World War II

• Adolf Hitler
• Benito Mussolini
• Francisco Franco
• Hideki Tojo
• Joseph Stalin
• Anschluss
• Sudetenland
• Non-Aggression Pact
• Poland
• Causes of WWII
• Washington Disarmament Conference
• Kellogg-Briand Pact
• Hoover-Stimson Note
• Johnson Debt Default Act
• Neutrality Act of 1939
• Quarantine Speech
• Four Freedoms Speech
Fascism in
Europe
•Demand great Loyalty
•Rely on Military and Police
•Oppose Democracy and Communism

Rise of Totalitarianism Governments

No political opposition is permitted
• Economies were difficult in Europe even before the Stock
Market Crash
• War
• Debt

• England – owed America too much money and led to

decreased spending and increased unemployment
• Germany – heavy reparations destroyed economy

Worldwide
Depression
• Placed heavy taxes on imported goods
• Attempted to force Americans to buy American products

• Forced countries around the world to place large tariffs on

American goods
• World trade will slow down completely
• Economies completely destroyed

Smoot-Hawley Tariff –
1930
• Prohibited future loans to nations that have defaulted on repayment of previous
loans to the U.S.
• “They hired the money didn’t they?” – Calvin Coolidge

• Impact:
• Left Britain and France no other alternative but to bleed Germany dry of every
cent.
• No new loans to any countries that have not paid their World War I debts
• Along with the Hawley-Smoot Tariff, this Act caused England, France, and
nearly every country to default on their loans to the United States (owed $22
billion)
• Roosevelt and Congress would have to resort to interesting ways to get around
Johnson Debt Default
this act to finance Britain during WWII

Act
Post-WWI Era for
Governments
• Bad economies were challenging for governments to maintain
influence

• Formations of new nations and the peace process made Europe and
Asia unstable

• Extremist political groups will rise in the 1930s

• Spain – Francisco Franco
• Italy – Benito Mussolini
• Germany – Adolf Hitler
Benito Mussolini - Italy

• National Fascist Party in Italy

• Ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943
Benito Mussolini
• Began introducing concept of
Fascism in 1919

• Gained support (Fascisti)

• Opposed discrimination by
social class
• Nationalistic
• Minimum wage, voting rights
for women, mass transit
• Transformed into National
Fascist Party
Benito Mussolini

• Mediterranean Conquests

• Already controlled Albania,

Libya, and Greek territories
• Invaded Ethiopia in 1936
creating the Italian East Africa
Empire
 Francisco Franco -
Spain
• Dictator of Spain (1936 – 1975)

• Participated in a failed coup d’etat of

the Spanish government in July 1936

• Spanish Civil War – emerged as leader

(Nationalists vs. Popular)

• Won the civil war – with help from

Hitler and Mussolini, he dissolved the
parliament
• General of the Imperial Japanese
Army
• Prime Minister of Japan during
WWII
• The ruler is Emperor Hirohito
• Gained control of areas rich in
resources in East Asia
• Responsible for the attack on Pearl
Harbor

Hideki Tojo - Japan

 Joseph Stalin (Иocиф Bиccapиoнoвич
Cталин)

• Ruled Soviet Union from

1924 to 1953

• Death Toll under his rule:

• Estimated that 20 to 60 million
people were killed under Stalin
• Official records show the
execution of 800,000 prisoners
for political/criminal offenses
Conditions of the Treaty of Versailles:
1. Territorial Changes – stripped Germany of 25,000 square miles and 7
million people
2. Mandates – Germany loses colonies to France and England, among others
3. Military Restrictions – no more than 100,000 soldiers in military; Navy
cannot be more than 10% the size of England’s
4. Reparations – Germany pays $5 billion(33 billion in $) in gold to countries
fought against during WWI
5. Establishment of the League of Nations

Treaty of Versailles
• League of Nations established at end of WWI
• International organization and body of laws designed to
prevent further wars

• Despite Wilson creating and pushing for European countries to

adopt his plan, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the Treaty of
Versailles
• United States never joined the League of Nations
• Led by Henry Cabot Lodge, the Senate feared it would draw the
United States into another major war.

