Students will identify and explain the causes of

WWII.

Students will explain how/why the United

States entered into WWII.

1) WWII was a direct effect of WWI

WHY?

Unjust treatment of the losers—Germany

Germany is in ruins—looking for a leader

2) Rise of Powerful dictators--totalitarianism

Adolf Hitler—Nazi Party /Germany

Benito Mussolini—Fascism/Italy

Josef Stalin—Communism/Soviet Union

Emperor Hirohito--Japan

Hitler wants to reclaim Germany for Germans

March, 1938: Takes over Austria with very little resistance

September, 1938: Munich Agreement, takes over

Czechoslovakia.

1939: Signs nonaggression pact with Stalin

Agree to divide Poland between the two countries

Germany attacks Poland

Blitzkrieg

France and Great Britain declare war on Germany—WWII

has begun

June 1941 Hitler broke the nonaggression pact with the

Soviet Union. Soviet Union joins Great Britain and France.

ALLIES AXIS

Great Britain

France

Soviet Union

Germany

Italy

Japan

Isolationism

Europe’s war

March, 1941: Lend-

Lease Act

America’s plan to

supply weapons to

the Allied powers.

However….

Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl

Harbor.

America declares war on Japan; which will

cause Germany to declare war on the United

States.

America is now involved in WWII.

BIG QUESTION: Why did Japan Attack Pearl

Harbor and Was It Avoidable?

1. Students will explain and analyze the role

that America’s home front played during WWII.

2. Students will identify key people and key

battles of WWII.

How important was the home front in the U.S.

victory in WWII?

Selective Service SystemExpanded the draft—10 million people

EconomyStopping Inflation

Office of Price Administration

Increased Taxes, wage and price controls, and encouraged the purchase of war bonds

War Production Board (WPB)

Converting peacetime industries to wartime industries

Increased job opportunity for women and minorities

Office of Scientific ResearchImproved military technology and the drug penicillin

Led the Third Army

into Paris to liberate

the city from the

Germans

Forced to abandon his troops in the Philippines, but made the vow, “I Shall Return”.

Led Allied troops in Iwo Jima and Leyte Gulf

He was also in charge of the American occupation of Japan.

Supreme Allied

Commander of U.S.

Forces in Europe

FDR

President for most of

the war

Died on April 12,

1945

Truman

FDR’s Vice President

Was president when

the war ended in

Europe and made the

decision to use the

atomic bomb

Battle of the AtlanticU.S. had to gain control of the Atlantic ocean before troops/supplies could be sent to Europe

Won the battle with the help of sonar and radar

StalingradRussians began to push Germany back

Operation TorchAllied invasion of Nazi controlled Africa

Operation Overlord (D-Day)Allied invasion of Nazi controlled Normandy, France

Battle of the BulgeGermany’s final offensive

Britain and America pushing towards Germany

from the East, Soviets advancing from the

West.

July 1944: Soviets first to liberate a camp;

Majdenek in Poland

Battle of Midway

Americans won by intercepting and decoding

Japanese plans

Iwo Jima and Okinawa

Showed the Allies that invading the main island of

Japan would be a harder task than previously

thought.

Are there “moral” rules in war or is winning the

primary objective?

Students will analyze and evaluate the reasons

for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan.

Students will analyze and evaluate the

arguments for not using the atomic bomb on

Japan.

• The development of the atomic bomb

• Led by General Leslie Groves with research directed by Robert J. Oppenhiemer

• Best kept secret of the war

• Creation involved over 600,000 Americans although few people knew its real purpose

• Harry S Truman did not learn of its existence until he became President .

• The first test took

place on July 16,

1945 in Aamogordao,

New Mexico.

• The bomb was a

success

“The final decision of where and when to use the atomic bomb was up to me. Let

there be no mistake about it . I regarded the bomb as a military weapon and

never had any doubt that it should be used.” – Harry S Truman

• July 25, 1945 –

President Truman

ordered the military to

begin making plans to

drop two bombs on

Japan

• The US warned Japan

it faced “prompt and

utter destruction”

August 6, 1945 – a B-29 bomber named Enola

Gay released an atomic bomb, code named

Little Boy.

• Japanese officials were warned of a

second equally devastating bomb and

given three days

• Three days later a second bomb, code

named Fat Man, was dropped on

Nagasaki

• The Japanese government surrendered.

The war was finally over.

HIROSHIMA NAGASAKI

• Over 70,000 people

died on impact

• 69,000 injured

• Approximately 67% of

the city was destroyed

• Over 39,000 people

died on impact

• 25,000 injured

• Approximately 40% of

the city was destroyed

By the end of the year an estimated 200,000 people had

dies as result of their injuries and radiation poisoning.

USE THE BOMB NOT TO USE THE BOMB

Save both American

and Japanese lives

Japanese were not

close to unconditional

surrender

Millions of men still in

uniform

Japan close to

surrendering

The bomb was immoral

Japan already

destroyed

G.I. Bill of Rights

Tried to help WWII Veterans

Educational opportunities and low interest loans

provided by the federal government

Increase in race tensions

African Americans

Mexican Americans

Zoot Suit Riots

p. 586 – 587

1. Students will review events surrounding the Holocaust

2. Students will define the Nuremberg Trials

3. Students will explain the outcome of the Nuremberg Trials

4. Students will gain a better understanding of the Holocaust and how men were able to commit the atrocities that occurred.

Are immoral acts justified by the reasoning of

“just following orders”?

• Court proceedings after World War II, in which

Nazi leaders were charged for war crimes

• After discovering the death

camps, 24 surviving Nazi

leaders were placed on trial

•Crimes Against the Peace – planning and

waging an aggressive war

•War Crimes – acts against the customs of

warfare, such as the killing of hostages and

prisoners, the plundering of private property, and

the destruction of towns and cities

•Crimes Against Humanity – murder,

extermination, deportation, or enslavement

of civilians

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/courtdiagram.HTM

• 12 defendants were sentenced to death

• 3 were sentenced to life in prison

• 6 were sentenced to prison time ranging

from 10 – 20 years

• 3 were acquitted

• Led to later convictions of over 200 Nazi

officials

• People were amazed how many Nazi officials claimed, “I was only following orders.”

• People vowed something like the Holocaust would happen “never again.“

• Established the principle of individual responsibility in international law

• Led to several studies including the Stanley Milgramobedience experiment

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Video/playerIndex?id=2769000

• What were the Nuremberg Trials?

• What was the outcome of the Nuremberg Trials?

• What precedent did the trials set for future wars and atrocities?

• In your opinion, should individuals be held accountable for their actions during war time? Why or why not?

• Could something similar to the Holocaust happen today? Why or why not?

YES!!!!!

April-June 1994: 800,000 Rwandans are killed

Violence perpetrated by the Hutus against the Tutsis

2003: 400,000 tribal black Africans have been

killed

Janjaweed

5,000 people die each month

1999: 130,000 ethnic Albanians are killed

Ethnic cleansing by Serbs

Over 1 million people left without homes