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World War II

World War II. Chapter 26 sections 2, 3, and 4. Overview. When? 1939-1945 (in Europe), 1941-1945 (in the Asia) Where?

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World War II

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  1. World War II Chapter 26 sections 2, 3, and 4

  2. Overview • When? • 1939-1945 (in Europe), 1941-1945 (in the Asia) • Where? • Fighting took place primarily in Europe, North Africa, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, East Asia (China, Japan, Korea), Oceania (Indonesia, Polynesia, Australia), and India. • Generally speaking, fighting is divided into two areas: 1-Europe, 2-Pacific • Who was involved? • Allied Powers (Grand Alliance, United Nations): US, UK, USSR, and many other countries, plus the colonies of these countries (South Africa, Australia, India, for example) • Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, other Axis occupied territories (Austria, Czechoslovakia, Korea, Manchuria, etc.) • What happened?

  3. WWII in the Pacific: 1941-1943 • Three phases: • Japanese expansion: 1941-1942 • Japanese expansion stopped: 1942-1943 • Allied expansion: 1943-1945 • Japanese Expansion • Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor combined with surprise attacks all over the Pacific • Japanese quickly captured US/Allied territories throughout the Pacific • Guam, Wake Island, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines • Japanese Expansion Stopped • Battle of the Coral Sea 1942 • Battle of Midway 1942 • Battle of Guadalcanal

  4. Allied Plan in the Pacific • Strategy for expansion in the Pacific: Island Hopping • Japanese held thousands of islands and territories throughout the Pacific • It would be almost impossible to recapture every island • Allied goal was to defeat the Japanese by “cutting off the head” • Problem: the Japanese home islands were located thousands of miles from the nearest Allied positions • Solution: capture islands close to the mainland to use as bases for the eventual invasion of Japan • Beginning in Hawaii and Australia the US would hop from island to island, bypassing most Japanese possessions, only capturing the ones they needed until they could get close enough to launch an attack on Japan

  5. WWII in the Pacific: 1943-1945 Allied Expansion • Key battles • Leyte Gulf 1944 (Allies retook the Philippines) • Iwo Jima 1945 Okinawa 1945 (Allies captured islands only a few hundred miles from the Japanese home islands, high casualties) • Allied losses and Japanese resistance increased dramatically the closer the Allies got to the home islands • Fears rose of the cost of an invasion of the home islands—people began to search for an alternative way to win. . . • By 1945 the US was bombing Japanese cities virtually around the clock • Fire-bomb raids destroyed entire Japanese cities and killed tens of thousands at a time

  6. WWII in Europe and the Atlantic: 1941-1945 • Three phases of the war in Europe • Axis expansion: 1941-1942 • Axis expansion stopped: 1942-1943 • Allied expansion: 1943-1945 • Axis Expansion • Germans had control of most of western, central, and eastern Europe by 1941 • Spring/summer of 1941: Axis powers conquered the Balkans, Greece, and Crete, Hitler launched a surprise invasion of the Soviet Union • Winter of 1941/1942 Hitler had almost succeeded in capturing Moscow • Axis Expansion Stopped • Russia: Stalingrad 1942-1943, Russians stop German advance in southern Russia • North Africa: El Alamein 1943, British stop German advance into Egypt • Atlantic Ocean: Battle of the Atlantic 1941-1943 US and British navies defeat German submarines

  7. WWII in Europe • Allied Strategy in Europe • US and UK support the Russians with military aid • US and UK need to open up a second front to take pressure off the Russians as soon as possible • Problem: US military ill-prepared and untrained, British military too small to open a second front on its own • Solution: • Start out in Africa, move into Italy, gain experience, then invade western Europe (France) – problem: this took a lot of time. . . • US and British invasion of western Europe/France D-Day June 6, 1944 • Allied Expansion 1943-1945 • 1943 US and UK capture North Africa, invade Sicily and then mainland Italy • D-Day June 1944: US and UK open second front in Europe—Germany now fighting on two sides west (US and UK) and east (Soviet Union)

