia
■ Japan’s economy relied on oil and
scrap iron from the U.S.
■ US economic sanctions against
Japan threatened to strangle Japan’s
economy and undercut military
expansion
Germany's Early Victories and Challenges
■ Used strategy of Blitzkreig (lightning war) to
subdue Poland, consisting of rapid tank
divisions supported by the Luftwaffe or Air
Force in a four week campaign.
■ By September 1939, Germans and Soviets split
Poland as planned in the Non-Aggression pact.
■ Hitler's success in Poland led him to conquer
Denmark and Norway in April 1940, and the
Netherlands, Belgium, and France the next
month.
■ In France the Nazis set up the Vichy
government under Henri Petain to run the
southern half of the country.
British-American Relations
■ President Roosevelt signed the
Destroyers-for-Bases Agreement in which the
US delivered 50 destroyers for naval bases in
the Western Hemisphere.
■ In 1941 the US gave up neutrality in signing
the Lend-Lease Act by lending war materials
to Great Britain.
■ Also in 1941, the Atlantic Charter was
created, setting down basic goals for the post
war world. This included the abandonment of
use of force, the disarmament of aggressor
nations, and the restoration of
self-government to those deprived of it.
The Battle of Britain
■ In July 1940, Hitler ordered a large campaign
against Britain by the Luftwaffe, believing this
would weaken the nation for his land and sea
forces.
■ Initially targeting military bases, after Berlin was
raided by the British Royal Air Force, the
Germans turned to bombing British cities.
■ Though civilians suffered months of relentless
bombing, the targeting of civilian cities allowed
Britain to rebuild its military bases, allowing
Britain's superior planes and radar to destroy
German planes faster than they could be replaced
■ By May of 1941, Hitler was forced to indefinitely
postpone any invasion of Britain.
War on the Soviet Union
■ After a failed campaign against Britain, Hitler
turned east towards the Soviets, first attacking
Greece and Yugoslavia, where Italy had failed,
and then began his attack on the Soviet Union in
June 1941.
■ Hitler was initially successful, capturing large
amounts of territory and 2 million Soviet troops.
■ However, the German forces soon fell to the
same force that had defeated Napoleon in 1812,
the harsh Russian winter. The German Army
was spread too thin and supply routes were
getting too long.
■ The Soviets also defended the city of Leningrad
against Nazi forces in the Battle of Leningrad, a
siege that lasted three years and led to the death
of a million Soviet men, women, and children.
Japan Overreaches – Part 1
■ Japan experienced rapid victories in the Pacific
– Launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor
(December 7, 1941)
– Responded to the United States’ declaration of war by seizing the Philippines
and numerous territories, which they termed the “Greater East Asia
Co-Prosperity Sphere”
■ People experienced Japan as a conqueror
– Japanese were considered militaristic and expansionists at the time,
motivated by nationalism
Japan Overreaches – Part 2
■ Japan believed that the U.S. would negotiate a settlement
favorable to Japan due to all the damage the United States had
incurred.
– Instead, the U.S. retaliated against Japanese aggression with the help of Great
Britain and China.
■ The war became global when Hitler answered with his own
declaration of war against the United States.
Colonial Armies
■ Western colonial powers began to join the Allies in the war
effort
– The Indian Army had the largest volunteer army with more than 2.5 million men
by the end of the war
– The Indian Army did send troops to North Africa, but the bulk of its troops
fought against the Japanese in Southeast Asia.
Home Fronts – Part 1
■ Most countries mobilized all their resources to achieve victory
■ The U.S. operated without fear of military attack
– Mobilized citizens well
– Ramped up production of resources required for war
– Enlistment of large numbers of men in the armed forces
– Women found opportunities to work in factories dedicated to producing war
materiel.
Home Fronts – Part 2
■ Germans were less successful, leaders relied on forced labor
which made productivity low
■ In Japan efforts on the home front were confused
– Government presented an optimistic view of the war instead of trying to
mobilize resources
– Government took pride in not utilizing women in the war effort
Tides Turn in Europe
■ In December 1941, the U.S. joined with
Great Britain and the Soviet Union.
■ Early 1942, General Erwin Rommel , the
“Desert Fox,” led German troops in Egypt
and threatened to take Northern
Alexandria.
■ Germany gained control of Soviet Crimea.
■ 1942 – the ”tide turned” with the addition
of US forces and supplies, and the British
defeated Rommel
Meanwhile, in America….we were also
promoting discrimination against the
Japanese
Compare and Contrast Holocaust vs. Internment - Georgetown ISD
Don’t forget: America had also
previously laid the groundwork for
Hitler’s beliefs and the extermination of
specific groups of people within society

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaH0Ws8RtSc
 The Tides Turns In The Pacific Theater
❖ In May 1942, Japan fought off the U.S Navy at the Battle of the Coral Sea , to stop then from invading Russia.
❖ In early 1943, the Allied forces won the Battle in Guadalcanal.
❖ General Douglas MacArthur used a strategy called island-hopping, which met the Allies attacked on islands Japan
ruled weakly, and skipped the strong islands.
❖ The development of aircraft carriers helped the US Air Force to take on and off the land from their decks at sea,
provided air support for ships, and flexibility; used on enemy ships for intelligence gathering.
❖ Submarines were also extremely important, because they sank 55% of the Japanese merchant fleet, damaging their
naval supply lines

