Written by: Greg Clevenger

Written by: Greg Clevenger

World War II - Major Causes • Resentments unresolved from World War I • Europe promoted revenge, not reconciliation • Europe did not embrace democracy

Map of Europe after World War I

Map of the Pacific Theatre

Major Cause: Increased Nationalism • Fascism in Italy • Nazism in Germany

Fascism Defined • One-party system • Total government control • Dictator always right • Terror and violence glorified • Opposition groups immobilized

Fascism Defined • Appealed to lower-middle-class • Economic, social, and political mobilization • Considered final stage in evolution of Capitalism • Fascism not exactly the same as Communism

Fascism in Italy • Benito Mussolini created Fascism • Strong leaders could help with unemployment and inflation • Mussolini was made IL Duce, The Leader, by Italian king

Mussolini’s Slogan “Everything for the state, nothing against the state, nothing outside the state.” Single click the speaker icon or audio words to hear the clip >>>>

Nazism in Germany • Founded by Adolf Hitler • Knew racism would increase pride and nationalism • Imprisoned during 1920’s for Nazi extremism

Nationalism Defined • Being devoted to interests of one’s country • Increased pride and patriotism • Major emphasis on military power • Will employ questionable tactics to empower country

Nazism in Germany • Hitler wrote autobiography, Mein Kampf • Hitler became Chancellor of Germany • Popularity in Nazism grew during Great Depression

The Third Reich • German Reich became official name of German government • Referred to as the Third Reich • Lasted from 1933-1945

Hitler’s Background • Internalized racism towards Jews • Often abused by stepfather • Blamed Jewish doctor for the death of his (Jewish) mother • Believed Jewish bankers were behind World War I • Denied entry into Vienna Art School by Jewish leaders

Concentration Camps • Located throughout German-occupied territory • Some camps work camps • Other camps death camps • At some, prisoners used for “medical experiments”

Quotes from Mein Kampf “Instruction in world history in the so-called high schools is even today in a very sorry condition. Few teachers understand that the study of history can never be to learn historical dates and events by heart and recite them by rote; that what matters is not whether the child knows exactly when this battle or that was fought, when a general was born, or even when a monarch (usually a very insignificant one) came into the crown of his forefathers. No, by the living God, this is very unimportant. To ‘learn’ history means to seek and find the forces which are the causes leading to those effects which we subsequently perceive as historical events.” Single click the speaker icon or audio words to hear the clip >>>>

Quotes from Mein Kampf “Democracy, the deceitful theory that the Jew would insinuate. Namely that all men are created equal.” Single click the speaker icon or audio words to hear the clip >>>>

Nationalism in Japan • Nationalistic military leaders took control of Japan • Japan attacked Manchuria in 1931 • Japan quit League of Nations

What about the United States? • U.S. turned inward to get out of Great Depression • U.S. returned to policy of isolationism • America determined to avoid war

Isolationism Video Single click screen to view video

Signs of War • Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 • Germany dropped out of the League of Nations in 1933 • Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1936

Signs of War • Germany occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 • Hitler met with French Premier and British Prime Minister • The Munich Agreement was signed to avoid war • British leader Chamberlain commented, “I believe it is peace in our time.”

Policy of Appeasement Giving up principles to pacify an aggressor

Winston Churchill on Appeasement “We have passed an awful milestone in our history…And do not suppose that this is the end…This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless…we arise again and take our stand for freedom…” —Churchill’s response to the Munich Agreement Single click the speaker icon or audio words to hear the clip >>>>

September 1939 • Germany invaded Poland • Germans used Blitzkrieg or lightning warfare • Poles held off Germans for one month

Blitzkrieg in Poland • Taking the enemy by surprise with new technology • Bomb military bases, airfields, and cities • Send tanks to spread terror and destroy

War Began September 3, 1939 • Japan invaded China in 1937 • France and Britain declared war on Germany • Soviet Union remained neutral

More Invasions • Hitler’s goal: world domination • Hitler invaded six countries

The Battle of Britain: 1940 • Hitler believed Britain was main target • Britain’s Navy was superior • Germans resorted to Air Force bombing • Approximately 200 German bombers pounded London • British radar saved the day

Battle of Britain • Saved Great Britain possible Nazi domination • Battle fought primarily in skies over Britain and English Channel • Nearly 500 RAF pilots killed • RAF lost 915 fighter planes • Luftwaffe lost 1,733 aircraft

Battle of Britain Video Single click screen to view video

The Holocaust • Hitler’s systematic discrimination of Jews began 1933 • Jews as scapegoats for German failures • Nuremberg Laws of 1935 stripped Jews of rights • Jews forced to wear bright yellow Star of David

Imprisoned and in Fear • Jews only allowed to stay in Jewish ghettos • Jews cut off from livelihoods and lived in fear • Anti-Semitism escalated • Nazi sympathizers attacked Jews

Genocide • An attempt to rid Europe of all Jews • A deliberate and systematic killing of an entire population

Final Solution • Targeted groups for discrimination and mass extermination

Mass Exterminations • 4 million died in the death camps • Poison gas was a method for mass slaughter by 1942 • Gas chambers could kill as many as 12,000 people a day

U.S. Moves toward War • U.S. Neutrality Act revised after invasion of Poland • U.S. began selling arms to warring nations • First peacetime draft in U.S. history

Arsenal for Democracy • Roosevelt (FDR), won a third term • Britain needed wartime help from U.S. • U.S. adopted policy of lending and leasing bases and other items for war to “any country whose defense was vital to the U.S.”

Arsenal for Democracy • Hitler’s submarines became threat to U.S. • Hitler invaded Soviet Union • Ordered “maximum cruelty” against civilians • U.S. Navy granted permission to attack German submarines in self-defense

FDR on the Shootings “The shooting has started. And history has recorded who fired the first shot.” Single click the speaker icon or audio words to hear the clip >>>>

Pearl Harbor • December 7th, 1941 • Japanese attack U.S. military installation • 2,403 Americans killed and 1,178 wounded • “A date which will live in infamy.” • Attack prompted American support for declaring war

War on Two Fronts • U.S. declared war against Japan • Germany declared war against the U.S. • Millions joined the armed forces

U.S. Home Front • Automobile factories start to produce tanks, boats, and planks • Millions work in wartime industries • This includes millions of women and minorities

Home Front Video Single click screen to view video

Rosie the Riveter • Women worked in the factories • Economic power increased for women • Divorce rate increased

Office of Price Administration • Froze prices, created rationing programs, and gave income tax revisions • War Production Board (WPB) was in charge of recycling and management of war industries

Major Battles in the Pacific Theatre • Doolittle’s Raid — 1942 • Midway — 1942

Doolittle’s Raid: 1942 • 16 U.S. B-25 bombers attack Tokyo • Mission led by Colonel James Doolittle • Most planes crashed or were abandoned in China

Midway: 1942 • Turning point of War in the Pacific • The architect of Pearl Harbor, Admiral Yamamoto, led the Japanese • Admiral Nimitz commanded the Americans

Japanese Retreat • Significant Japanese naval defeat • Yamamoto ordered general retreat • Japanese unaware of U.S. carriers

Written by: Greg Clevenger