Treaty of Versailles
• Meeting held in Washington from Nov. 1921 to Feb. 1922
• The first international conference held in the United States and the
first arms control conference in history
• To stop a dangerous arms race looming, 9 countries invited to
Washington to talk
• Increasing American-Japanese rivalry for control of Pacific Ocean a
long-term threat to world peace
• 10 year agreement to apply a fixed 5:5:3 ratio of battleships for
United States, England, and Japan (forced America to scrap 15 old
Washington Naval
battleships and 2 new ones)

Disarmament
Conference
• 1928 International agreement in which the countries promises not
to use WAR to settle disputes amongst themselves

• United States, England, France, and Germany were among the many
countries who signed the treaty

• Did not live up to its goal of ending war, but created the legal basis of
"crime against peace"

Kellogg-Briand
Pact
• Note to Japan and China that the United States will not
RECOGNIZE any territorial changes taken by force
(Manchuria)

• Would not recognize any changes that affected the “Open

Door” in China
• Kellogg-Briand Pact did not affect both countries and put
the U.S. in a difficult position

• Doctrine was criticized that it did no more than alienated

Hoover-Stimson
the Japanese

Doctrine
• 1935
• Imposed a general embargo on trading in arms and war
materials with all parties in a war.
• Roosevelt invoked the act after Italy invaded Ethiopia.

• 1937
• Resolution outlawing arms trade with Spain.
• Prohibited U.S. citizens from traveling on ships with
countries that are at war

Neutrality Acts
• Act that allowed nations at war to buy
goods and arms in the United States if they
paid cash and carried the merchandise on
their own ships

• “Cash and Carry”

Neutrality Act of
1939
Adolf Hitler
- Germany
• Austrian born
• Appealed to Nationalism
• Relied on Anti-Semitism
• Called his Government the Third
Reich
 Campaign in Berlin

• November 8, 1923 – stormed beer hall

to declare a new government was set
up
• The Coup D’etat failed
• Charged with treason and sentenced to
5 years in prison

• Pardoned and released from jail in

December 1924
 Rise to Power
• July 14, 1934 – Nazi Party named
the only legal party

• President Hidenburg died in August

1934
• Nazi Party dissolved the office of
President
• Hitler named the Head of State
Rearmament and
Alliances
• October 1933 – Hitler pulled Germany out of the League of
Nations

• March 1935 – announced Germany’s army will be increased to

600,000

• Stressa Front:
• Agreement to resist any future German attempt to defy the Treaty of
Versailles. (Britain, France, and Italy) and protect Austria from German
aggression

• Anglo-German Naval Agreement:

• Allowed Germany to increase their navy to 35% of England’s navy
 Anschluss

• Germany’s annexation of Austria (March 1938)

• Austria’s Nazi Party succeeded in a coup d’etat

Sudetenland
• Hitler pressed Britain and France on
Germany’s right to the Sudetenland in
Czechoslovakia

• In an act of appeasement, both Britain and

France allow Hitler to take over Sudetenland
• Munich Agreement – Neville Chamberlain
(Britain) and Édouard Daladier (France) signed
pact with Hitler and his promise to never seek
territory again.
Non-Aggression Pact

• Agreement by the Soviet Union and Germany not to go to

war with each other
• Hitler began making demands on Danzig
• Britain and France both warned Hitler not to touch Poland

• Germany and Italy will sign a “Pact of Steel” – military

alliance protecting each other (May 1939)

Poland Issues
Operation Himmler:
• “Staged” actions to create the appearance of a Polish attack on Germany
• The “Polish” soldiers were German prisoners disguised to give the
appearance of an attack
• Germany will invade Poland the following day citing 21 border
incidents of Polish invasion of Germany

• After a few days, the international press and public will begin
to realize the “size of Germany’s defensive operation meant it
had to take months to plan”

• France and Great Britain will declare war on Germany

Invasion of Poland
Causes of World War II
1.Treaty of Versailles
2.The Great Depression
3.Failure of League of Nations
4.Totalitarianism
5.Adolf Hitler
6.Japanese Imperialism
 A New Prime Minister

• Winston Churchill named to replace Chamberlain

On the same
day, Germany
will invade
France
“If we did not collapse already in the year 1939 that was due only to
the fact that during the Polish campaign, the approximately 110 French
and British divisions in the West were held completely inactive against
the 23 German divisions."

