Building up to WWII

1. Building up to WWII

2. 1920s • Worldwide depression – period of rising unemployment and low economic activity

3. Totalitarianism • Rising dictators claimed that they could solve the problems of the depression by setting up totalitarian government – absolute power, the state controls every area of life Video!! • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsGdCkKoM5s&safe=active

4. Italy • Economic unrest after WWI – strikes/ fear of Communists taking over • Benito Mussolini – first person to set up a totalitarian government • used Treaty of Versailles and Italy’s economic problems to gain power • Founded the Fascist party using the fears of the middle class

5. Rise of Fascism • Totalitarian government that is not Communist • Leader = dictator – has complete control over government • State is more important than individuals = strong central government that controls: • Economy • How owners run business and land • Mass media (newspapers, radios, movies – censored) • Propaganda – used to brainwash people into believing what gov. says

6. Soviet Union • Joseph Stalin came to power in late 1920s • Wanted the Soviet Union to become an industrial nation • Focused industry on making steal, machines, weapons, farm and transportation equipment

7. Stalin’s purges to promote Communism • Ended private ownership, set quotas for production • Peasants rebelled – Stalin used force to end resistance – sent them to labor camps = famine followed • Arrested those who disagreed with him – tried and sentenced to death

8. Soviet Society • Used propaganda to promote the Soviet Union and encourage people to work harder/produce more • Encouraged nationalism and suspicion of western countries • Eliminated religion "To have more, we must produce more. To produce more, we must know more”

9. Hitler and Nazi Germany • Conditions were ideal for Hitler to take over Germany – Germans were angered by their treatment at the Paris Peace Conference • Hitler joined the Nazi Party and set out to make them the most powerful political parts in Germany • Hitler appealed to: • nationalists: promised to stop Germany’s payment for WWI • business leaders, and landowners: promised security from Communism

10. Hitler’s rise to power • 1933 – Hitler became chancellor because Nazis won majority of seats in the German Parliament • He acted quickly to keep his power – had Parliament suspend constitution = he no longer needed legislation to make laws • Became dictator – Der Fuhrer (the leader)

11. The Nazi Government • Only political party allowed = Nazi (no challengers) • Labor Unions banned • Used terror and propaganda to keep control • Gestapo = secret police • Anyone who opposed – sent to concentration camp – type of prison camp • Government set up massive work projects to employ people • New Empire = Third Reich • Video!! How did Hitler do all of this?? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af44Slin7lg&playnext=1&list=PLE8B3A617C9716740&feature=results_main&safe=active

12. Anti- Semitism • prejudice, hatred of, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their heritage • Hitler developed a theory that Germans descended from an Aryan race – master race = Jews in Germany endangered purity of that race • Also blamed Jews for most of Germany’s problems

13. Anti-Semite Goals • Drive all Jews out of Germany • Lead to genocide – murder of all members of an ethnic group • 1935 – Nuremberg Laws - stripped German Jews of citizenship, forced them to wear yellow stars • November 9, 1938 – Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass) Nazis used violence of a Jew against a German to attack Jewish people – 100 Jews murdered, 30,000 sent to camps Video!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z01WmCcpZ0Q&safe=active

14. Trouble with Japan • Emperor ruled Japan, but military leaders made most of the decisions • Lacked many necessary natural resources and markets for goods – Government expanded into Asia to get control of resources and sell its goods • 1931 – took control of Manchuria • by 1937, Japan and China were fighting a full scale war Video!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYGsdC7Sg38&safe=active

15. Intro to WWII Video!! • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78COTwT7nE&safe=active

16. Germany on the march • Hitler ignored the Treaty of Versailles and defied the League of Nations • Created air force and expanded army • Sent a German army into the Rhineland (zone along Germany’s border that they were not allowed to enter) • League did nothing

17. Looking the other way… • France and GB protested Hitler rearming the Rhineland • France wanted to fight, but GB would not help – this was the beginning of Great Britain’s policy of appeasement – giving in to the demands of a hostile person or group the keep the peace

18. Expansion of Germany • Hitler sent in troops in to Austria – proclaimed it a part of Germany • Next on his list was Czechoslovakia (created by the Treaty of Versailles) • Sudetenland = German region of Czechoslovakia

19. Munich Conference • 1938 – British and French met with Hitler – again gave in to him and agreed that Hitler could take control of the Sudetenland • In return – Hitler promised not to take any more of Czechoslovakia • Following spring, he went back on his promise… surprise, surprise

20. WAR! • September 1939 – Germany invades Poland • Great Britain and France declare war on Germany Video!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Y9NexpibEo

21. What about the US? • Isolationism – the belief that US should stay out of Europe’s problems Video!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=668zH17NP8w&safe=active FDR: “Let no one imagine that we will escape…that this western hemisphere will not be attacked”—outraged many isolationists

22. Hitler Moves in Europe • April 1940- Hitler seizes Norway, Denmark • May- Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg • June - Hitler controls France and turns attention to Britain • Fall 1940-Battle of Britain - London heavily bombed but Churchill remains defiant British Prime Minister Winston Churchill

23. Soviets Jump Ship • 1941 – Hitler invades Soviet Union • Severe Russian winter stopped the Germans • Naturally, Stalin didn’t want to be friends anymore

24. United States and Japan • Japan wanted to extend influence in Far East • July 1940: U.S. embargo (restriction) of raw materials to Japan • December 7, 1941: Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Video!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdIR7_B3JA USS Arizona Memorial

