SS5H6 The student will explain the reasons for America’s involvement in World War II.

1. SS5H6 The student will explain the reasons for America’s involvement in World War II. Describe Germany’s aggression in Europe and Japan’s aggression in Asia. Describe major events in the war in both Europe and the Pacific; include Pearl Harbor, Iwo Jima, D-Day, VE and VJ Days, and the Holocaust. Discuss President Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Identify Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill, Hirohito, Truman, Mussolini, and Hitler. Describe the effects of rationing and the changing role of women and African Americans; include “Rosie the Riveter’ and the Tuskegee Airmen. Explain the U.S. role in the formation of the United Nations.

2. Build on What You Know • Can you tell when a storm is coming? The wind is strong, the sky turns dark, and you hear thunder far away. In the 1930’s, many people saw war coming like storm in the distance.

3. Vocabulary • Dictator- a ruler who has total control of a country and its people. • Holocaust- the killing of approximately 6 million Jews during WWII. • Concentration Camps- a place where large numbers of people are held prisoner and forced to work. • D-Day- the day the Allied forces launched the largest sea attack in history. • V-E Day- victory in Europe Day • Kamikaze- means divine wind and was the Japanese way of fighting • Island hopping-when the Allies skipped over some islands guarded by the Japanese and captured others. • V-J Day- victory over Japan Day • Rosie the Riveter-nickname given to the many women who worked in jobs that only men had held before.

4. Pre-WWII • Germany lost WWI and, like the U.S., suffered an economic depression. • Germans wanted a strong leader. • They elected the Nazi Party to power in 1932 and Hitler became dictator in March of 1933. • Hitler blamed the problems of Germany on innocent people. • He said “true” or “Aryan” Germans were the smartest and most powerful people and would soon rule the world. • Germans supported the Nazi Party because they believed Hitler would make Germany powerful again.

5. World War II Begins • In 1937, Japan invaded China. • In 1939, Germany invaded Poland and then Czechoslovakia. • Hitler and Joseph Stalin(leader of Soviet Union), signed a secret treaty saying that the Soviet Union and Germany would not attack one another. • The Soviet Union broke its promise and the Soviet Union joined in the fight. • France, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union joined together and called themselves the Allied powers. • Germany, Italy, and Japan joined together and called themselves the Axis powers.

6. Alliances Allied Powers Axis Powers Japan-Hirohito Italy-Benito Mussolini Germany-Adolf Hitler Hitler Hirohito Mussolini • France • Great Britain-Winston Churchill • Soviet Union-Joseph Stalin • United States-Franklin Roosevelt • Churchill Stalin Roosevelt

7. America Enters the War • Japan knew that the U.S. Navy was the only one strong enough to stop Japan. • On December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. • After the attacks, the U.S. declared war on Japan and joined the Allies. • WWII ended the Great Depression • Many women worked in factories making tools for the war. • The government rationed goods. Almost no one had chocolate or new clothes and butter, sugar, and meat were in short supply. • Many Americans grew their own fruits and vegetables in victory gardens to have fresh food to eat.

8. The War at Home • While U.S. soldiers were away fighting in Europe and the Pacific, citizens at home did their part to support the war effort. • Citizens began looking for ways to conserve goods so that more could go to the soldiers. • People planted victory gardens in which they raised their own vegetables. • Citizens collected rubber, copper, steel, and other goods to be recycled. • The government rationed how much citizens could buy which forced people to conserve certain goods.

9. The Holocaust • In Germany and in the countries it defeated, Hitler took away the rights of all Jews. • In 1938, thousands of Jews were sent to concentration camps. • Soon, Hitler’s Nazi government began killing Jews, gypsies, and the disabled. • These people tried to hide, but they were usually found. These events were known as the Holocaust. • These groups of people, as well as people who tried to help them, were sent to concentration camps in Germany, Poland, and other Nazi territories. • People at these camps were gassed, shot, hanged, or worked and starved to death. Many died of diseases. • Almost 6 million Jews and 5 million other civilians were killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust.

10. D-Day • On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched the largest sea attack in history. • 160,000 soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy, France which became known as D-Day. • American General Dwight Eisenhower led the surprise attack. • The Allied forces fought the Nazis throughout Europe. • The war in Europe ended in May 1945. V-E Day(Victory in Europe Day) was May 7, 1945. • The Nazis surrendered and Hitler killed himself so that he would not be captured. • Because of their role in the Holocaust, 10 German leaders were hanged and 7 given prison sentences.

11. The War in the Pacific • Like the Nazi’s, the Japanese militarists believed the Japanese were the best, smartest, and strongest. • Emperor Hirohito was the Japanese leader and the Japanese people thought he was a god. • When fighting, the Japanese would crash their warplanes into Allied ships in kamikaze attacks. • U.S. Admiral Chester Nimitz led the Allied navy in the Pacific. • He fought the Japanese by island hopping. • One of the fiercest battles occurred on the island of Iwo Jima. It took more than 100,000 soldiers nearly a month to defeat a Japanese force of 25,000. Japanese soldiers believed it was more honorable to die than to surrender. • General Douglas MacArthur was the Supreme Commander of the Southwest Pacific. Under his command, the Allies took back the Philippines. • The Japanese were losing, but they would not surrender.

12. In April 1945, President Roosevelt died. • He was the only president to be elected to 4 terms. • Vice President Harry S. Truman became president. • To end the war, Truman decided to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. • Truman decided to drop the atomic bomb because the Japanese would not agree to an unconditional surrender. (Allies would set all the rules for Japan’s surrender) • It killed about 140,000 people, mostly civilians. • The Japanese did not believe we had another atomic bomb and refused to surrender. • Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. It killed a total of 75,000 civilians. • On September 2, 1945, the Japanese formally surrendered and this day became known as V-J day (Victory over Japan Day)

13. World War II Deaths Red=military deaths(millions) Orange=civilian death(millions)

14. Changing Roles in Society • Many middle-class women did not have jobs before the war. • They were expected to stay at home and raise families. • During the war, middle-class women took all sorts of jobs. • The nickname “Rosie the Riveter” was given to the many women who worked in jobs that only men had held before. • After the war, many of these women wanted to keep their jobs. • They found satisfaction in working outside the home. • Soldiers coming home from the war took back their jobs. • Women then found jobs as teachers, nurses, and other work more open to women. • Today, women make up half the workforce.

15. Changing Roles in Society • The Tuskegee Airmen were African American pilots who fought in World War II. • They were the first African American pilots in the U.S. military. • In 1941, Congress had to force the segregated military to allow African Americans to fly airplanes.

16. United Nations • The “United Nations” began on October 24, 1945 and it was led by the U.S. and its Allies. • The United Nations was a group of nations that came together to insure that a war like World War II never happened again. • Today, the United Nations is involved in negotiating peace and war around the globe.