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World War II

World War II. 1939-1945. The Rise of Dictators: Italy. Some countries were not satisfied from the outcome of World War I Italy had won little in the Versailles treaty Benito Mussolini formed a military-dominated government called fascism Italy quit the League of Nations

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World War II

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  1. World War II 1939-1945

  2. The Rise of Dictators: Italy Some countries were not satisfied from the outcome of World War I • Italy had won little in the Versailles treaty • Benito Mussolini formed a military-dominated government called fascism • Italy quit the League of Nations • Mussolini took over the African nation Ethiopia in 1935 and Italy’s neighbor Albania in 1939

  3. The Rise of Dictators: Germany • The Depression hit Germany extremely hard • Adolf Hitler took over the country with his National Socialist (Nazi) Party • Blamed the Jews for Germanys problems • Violated the Treaty of Versailles by building up military and expanding • Helped Francisco Franco (fascist) win Spanish Civil War

  4. The Rise of Dictators: Soviet Union • Joseph Stalin led the Communist Party • Executed 30 million Russians and sent millions to labor camps • Signed a non-aggression pact with Germany-they agreed to not attack each other and divide up Poland • Germany broke pact and invaded Soviet Union • Joined Allied Powers: Britain, France, U.S.

  5. The Rise of Dictators: Japan • Invaded Manchuria, China to take over land and resources • Attacked U.S. gunboat and U.S. oil tankers in China • FDR froze Japanese assets and approved an embargo on shipments of gas, tools, steel and iron to Japan • Hideki Tojo became prime minister of Japan • 11/20/41: Japan demanded that U.S. unfreeze assets, supply gasoline and stop aid to China • U.S. knew attack was coming but did not know where • Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance called the Axis Powers

  6. German Expansion • Germany annexed Austria • Sudetenland-bordering area of Czechoslovakia • Czechoslovakia • 9/1/39 invaded Poland and WWII began when Britain+France declared war 9/3/39 • U.S. declared neutrality • Other neutral countries: Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Ireland, Turkey

  7. From Neutrality to War • U.S. declared neutrality 1935-1939 • Selective Training and Service Act (1940): first peacetime draft in U.S. history • Lend-Lease Act in 1941 appropriated $7 billion for ships, tanks, planes, and supplies to non-Axis countries • 12/7/41 “a day which will live in infamy” Pearl Harbor: 2 hour attack destroyed about 20 warships, 200 aircraft, and killed 2400 Americans

  8. U.S. Disadvantages • Multi-front war: Western Europe, Pacific, Mediterranean, and North Africa • Germany converted to war production in the 1930s, better prepared • Japanese had taken Allied Territories: Guam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines • Germany and Italy controlled most of Europe and North Africa

  9. Homefront • 15 million served including 300,000 women • War production: lowered unemployment • War Production Board: controlled resources, consumers followed rationing programs • New taxes and war bonds helped pay for war • Japanese Americans were put into internment camps • War was promoted through posters, songs, films, and radio

  10. Defeat of the Axis • Allies pushed Axis troops through North Africa then up through Italy • By 1943, air-bombing campaign was effective • D-Day: June 6, 1944 was the successful major invasion of northern France (150,000 troops) • Island hopping strategy worked in the Pacific: focused on small islands, cut off supplies from other Japanese bases

  11. Defeat of Germany • 1. D-Day • 2. Allies liberated Paris • 3. Soviets pushed westward • 4. Battle of the Bulge (German offensive, heavy casualties, Allied victory) • 5. Allies bombed German cities • 6. Allies occupied Berlin • 7. Germany Surrendered

  12. End of War: 1945 • Big 3 (Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) met at the Yalta Conference to plan for post war peace • Roosevelt died April 12 • Hitler committed suicide April 30 • Harry S. Truman decided to drop two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan to end the war The death toll was over 200,000 people

  13. End of War: Costs • 50 million total dead • 400,000 American dead • Holocaust: systematic slaughter of 6 million Jews (2/3 European Jewish population) • WWII witnessed more death and destruction than any other war in history • U.S. and Soviet Union emerged as world superpowers, tension led to the Cold War

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