WORLD WAR II 1931-1945

1. WORLD WAR II1931-1945 Nancy Pace, 5th Grade Teacher Berry Shoals Intermediate School 2004

2. World War II“The Big One” • Causes of World War II • Friends and Enemies • United States Gets Involved • End of the War • Gains and Losses

3. Causes of World War II • Germany blamed for causing World War I (WWI) • Continued developing war weapons after WWI • Economy destroyed after WWI • Discrimination of ethnic groups, especially Jewish and Polish. • The rise of dictators as a result of WWI • Imperialism and the search of raw materials

4. Germany • Germany’s economy was devastated after WWI. • Germany was held completely accountable for WWI. • The Germans resented the blame and grew weary of the depressed economy. • Germany welcomed a person who developed strong patriotism and provided it with someone to blame for all its troubles – Hitler.

5. The Rise of Dictators • RUSSIA: Joseph Stalin • SPAIN: Francisco Franco • ITALY: Benito Mussolini • JAPAN: EmperorHirohito • GERMANY: Adolf Hitler • Three of these men joined to rule the world!

6. BLITZ KRIEG • Germany took over neighboring countries: Czechoslovakia and Austria, 1938. • Germany attacked Poland, in 1939, hoping that the world would not come to its rescue. • As the world watched, in a matter of days, Germany conquered the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and most of France.

7. The Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan • Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito formed an alliance to conquer the world. • Germany continued to consume Europe. • Mussolini led Italian forces to take over Africa. • Hirohito led Japanese forces to overcome Asia.

8. The Allied Forces:Great Britain, France, USA, and Soviet Union • The world could no longer ignore the danger. • Great Britain, lead by Prime Minister William Chamberlain, joined the war to help France. • The United States, led by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, pledged supplies and support for the Allies but worked to stay out of the war. • The Soviet Union agreed to stay out of the war as long as Germany left them alone.

9. Big Mistakes…HUGE! • Germany agreed with the Soviet Union to not attack. Hitler broke his agreement and attacked the Soviet Union. He now fought a war on two fronts, East and West. The Soviet Union joined the Allied Forces. • Japan declared war on the United States with a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 7, 1941. • Japan’s General Yamamoto said, “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

10. The Attack on Pearl Harbor

11. The Yanks are Coming… • President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on the Axis Powers and entered the war on three fronts. • Roosevelt declared December 7, 1941 to be “…a day that will live in infamy.”

12. President Roosevelt SignsDeclaration of War

13. General Dwight D. EisenhowerLed Troops in Europe

14. General Douglas MacArthur Led Troops in Asia

15. General George Patton Led Troops in Africa

16. End of WWII • Germany no longer sustained strength fighting a war on two fronts. • German troops froze to death in the Soviet Union and lacked the supplies and willpower to continue. • The Allied Forces planned an amazing attack in Northern France: D-Day.

17. End of WWII • Mussolini lost power over Italy as starving Italians marched in the streets and took over the country. • Mussolini was captured and publicly hung upside down in the town square. • The Axis Powers in Europe surrendered May 8, 1945. • Hitler, hiding in an underground bunker, took his own life. To avoid being disgraced, he asked his few remaining loyal guardsmen to burn his body.

18. End of WWII • Upon the death of President Franklin Roosevelt, President Harry S. Truman led a mournful nation to the end of the war in Asia. • President Truman decided to use the most powerful weapon known to man, the Atomic Bomb (A-Bomb). • Japan was asked to surrender, but it chose to ignore the warning.

19. August 6, 1945…Hiroshima

20. August 9, 1945…Nagasaki • When Japan refused to surrender, the United States dropped another A-Bomb, this time on the industrial city of Nagasaki. • With the destruction of two major industrial cities, Japan was hopeless. • Japan surrendered, bringing the end to WWII on all fronts.

21. Gains and Losses • Germany was divided into two countries, losing its colonies around the world. • Japan was denied its right to a military: army or navy. To this day, it may only maintain a coast guard to provide coastal protection for itself. • Italy lost its colonies around the world. • The Soviet Union took over neighboring countries, forming a wide and comprehensive national boundary to protect itself from future attacks.

22. Gains and Losses, (cont.) • The United States (USA) took on the role of rebuilding Europe. • The USA refused to share the technology of the atomic weapons, creating distrust and a Cold War between the Soviet Union and the USA. • A new form of government developed worldwide: Communism.

23. …and the world goes on! • It will take years (40) before the after-effects of WWII are resolved. • Under President Ronald Reagan (1980-1988), communism fell, and the world was ready for democracy to flourish.

24. Credits • Boehm, R.G. ed. United States in Modern Times. Harcourt Brace & Company, 2000. • Photos Courtesy of the Library of Congress: http://www.americaslibrary.gov/cgi-bin/page.cgi