WWII

1. WWII Chapter 32

2. Economic hardships transformed political realities Labour cabinet lost power in Great Britain Republican party lost power to the Democrats and FDR German democratic institutions were pulled down in favor of fascist dictatorships Economics

3. Germany didn’t renounce ambitions in E. Europe Germany expected to recover its lost “corridor” 1920-1933 Germany secretly rearmed and trained soldiers (in Russia) in violation of the Treaty of Versailles Germany adopted a new liberal democratic government: Weimar Republic Government progressive: voting rights for women and civil liberties for German citizens Industries were able to easily recover due to the fact that war had not been fought on German soil Germany Recovers

4. Post war liberal governments offered no solutions to economic hardships, which were only further compounded by the Great Depression Fascism promised what liberal democratic societies had failed…a way out of economic chaos Fascist leaders were dictators with charisma Fascists identified ready enemies (scapegoats) for failed economic and national ambitions Sect. I: Fascist Leaders

5. Mussolini’s party identified communists, big business, and labor unions as enemies of the Italian state Mussolini neutralized his political rivals through the use of violence and terrorism Italy

6. Hitler failed to take over power by force…legal 1930-32 Nazi party became largest supported party in country 1933 Hitler was offered the position as chancellor of Germany by President Paul von Hindenburg due to his party’s success Hitler • While in jail he wrote his famous Mein Kampf (blue-print for political ideology of Nazism )

7. Conservatives leaders mistakenly believed that they could control Hitler and use him for their purposes Once in power Hitler convinced Hindenburg and the Reichstag that there was a communist revolution about to be carried out As such he got consent to establish emergency laws …outlawed freedom of speech and press and approved use of violence Abolished all other political parties and trade unions * Within two months after he came to power Germany was a police state where Hitler was a legal dictator * Hitler called his new state the Third Reich Hitler and Germany

8. Hitler annexed Austria in 1938 and set his eyes upon Poland and Czechoslovakia Other states in Europe and the U.S. failed to take action prior to 1939 to halt aggression of Germany and Japan Hitler was aware of impending warfare and starting making alliances: Italy: Pact of Steel 1939 and Soviet Union: Non-Aggression Pact of 1939 Hitler believed the alliance with Soviets would force France and Britain into neutral stances while he dismantled Poland, his last obstacle in eastward expansion Poland was invaded on September 1, 1939 by Germany-1 month Germany and Russia split spoils. Soviets set up military bases to protect Leningrad. Stalin did not trust Hitler Hitler’s Lightening War

9. May 1940 Hitler began sweeping through Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg…part of his strategy to attack France While allies were tied up with the fight there, Hitler sent an ever larger army through the Ardennes in northeastern France Moving through the forest the Germans made it across the Maginot Line… …and across France to its northern coast in 10 days Upon reaching the northern coast the Germans swung north again to join forces with troops in Belgium May 26, 1940 Germans trapped allied forces around the city of Lille Belgium surrendered Allies escaped to the beaches of Dunkirk…with their backs to the sea France

10. June 10, 1940 Mussolini join Hitler and declared war on France and Great Britain Italy attacked France from the south By June 14, 1940 Paris had fallen to the Germans New prime mister of France: Henri Petain France surrendered June 22, 1940 Germans took northern part of country and left the southern part to a puppet government headed by Petain…headquarters of the government was in the city of Vichy Charles de Gaulle set up government while in exile in England and fought France

12. Hitler turned his eyes towards England-Operation Sea Lion: invasion of England. Knock our Royal Air Force (RAF) then send in troops Summer 1940 Luftwaffe (German air force) began the blitzkrieg or lightening war: bombing campaign At first targets were airfields then focused switched to cities such as London Two secret weapons of England: radar and the Enigma (German code-making machine) Battle continued until May 10, 1941 when Hitler called off the attacks stunned by English resistance and decided to focus on Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Britain

13. 1940: Italians sent North African army to Egypt in the hopes of taking the Suez Canal 1941 British successful in pushing Italians back 1941 Germany bailed out Italy and sent General Rommel in who made gains for Germany Hitler began planning an attack on his ally the USSR and the Balkans were key to carrying out his invasion plan Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary cooperated and joined Axis powers in 1941 while Yugoslavia and Greece resisted…by April of 1941 both counties surrendered to Hitler Africa/ Balkans