Alfred Jodl, Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command

- at the Nuremburg Trials

The Battle of the
Atlantic
• The longest continuous
battle of World War II (1939-
1945)

• ASDIC (active sonar) –

helped locate submarines
using sound searchlight
Fall of Paris
• France divided into 2 parts:
North and South

• The North and West France

will be occupied by the
Germans

• South France will be called

Vichy France
“The Battle of France
is over. I expect the
Battle of Britain is
about to begin …”
Battle of
- Winston Churchill,
June 18, 1940
Britain
Battle of Britain (July 10, 1940 – October 31, 1940)

• Effort by the Luftwaffe to gain strategic air superiority over

the Royal Air Force

• Goal: Neutralize the RAF

• To allow a successful amphibious assault of Britain

• Forgetting one thing:

• Britain has the best navy in the world
• Weakened, but still strong
 Hawker Hurricane

British Aircraft
• Hawker Hurricane and
Spitfire

• Built with the Rolls-Royce

engine
• Very fast and powerful
(1500 HP)
Spitfire
• Weakness: lack of direct fuel
injection meant the aircraft
was unable to ‘nose down’
into a deep dive
German Aircraft

• Messerschmitt BF 109
• 33,984 units produced
• Backbone of Luftwaffe
• Bomber escort, fighter bomber,
reconaissance

• Focke-Wulf FW 190
• 20,000 units produced
• Replaced the Messerschmitt
Bombers
• Great Britain:
• Bristol Blenheim
• Armstrong Whitworth
Whitley

• Germany:
• Heinkel He 111
• Junkers Ju 88
• Radar:
• The British were able to locate the German aircrafts before
reaching the island
• 80% interception rate

• 4 Phases:
• Channel Battles
• “Eagle Attack”
• Airfield defense
• Attacks switch to towns and cities

Battle of Britain
• Attacks by the Germans concentrating on aircraft
production

• Group of Henkel He 111s dropped bombs on London

• Could not find target and unaware they dropped on London

• Britain will retaliate by bombing Berlin

Airfield defenses
Cities and Towns
• Increased losses and Britain’s
refusal to panic forced Hitler to
cancel invasion

• The first defeat of Hitler’s army

• Edward Murrow – live radio

broadcasts of the Battle of Britain
to the United States
• U.S. opinion will be changed and
support for Britain grows
• Official military alliance between Germany, Italy, and
Japan
• Axis Powers is created

Tripartite Pact (Sept.

1940)
• The political, economic, and social system the
Nazis hoped to establish in Europe

• Phases of establishment:
1. Sign German-Soviet pact to lull the Soviet Union
into a false sense of security
2. Blitzkrieg German invasions (France, Belgium,
Netherlands, Norway, Denmark)
3. Neutralize or conquer the United Kingdom

New Order (1940)

There were plans for an apocalyptic air war in the United States in 1980
Soviet
Invasion
 Operation Barbarossa

• Largest military
operation in human
history
• June 1941
• 4.5 million troops
• 1800 miles of territory

• Operation failed
 Battle of Stalingrad
• Bloodiest battle in Modern
History
• Some of the ferocious fighting of
the war
• The battle lasted from July
17,1942 and ended when Germans
surrendered on Jan.31,1943.
• 91,000 Germans surrendered and
there was over 800,000 killed and
wounded
• Turning point of the war
Enters the
War in 1941

PREPARATIONS FOR A
POSSIBLE WAR
 “Quarantine” Speech -
1937
• Quarantine = state of enforced
isolation; restricting the movement
of person(s)

• FDR called for an “international

quarantine of aggressor nations”
• An alternative to the climate of American
neutrality and non-intervention
• Suggested the use of Economic Pressure, a
forceful response, but less direct than
aggression
• Did not name Germany, Japan, or Italy,
but implied them

“There is solidarity and interdependence about the modern world, both technically and morally, which makes it impossible for any
nation completely to isolate itself from economic and political upheavals in the rest of the world …” – FDR, Quarantine Speech
“Four Freedoms”
Speech
• State of the Union address on
January 6, 1941

Called for the defense of the FOUR

FREEDOMS:
1. Freedom of Speech and Expression
2. Freedom of Worship
3. Freedom from Want
4. Freedom from Fear

“That kind of world is the antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with
the crash of a bomb … The world which we seek is cooperation of free countries” – FDR, State of Union 1941
“That kind of world is the antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators
seek to create with the crash of a bomb … The world which we seek is cooperation of free
countries” – FDR, State of Union 1941
Lend-Lease Act
“If Britain goes down, all of us will be living at
the point of a gun.” --- Franklin Roosevelt (1940)

• Under this act, the president can send aid to any nation whose
defense was considered vital to America’s national security.
• If nation has no money, U.S. will defer to a later date.

