Chapter 25:

1. Chapter 25: The United States in WWII

2. What effect did the entry of the US into WWII have on the military? • Five million volunteered for service, while an additional ten million were called up under the Selective Service System. • Army Chief of Staff George Marshall created the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, which allowed women to serve in noncombat units. Eventually, the ‘Auxiliary’ was dropped and the women received full benefits. Women served as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots. • Mexican-, African-, Asian-, and Native-Americans all volunteered, despite discrimination and segregation. Many were highly decorated and served crucial functions, like the Navajo Code Talkers, Tuskegee Airmen, and the all-Nisei 442nd Regimental Combat Team.

3. What effect did the entry of the US have on the economy? • The War Production Board arranged which factories were to be retooled to produce wartime products. For example, automobile factories turned out tanks, planes, and boats. The WPB also organized scrap metal and paper drives to aid the war effort. Overall, industry and farming boomed. • The Office of Price Administration fought inflation, froze prices, and set up a system for rationing goods, like gas, meat, and sugar. • War production opened up many jobs for women and minorities. • Six million women were hired. They fulfilled many jobs, such as factory work, welding, and electricians. • Because 75% of companies refused to hire minorities, labor leader A. Philip Randolph met with FDR and had him call on employers to hire ‘without discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin.’ It marked an important step in the beginning of the struggle for civil rights. Two million minorities were then hired.

4. What battle became known as the turning point of the war in Europe? • The Germans planned to attack Stalingrad during the summer of 1942. • In brutal, hand-to-hand combat, about 90% of the city was destroyed. • During the winter of 1943, Stalin ordered a blockade of the city to prevent the Nazis from receiving any reinforcements. In February, the Germans surrendered. • Although the Soviets lost over a million troops in the Battle of Stalingrad, it began a steady retreat of the Germans back to Berlin.

5. What was the outcome of the North African campaign? • While the Battle of Stalingrad raged, Stalin urged Churchill & FDR to open a second front in western Europe to divert the Germans from the USSR. • Churchill & FDR decided to invade North Africa first, codenamed Operation Torch. • Under the command of General Eisenhower, Allied forces fought the Afrika Korps under Erwin Rommel, nicknamed the Desert Fox. • In May 1943, however, Rommel surrendered. From there, the Allied launched an invasion of Italy. In 1943, Mussolini was stripped of his power and hanged in Milan. • Hitler sent troops to Italy to prevent their advancement into Germany, but without Mussolini, the Italian forces collapsed.

6. What were some significant battles in Europe that led to Germany’s surrender? • D-Day, or Operation Overlord, was led by General Eisenhower on June 6, 1944. It was a massive, surprise land-sea-air assault on the beaches of France. Despite staggering losses, the Allied held the beaches. • Generals Omar Bradley and George Patton succeeded in liberating France from Nazi control by September 1944. • The Battle of the Bulge was Germany’s last major counterattack. Although they did break through the initial American lines, they were pushed into a steady retreat to Berlin by the end of the year. • As the Soviets advanced on Berlin from the east, the Allies advanced from the west and liberated hundreds of concentration camps. After Hitler’s suicide, Germany surrendered. May 8, 1945 was celebrated as V-E Day, but survivors and refugees began to try to pick up the pieces of their lives after.

7. What were some significant victories in the Pacific for the Allies? • The Battle of Coral Sea was fought using aircraft carriers, but resulted in the halt of Japan’s advance. • The Battle of Midway was the turning point of the war in the Pacific. The Allied forces began their island-hopping strategy after this. • Despite the use of kamikazes, the Battle of Leyte Gulf resulted in the near elimination of the Japanese Navy. • Iwo Jima and Okinawa positioned the Allies close to the Japanese mainland. • General Douglas MacArthur led the forces on the islands, while Admiral Chester Nimitz led the American naval forces.

8. What led to the surrender of Japan? • The Manhattan Project was led by Robert Oppenheimer as a secret scientific program to build an atomic bomb. • After FDR’s death on April 12, 1945, Harry Truman became president and learned of the project. He decided to order atomic bombs be dropped on Japan. • On August 6, 1945, Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima, destroying about 67% of the city and killing about 75,000 instantaneously. • On August 9, 1945, Fat Man destroyed about 40% of Nagasaki and killed about 40,000 instantly. By the end of the year, about 200,000 people had died due to injuries and radiation poisoning. • Japan surrendered and the US occupied the island under General MacArthur. A constitution was set up, a free-market economy was established, and Emperor Hirohito was allowed to remain. • Many historians believe this event not only marked the end of WWII, but the beginning of the Cold War with the USSR. “Now I become death- the destroyer of worlds.” –Bhagavad Gita

10. What was decided at the Yalta Conference? • In February 1945, the Big Three (Churchill, Stalin, and FDR) met to decide how to deal with the post-war world. • It was decided that Germany would be divided into four occupation zones, administered by the US, USSR, Britain, and France. • Stalin agreed to allow free elections in Eastern Europe as well as enter the war in the Pacific three months after the war in Europe ended.* • Plans for the development of the United Nations were begun as well.

11. What happened to the Nazis at the end of the war? • Some committed suicide, but many changed their names and fled to other countries, such as Brazil and the United States. • Twenty four others were charged with ‘crimes against humanity’ and tried at the Nuremberg Trials. Twelve were sentenced to death. • Overall, the Trials established the important principle that everyone is responsible for his/her own actions. Never again could someone get away with murder by simply claiming that they were ‘only following orders.’

12. What examples of discrimination did minorities face at home during WWII? • As AAs moved northward to work in defense industries, racial tensions flared. James Farmer organized the Congress of Racial Equality(CORE) to confront segregation. • Young MAs were stripped of their clothes and beaten during the ‘zoot-suit riots.’ • Japanese Americans were relocated by Executive Order 9066. This established internment camps where Japanese-Americans (mostly citizens) were confined for the duration of the war. When they were released, many had lost their property, homes, and businesses.