25. US Declares War • “December 7, 1941, a day which will live in infamy” FDR’s address: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=december+7+1941+a+day+that+will+live+in&mid=430B39DF35AB7CB86AD1430B39DF35AB7CB86AD1&view=detail&FORM=VIRE1&adlt=strict ** Italy also declared war

26. Nations at War Axis Powers: • Germany • Italy • Japan Grand Alliance • United States • Great Britain • France • China • Soviet Union

27. The Plan of the Great Alliance • Defeat Hitler first, then Mussolini • Invaded N. Africa and defeated German forces • Invaded Sicily and mainland Italy – Italy surrendered in May 1945 – Mussolini executed • June 6, 1944 – Allies invaded the beaches of France – • D-Day – broke the German lines and pushed them east Videos!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO6jGFBUuLs&safe=active http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD9_NwY36fE&safe=active

28. War Coming to an End • by April 1945 the German army was being squeezed btw. the Allies in the West and the Soviets in the East • Hitler committed suicide • Germany surrendered in May, war in Europe was over – V-E Day

29. War in the Pacific • Although the allies decided to defeat Hitler first, they did not stop fighting in the Pacific • Two prong (branch) strategy: • Land forces under the command of General Douglas MacArthur • Naval forces • Major victories: • Battle of the Coral Sea • Battle of Midway (turning point in the war in the Pacific)

31. War in the Pacific • Allies continued to push Japanese back • Civilian leaders and emperor were ready to end the war, but military leaders would not back down General Tojo

32. Japanese Internment Camps in the United States • Reading passage Video!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPi0Aqx_kyw&safe=active

33. The Atomic Bomb • FDR died in April, 1945 • Harry Truman was sword in as President of the US and learned of the atomic bomb • FDR established a top secret project in 1941 to develop an atom bomb – The Manhattan Project • The damage of such a bomb would be horrendous

34. Weighing the Costs • The US knew the following: • Attacking Japan would cause large numbers of civilian and US soldier casualties (women and children were being trained to fight) • Invasion would be costly

35. Dropping the Atomic Bomb • Summer 1945 - Allies offered again for Japan to surrender, they did not • August 6 – US plane dropped an atom bomb on the city of Hiroshima- between 80,000 and 120,000 were killed, thousands more died because of burns and radiation poisoning • Japanese still did not surrender

36. Second Bomb • Second bomb dropped on Nagasaki on August 9 – 35,000 to 75,000 were killed • Japan surrendered on August 14 Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwkyPvlWPM0&safe=active

37. Lasting Effects • Flash burns • Radiation exposure – led to cancer, infertility, skin damage, death Burn victim – her dress pattern was burned into her skin Hiroshima before and after

38. Japan Remembers Today Annual day of remembrance for the victims of the atomic bomb.

39. Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes Read this blog to learn the story of Sadako Sasaki: http://nicolaeene.blogspot.com/p/home.html

40. The Holocaust and War Crimes • Hitler’s hatred of Jews led to his “final solution” • Holocaust – the killing of millions of Jews and anyone else considered undesirable • between 9 and 12 million people were murdered, 6 million were Jews • Video about the US Holocaust Museum http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2u17yKR0Q&safe=active Child of the Holocaust http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWneASsotkc&safe=active

41. The Death Camps After deportation trains arrived at the killing centers, guards ordered the deportees to get out and form a line. The victims then went through a selection process. Men were separated from women and children. A Nazi, usually an SS physician, looked quickly at each person to decide if he or she was healthy and strong enough for forced labor. This SS officer then pointed to the left or the right; victims did not know that individuals were being selected to live or die. Babies and young children, pregnant women, the elderly, the handicapped, and the sick had little chance of surviving this first selection.

42. Selection at Auschwitz

43. The Death Camps Those who had been selected to die were led to gas chambers. In order to prevent panic, camp guards told the victims that they were going to take showers to rid themselves of lice. The guards instructed them to turn over all their valuables and to undress. Then they were driven naked into the "showers." A guard closed and locked the steel door. In some killing centers, carbon monoxide was piped into the chamber. In others, camp guards threw "Zyklon B" pellets down an air shaft. Zyklon B was a highly poisonous insecticide also used to kill rats and insects.

44. Gas Chamber at Auschwitz

45. The Death Camps Usually within minutes after entering the gas chambers, everyone inside was dead from lack of oxygen. Under guard, prisoners were forced to haul the corpses to a nearby room, where they removed hair, gold teeth, and fillings. The bodies were burned in ovens in the crematoria or buried in mass graves. Many people profited from the pillage of corpses. Camp guards stole some of the gold. The rest was melted down and deposited in an SS bank account. Private business firms bought and used the hair to make many products, including ship rope and mattresses.

46. Crematorium at Auschwitz

47. A Glimpse of those affected

48. Excerpt from Elie Wiesel's Nobel Prize Lecture Indeed this was another universe; the very laws of nature had been transformed. Children looked like old men, old men whimpered like children. Men and women from every corner of Europe were suddenly reduced to nameless and faceless creatures desperate for the same ration of bread or soup, dreading the same end. Even their silence was the same for it resounded with the memory of those who were gone. Life in this accursed universe was so distorted, so unnatural that a new species had evolved. Waking among the dead, one wondered if one were still alive...

49. Liberation • Allied troops moved across Europe • Encountered tens of thousands of concentration camp prisoners • Many of these prisoners had survived forced marches (Nazis moved them and destroyed camps)