buschistory Topic 21 – World War II

1. www.buschistory.netTopic 21 – World War II

2. Four Thoughts of World War IIAn Introduction

3. WAR BREAKS OUT • Japan • Seized Manchuria in 1931 • Withdrew from the League of Nations • Adolf Hitler • Renounced the Versailles Treaty: rebuilt Germany’s armed forces • Lebensraum through territorial expansion • Sent troops to occupy the Rhineland • Annexed Austria to Germany in 1938 • Threatened for Czechoslovakia but France and Britain gave the Sudetenland – Munich 9/30/1938 • Less than 6 months later, seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. • Kristallnacht CAUSES: Failure of the League of Nations Aggressive empire building Appeasement U.S. Isolationism + • Benito Mussolini • Sent troops to Ethiopia, claimed the African kingdom as a colony Germany made a pact with its sworn foe, the Soviet Union, and invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain and France declare war on Germany

4. While Germany was using the technique of Blitzkrieg (lightning war) to take Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg, what was happening in the U.S.? • Isolationism • World War I had left strong isolationist sentiment. • American First Committee: formed to oppose U.S. intervention • Roosevelt • Invoked the Neutrality Act of 1939 to sell arms to Britain, France and China • Lend-Lease Act: made Britain the first beneficiary of massive aid. • Met with Britain prime minister, Winston Churchill to declare their mutual desire to end Nazi tyranny. • Pearl Harbor • When Japan occupied Indochina in July 1941, the U.S. responded by cutting off trade with Japan. • The angered Japanese launched a surprise attack on December 7, 1941 on Pearl Harbor, destroying nearly 200 American planes and killing more than 2,400 Americans with nearly 1,200 wounded. On December 8th, Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. The same day, the United States recognized the existence of a state of war with Germany and Italy, and World War II began for the Americans.

5. Propaganda • Office of War Information (OWI): sold the idea of war to the American people through radio & film. • Fueled selling of war bonds • The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was used to monitor espionage • The Office Of Strategic Services (OSS) • Mobilizing for War • War Powers Act • Supply Priorities and Allocation Board (SPAB) • Office of Price Administration (OPA) • National War Labor Board (NWLB) • War Manpower Commission (WMC) • Office of War Mobilization (OWM) “Dr. New Deal” became “Dr. Win the War.” The Roosevelt administration directed its resources toward planes, ships, guns and food required for victory • Economic Conversion • The war lifted the U.S. out of the Great Depression and created the biggest economic boom • Resulted from government spending & foreign orders for military supplies • War Production Board: made to “exercise the general responsibility” for the economy. • ½ of nearly everything produced was war material • GNP rose from $88.6 billion in 1939 to $198.7 billion in 5 years • Regions were transformed, especially the West • Farm income had doubled by 1945 but many American farmers could not keep up with the rising international demand for milk, fruits, potatoes and sugar • Livestock production went up and so did mechanized production of crops (chemical fertilizers and pesticides)

6. Workers • Bracero program: Mexicans got short-term employment • Indians were working in agriculture or industry • African Americans: worker #’s grew from 2,900,000 to 3,800,000 • Women: • Labor force grew by over 50% • Advertisers used gender stereotypes for wartime jobs with posters • Women mined coal, repaired aircraft engines, cut and welded sheet metal & operated forklifts and drill presses. • Increase in hourly wage for assembly line $1.15 • Strikes:The economic gains were unevenly distributed, causing a turbulent period in American labor history. • United Auto Workers (UAW) became one of the most powerful labor organizations in the world. • John L. Lewis led a walkout of half a million coal miners in 1943. Roosevelt ordered the mines to be seized and the first federal antistrike bill was passed.

7. THE HOMEFRONT • Family Life • A lot of marriages and divorces • Housing shortages small and rents were high • “Share Your Home” campaign: encouraged opening homes to friends, relatives or strangers • Day care centers popped up • Juvenile delinquency rose • Public health improved greatly • Japanese American Internment • Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066: suspended the civil rights of Japanese Americans & authorized the exclusion of 110,000 men women and children. • War Relocation Authority in isolated districts of Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming and California. • Japanese American Citizens League • Korematsu v. U.S. (1944) • African Americans and Mexicans • Double V campaign: African Americans wanted their own rights as citizens • Zoot suit Riots • Popular Culture • Songs featured war themes • Music bridged growing racial divisions • Movies with combat & also anti-fascist themes. • World of comics had wartime spirit • Fashion had civilian clothing to resemble military attire