Picture by : Bel Geddes; 1942

Picture by : Needham Public Schools Picture by : Jeff Danziger
• Battle of the Coral Sea; America had • Cartoon of aircraft carrier used in the Battle of Midway ; provided
won • Battle of Midway Map; shows the routes of the ships
flexibity for the ships
 The Last Years Of The War
• U.S. and British forces land on and capture Sicily in 1943.
• Mussolini loses power, but Germans keep control of northern Italy.
• Allies invade Italy, but Germans keep fighting there until the war ends.
Picture: Battle Of Kursk; 1943
• June 6, 1944, was called D-day due to the invasion of France on the • The battle was an attempt by the
German side to get on the offensive
beaches at Normandy, from the Allied forces about 150,000 men. after defeat in the Battle of
Stalingrad
• In December 1944, the Germans fought the Allies in the Battle of the
Bulge; the Allies won, but Hitler didn’t give up.
• One month later, the Allies were in Berlin.
• On the Eastern front, Allied troops moved towards Germany; on July 1943,
the largest tank battle, the Battle Of Kursk, was fought about 300 miles
south of Moscow.
• The Soviets counterattacked the German Blitzkrieg, then in 1944, they
made a rapid progress through the Ukraine and Baltic States in 1944.
Picture: Battle of Bulge; 1944
• View of German soldiers aboard
a Jagdpanzer IV/70 tank
destroyer from the 12th SS
Panzer Division during the
Battle of the Bulge
The Last Years Of The War

• After taking control over Warsaw, Poland (January 1945), Allies moved on to Hungary,
Romania, and Bulgaria, and in April 1945, they moved to Berlin.
• After the Battle of the Bulge, Hitler went into hiding in an underground shelter in Berlin , even
though the country was falling he continued to live there.
• His end came on April 30, 1945, when he committed suicide; his ally Mussolini was killed by a
member of the Italian resistance; after Hitler’s death, the Germany High Command continued
with the war.
• May 8, 1945, was assigned as V-E day due to the Victory in Europe Day.
• On August 6, 1945, the U.S Air Force dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima, Japan; 100,000
people died, later the second bomb was dropped in Nagasaki; 40,000 people died.
• Japan surrendered on August 14 to the Allies; Truman designated September 2 as V-J day
(Victory over Japan Day)
Casualties of War - Part 1
■ The Nazis
– Heinrich Himmler was the leader of the
Nazi Special Police (S.S). Political
opponents, people with disabilities, and
gays were sent to camps along with 7
million residents of conquered territories.
– The Jews were the main target because
Hitler blamed them for economic problems
in Germany.
– In 1942, Nazi leaders commenced a
campaign to kill all Jews in Europe.
Casualties of War – Part 2
■ The Japanese
– 1. More than 1 million civilians died in Vietnam only, due to harsh programs
on civilians.
■ The Allies
– 1. The Allies used firebombing to bomb German cities, causing 50,000 deaths
in Hamburg and 25,000 in Dresden.
– 2. The final two air attacks were on Hiroshima and Nagasaki causing at least
129,000 deaths.
 The Big Three and a New World Order
■ The Big Three, consisting of Great Britain, the
United States, and the Soviet Union, began to
meet in a series of conferences to discuss
strategy for winning the war and shaping the
world after the war ended. Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill
■ During the Tehran Conference in November
1943, the Big Three agreed on a plan for the
war. The Soviets would focus on Eastern
Europe while Britain and the United States
concentrated on Western Europe.
■ In addition, some Polish territory would be
shifted to the Soviet Union to be made up by
Poland gaining territory, mostly from Germany.
 The Yalta Conference
■ In February 1945, at the Yalta Conference, Joseph Stalin revealed his distrust of his allies.
■ Stalin wanted influence in the countries of Eastern Europe so that the region would serve
as a buffer between the USSR and Eastern Europe, while President Franklin Roosevelt
wanted the countries to remain free to rule themselves through free, democratic elections.
■ President Roosevelt also wanted Soviet support against Japan, though Stalin asked for
numerous concessions in return, including Japanese territory, as well as two Chinese ports
and ownership interest in a Manchurian railroad.
■ The conference ended with vague assurances on the issue and the agreement to support
Roosevelt’s vision in creating the United Nations, to solve future international disputes
peacefully.
The Potsdam Conference
■ This final meeting between the Big Three,
was held in Germany in July 1945 with the
new US president, Harry Truman.
■ President Truman had a disdain for Stalin
as well as Churchill, and insisted on the
requirement of free elections in Europe.
Stalin occupied the region with Soviet
troops and was equally adamant in
refusing Truman's demand.
■ The two nations expressed their lack of
trust in one another in aggressive rhetoric
that would develop into the Cold War.