• FDR got this act approved to help get around the Johnson
Debt Default Act to help Great Britain
 Atlantic Charter (Aug.
1941)
• Drafted by Winston Churchill
and Franklin Roosevelt

• Blueprint to use after WWII

• Agreed to “seek no territorial
gain from the war”

• 1st step toward forming the

United Nations
 Relationship with Japan
• Imperialism
• Japan took over southern
Indochina
• Demanded a steady supply of oil
• Reaction: Assets frozen by
western governments and complete
oil embargo

• Japan forced to choose between

withdrawing from Asia or
seizing the oil needed
“December 7, 1941 … A day of
infamy”
“December 7, 1941 … A day of
infamy”

• Japanese air force attack Pearl

Harbor
• 2,400 soldiers/civilians killed
• Infuriates American citizens –
Roosevelt will have no problems
declaring war on Japan
• Germany and Italy will declare war
on the United States after Pearl
Harbor
Pearl Harbor – Dec. 7, 1941
• Japanese bombs at Pearl Harbor destroyed most of the
isolationist feeling in America
Mobilizing for World War II
• The sharp increase in military spending was largely
responsible for ending the Great Depression.

• George C. Marshall was the leader of the

mobilization movement in America in 1940.
Mobilizing for World War II
• War Productions Board distributed
raw materials to industries and stopped
production of non-essential goods.

• Franklin Roosevelt reestablished the

National War Labor Board to help
settle disputes during the war.
• In the event of strikes, the Smith-
Connally Act gave him power to take
over vital industries

• Reduced labor disputes during early war

years.
American Factories Prepare for War

• Willow Run
• Demonstrated the enormous
power of American Industry
and effort of business and
government to harness it

• Constructed by Ford Motor

Co. for B-24 bombers.

Willow Run factory

Mobilizing for World War II

• Henry Kaiser built the Liberty Ship at his assembly

plant in 4½ days
Tennessee Factories Prepare for War
• ALCOA
• Producer of Aluminum located
outside of Knoxville, TN
• The largest producer of
aluminum during WWII

• TVA
• Increased production of
electricity to meet the
demands of new industries
• Needed for Oak Ridge
 OAK RIDGE NATIONAL
LABORATORY
• Secret facility established as part of
the Manhattan Project

• The Manhattan Project was the

most significant scientific program
of WWII.
• We were attempting to build an
atomic bomb before the Axis Powers
do

• J. Robert Oppenheimer
• Leader of the Manhattan Project
• Aviation
• More durable, longer range
• Advances in metallurgy
• Bombs and torpedoes more accurate
• Weaponry
• Improvements in weapons manufacturing allow for mass production of deadly
automatic rifles
• Larger, more durable tanks
• Aircraft carriers and Dreadnoughts
• Missile technology and the Atomic bomb
• Communication
• Radio and radar
• Medicine
• New surgical techniques
• Penicillin
• Blood Transfusion

Advancements in
• Immunization from Tetanus, drug prevention of Malaria

Technology
Rosie the Riveter
• 6.5 million women took
industrial jobs during the war
• They became known as
“Rosie the Riveter”
Women in Armed Services

• WAVES
• Women Accepted for
Volunteer Emergency Service
• Clerical work, medical,
communications, intelligence,
storekeeper
Women in Armed Services
• WASP
• Women Air Force Service Pilots
• Female pilots for the use of non-
combat missions
• They tested and delivered aircraft
 Cornelia Fort
• Member of prominent family in Nashville,
Tennessee

• Became the 1st female flight instructor in

Nashville
• Was hired to teach soldiers and sailors to fly in
Hawaii
• Was giving flying lessons on the morning of
December 7 in Pearl Harbor

• Joined the Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Service

• Flew planes from factories to military bases
• Died in mid-air collision during ferrying
mission in 1943
Women in Armed Services

• WAC
• Women’s Army Corps
• First women to serve with
army (other than nurses)
• Served in every capacity
except combat
 Mobilizing for World War II
• Prior to the attack on Pearl
Harbor, Roosevelt already
activated the draft in 1940

• However, many young men will

volunteer for service instead of
waiting to be drafted.
• 16 million Americans will enter
the armed forces in WWII
• California became home to the
most military bases in the United
States.
War Costs by 1945
War’s Impact on the Home Front
• Movement to Industrial Cities
• Billions of dollars were donated to Southern and
Southwestern cities to boost industries
• Trend still continues today
• Native Americans left reservations to work in
defense industries – Most never returned
• Bond Drives
• War cost $330 Billion
• 5% tax levied on working Americans
• Americans bought war bonds to save income and
invest
• Rationing
• Households issued ration books and stamps
• Told them how much of a certain item, such as sugar and
butter, they were allowed to buy
• Ensured that raw materials were used for war production
War’s Impact on the Home Front
• Bracero Program

