World War II

1. World War II By: Ryan Hobert

2. The War in the Pacific, 1937-1942 • 1937- Battle between Chinese and Japanese troops break out at Marco Polo Bridge • Triggered full-scale war with China • Sparking the Pacific War • Rape of Nanjing- Japan launching full-scale attack on Nanjing which lead to capturing the city. • America cut off trade with Japan and froze its assets in July 1941. • Japan responded with the bombing of Pearl Harbor • December 7th, 1941 • 300 planes • Destroyed at least 180 planes and killed more than 2,000 people.

3. The War in the Pacific, 1937-1942 Continued • Same day as the attack at Pearl Habor, Japan attacked Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaya and other bases in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. • Mid 1942- Japan had conquered Philippines, Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Indoneisia, parts of New Guinea, Indochina, Thailand and Burma. • Naming the conquests “Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”

4. Results of World War II • 50 million people dead- 30 million civilian • Japanese victories could be seen as responsible for ending European colonialism in the Pacific region • When European colonizers tried to return British to Burma and Malaya; French to Indochina; Dutch to Indoneisia, Nationalist groups protested, leading to independence. • Increase of use of technology • Tanks, Submarines and aircraft.

5. Horrors of World War II • Extermination of an entire people, jews, by the Nazis without any apparent goal. GENOCIDE. • Nazi Program • 1. Reversed the trend of acceptance and civic equality for Jews. • 2. Targeted Jews as an ethnic group, not a religious group. • 3. Used all the technological and organizational skills at its nations disposal to carry out the mission. • By 1945, 6 million Jews dead, as well as “inferior” races such as Gypsies, Poles, Homosexuals and Handicapped people. • This butchery was named The Holocaust. “Nazi Swastika”

6. Horrors of World War II Continued • The atomic bombs dropped by USA on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. • On August 6th, 1945, of the 245,000 occupants of Hiroshima, 75,000 died that day. Another 100,000 after, due to the radiation • Three days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. • August 14th, Japan surrendors. “Atomic bomb in Hiroshima”

7. Political Reconstruction in Japan • Japan • Under American occupation by General Douglas MacArthur • Four goals- “Punishing some Japanese leaders as war criminals; establishing democratic institutions and practices; reviving the devastated Japanese economy; and enlisting Japan as an ally in the new Cold War against the USSR. All four goals were achieved” (Spodek) • New constitution issued in 1947 • Occupation Authority • Redistributed agricultural land (Spodek) • The largest Zaibatsu were dissolved into their constituent companies and anti-monopoly legislation was passed. (Spodek) • Encouraged the formation of labor unions, legalizing the right to organize, bargain, and strike. (Spodek)

8. Political Reconstruction in Germany • One/Fourth of housing stock was destroyed as was about half of the economic infrastructure. • Lack of food supplies left many Germans malnourished. • The German state no longer existed, but was divided into four parts: American, British, French and Russian. • Berlin Blockade of 1948 • Russians barred the entrance and exit of people and supplies to and from Berlin in an attempt to gain control of the city. (Spodek)

9. Works Cited • Spodek, Howard. The World's History, Volume 2: Since 1100 (3rd Edition). 3 ed. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2005. • Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima. 1945. Timegun, Hiroshima, Japan. Remembering Hiroshima. Web. 25 May 2010. • Nazi Swastika. N.d. Top News. Web. 25 May 2010.