World War II

1. World War II

2. Back to Isolationism • During the Great Depression, the United States returned to isolationism. • Congress was more concerned with the economy than international affairs. • So, they signed several neutrality acts intended to prevent another war from occurring.

3. Totalitarian Governments • During the 1930s in Europe, totalitarian governments began to arise as people blamed governments for the bad economy. • Totalitarian governments are governments that take control of the entire country and restrict personal freedoms. • In Japan, Hideki Tojo took power over the military. He invaded Manchuria (part of China) in 1931. • This was designed to increase Japanese power in the world. The Japanese would also invade other countries in the Pacific.

5. Totalitarian Governments • Because of the neutrality acts, FDR could not use the military to stop Japan. • So, the U.S. just restricted trade, which cut off gas supplies to Japan. • In 1933, Adolf Hitler seized power in Germany. He turned Germany into a totalitarian regime immediately. • Hitler intended to have all of Europe come under Germany’s rule. • First, he invaded Czechoslovakia. Then, in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. This started all-out war in Europe.

9. “Blitzkrieg” • In the invasion of Poland and other countries, Germany used a strategy called “blitzkrieg.” • Blitzkrieg means “lightning war.” • In this strategy, Germany concentrated all of its tanks and weapons at one place and overwhelmed the enemy. • Once they broke through, they surrounded the enemy on all sides. • Germany also used devastating air attacks to attack Great Britain.

10. Lend-Lease Policy • FDR no longer wanted the United States to remain neutral. So, he had Congress get rid of the neutrality acts. • They were replaced first by cash-and-carry. In this policy, America sent supplies to Great Britain and the Allies, but they had to pay cash immediately for the supplies • Then, America ended neutrality altogether with the Lend-Lease Act. • Lend-Lease policy meant the United States was giving full supplies needed to Great Britain and the Allies.

11. Pearl Harbor • Germany sank U.S. ships sending supplies to Great Britain. • By 1941, the U.S. was in an undeclared naval war with Germany. • Then, on December 7th, 1941, the Japanese bombed an American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. • FDR, in a famous speech, called it “a date which will live in infamy.” • 2,402 Americans were killed at Pearl Harbor. • The next day, the United States declared war on Japan. World War II had begun for America.

15. Mobilization • World War II was such a massive war, that it required the full power of the American economy. • FDR persuaded businesses to transform into war machines. • The government also controlled the country’s resources and prices. • In addition to urging the people to plant “victory gardens,” the government also rationed food. • Americans were given ration coupons, and they could only have as much food as their ration coupons allowed. • Soon, a black market of rations emerged.

16. Mobilization • Because young, white men were wanted on the battlefield, women and minorities were needed to work in factories. • Women took traditional jobs of men. “Rosie the Riveter” became an icon of the period. • Women were also allowed to serve in some support positions in the military. • A black labor leader, A. Phillip Randolph, threatened to march on Washington if blacks were not allowed to have equal jobs. • So, FDR created a commission to make sure blacks had equal access to jobs. This is when many northern blacks began voting Democratic. • Mexican workers were also welcomed to America to work on farms.

19. Racial Problems • Despite this progress, there was still a huge race problem in America. • Blacks had to serve in their own, segregated units in the war. • They faced severe discrimination in the military. • Young Mexican-Americans were attacked in Los Angeles because their clothing was considered “un-American.” • After Pearl Harbor, many people in western states were fearful of Japanese people.

20. Racial Problems • So, Japanese-Americans were ordered to sell all of their property and move into camps in inland deserts. • In the case of Korematsu v. United States, the Supreme Court said that the government had the right to put the Japanese into camps.

25. “The Big Three” • The three main “Allies” during the war were Great Britain (led by Winston Churchill), the United States (led by Franklin Delano Roosevelt), and the Soviet Union (led by Joseph Stalin). • These three met throughout the war to make war strategies and plan for the post-war world. • From 1941-1944 the Soviet Union fought Germany on the ground almost completely by itself. • By 1942, the Nazis had control of nearly all of Europe except the Soviet Union. • The Soviet Union tried to use their superior manpower to defeat Hitler. This resulted in the Soviet Union suffering the heaviest losses. • About 15 million Russians died during fighting in WWII.

29. The Battle of Britain • The Soviet Union desperately wanted the United States and the other Allies to form a “second front” on the west. • This would provide the Soviets with some relief. But Great Britain was more worried with “The Battle of Britain.” • “The Battle of Britain” was an all-out bombing campaign by the Nazis on Great Britain. • In order to combat this, Great Britain and the U.S. started building their own bombers to attack Germany.

31. Turning Points – Eastern Front • In 1942, Great Britain and the United States decide to invade North Africa and take it back from Germany and Italy. • This was meant to take control of the oil fields in the Middle East and cut off the Nazis’ supply. • This helped relieve some of the stress on the Soviet Union. • But, one of the turning points in the war was the Battle of Stalingrad. • Here, the Soviets fought hard and lost millions of men. This finally stopped the German advance across Europe. • “Never invade Russia during winter.” • Also, Allied forces landed in Italy and began trying to take it back.

34. Turning Points – Western Front • Finally, in 1942, Allied forces started a ground invasion to take back France. • This invasion would be called “Operation Overlord” or “D-Day.” • This was the largest amphibious invasion of all time. Meaning, it used water, air, and ground forces. • Now, Germany was fighting on three fronts: Italy, France, and the Soviet Union, and had to send troops to fight on the western front. • The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s major offensive on the war. • They were defeated, and British, American, and French troops began marching towards Berlin.

36. Turning Points – Western Front • Soviet troops also began marching towards Berlin. • This laid the foundation for the split of Berlin, which will help cause the Cold War later on. • Finally, the Soviet reach Berlin and it falls in May of 1945. • On April 30th, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide, shooting himself. His wife also committed suicide with him, by chewing a cyanide pill.

38. The Pacific Theatre • Now the United States could focus its efforts on Japan. The strategy in the Pacific was “island hopping.” • In April of 1945, FDR died of cerebral hemorrhage. So, his Vice President, Harry Truman, became President. • The U.S. hoped to take back the islands in the Pacific that Japan had invaded, until they were closer and closer to Japan. • A huge victory at Midway stopped the Japanese advance in the Pacific. But the Japanese were a fierce enemy. • The Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa ended in thousands of Americans dead. • This showed the United States that a land invasion of Japan would be long and hard.

40. The Pacific Theatre • But, the USSR (Soviet Union) promised to help in an invasion of Japan. So, the USSR invaded Korea as promised. (Korea is directly beside Japan) • But, on August 6th, 1945, President Truman decided to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan in order to prevent the need for invasion. • Japan did not surrender. So on August 9th, 1945, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. • The result was devastating. An estimated 250,000 died from the bombs. [In the first 2-4 months] • As a result, Japan fully surrendered.

41. The Pacific Theatre • The use of the atomic bomb by the United States was one of the most controversial acts of war in world history. • It also laid the foundation for the Cold War. The USSR did not trust the United States. • Also, the Soviets were occupying Korea, which laid the foundation for the Korean War.

44. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLjb2dEHhN4

48. http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/atomic-bomb/video.htmlhttp://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/atomic-bomb/video.html