• To alleviate the loss of workers

in rural areas, Mexican
workers were given the
opportunity to work
temporarily on the farm fields
in the United States

• In the long run, the program

initiated decades of migratory
labor into the West United
States
African-Americans during WWII
• Many African Americans hoped the
war would provide jobs to help them
out of bad economic situations
• Few found meaningful employment

• Philip Randolph will call for a protest

march against unfair treatment of
African-Americans in jobs.
• “Double V” movement – Victory
against Fascism and Victory against
Discrimination

• Fair Employment Practices Act

(Executive Order 8802)
• He will call off the march when FDR
outlaws discrimination in government
or defense jobs
 Wartime fears also led to discrimination against
Americans from Germany, Italy, and Japan.

In time, suspicion focused on Japanese Americans.

They were targeted for a combination of reasons.

1. Racism
2. Lack of political clout
3. Their fewer numbers and relative isolation
By executive order, more
than 100,000 Japanese
Americans were forced to
sell their homes and
belongings.

They were then sent to

isolated internment
camps.
They remained in the
camps for the rest of the
war.

Some Japanese
Americans went to court
to fight for their civil
liberties.

Their efforts failed.

 Korematsu v. United States (1944)

The Facts The Issue The Decision

• In 1942, FDR ordered that

select people could be
banned from war zones. Korematsu argued that The court held
he was denied equal that the military
protection under the order was
• The army relocated law because he was a justified for
Japanese Americans on Japanese American. security reasons.
the West Coast to
internment camps.

• Fred Korematsu was

arrested for resisting the
army’s orders.
 Camp Forrest
• Built in Tullahoma, Tennessee
• One of the largest Army training
facilities of WWII

• Served as the 1st civilian

internment camp in the nation
in 1942
• By 1943, POWs replaced civilians.

• By the end of the war, the camp

held about 24,000 POWs
 Fort Campbell
• Officially listed as being in
Kentucky, but 2/3rd of the base is
in Tennessee

• Created in 1941 as the United

States prepared for war
• Created as an AIRBORNE training
school
• By the end of war, 250,000 troops
trained here

• Home to the 101st Airborne

Division
• Lend-Lease Act
• Pearl Harbor
• Rosie the Riveter
• WASPs, WAVEs, WACs
• Cornelia Fort
• Fred Korematsu v. USA
• Fort Campbell
• Oak Ridge
• Manhattan Project
• Alcoa
• Camp Forrest
• Bracero Program
• Rationing
• Bond Drives
• Internment Camps
• A. Phillip Randolph
• Despite Roosevelt’s speeches
and promises, Segregation in
the Armed Forces continued

• Segregation remained official

policy in the military until 1948
– after the war was over

• This will lay the groundwork

for the Civil Rights Movement
African-Americans in
soon

WWII
 • African-American fighter pilot group
during WWII – “Red Tails”
• Escorted bombers during the Italian
campaigns
• Never lost a single bomber during their
missions
• Later disputed and found that 25 bombers
were lost – still pretty good

• Not a single African-American won the

prestigious Medal of Honor during the
war

Tuskegee Airmen
442 Regimental Combat
nd

Team
• Japanese Americans faced
discrimination in the Armed Services

• Government lifted ban in 1943

• All-Nisei unit fought in the Italian
campaign
• Nisei – Native born Japanese Americans
• Became the most decorated unit in
American history

• Countered the notion that Japanese

Americans were not loyal citizens
• Led the way on D-Day with night drops to
disable German guns and secure bridges

101 Airborne
st

Division
Navajo Code Talkers
• The Navajo language is an
unwritten language

• Makes it practically impossible to

break a code that only 29 non-
Navajo people in the world even
speaks

• Practical: takes 20 seconds to

transmit a message as opposed to
30 minutes using a machine
• Instrumental in defeating Japan
Audie Murphy

• The most famous and decorated

soldier of WWII

• Awarded 20 different medals

including the Medal of Honor
and the French Legion of Honor
US.60 - Explain United States and Allied
wartime strategy and major events of the
war, including the Bataan Death March,
Midway, “Island Hopping,” Iwo Jima,
Okinawa, invasion of North Africa and
Italy, D-Day, and the Battle of the Bulge
America in
Europe
Transport Goods
and Troops

In order to gain an advantage in the war, United

States and the Allies depended on control of the seas
Italian Campaign
• America wanted to liberate France as quick as
possible

• England advocated taking over the Mediterranean

first

• Latin American countries wanted us to invade

Spain

Italian Campaign
• England and America eventually agreed to
commit to an invasion of France in …
• Early 1944!!