  8. End of the War: VE and VJ Days • Spring/Summer 1945 British/Americans and the Russians met in the middle of Germany • Berlin captured soon after, WWII in Europe over—VE Day: May 7, 1945 • War in the Pacific • Allied demand for unconditional surrender meant that an invasion of Japan was necessary in order to finish the war • Problems: • Invasion of Japan would involve a massive loss of life for everyone involved (Americans, and Japanese alike) • Invasion of Japan would require the military aid of the Soviet Union, US didn’t want to increase the influence of the Soviets once the war was over • Solution: Atomic Weapons • Had been developed by the US during the war (Manhattan Project) • Decision was made to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki • What factors do you think influenced this decision? • Bombs dropped August 6 and August 9, 1945 Japan surrendered August 15, 1945 • 90,000-160,000 killed in Hiroshima, 60,000-80,000 in Nagasaki

  9. The Human Toll of WWII: The Holocaust • Systematic and deliberate killing of European Jews by the Nazi state • 6 million European Jews killed (2/3rds of total Jewish population of Europe) • Jews in occupied countries were forced into ghettos and concentration camps, from there they were sent to death camps • Why? • How related to nationalism? • Why didn’t the allies do more to stop it, is there anything they could have done? • Why is it important to remember the Holocaust?

  10. The Human Toll of WWII: Europe • Eastern Europe • Nazi plan was to kill or remove the Slavic population of Eastern Europe, replace with ethnically German “colonists” • Slavic leaders targeted for death by the Nazis • 4 million Slavs died as slave laborers • Roma (Gypsies) • Also targeted as an “inferior race” by the Nazis • About 400,000 killed in death camps • Prisoners of War • Prisoners from the western allies (Great Britain, US) were generally treated well by the Germans • Prisoners from the Soviet Union were not—3 to 4 million Soviet prisoners died in captivity • Resistance • Many people who lived in countries that were occupied by the Axis powers (Norway, France, Yugoslavia, Poland) actively fought against the Nazis • When these people were captured they were often killed or sent to death camps as well • Other Groups • Anyone who resisted Nazi party rule, challenged the Nazi totalitarian state, or the value system of the Nazis was targeted • Jehovah’s witnesses, communists, political dissidents, homosexuals, etc.

  11. The Human Toll: Asia • Japanese occupation of Asian countries was equally as brutal as the Nazis in Europe • Slave labor was used on a wide scale • Prisoners of war were not treated well—some were killed, many were used as slave labor, many died due to overwork and lack of food and medical attention • Millions of Chinese civilians were killed during Japan’s war in China (1937-1945)

  12. The Human Toll: The Allies • Allied countries also were responsible for killing hundreds of thousands of civilians during the war • US and UK bombing of German and Japanese cities • Dresden 100,000 people died in single night • Tokyo—100,000 people died • Atomic Bombs—Hiroshima and Nagasaki 150,000 to 250,000 estimated deaths • Soviet Union • Treated German prisoners very harshly--500,000 died in captivity • Mass rapes of German women • US internment of Japanese Americans • 100,000 Japanese Americans forced to relocate to camps in the interior of the country

  13. Wartime Mobilization • WWII was a total war—total mobilization of military, economy, and civilian population to fight the war • US, UK, USSR • Government control of economy, prices, labor • Massive expenditures to fund the military—less resources available for consumer goods • Widespread employment of women • USSR only—use of women as frontline soldiers • UK and US—women in the military (non-combatants) • Germany and Japan • Same government control of economy and widespread economic mobilization as the allies • Never fully mobilized their female population, why? • Effects of Total War after WWII • Increased rights for women, minorities • Greater acceptance of government involvement and control of aspects of the economy—welfare state in UK

