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World War II

World War II. Historical Context. 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed; not everyone happy Great Depression  military expenditures help mitigate effects…. But, also a rearmament for war Arms build-up increases industrial output and protects against real or perceived threats

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World War II

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  1. World War II

  2. Historical Context • 1919: Treaty of Versailles signed; not everyone happy • Great Depression military expenditures help mitigate effects…. But, also a rearmament for war • Arms build-up increases industrial output and protects against real or perceived threats • League of Nations has little power • No control of major conflicts • No progress in disarmament • No effective military force • Thus, just like WWI, nationalism, industrialism, and militarism were key factors in beginning WWII.

  3. Europe 1920

  4. Steps to War: Unchecked Aggression • Japan invades Manchuria, 1931 • Italy attacks Ethiopia, 1935 • Japan invades China, 1937 • Germany invades the Rhineland, 1936 • Germany invades Poland, 1939 • The war officially begins

  5. Nationalism and Propaganda • Propaganda was used to promote war effort (enlist in the military, buy war bonds, work in factories, accept the sacrifices of war) and to depict enemies as inferior and sometimes as monsters/animals • Constant use of propaganda resulted in governments becoming experienced in using technology to shape public opinion • Heightened nationalistic messages led to the support of a war that resulted in millions of deaths and widespread environmental damage

  6. Key Dates • 1939: invasion of Poland and fall of Czechoslovakia • 1939: Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact • 1940: surrender of France • 1941: U.S. Lend-Lease Act • December 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor U.S. militarily enters the war

  7. Key Dates • April 1942: Bataan Death March, Philippines 76,000 Allied soldiers marched to prisoner-of-war camps; thousands died • June 4-6, 1942: Battle of Midway Island first clear Japanese loss of the war; forced Japan on the defensive • June 6, 1944: Normandy Landing/D-Day • August 1944: liberation of Paris by Allies • December 1944 – January 1945: Battle of the Bulge major Allied defeat of Germany; opened door for Allied invasion of Germany; compelled Germany’s surrender

  8. Key Dates • 1945: Mussolini and his mistress are hung • April 30, 1945: Hitler commits suicide • May 8, 1945: V-E (Victory in Europe) Day • July-August 1945: Potsdam Conference meeting of Truman, Churchill, and Stalin; issued ultimatum to Japan; arranged post-war Europe • August 6 and 9, 1945: atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki end of war in Pacific

  9. Aftermath • Death toll- as many as 50 million dead • Horrors of Holocaust- 6 million Jews killed; 11 million total people (United Nations gives a name to this kind of killing: genocide) • Japanese unconditional surrender limitation of military and power of emperor • War crimes trials: Axis political and military leaders; many never captured/brought to trial • Establishment of United Nations

  10. Aftermath • Divisions grow between the Allied forces Cold War begins between democratic countries and communist countries • US forms NATO; Soviet Union creates Warsaw Pact • Germany divided- East and West Germany, division of Berlin

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