• Roosevelt wanted to keep his troops active in

the European campaign so the idea of
invading Italy was appealing

Italian Campaign
1. Knocks them out of the war!

2. Allows the British navy to control the

Mediterranean

3. Forces Italy to remove their troops from

the Soviet Union to defend their home
Benefits of invading
Italy
Allied Advances
• Nov. 1942 Operation Torch
• Soviet Union pressed for another front
• Under command of Dwight Eisenhower
• Attacking the Vichy French government

• Goal:
• Clear Northern Africa of Axis powers
• Control of Mediterranean
• Prepare invasion of Italy
 Western Task Force
• Major General George Patton
• 2nd Armored Division
• Aimed at Casablanca

• Result:
• No preliminary bombardment
• Attempted coup against French general night before
• Surrounded Casablanca and city surrendered
 Central Task Force
• 509th Parachute Infantry Batallion
• 1st Infantry Division “Big Red One”
• Major General Lloyd Fredendall

• Result:
• Heavy bombardment from British ships helped victory
• First major airborne assault by United States
• Both airports were captured by 509th
 Eastern Task Force
• Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson
• There were 2 British brigades
• Aimed at Algiers

• Result:
• French Resistance staged a coup
• Seized the telephone exchange, radio station, and army headquarters
• Surrounded French general’s home
• No French opposition
Tank battles dominated the fighting, pitting two
brilliant tank strategists against each other.
American German General
General George Erwin Rommel,
S. Patton, Jr. the “Desert Fox”

Patton eventually defeated Rommel’s Afrika Korps,

forcing a German surrender.
Invasion of Italy and the Italian Civil War
• American and British troops
succeeded in capturing the island of
Sicily after weeks of fighting

• Germany retreated to mainland Italy

Invasion of Italy – July

1943
Bombing of Rome – July
19, 1943
• Air Raid on Rome destroyed both military
and civil installations in the city

• Combined with the Sicily takeover and

bombing of Rome, support for Mussolini
fades
• July 25, 1943
• Fascist Party voted to limit the power of
Mussolini and give power back to King
Emmanuel III

• Next day, Mussolini was imprisoned

• Italy begins secret negotiations to join the
Decline of
Allies – Armistice signed in September

Mussolini
• Germany quickly started to attack the
Italian soldiers

• Italian soldiers were then given the

choice to keep fighting with the
Germans
• Less than 10% decided to stay with
Decline
the Germans of

Mussolini
• 2 months after being stripped of power, the
Nazis rescued Mussolini

• Mussolini will then create a Fascist State

in Northern Italy

Rescue of Benito
Mussolini
Death of Mussolini

• With the advancing

Allied Army moving
North, Mussolini tried to
escape to Switzerland

• He was promptly
executed and had his
body put on display
A War of Two Fronts
Hitler attacks Denmark and
Norway for better access to the
North Sea
Thanks to the Russia winter,
June 6, 1944 – D-Day the Soviets will push the
Germans back westward

Hitler makes the mistake of attacking

Soviet Union while he’s engaged in war
with England
The Soviets will lose 27 million
people

After Allied success in Africa, they will push

northward into Italy – “Operation Torch”
World War II in the
Pacific
 Japanese Onslaught

• Japan will take over vast

amounts of territory on the
Pacific coast of Asia

• Key position in Pacific will be

fought around the Philippines
(U.S. controlled)
 The Philippines
• General Douglas MacArthur
will command the Pacific
campaign

• Because of advancing
Japanese invasion, MacArthur
was ordered to leave the
Philippines and his men
behind – “I shall return”
General Douglas MacArthur
 Bataan Death March
• 70,000 American and Filipino
prisoners of war were forced to
march 63 miles in tropic heat

• The surrender at Bataan was the

largest in American history

• The loss of the Philippines was

the low point in the Pacific war
 Battle of Midway

• The Battle of Midway will be the

turning point in the Pacific
Campaign

• Japan’s momentum was finally

halted.
• Americans took the offensive,
moving on to defeat the Japanese at
Guadalcanal.

• Now the Allies began advancing—

toward Japan.
 “Island-Hopping”

American advisers created a 2-

pronged attack.

