HOW DID THE SECOND WORLD WAR BECOME A WORLD WAR?

1. HOW DID THE SECOND WORLD WAR BECOME A WORLD WAR? A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

2. In the early years, the Second World War in Europe could not have been more different from the First World War. Germany quickly conquered Poland, but there was no fighting in western Europe for the first nine months. • When Hitler finally invaded France in May 1940 he swept through Holland and Belgium and conquered most of France. • In June 1941 Hitler invaded the USSR. glossary A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

3. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a separate conflict was developing. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

4. PEARL HARBOR glossary • On 7 December 1941, a Sunday, a band was rehearsing on the deck of a warship in the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. • A few minutes later, the bandsmen were diving for cover or running to their stations as the first wave of Japanese fighter planes dropped their bombs and torpedoes. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

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6. By the afternoon of 7 December Pearl Harbor lay in ruins and the US fleet was a mass of twisted metal. • Japan had made its play for domination in the Pacific. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

7. THE RIVALRY BEGINS • Rivalry between Japan and the USA had begun in the 1920s. While the European powers fought out the First World War, Japan was able to take over much of their trading activity in the Far East. • By 1921 the rise of Japan was beginning to worry the USA that also wished to dominatetrade in the Pacific. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

8. Japan was pressured by the USA into a series of treaties which limited its influence over China and reduced the size of the Japanese navy. The USA and western European countries also placed tariffs on Japanese goods. • In response powerful businessmen and military leaders such General Tojo increasingly called for Japan to build its own empire on the mainland of Asia. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

9. Profile: General Tojo • Born in 1884. • Graduated with distinction from military college. • Rose quickly to the rank of general. • He was a leading figure among the nationalists. • In 1940 he became War Minister. • In 1941 he became Prime Minister. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

10. AMERICA’S CONCERNS GROW glossary • When the world trade depression on the 1930sbegan to hit Japan, these empire builders took their chance and invaded Manchuria in 1931. In 1937 Japan launched a war with China. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

11. These developments were watched with concern in America. Roosevelt was especially worried when Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in 1936. Italy signed in 1937, bringing three aggressive regimes together into one alliance. In that same year Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China. • Roosevelt did not want war, but he began to prepare the American people for the possibility of a war. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

12. By 1941, however, there was a definite shift in the opinions of American politicians and military leaders. • The fall of France in 1940 and the devastating effectiveness of the German army as it swept through western Europe had jolted Americans. glossary A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

13. American spies also informed Roosevelt that there had been top-level meetings among German, Italian and Japanese politicians. • On 27 September 1940 these three governments signed a Tripartite Pact. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

14. Although the USA was supposedly neutral, it was clear that Roosevelt supported Britain. • The USA was doing all it could to help the British in the war in Europe - except for fighting with them. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

15. JAPAN’S DILEMMA glossary • Japan’s invasion of China was a spectacular success, but even bigger prizes beckoned once war in Europe broke out. Britain, France and Holland had large territories in the Far East which they could not possibly defend while they were at war with Germany. President Roosevelt was worried about American interests in China and in the Pacific, particularly in the Philippines. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

16. glossary • Roosevelt restricted the supply of important materials to Japan from 1940. • This was Japan’s dilemma: it wanted to carve out an empire in the Far East which would make it self-sufficient in vital materials such as rice, oil, coal and rubber. However, not only the USA worried Japan, also the USSR. In June 1941 Hitler solved Japan’s second problem when he invaded the USSR. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

17. In July 1941 Japan took control of French Indo-China and it seemed that Japan had made up its mind to challenge the USA: on 7 December 1941 some 300 planes took off from aircraft carriers to launch their attack on Pearl Harbor. A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

18. FOCUS TASK • After reading Source 1, 2 e 3, write a short speech for Roosevelt to give in one of his fireside chats, explaining to the American people why they are now involved in the war. • SOURCE 1 • Some of our people like to believe that wars in Europe and Asia are no concern of ours. But it is a matter of most vital concern to us that European and Asiatic war-makers should not gain control of the oceans which lead to this hemisphere. If great Britain goes down, the Axis powers will control the continents of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia and the high seas. All of us would be living at the point of a gun. • From one of Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats”, • broadcast in 1940. Roosevelt was the first • political leader to use radio regularly to • talk directly to his people • SOURCE 2 • America is a decayed country. I like An Englishman a thousand times better than an American … Everything about the behavior of America society reveals that it is half Jew and the other half negro. How can one expect a state like that to hold together – a country where everything is built on the dollar. • Hitler writing about the USA before the war began • SOURCE 3 • We can have no choice but to follow the letter of the law in the three-power treaty and declare war on the United States. • From a speech by Joseph Goebbels A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine

19. GLOSSARY • To sweep, swept, swept through: infuriare • To rehearse: provare, ripassare • Torpedo: siluro • To launch: lanciare • To jolt: scuotere • To beckon: chiamare, allettare • To carve out: ritagliarsi A.Rotolo I.T.I. Malignani - Udine