WWII Review

What’s going on in the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy?

Economic conditions in the Soviet Union, Germany, and Italy are becoming worse.

National pride has been hurt due to WWI and the Treaty of Versailles.

France and Britain wanted to Punish Germany, USSR wasn’t included, and Italy didn’t get as much as they wanted so all three were upset

Rise of Imperial JapanJapan’s democracy had been struggling to be effective

When the great depression hit Japan:The government was blamed

Military leaders gained control of the country

Emperor Hirohito was named the head of state

The military wanted to increase nationalism and thought that they could solve the country’s economic problems by foreign expansion, meaning, they would begin to take over China for their raw materials

Event 1- Czechoslovakia Crisis

Hitler decided to take over the Sudetenland, located in Czechoslovakia, because there was a large German population, and because it was rich in resources

Was this a turning point?Yes, because this made Hitler believe that he could continue to take anything he wanted, without any country stopping him

Sudetenland

Event 3 – Invasion of Poland

Just before the invasion, Hitler and Stalin signed a secret agreement called the Non-Aggression Pact

This pact said that neither country would attack the other one

Great Britain, on the other hand, agreed to support Poland

France also pledged to support Poland if it was attacked by Germany

And on September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland

What did the other countries do? Was this a turning point?After the invasion, Britain and France declared war on Germany.

Yes, this was a turning point because it was the official beginning of WWII

Invasion of Poland

Event 5 – The Battle of Britain

On June 22, 1940, France surrendered to Germany, and Hitler now controlled all of Europe besides Great Britain

Hitler then turned his attention to taking over Great Britain

What would be difficult about taking over the UK?It is an island, so you have to take over by plane

The Germans launched Operation Sea Lion, where they would take the Luftwaffe (Germany’s air force), to attack the island, destroying mostly the cities.

What advantages did Great Britain have?They had radar, so they could see where the German planes were

British had a copy of the Enigma, or a German code-making machine

Battle of Britain

Tube Shelters during Battle of Britain

Battle of Britain

Event 6 – The invasion of the USSR

Operation Barbarossa began in the summer of 1941

On June 22, 1941, he sent his troops into the Soviet Union to attack the major cities

What would be difficult about attacking the USSR?You must travel long distances to get to any major cities

The weather is very harsh for those who are not prepared

Battle of StalingradNobody wanted to surrender, until the Germans couldn’t handle the cold weather and decided to leave on their own

Invasion of the USSR

Event 7 – Operation Overlord

It was originally scheduled for 1941, but was pushed back to 1944

Operation Overlord, also known as D Day, was the Allied invasion of the French Coast at Normandy

Although thousands died in this one battle, the Germans eventually retreated, and it marked the beginning of the end for the Germans

Was this a turning point?Yes, because it signified (showed) that the Germans were getting weaker, and that the Allied forces were beginning to win the war

Operation Overlord (D-Day)

Pearl Harbor, HI

Dec. 7, 1941

Dec. 7, 1941

USS Arizona

USS Arizona

Dec. 7, 1941

US Enters WWII

Hitler commits suicide

Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun commit suicide as the Allies close in on Berlin.

Hitler blames the Jews for starting WWII and his generals for losing WWII.

Russian and American soldiers meet at the Elbe

V-E Day

Victory in Europe Day: The Allies accept the German’s unconditional surrender (May 8, 1945)

US President Roosevelt died a month early and Truman takes his place.

Europe in Ruins

40 million dead (2/3 civilians)—more deaths than any conflict in history.

Hundreds of cities destroyedPeople lived in destroyed homes; caves and cellars beneath rubble

No water, no electricity, little food

Factories destroyed so no jobs to earn $

Cost of World War II: Allies and Axis

War Costs Military Killed/Missing

Civilians Killed

US 288 billion 292,131 ---

GB 117 billion 271,311 60,595

France 111.3 billion 205,707 173,260

USSR 93 billion 13,600,000 7,720,000

Germany 212.3 billion 3,300,000 2,893,000

Japan 41.3 billion 1,140,429 953,000

The Battle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway turned the tide of WWII in the Pacific.

The Japanese were forced to be on the defensive.

General MacArthur: “Hit ‘em where they ain’t, let ‘em die on the vine.” He began his island hopping strategy.

Island Hopping - The US doesn’t need to attack all of the Islands in the Pacific. Instead, they would just take over strategic islands, and then stop the other islands from getting new supplies.

General MacArthur

Iwo Jima

Turning points

Battle of Coral SeaStopped the Japanese momentum, and there were slightly more Japanese losses

Iwo JimaSignaled the US momentum in the PacificSet up for any invasion of Mainland Japan

OkinawaShowed the Japanese resolve, but ultimately ended in an Allied victory

American View of Japanese

American View of Japanese

After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese were seen as the enemy.

Encouraged by government propaganda, even Japanese Americans (that were U.S. citizens and were American born) were viewed as enemies.

Japanese American Internment

Roosevelt issues the Executive Order 9066: Internment of Japanese and property loss of Japanese.

From 1941-1946, over 31,000 Japanese/Japanese Americans were interned in 16 locations. Most of them lost their property as well.

2/3 of those interned were American citizens.

Japanese Internment

Potsdam ConferenceThe Potsdam Declaration was created by Truman, Stalin, and Churchill and called for the surrender of Japan. It outlined the terms of surrender for Japan. The agreement stated that if Japan did not surrender, it would face "prompt and utter destruction".

Japan ignored the ultimatum.

The U.S. Drops the Atomic Bomb

On August 6, 1945 the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, a Japanese city of over 350,000 people. 73,000 people were killed.

On August 9, 1945 a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. 37,500 people were killed.

Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945.

HiroshimaGround temperature 7000 degrees

Hurricane force winds 980 miles per hour

Energy released 20,000 tons of TNT

Building destroyed 62,000 buildings

Killed immediately 70,000 people

Dead by the end of 1945 140,000 people

Total deaths related to the A-bomb 210,000 people

How should the atomic bombs have been

used to end the war against Japan? (Fortune Magazine, 1945)

Statement: Percent in Agreement:

We should not have used any atomic bombs at all. 4.5 %

We should have dropped one in an unpopulated region. If they didn’t surrender, we could have dropped the second on a city.

13.8 %

We should have used the two bombs on cities just as we did. 53.5 %

We should have quickly used many more bombs on Japan before they had a chance to surrender. 22.7 %

Don’t know 5.5 %

MacArthur takes charge of the U.S. occupation of Japan.

Japan must demilitarize.

Many leaders were charged as war criminals.

The U.S. sets up Japan’s democracy.

Hirohito had to declare that he was not a god—he became a figurehead.

The Effects of the Defeat on Japan