WWII

The Roaring Twenties

U.S. becomes a major power after WWIIndustrial boomMass consumptionNew technologyDecline in unemployment

Depression

U.S. economy is pretty strong after WWIBut some practices help lead to the

depression (credit; huge agricultural surpluses; ‘buying on margin’)

Stock market crashes (Black Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1929)

Rampant unemploymentWorldwide event; Germany hit hardBritain and France fared a little better

because they used their colonies to buy products

• Totalitarian- A government that exerts total control over a nation• Fascism- Type of totalitarianism- emphasizes the

importance of the nation or an ethnic group and the supreme authority of the leader

• Communism- Complete government ownership of land and property, single-party control of the government and lack of individual rights

Stalin and the Soviet Union

• Soviet Union is a communist country

• After Lenin dies, Josef Stalin takes over

• Goal- to modernize and build new industries

• Began government takeover of farms- those who resisted had food taken away or were sent to labor camps

• Stalin poured money into industry, but people suffered shortages in housing and clothing

• 5 Year Plans• By 1940- Russia was an

industrial power (3rd largest)

Reign of Terror

• Stalin dominated his country through purges- the process of removing enemies and undesirable individuals from power

• 7 million were arrested; 1 million were killed

Italy

• Fascist government• Led by Benito Mussolini

(Il Duce)• Organized fascist

groups and relied on thugs (called Blackshirts) to terrorize those who opposed him

• Gained much power- threatened to march on Rome

• King panics and makes him prime minister

• Establishes dictatorship• Engineers “economic

miracle”

• Main goal: to conquer territory and create a “New Roman Empire”

• 1935- Invades Ethiopia- by 1936, Italy controls the country

• League of Nations is extremely upset…but they do nothing

Hitler’s rise to power

• Born in Austria• Wanted to be a painter• Moves to Vienna-

becomes involved in politics

• Fought in WWI• 1919- Joins Nazi party

(National Socialist German Workers’ Party)

• Gradually, the party gains power

• 1923- Hitler and a group of 3,000 followers try to overthrow the German government – they fail, and Hitler is jailed

• While in prison, he writes his autobiography “Mein Kampf” (my struggle)- outlines his plans for Germany and his hatred of Jews

• He calls for defiance of the Treaty of Versailles and purification of the “Aryan race”

• Gains large following

• Hitler places second in the presidential election

• President Hindenburg makes him chancellor

• Hitler suspends freedom of speech and press

• Nazi storm troopers silence opposition

• German parliament (Reichstag) burns down in a suspicious fire

• Hitler blames communists

• Convinces parliament to pass a bill giving him dictatorial powers

• Great Britain- leaders- Neville Chamberlain (until 1940); Winston Churchill (1940)- Great Britain wants peace

• U.S.- leader- Franklin Roosevelt (FDR)- U.S. wants peace- isolationism

WWII

Beginning the War

German Aggression

• Germany rearms• Hitler takes Austria (Anschluss) ,

Czechoslovakia• British prime minister Neville

Chamberlain meets with Hitler. Hitler promises not to attack anymore countries and signs a pledge

• Hitler is a liar• “Britain and France had to choose

between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war.” – Winston Churchill

• Allies follow a policy of appeasement- giving in to a country’s demands in order to keep the peace

Non-aggression pact w/ Stalin

• September, 1939- Germany invades Poland- “Blitzkrieg”

• France and Great Britain declare war on Germany

• The invasion of Poland marks the beginning of WWII

• In less than a year, Germany has taken the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, and France (1941)

• Britain stands alone against Hitler

Battle of Britain

• German Air force relentlessly bombs London- up to 1,000 planes

• Greatest air assault the world had ever seen

• London is defended by the RAF (royal air force)

• Bombing and aerial combat lasts for over a year

                                                                       

Japan• In the 1930’s,

Japan begins to build an empire; military gains a significant role in politics (2 cabinet members)

• Japan has limited resources- needs to get them elsewhere

• 1931- Takes over Manchuria (coal, iron, land)

• Invades China

• FDR worried about Japan’s aggression

• Begins limiting resources to Japan

• Japan takes Indochina, and east Indies (Europeans too busy fighting to worry about these colonies)

• FDR cuts off oil shipments

                                                                                                                                                               

• Japan decides to destroy U.S. navy

• They feel they can achieve their goals in Asia before the U.S. can rebuild its navy

• December 7, 1941- Japanese attack Pearl Harbor

• 18 warships destroyed, including 8 of 9 battleships

• 2400 killed

• The next day, FDR asked congress for a declaration of war

• On Dec. 11, Germany and Italy declare war on the U.S.