14. Spring 1941 Germany controlled Europe and was allied with Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan (However, this was about to change) Summer of 1941 Germany invaded Russia (ending the Russian-German non aggression pact) and Japan bombed the U.S. (pulling the U.S. into the war) expanding German territory in Russia (Operation Barbarossa) Blitzkrieg invasion into Germany: Sept. 8 1941 Battle of Leningrad…destroyed warehouses of food and starved local population, but the city refused to fall Germany then focused on Moscow in Oct. 1941 Unprepared for weather problems: not dressed for winter, tanks didn’t start, weapons jammed in subzero temperatures Russians counterattack (General Gyorgi Zhukov) forcing ill prepared German soldiers to retreat Russia

15. Japan also wanted to expand like Germany 1931 Japan began expanding into Manchuria and China Set eyes upon European and U.S. colonies in SW Pacific Surprise attack on the U.S. to destroy fleet in Hawaii because it was a threat to Japanese imperialism Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor: attacked in early morning and severely weaken Pacific fleet Next Japanese seized Guam, Wake Island, and the Philippines 1942 seized Hong Kong and Malaya (B) Japanese were known for their brutality: 1937 Rape of Nanking (Nanjing): During this episode, widespread rape and war crimes occurred when the Japanese took over: looting, arson, murder of civilians and prisoners of war Section II: Japan

16. Historians estimate that 20,000 (and sometimes up to 80,000) women from as young as seven to the elderly were raped. Rapes were often performed in public during the day, and often in front of spouses or family members. A large number of them were systematized in a process where soldiers would search door to door for young girls, with many women taken captive and then gang-raped, and then killed immediately after rape, often by mutilation. (incest) Japanese Brutality dead bodies wait for disposal

17. 1942 Doolittle’s raid on Japan 42’ Battle of Coral Sea: airplanes used Battle of Midway June 1942: defeat on Japanese navy from which it could not recover. U.S. intercepted plan of attack and prepared…were waiting for the Japanese (war turning) Island hopping-close off Japanese supply lines Battle of Guadalcanal 1942-43: Japanese wanted to set up bases on Solomon islands in southeast Pacific –Allies decided to attack at Guadalcanal due to location-1st land offensive Allies secured the island in Feb. 1943 Battle for the Pacific

18. Germans and Japanese utilized pseudoscientific theories to justify the slaughter of certain groups to make way for the master race-these groups caused their failures (Jews, Gypsies, mixed marriage children, mentally ill, physically handicapped, homeless, criminals, alcoholics, prostitutes, those with STD’s, and homosexual men U.S. –internment camps Anti-Semitism supported by laws: 1933-no property & 1935 Nuremberg Laws-no citizenship 1938 Kristallnacht: violent attack launched on Jewish community in Germany. Retaliation for Herschel Grynszpan shooting a worker at the Germany Embassy in Paris. It was the start of the Holocaust. Plan of final solution: total extermination of European Jews Sect. III: Holocaust

19. Began with deportation to ghettos (Poland) Next concentration camps…used first for labor Final Solution: Hitler grew impatient waiting for Jews to die and created a system to kill entire populations (genocide) Extermination camps equipped with gas chambers Upon arrival at the extermination camps, prisoners were examined by SS doctors and separated into strong and weak Weak were gassed and their bodies burnt to hide amounts killed 6 million Jews died Sect. III: Holocaust

20. The camp's main purpose, however, was not internment with forced labour (as Auschwitz I & III) but rather extermination Auschwitz II (Birkenau)

21. 1942-43 Operation Torch: North African campaign turned around by Americans under Dwight D. Eisenhower Battle of Stalingrad (Volgograd) of 1942-43: fierce battle where city was repeatedly bombed, however, once winter came around same problems as Moscow and Leningrad Zhukov pushed Germans out in Operation Uranus Continued to push east July 10, 1943 Allied forces invaded Italy Germans seized control of northern Italy and put Mussolini in charge Fighting continued until 1945 Mussolini was shot and hanged in Milan Sect. IV: Allied Victory

22. June 6, 1944 Allied troops under General Eisenhower came ashore the beaches at Normandy (D-Day) Operation Overlord: 2.2 million Allied forces poured into northern France Allied forces broke through German lines to liberate Paris in August Battle of the Bulge: December 1944 was the Germans last attempt to halt Allied advances, but it only slowed down the Allies March 1945 Allies marched from the Rhine into Germany Russians seized capital of Berlin in April 1945 Hitler committed suicide later that month May 7, 1945 Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the third Reich Western Front

23. Following Battle of Midway, Allies were very successful October 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf (allies won and left Japanese fleet destroyed) However, Americans thought it was too costly to launch a massive land attack on Japan and turned towards the A-bomb (Manhattan Project) This culminated in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagaski Japanese surrendered September 2, 1945 Pacific

24. Urakami Tenshudo (Catholic Church in Nagasaki) destroyed by the atomic bomb, the bell of the church having toppled off.

25. Sect. V: After the War