World War II 1939-1941

1. World War II1939-1941

2. The War So Far • Hitler (leader of Germany and the Nazi party) wanted to • Secure “living space” for all Germans (well, all Aryan Germans that fit their standards) • Bring all ethnic Germans back within Germany’s lands • Wipe out any Jewish people (and Slavic and Gypsies and homosexuals and disabled people and political dissidents, etc) on the way • Remember, Germany had invaded Poland in 1939 • Britain and France declared war on Germany in response

3. France • Hitler wanted to take down France, but concentrated on Belgium and Holland first because of France’s Maginot line • Maginot line: series of obstacles and concrete fortifications lining the border between France and Germany (another set between France and Italy was known as the Alpine line) • So, Hitler’s solution: Go around. • By June of 1940, Hitler had taken down France and took over the government

8. Blitzkrieg and the Battle of Britain • Blitzkrieg= lightning war • Germany air force (Luftwaffe)’s goal was to conquer the British air force so that they could invade and defeat Britain • Battle of Britain: June, 1940 • Britain had an advantage because most of the fighting was over British land/water and the downed pilots could be returned to their units easily and some planes repaired…not so for the Germans • Battle of attrition for Germany: just batter Britain until they gave up…except it didn’t work and Germany gave up to focus its attention on the Soviets

9. Italy • Was led by Benito Mussolini • Wasn’t ready to enter the war right away, even though they had an alliance with Germany • Successfully invaded Albania in 1939 (shumёkeq!) • Helped out with France and controlled a little bit of the territory on the Italian side • Had some unsuccessful campaigns against Egypt and Greece early in the war

10. The Soviets and Operation Barbarossa • June 22, 1941: Germany invaded the Soviet Union in the largest German military operation of the war • Hitler had always seen the non-aggression pact as temporary and it lasted just 2 years • Hitler was opposed to Communism (Stalin!) and the many Soviet Jews • 3 million German troops and 650,000 troops of Germany’s allies invaded while the Einsatzgruppen came in behind to wipe out villages of Jews, Communists, and others that seemed to be a threat • Hitler started his “Final Solution” with these Soviet Jews • The German attack came as some surprise and much of the Soviet air force was wiped out… the Soviet army also struggled initially. • Two things to remember when trying to fight Russia/Soviet Union: • There are lots and lots and lots of people • It’s cold up there…

11. The Soviets and Operation Barbarossa • The first 6 weeks went really well for Germany, but the Soviets didn’t fall as fast as the Germans thought they would • Germany reached Moscow in early December… Moscow was the capital and was heavily guarded by the Soviets and strongly desired by the Germans • However, Germany began running out of food for its soldiers… • and it went faster than the supplies could keep up with… • and many roads they thought they could take ended up being dirt (which became mud in the fall which made tanks get stuck)… • and it was REALLY cold (which is bad for bodies AND weapons, which froze) • They had to wait out the winter before they could launch another attack, and it really hurt Germany (same situation as Valley Forge, but the American troops emerged stronger—why?) • Also, Germany declared war on America in December of 1941 • In the end (after 4 years), both armies were pretty messed up… 4.3 million German soldiers dead and 7 million Soviet soldiers dead (up to 20 million civilians killed)

12. FDR and the Lend-Lease Act • FDR agreed to lend Britain (and allies) supplies and money • His reasoning was if your neighbor’s house is on fire, you would lend him your hose…so your house didn’t catch on fire, too • America was clearly on the side of the Allied powers (France and England), not the Axis (Germany and allies)

13. Pearl Harbor • December 7, 1941: Japan launched a surprise attack on the US navy at Pearl Harbor • 5 battleships were sunk, 16 battleships were damaged, and 188 aircraft were destroyed • 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,178 were injured. The Japanese lost about 100 men • Why? • Japan was on a quest for natural resources (to industrialize) • The US navy and its holdings in Southeast Asia blocked Japan from taking over all of Asia and its resources • In response to Japanese aggression, the US started punishing Japan economically by blocking trade (embargo) • The attack on Pearl Harbor would allow the Japanese to take control of SE Asia while America was left recovering…and hopefully leave America in a place where they would try for peace • Japan didn’t realize that they were messing with AMERICA (did none of them listen to patriotic country music?) and its boats (did they not my US History class?!) • Effect: • US rallied together and declared war on Japan… and, in the end, the entire Axis • http://www.history.com/audio/fdr-asks-congress-to-declare-war-on-japan#fdr-asks-congress-to-declare-war-on-japan (start at :45…7:10) • Conspiracy theory: FDR wanted to go to war all along…did he know about the attack beforehand? Maybe? Or was even happy that it happened? • Probably not (if FDR planned it, you would think the US would have been more prepared for war in general), but people like to still study this! • Japan DID cripple the American navy- they won every major battle in the Pacific until 1942

14. Internment • Executive Order 9066 • FDR issued this after the attacks on Pearl Harbor • Allowed the military to ignore the rights of American citizens in the name of national defense • The reasoning was that people with links to Japan could be leaking information to and from Japan or could face persecution from American citizens • Results • 120,000 Japanese-Americans or Japanese permanent residents living on the West Coast were forced to move into internment/relocation camps for up to 4 years • FDR called them “concentration camps” • Half of the people moved into these camps were children • You could qualify for these camps even if you were the grandchild of a Japanese immigrant and didn’t speak Japanese • Those interned lost homes and businesses; estimates of lost worth reach up to $5 billion • Some died in the camps due to poor medical care

22. Criticisms and Reparations • The Supreme Court upheld the Executive Order • No proof was ever found of Japanese-Americans spying for Japan • Reparations: • Civil Liberties Act of 1988 aka “the Japanese American Redress Bill” was passed • Admitted that the government messed up • Each victim of internment got $20,000 • Long-term effects • After leaving the camps, many families had to completely start over • Heart disease and premature death are 2 times more likely in interned Japanese-Americans compared to non-interned Japanese-Americans

23. The Sides at the End of 1941