agenda · russia –undergoing the “great purge” under stalin ... china (fighting a war against...
TRANSCRIPT
Agenda -
World War II – an overview
Quiz tomorrow
WORLD WAR II
Warm-up
What factors contributed to the rise of fascism and totalitarianism across Europe after World War I?
Warm-up
What factors contributed to the rise of fascism and totalitarianism across Europe after World War I?
Economic devastation
Loss of national pride
Humiliation and shame after WWI
look to a strong leader who will make their country great
CAUSES OF WWII (1930S)
Appeasement by Europe and the United States Appeasement: to give
in or allow something to happen in order to “keep the peace”
Aggression by Germany
APPEASEMENT
Appeasement – Britain and France wanted to avoid war so they continually give in to Hitler’s demands
Britain – realized the Treaty of Versailles was too harsh towards Germany and was sympathetic
France – went along with Britain (why?)
U.S. – dealing with the Great Depression and trying to return to its isolationist stance
Russia – undergoing the “Great Purge” under Stalin
How does Hitler interpret this?
APPEASEMENT
Consequence: Hitler becomes confident that the Allies were weak and would not fight – no matter what he does
AGGRESSION
Why? Germany needs lebensraum (“living
space”) to build its civilization of the “Master Race”
Unite all German speaking people into one country
AGGRESSION
1936 – reoccupies the demilitarized Rhineland
Border between France and Germany
1938 – annexes Austria
1938 – Munich Pact gives Germany control of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
*High point of Western appeasement: Pact signed by Britain and France
Quick Discussion
Chamberlain (British PM) said regarding the Munich Pact
“The agreement establishes peace for our time”
What do you think that means? Do you agree or disagree?
AGGRESSION
August 23, 1939 – signs a secret nonaggression pact with USSR (and agree to divide Poland between the two countries)
August 25, 1939 – Britain secretly signs a treaty with Poland promising aid if they are attacked
AGGRESSION
“At 8 p.m. on August 31, Nazi S.S. troops wearing Polish uniforms staged a phony invasion of Germany, damaging several minor installations on the German side of the border. They also left behind a handful of dead concentration camp prisoners in Polish uniforms to serve as further evidence of the supposed Polish invasion, which Nazi propagandists publicized as an unforgivable act of aggression.” – History.com
AGGRESSION
September 1, 1939 – Germany invades Poland – acting in “self-defense”
September 2, 1939 – Britain and France issue an ultimatum: Germany must withdraw from Poland by September 3, or face war
September 3, 1939 – Britain (Australia, New Zealand, India) and France declare war on Germany
WORLD WAR II HAS BEGUN
WORLD WAR II
The deadliest conflict in human history
KEY PLAYERS
Allied Powers Axis Powers
Britain Chamberlain –
early/appeasementChurchill – later/aggressive
Germany (Hitler)
France (de Gaulle) Italy (Mussolini)
U.S. (FDR) Japan (Tojo)
Soviet Union (Stalin)
China (fighting a war against Japan – their war gets pulled
into WWII)
15+ other countries…
EUROPEAN THEATER
EUROPEAN THEATER“BLITZKRIEG” – LIGHTNING WAR
World War I (overview)
1940
The Axis advances
1941
The War becomes
global (+U.S. and Japan)
1942
Axis advance is
stopped by the Allies
1943
Axis retreats
1944
Allies close in on
Axis territory
1945
The Axis collapses
1939
War begins
1940: AXIS ADVANCES
May-June 1940 – Battle of France
3/5 of France is conquered by the Axis
• September 1940 – May 1941 – The BlitzGerman bombing of the United Kingdom Bombing every night for 57 days straight1 million houses destroyed40,000 civilians killed
1941:WAR BECOMES GLOBAL
• June 1941 – Germany breaks pact with USSR and invades Soviet Union
• Hitler convinced that the only reason Britain was remaining in the war was because they were hoping for Soviet support.
• The Germans need resources – and the Caucasus Mountains have tons of oil and coal
• Why?
OPERATION BARBAROSSA
• Germany’s invasion of Russia • For materials; to end Britain’s involvement in the
war• Russia “slashed and burned” in retreat• Fought against “General Winter,” not Soviet soldiers
• became a war of attrition
• Eastern Front: most causalities• Starved to death 3.3 million POWs
1941:WAR BECOMES GLOBAL
• December 7, 1941 – Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
• US enters WWII
• Japanese simultaneously attacked across the Pacific and creates the Greater East-Asia Co-prosperity Sphere (ruled by Japan)
The Empire of the Rising Sun
Meiji Restoration:
Japan forced open by US ships
Responded by industrializing and westernizing… BUT
Huge focus on loyalty to state
Industrialization foreign
expansion
The Empire of the Rising Sun
Like Germany: extreme nationalism
Reverence to the emperor as a child to a parent
Unlike Germany:
Conceptions of racial purity and uniqueness were directed largely against foreigners rather than internal minority.