1. The Pacific Fleet will advance

by “hopping” from one island to
the next, closer and closer to
Japan

2. Douglas MacArthur will an

invasion to retake the
Philippines.
 Kamikaze

• Japan will unveil their “Kamikaze”

fighters

• Pilots would deliberately crash their

planes (loaded with bombs) killing
themselves and causing great damage
Achieving Victory in
Europe and Japan
• Allied Supreme
Commander of the
European Campaign

Dwight Eisenhower
 Operation Overlord

June 6, 1944 – “D-Day”

• The largest single day

invasion of all time
 Operation Overlord
• It required careful planning
and involved an elaborate
hoax to fool the enemy about
where troops would land.

• On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the

Allies landed at Normandy.
• Had been delayed a day
earlier because of FOG
• Next available date would’ve
been June 19-22
 Operation
• 1,200-plane airborne
operations seized German
Overlord
guns and bridges/roads
• Despite the fact that many
paratroopers were dropped
at the wrong locations

• 5000 ships used in

amphibious landings on
beach.
• Very dangerous, survival
rate low.
• 160,000 troops crossed the
English Channel
Operation Overlord –
“D-Day” • Amid intense fighting,
the Allies captured the
beaches.

• Over 3 million troops

will land in a month

• 209,672 Allied
casualties (125,847
Americans)
Battle of the Bulge – Dec.
1944
• Germany makes one last
surprise offensive in the
Ardennes Forest to stop the
Allied Advance

• Germany planned to split the

American and British line in
half
• The bloodiest battle for the
United States in World War II –
19,000 died

• German offensive fails – Hitler

retreats back to Germany
• FDR won an unprecedented 4th term
in 1944.
• Died on April 12, 1945 due to cerebral
hemorrhage
• Harry S. Truman becomes the
President of the United States

Death of Franklin D.
Roosevelt
 “The Battle of Berlin”
• American and Soviet forces will meet on
April 25th at the River Elbe

• One of the bloodiest battles in history –

81,000 dead (Soviets); 458,000 dead
(Germans)

• Hitler and his followers will commit suicide

before the Soviets enter Berlin
• Berlin surrenders

“VE Day” – Victory in

Europe
“VJ Day” – Victory in Japan
 The Battle
of Iwo Jima
• Americans needed an island closer
to Japan so the bombers could refuel
• Iwo Jima is perfect location with 3
airfields
• Problem: Japanese built a vast
network of concrete tunnels and
hidden artillery positions on island.
• 6,800 Americans will die capturing
the island.
• Only battle in which the American
casualties exceeded Japan’s
• Last Feb.19-26 March,’45
Invasion of Okinawa
• Americans needed a base to
stockpile supplies and build up
troops

• 12,000 American soldiers die

during fighting because of the
choice to fight uphill

• Okinawa captured on June 22,

1945. Battle started in April.
 Firebombing of Tokyo
• Firebombs were bombs filled with
napalm – jellied gasoline, starts
wide fires with explosion occurs

• Controversial: it would also kill

citizens – thousands and thousands
will die of suffocation
• 100,000 dead; 250,000 buildings
destroyed
Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
• Japan wanted to surrender, but
were unwilling to accept
“unconditional surrender”
 Hiroshima and
Nagasaki

• That meant the emperor must be

removed from power – Japan was
unwilling to agree to terms

• President Truman regarded the

atomic bomb as a military weapon
and had no doubts it should be used
• Advisers warned him of massive
casualties

• Japan was warned of “prompt and

utter destruction” if it did not
surrender – no reply
 Hiroshima and
Nagasaki
• August 6, 1945 – the Enola Gay
dropped the atomic bomb on
Hiroshima
• 63% of city destroyed
• 120,000 people died instantly
• Soviet Union will declare war on
Japan

• August 9, 1945 – second atomic

bomb was dropped on Nagasaki
• 74,000 people died

• August 15, 1945 – V.J. Day – Japan

surrendered – Emperor Hirohito
surrendered over the radio
 Treatment
of Jewish
Citizens
• Nuremberg Laws – took citizenship
away from Jewish population and made
them 2nd class citizens

• Jews will try to flee the country, but

most will not be granted immigration
status by other countries (including
USA)

• Final Solution – action to round up the

Jews and send them to concentration
camps to work as slave laborers

• Others will be sent to extermination

camps (elderly, the sick, and children)
Holocaust
• Some concentration camps
were death camps.
• There, prisoners were
killed in gas chambers or
shot, and their bodies
burned.
• Buchenwald, Treblinka,
and Auschwitz are the
major concentration camps
• Over 6 million Jews will
die in these camps
Holocaust
 For years, the
Allies had Yet little was
received reports of
Jews being killed done to stop it.
in Nazi camps.