  14. Shaping the Postwar World: Wartime Conferences • Wartime Conferences: Tehran, Yalta, and Potsdam • Tehran Conference 1943 • US, UK, USSR (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) • Allies agreed to cooperate to fight the war, western allies agreed to open a second front (invade France) as soon as possible • Yalta April 1945 • US, UK, USSR • Agreed to the partition of Germany after the war • Free elections in Polandafter the war • General agreement to form the United Nations • USSR would join the war against Japan 90 days after the surrender of Germany • USSR would receive compensation in east Asia for declaring war against Japan (influence in Manchuria and Korea, annexation of some Japanese territories) • Potsdam May 1945 • US (Truman), UK (Clement Atlee), USSR (Stalin) • Division of Germany into 4 zones finalized • Borders of Poland altered • Ultimatum issued to Japan to surrender or face annihilation (nuclear weapons)

  15. Origins of the Cold War: Late 1940’s • Cold War: 1945-1991 unofficial rivalry and conflict between the Soviet Union and its allies and the United States and its allies • Why the COLD War? Hot War=actual armed conflict, Cold War=conflict without official declaration of war and armed hostilities • The Cold War was the single most influential reality of US domestic and foreign policy and of world history in general since the end of WWII • What started the Cold War? • Rival economic and political systems • USSR: totalitarian, communist, dictatorship • US: liberal, capitalist, democracy • Two most powerful countries in the world militarily and economically (natural rivals) • Misunderstandings • US western Europe wanted to secure peace through spreading democracy and capitalism, USSR wanted to secure peace by building a buffer between themselves and Western Europe • US and the West viewed the creation of a series of “buffer states” in Eastern Europe as acts of aggression by the Soviet Union, Soviets viewed spread of capitalism into central Europe as US imperialism

  16. Germany Divided • Yalta and Potsdam conferences • Germany (and Austria) would be divided after WWII • Berlin and Vienna would also be divided • American, British, Soviet, and French zones • Plan was to eventually reunite these zones • Austria eventually unified into one country—didn’t side with USSR or USA • Soviets and western allies couldn’t agree on how to reunify Germany • Eventually two Germanys emerged • West Germany: Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) • Sided with west • Democracy • Capital=Bonn • East Germany: German Democratic Republic (GDR, or DDR) • Sided with Soviets • Dictatorship • Capital=East Berlin

  17. Partition and Occupation of Germany and Austria

  18. Partition of Germany and Berlin

  19. Picking Sides in the Cold War • The 1st World • USA and its allies: Western Europe, Asia, etc. • The 2nd World • Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe, Asia, etc. • The 3rd World • Countries that didn’t side with the USA or the USSR • Most of these countries were recently independent former colonies in Africa, Asia, etc. • Usually poor underdeveloped • NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization 1949-present • Created by the US and its allies in western Europe to discourage Soviet Invasion of Europe • An attack against one is an attack against all .. . . . • Warsaw Pact 1955-1991 • Created by Soviet Union and its allies in Eastern Europe as the Communist equivalent to NATO

  20. Picking Sides in Asia • Yalta and Potsdam Conferences • Soviets would occupy Manchuria (Northwest China) and Northern Korea • USA would occupy Japan and Southern Korea • China • Communist influence in Manchuria eventually helped the Chinese Communists to defeat the Chinese nationalists • China became a communist country in 1949: People’s Republic of China • Korea • Plan was to eventually reunify Korea • Soviets and USA couldn’t agree on how to do it • Two separate Koreas emerged • North Korea: Communist, allied with USSR • South Korea: Non-communist, allied with the USA • Japan • New constitution written by US army • Became a major American ally after WWII

  21. The United Nations • Created in April of 1945 in San Francisco • Structure of the UN • Security Council • Can vote to use military force • 5 permanent members with veto power (big 5): US, Russia, China, France, UK • 10 other members without a veto (rotates from country to country) • Resolutions are technically binding • General Assembly • Every country has a representative • No vetoes • Votes not binding • Trusteeship Council • Established to help colonies gain their independence • Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) • Deals with human rights issues, humanitarian issues • Secretariat • Runs the day to day affairs of the UN • Secretary General=head of the Secretariat/head of the UN • Question: How is the UN different than the League of Nations?

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