World War II

1. World War II Unit 8

2. Hook: Causes of War • How do you think the end of WWI led to WWII?

3. The War in Europe • WWII began with Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939, followed shortly after by the Soviet Unions invasion of Poland and the Baltic countries from the east.

4. The War in Europe • During the first 2 years of the war • US stayed officially neutral • Germany overran France, most of Europe, and pounded Britain form the air (Battle of Britain). • In mid-1941, Hitler turned on his former partner and invaded the Soviet Union.

5. The War in Europe • Despite strong isolationist sentiment, the US helped Britain.

6. Lend-Lease Act • US gave war supplies and old naval ships to Britain in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean • The Lend-Lease Act gave the president authority to sell or lend equipment to countries to defend themselves against the Axis powers.

7. The War in Europe • Lend-Lease Act • FDR compared the Lend-Lease Act to “lending a hose to a neighbor whose house is on fire”

8. The War in Asia • During the 1930s Japan invaded and brutalized Manchuria and China. It sought military and economic domination over Asia.

9. The War in Asia • The US refused to recognize Japanese conquests in Asia and imposed an embargo on exports of oil and steel to Japan. • Tensions rose but both countries negotiated to avoid war.

10. The War in Asia • While negotiating with the US and without any warning, Japan carried out an air attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

11. The War in Asia • The attack destroyed much of the American Pacific fleet and killed several thousand Americans. • FDR called it “a date that will live in infamy” as he asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

12. FDR’s Address to Congress

13. War in Asia • After Pearl Harbor, Hitler honored a pact with Japan and declared war on the US. • Debates over isolationism in the US were over. • WWII was now a true world war and the US was fully involved.

14. End of Notes 7.1

15. Hook: Winning the Game • What factors into a team winning a game/meet/match, etc.?

16. Allied Strategy • America and its Allies (Britain and Soviet Union, after being invaded by Germany), followed a “Defeat Hitler First” strategy. • Most American military resources were targeted for Europe.

17. Allied Strategy • In the Pacific, American military strategy called for an “island hopping” campaign • Seizing islands closer and closer to Japan and using them as bases for air attacks on Japan • Cutting off Japanese supplies through submarine warfare against Japanese shipping.

18. Axis Strategy • Germany hoped to defeat the Soviet Union quickly, gain control of the Soviet oil fields • And force Britain out of the war through a bombing campaign and submarine warfare before America’s industrial and military strength could turn the tide

19. Axis Strategy • Following Pearl Harbor, Japan invaded the Philippines and Indonesia and planned to invade both Australia and Hawaii.

20. Axis Strategy • Its leaders hoped that America would then accept Japanese predominance in Southeast Asia and the Pacific rather than conduct a bloody and costly war to reverse Japanese gains.

21. Major Battles • North Africa • El Alamein • Europe • Stalingrad • Normandy Landings • Asia/Pacific • Midway • Iwo Jima and Okinawa • Hiroshima and Nagasaki

22. Major Battles – North Africa • El Alamein • German forces threatening to seize Egypt and the Suez Canal were defeated by the British. • This prevented Hitler from gaining access to Middle Easter oil supplies and attacking the Soviet Union from the south.

23. Major Battles - Europe • Stalingrad • Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers were killed or captured in a months-long siege of the Russian city of Stalingrad • This defeat prevented Germany from seizing the Soviet oil fields and turned the tide against Germany in the east • **** Turning Point

24. Major Battles - Europe • Normandy Landings/D-Day • American and Allied troops under Eisenhower landed in German-occupied France on June 6, 1944. • Despite intense German opposition and heavy American casualties, the landings succeeded and the liberation of western Europe from Hitler had begun

25. Major Battles - Pacific • The “Miracle of Midway” • American naval forces defeated a much larger Japanese force as it prepared to seize Midway Island. • Coming only a few months after Pearl Harbor – this began the “Island Hopping Campaign”

26. Major Battles - Pacific • Iwo Jima and Okinawa • The American invasions of the islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa brought American forces closer than ever to Japan, but both invasions cost thousands of American lives and even more Japanese lives. • Japanese soldiers and civilians committeed suicide rather than surrender.

27. Major Battles – Atomic Bomb • Facing the prospect of many casualties among both Americans and Japanese, President Harry Truman order the use of atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force the Japanese to surrender.

28. End of Notes 7.2

29. Hook: Cultures • What are the benefits of living in a country that is made up of different cultures? • How could these benefits help us in a time of war?

30. Minority Participation • African Americans generally served in segregated units and were assigned to non-combat roles but demanded the right to serve in combat roles rather than support roles

31. All-Minority Military Units • Tuskegee Airmen (African Americans) served in Europe with distinction • Nisei regiments (Asian American) earned a high number of decorations

32. Additional Contributions of Minorities • Communication codes of the Navajo were used (oral, not written language; impossible for the Japanese to break) • Mexican Americans also fought, but in units not segregated.

33. Additional Contributions of Minorities • Minority units suffered high casualties and won numerous unit citations and individual medals for bravery in action

34. End of Notes 7.3

35. Hook: POWs • How should prisoners of war (POWs) be treated? • Should there be different rules for treatment of POWs and regular US inmates?

36. Geneva Convention • The Geneva Convention attempted to ensure the humane treatment of prisoners of war by establishing rules to be followed by all nations.

37. Geneva Convention and WWII • The Bataan Death March • American POWs suffered brutal treatment by Japanese after surrender of the Philippines • The treatment of prisoners in Europe more closely followed theideas of the Geneva Convention

38. Holocaust • Terms to Know • Genocide: The systematic and purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or cultural group. • Final Solution: Germany’s decision to exterminate all Jews

39. Holocaust • Affected Groups • Jews • Poles • Slavs • Gypsies • “Undesirables” (homosexuals, mentally ill, political dissenters)

40. Holocaust • Significance • In the Nuremberg trials, Nazi leaders and others were convicted of war crimes. • The Nuremberg trials emphasized individual responsibility for actions during a war, regardless of orders. • The Trials led to increased demand for a Jewish homeland

41. Reasons for internment • Strong anti-Japanese prejudice on the West Coast. • False belief that Japanese Americans were aiding the enemy.

42. Internment of Japanese Americans • Japanese Americans were relocated into interment camps.

43. Internment of Japanese Americans • Internment affected Japanese American populations along the West Coast. • The Supreme Court upheld the government’s right to act against Japanese Americans.

44. Internment of Japanese Americans • A public apology was eventually issued by the US government. • Financial payment was made to survivors.

45. End of Notes 7.4

46. Hook:

47. Economic Resources • US government and industry forged a close working relationship to allocate resources effectively.

48. Economic Resources • Rationing was used to maintain supply of essential products to the war effort.

49. Economic Resources • War bonds and income tax were used for financing the war.

50. Economic Resources • Business retooled from peacetime to wartime production. • Example: Car manufacturing to tank manufacturing.