• A 1943 conference to discuss possible rescue plans ended

with no concrete action being taken.
• The U.S. and other countries blocked Jews fleeing
Germany from immigrating.
 Some suggested they
Though they bomb the rail lines leading
expressed concern, to the camps.
American leaders
remained focused on But the military hesitated
to divert resources needed
their war plans.
in battle.

In 1944, Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board in an

attempt to help Jews in Eastern Europe.
Sadly, too few were saved.
 When Allied soldiers liberated the camps at war’s
end, they were stunned by the horror before them.

Americans reacted with

an outpouring of
sympathy and a desire to
help.

Many survivors
eventually found homes
in the U.S.
• Nuremberg Trials – 22
Nazi leaders are charged in
their treatment of Jews
• 12 sentenced to death
• 7 given prison sentences
• 3 not guilty

Nuremberg Trials
The enormity of the Nazi crime led to renewed calls
for an independent Jewish state.

• The state of Israel was founded in 1948.

• Truman immediately recognized the new

nation, and the U.S. became a staunch ally.
 United Nations

• In 1944, President Roosevelt believed an

international political organization could
prevent another world war.
• 39 countries will meet in Washington D.C.
to discuss creating the United Nations (UN)
• General Assembly – every member nation
has 1 vote
• Security Council – 11 members
• 5 permanent members (Great Britain, France,
China, Soviet Union, and United States)
• Each permanent member have ‘veto’ power
 United Nations
• April 25, 1945 – United Nations charter
established
• The General Assembly votes on resolutions
• The Security Council is responsible for
international peace and security
• Could take action to preserve peace

• Universal Declaration of Human

Rights

• List of 30 rights that are said to be

universally applicable to all human
beings in all societies
• “Father of the United Nations”

• From Tennessee
• Longest serving Secretary of
State in history serving 11 years

Cordell Hull
 The Yalta Conference
• February 1945 – Roosevelt,
Churchill, and Stalin meet
at Yalta (Soviet resort)
• Created a plan for postwar
world
• Meeting went well, but
several agreements will
play important role in
causing the Cold War
The Yalta Conference
1. Poland
• When Germans invaded Poland, the government fled to Britain
• When Soviets liberated Poland, they encouraged Polish Communists to set
up government
• Roosevelt and Churchill argued that Poland should be free to choose
government. “What we went to war for”
• Stalin responds by saying Russia needs friendly government on its
western borders

• Compromise:
• Agreed to Polish government set up by Soviets
• New government must include members of prewar government
• ‘Free’ elections held as soon as possible
 The Yalta Conference
2. Declaration of Liberated Europe
• Gave right to all people to “choose the form of government
under which they will live”
• Promised to create temporary governments that represented
“all democratic elements” – free elections, etc.

3. Dividing Germany – East and West Germany

• Divide Germany into 4 zones
• United States, France, Great Britain, and Soviet Union
would each control a zone
• Berlin would also be divided into 4 zones – (despite being in
the Soviet zone)
• Germany pay heavy reparations (according to ability to pay
and with trade goods)
Division of
Germany
• Two weeks after the Yalta Conference
• the Soviets pressured Romania into a communist government
(Declaration of Liberated Europe violated)
• Soviets refused to allow non-Communist Poles to serve in government

• On April 1, 1945 – Roosevelt informs Soviets their actions are

unacceptable
• FDR hoped that Yalta and United Nations would create peaceful world
• Instead … United States and Soviet Union became increasingly
hostile toward each other
• Cold War – era of confrontation and competition between United States
and Soviet Union from 1945 to 1990

Cold War Begins

 Potsdam Conference
• Roosevelt dies 11 days after
warning the Soviets on Poland
• Harry Truman becomes president

• Truman immediately issues an

unexpectedly strong message to
Stalin to hold free elections in
Poland

• They will meet together in July

1945 @ Potsdam, Germany
 Potsdam Conference
• Truman believed that industry was
critical to Germany’s survival
• He was afraid the German people
might turn to communism out of
desperation

• The Soviets already began

stripping their zone in German of
machinery and industrial
equipment back to Soviet Union
• Stalin wanted more reparations from
Germany
 Potsdam Conference
• Truman took a firm stand against heavy
reparations
• Suggested Soviets only take reparations from
their zone only
• Allies would allow the industry to recover
• Stalin opposes because the Soviet zone is
mostly agricultural

• Truman offered industrial equipment

from other zones for food shipments from
Soviet zones
• Stalin hates this
• Truman hints to Stalin that United States
developed a new, powerful weapon
• Stalin does not believe him (bully tactic) –
but accepted terms anyway.