1 / 25

World War II

World War II. Origins of World War II. In 1941 two major alliances squared off against each other:. The Axis Powers : Nazi Germany Fascist Italy Empire of Japan. The Allied Powers : Great Britain France Soviet Union China United States. Road to War: Asia 1931-1945.

revis
Download Presentation

World War II

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. World War II

  2. Origins of World War II • In 1941 two major alliances squared off against each other: The Axis Powers: Nazi Germany Fascist Italy Empire of Japan The Allied Powers: Great Britain France Soviet Union China United States

  3. Road to War: Asia 1931-1945 • Japan seizes Manchuria in September 1931 • Japanese government controlled by militarists • Mao’s Long March occurred in 1934 • Japanese invaded mainland China in 1937 • Rape of Nanjing occurred winter of 1937-1938 • Chaing Kai-shek retreated into western China • Mao’s communist forces led guerilla warfare in East • Japan occupied French Indo-China in 1940

  4. The Nanking Massacre or Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking • was a six-week period following the Japanese capture of the city of Nanjing (Nanking) • the former capital of the Republic of China • Occurred on December 13, 1937 • During this period, hundreds of thousands of civilians were murdered and 20,000–80,000 women were raped by soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army

  5. Severed Heads: A Result of the Nanjing Massacre

  6. Italian Invasion of Ethiopia • October 1935 • The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa • Ethiopia never surrendered. • Illegal use of mustard gas by Italy • On 18 November 1936, the Italian Empire was officially recognized by the Empire of Japan Italy in turn recognized the Japanese occupation of Manchuria • Only five nations refused to recognize Italian sovereignty over Ethiopia and respected Ethiopian independence: The US was one of them

  7. Road to War: Europe 1933-1939 • Hitler withdraws Germany from the League of Nations in 1933 • Hitler annexes German inhabited regions of Austria and Czechoslovakia in 1938 • Europe follows policy of appeasement at Munich Conference in 1938 (BIG MISTAKE!) • Nazi-Soviet Pact signed August 23, 1939 • Stalin and Hitler secretly agree to divide Poland • Germany invades Poland on Sept. 1, 1939

  8. World War II: European Theater • World War I was a defensive war; World War II was an offensive war • Blitzkrieg led Germany’s easy conquest of Poland, Belgium, France, et al. • Mobilized massive amounts of human and natural resources from around the globe • Civilians viewed as legitimate targets for war • War for oil? • German army attempted to seize Suez Canal • German army besieged Stalingrad

  9. World War II: European Theater

  10. World War II: Pacific Theater • After Japan occupied French Indo-China, the U.S. and Britain stopped shipments of steel, iron, and oil to Japan • Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 • Japan quickly conquered Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands • Battle of Midway marked a turning point • Japan lost 4 of its 6 largest aircraft carriers • Japan’s productivity was one-tenth of U.S.

  11. World War II: Pacific Theater

  12. End of War: European Theater • Three major allied offensives • After victory at Stalingrad, Soviets begin counteroffensive in 1943 • Allies invaded Sicily in July 1943 • Invasion of Normandy (D-Day) June 6,1944 • Hitler commits suicide on April 28, 1945 • Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945

  13. End of the War: Pacific Theater • U.S. strategy of “island-hopping” by-passed heavily fortified islands to get closer to Japan (Aircraft carriers very important) • Bombing raids of Japan began June 1944 • 40% of Tokyo was destroyed • U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6, 1945) and Nagasaki (August 9) • Japan surrendered August 14, 1945

  14. Hiroshima and Nagasaki

  15. Effects of War • 60 million dead • Six to eight times more than World War I • Over half the dead were civilians victims of massacres, famines, and bombs • Russia lost 25 million; China 15 million; Poland 6 million; Germany 4 million • World flooded with refugees • 90 million fled China • Most refugees never returned home

  16. War of Science • New inventions: synthetic rubber, radar, antibiotics • Military advances: airplanes, tanks, weapons, aircraft carriers. • Nazi V-2 missiles • Atomic bomb

  17. The Holocaust • Nuremburg Laws passed in 1935 • German and Polish Jews eventually moved to ghettos or work camps • Final Solution starts in 1942 • Applied modern industrial methods to the slaughter of human beings (gas chambers) • Killed 6 million Jews and millions of Poles, gypsies, homosexuals, physical and mentally handicapped

  18. The Holocaust Warsaw Ghetto Riots Prison Labor Ovens at Auschwitz Liberation of Dachau

  19. Home Front in Europe & Asia • No clear distinction between “front” and “home front” • Soviet Union dismantled 1500 factories and rebuilt them in Ural Mountains • Russian women took over 50% of industrial jobs and 75% of agricultural jobs • German women were encouraged to stay home and have children • Imported 7 million “guest workers”

  20. Home Front in the United States • U.S. economy experienced prolonged BOOM after 1940 • Women and minorities were recruited for factory jobs • 6 million women enter workforce • 1.2 million African-Americans migrate north looking for work • Japanese were placed in internment camps (result of Pearl Harbor)

  21. U.S. Propaganda

  22. U.S. Propaganda

More Related