Right – Prime Minister Tojo; promoted through military ranks
Right – Prime Minister Tojo; promoted through military ranks
Pearl Harbor
• Japanese imperial aggressions in China
• US bans sales of war materials (oil) to Japan
• General Tojo orders the attack on Pearl Harbor
• Japanese Internment Camps
Japan did not play by traditional rules in war
“Kamikaze” pilots flew planes into battleships
& aircraft carriers
Japanese soldiers refused to surrender & tortured Allied prisoners of war
JAPANESE WAR CRIMES
• Bataan Death March
• Forcible transfer of Filipino and American POWs
• 80 miles, three days, no food, no water
• Physical torture, murder, 10,000+ casualties
• Japanese tried for war crimes eventually
JAPANESE WAR CRIMES
“They were beaten, and they were starved as they marched. Those who fell were bayoneted. Some of those who fell were beheaded by Japanese officers who were practicing with their samurai swords from horseback. The Japanese culture at that time reflected the view that any warrior who surrendered had no honor; thus was not to be treated like a human being. Thus they were not committing crimes against human beings.[...] The Japanese soldiers at that time [...] felt they were dealing with subhumans and animals” -U.S. Congressional Representative Rohrabacher
JAPANESE WAR CRIMES
• Rape of Nanking• When Japan first was conquering mainland Asia (China and
Manchuria) in 1937
• December to February:
• 20,000 an 80,000 women raped
• 200,000 to 300,000 people killed
1942: Axis advance stopped
• PACIFIC THEATER:
• Japan loses series of battles in the Pacific• Battle of Midway (June 1942)
• Chester Nimitz and Douglas MacArthur – “island hopping”
1942: Axis advance stopped• Battle of Stalingrad
• Germans surrounded and cut off in frigid winter conditions
• Hitler refused to surrender – why?
1943: AXIS RETREATS Allies agree to fight until the Axis Powers
surrender unconditionally
May 1943 – Axis troops surrender in North Africa*
July 1943 – Soviet counteroffensive into eastern Europe
September 1943 – Allied invasion of Italy
Mussolini removed from office
1944: ALLIES CLOSE IN
June 6, 1944 – D-Day (Operation Overlord) – Allied invasion of France
9,000 soldiers sacrificed
August 1944 – Allies liberate Paris
Battle of Normandy (D-Day)
Operation Fortitude
1944: ALLIES CLOSE IN
December 1944 – January 1945 – Allied victory at the Battle of the Bulge
Allies weren’t prepared and were caught off-guard by Hitler’s blitzkrieg
Germans had a fuel shortage –Allies were able to hold their defense
100,000+ died
1945: AXIS COLLAPSES March 1945 – Allies
cross the Elbe River into Germany and link up with the Soviets
April 28, 1945 –Mussolini shot by resistance fighters
April 30, 1945 –Hitler commits suicide
May 7, 1945 – Germany surrenders V-E Day – May 8, 1945
POTSDAM CONFERENCE - 1945
Stalin, Churchill, and Truman
Japan needs to surrender unconditionally
If it did not, it would face “prompt and utter destruction.”
Truman mentions ‘a new weapon’ to Stalin
1945 - JAPAN V-E Day May 8th, but Japan continues to fight in the
Pacific – will not surrender
Iwo Jima and Okinawa – Japanese showed they would fight to the death (Kamikaze, etc)
Something needed to be done to end the war
Firebombing of Tokyo
1945 - JAPAN August 6 – Atom bomb on Hiroshima (Little Boy)
70,000 killed instantly; 7000 F, 890 mph wind = 140,000 dead by end of 1945
August 8 – USSR declares war on Japan
August 9 – Nagasaki (Fat Man)
August 10 – Hirohito surrenders
September 2 – signed surrender; V-J day
Atomic Bomb
WWII DEATHS
Country Military Civilian Total
China 3-4 million 7-16 million 10-20 million
France 217,600 350,000 567,600
Germany 5.5 million 1.1-3.1 million 6.6-8.6 million
Italy 301,400 153,200 454,600
Japan 2.1 million 0.5-1 million 2.6-3.1 million
Soviet Union 8.8-10.7 million
12.7-14.6 million
23.4 million
United Kingdom
383,800 67,100 450,900
United States 416,800 1,700 418,500
TOTAL 22.4-25.5million
37-54 million 62-78 million
MAJOR EFFECTS OF THE WAR
Deadliest conflict in human history
Cost of war caused the decline of European power – decolonization in Asia and Africa
United Nations (UN) created to replace the League and prevent a future conflict
1948 - Israel established
U.S. and Soviet Union emerge as the two superpowers – leading to the Cold War
Ms. Neinast’s favorite WWII movies ((THESE ARE ALL SUPER RATED R))
Band of Brothers
The Pacific
-Inglorious Basterds-Fury-Saving Private Ryan-Das Boot-Bridge on the River Kwai-Unbroken -Patton
- Flags of Our Fathers-Tora! Tora! Tora!-Schindler’s List-Life is Beautiful*****-Letters from Iwo Jima-The German Doctor-The Woman in Gold*
WWII PROPAGANDA
Dr. Seuss!
WWII Propaganda