8. THE ARMED FORCES • October 16, 1940: National Registration Day • All men between ages 21& 36 were obligated to register for the military • 1/3 of the men examined were rejected • Officers corps were highly professional, politically conservative and personally autocratic • Segregation & New Horizons • African Americans • Japanese Americans • Homosexuals found more room than in civilian life • Soldiers looked back on the war and said it was the greatest experience they would ever know • Women • Before WWII, served as nurses and clerical workers • The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) becomes Women’s Army Corps (WAC) • Bills established the women’s division of the navy, Air force and Marine corps • Women were discriminated and were closely monitored • Also racial segregation • Overseas • Americans had a mixed record overseas • In some places they were disliked (Britain, France) • Treated like heroes in Belgium and Southern Holland There were approximately 120,000 Americans who became prisoners of war

9. THE WORLD AT WAR The Allies remained on the defensive for the first year of the war while Hitler was holding power over the European Continent • Weapons and Tactics • WWII was a war of offensive maneuvers with surprise attacks • Weapons: tanks and airplanes • Artillery and explosives were also important • Hitler used these tactics to his advantage • The Allies had advantages: • Vast natural resources • Skilled workforce to accelerate production of weapons and ammunitions • Antifascists all over Europe and Asia • Capacity of Soviet Union to endure immense losses. TURNING POINTS Battle of Stalingrad: Hitler decided to go back on its pact with the Soviet Union and invaded it in 1941. The Russian troops and freezing winter caused the German invaders to surrender in 1943. The Red Army drove the Germans out of the Soviet Union, becoming a turning point in the war. El Alamein (1942): The Germans had victories in North Africa but British forces in Egypt stopped the advance. With the help of American forces coming from the west, the Allies trapped Germany in 1943 and they surrendered. Invasion of Italy (1943): The victory in North Africa allowed British and Americans to land in Italy in 1943. Hitler was forced to send troops to Italy, weakening his forces in Western Europe “D- Day” (June 6,1944): Allies invaded France, landing on the beaches of Normandy. They broke through German defenses to advance toward Paris and freed France from German control. The Allies moved from France into Germany. Germany surrendered on May 8th

10. The War in Asia and the Pacific • After the victory in Europe, the Allies moved from the defensive in Asia to all the Allied power being concentrated on Japan. • A counteroffensive campaign across the Central Pacific and along the Solomon Islands-New Guinea axis steadily pushed the Japanese back • October 1944, General MacArthur led a force to gain back the Philippines • The island of Okinawa was captured, but was the largest operation mounted by Americans in the Pacific war. Japanese had the kamikaze tactic • By the summer of 1945, The Japanese had its navy and air force virtually destroyed and its cities were at the mercy of American aircraft. They were also cut off from sources of supply of much-needed raw materials THE HOLOCAUST • Not until the last stages of the war did Americans learn about Hitler’s actions • The U.S. government released little information on what was the Holocaust • Roosevelt said that the liberation of the European Jews was dependent on a quick and total Allied victory • 6 Million Jews, 250,000 Gypsies and 60,000 homosexuals lost their lives.

11. The Yalta Conference • February 1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at a Soviet resort called Yalta • The “Big Three” decided at the end of the war they would divide Germany temporarily • There would be “spheres of influences” • The Soviet Union retained the Baltic states and part of Poland as a buffer to protect against future German aggression • Britain would reclaim its empire in Asia • The United States hoped to hold several Pacific islands in order to monitor any military resurgence in Japan. • Stalin also pledged to enter the war against Japan and approved plans for a future world organization. President Roosevelt died the next month and Harry S. Truman became his successor.

12. THE ATOMIC BOMB • Potsdam Conference: July 17- August 2, 1945- Allied leaders agreed to demand Japan’s unconditional surrender & to try Nazi leaders as war criminals. • Truman learned of an atomic bomb test in New Mexico at this conference • After warning Japan to surrender immediately or face “complete and utter destruction”, on August 3, 1945, • August 6th, the bomber Enola Gay dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people died and by 1950 the death toll was 200,000 from radiation poisoning or burns • The second bomb destroyed Nagasaki, killing about 40,000 • On August 14th, Japan surrendered.