The War in Africa

1941 - When Italy invades Somaliland (Somalia), Britain aides Haile Selassie (Ethiopian leader) in overthrowing the Italians

Germany comes to Italy’s rescueBattle of El Alamein – 1942– British break

German codes and expel them from Africa "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end.

But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."         - Winston Churchill, after victory at El Alamein

Retaking Europe

Hitler attacks the Soviet Union

• After losing the Battle of Britain, Hitler decided to turn his attention to the Soviet Union

• In Mein Kampf, Hitler had called for the conquest of the Soviet Union to give the German people “living space”

Battle of Stalingrad

• Red Army used the cold winter as a way to stop the Germans advance and regain lost territory

• The Red Army decided to take a stand at Stalingrad

• The Soviet forces launched a fierce attack and forced the Germans to surrender

D-Day- June 6, 1944

• Allies invasion of Western Europe

• The invasion was code named Operation Overlord

• Allied troops came ashore along the Normandy coast

• Largest landing by seas in history

Battle of the Bulge

• Hitler reinforced the army using draftees as young as 15

• The Battle of the Bulge was the largest battle in Western Europe during WWII and the longest battle ever fought by the U.S.

• After the battle, most Nazi leaders recognized that the war was lost

War Ends in Europe

• Soviet forces captured Berlin, Germany’s capital, as a matter of honor

• Germany surrenders – May 8, 1945

• Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker –April 30, 1945

• Allies celebrate V-E day (Victory in Europe Day)

Kristallnacht

• “Night of Broken Glass”

• Nazi thugs throughout Germany and Austria looted and destroyed Jewish stores, houses, and Synagogues

Concentration and Death Camps

• “The Final Solution to the Jewish Question”

• Genocide – the deliberate destruction of an entire ethnic or cultural group

• Concentration Camps – functioned as prisons and centers of forced labor

• Death Camps – existed primarily for mass murder

Camps Cont.

• Life expectancy of a Jewish prisoner was a few months

• Men and women had to have their heads shaved and had registration numbers tattooed on their arms

• Hitler targeted Jews, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witness, Gypsies, and the homeless

Rescue and Liberation• In January 1944,

Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board

• Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the largest extermination, concentration camp, in January 1945

• As Allies advanced, the Nazis abandoned the camps

Nuremberg Trials• 24 Nazi officers were

placed on trial• Charged with crimes

against peace, crimes against humanity, and war crimes

• Established the importance of individuals being responsible for their own actions

• Rejected Nazi argument ”I was only following orders”

Explanations?

Intentionalists and FunctionalistsInsights from psychology

Asch and Milgram

WWII: War in the Pacific

• Battle of Midway• American victory• Turned the tide of

the war

Island-Hopping

• U.S. follows strategy of Island-hopping

• Attacking certain islands and bypassing others

• Allowed U.S. to cut off supplies to the bypassed islands

• Also allowed U.S. to move quickly towards Japan

                                

Iwo Jima and Okinawa

• Important battles• Many Japanese

soldiers fought to the death– Kamikazes

• Victories give the U.S. a clear path to Japan

Manhattan Project

• Top-secret project to develop the atomic bomb

• Suggested by Einstein• First tested on July 16, 1945 in NM• On witnessing the explosion, J. Robert

Oppenheimer, who supervised the project, remembered these words from the Bhagavad Gita: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”

The Decision to Drop the Bomb

• Other alternatives proposed– Massive invasion– Naval blockade– Demonstration

• All rejected by U.S. officials

• Harry Truman, U.S. president, decides to drop the bomb

• On August 6, 1945, the 1st A-bomb is dropped on Hiroshima

• 3 days later- Nagasaki

• August 14, Japan surrenders

• Restructuring

WWII- Around the World

Africa

• Africans noticed European hypocrisy in their “fight for freedom,” and their colonization of African territories

• S. Africa establishes Apartheid, a system of racial segregation

Middle East

• Many Jews move to Palestine as a result of the Balfour declaration

• Some in England seek to reverse the trend and support indigenous Arabs in Palestine

• Official British policy seesaws back and forth

Spain

• Fights a civil war- 1936-1939• War was a coup by the Spanish army

against the Republic – Coup supported by Germany and Italy, but not Soviet Union- why not?

• Rebels win, and establish a dictatorship under Francisco Franco

• Because of the devastation in this war, Spain does not participate in WWII

U.S.

• More job opportunities for women, African-Americans and Latinos after WWII

• Leads to Civil Rights movement• U.S. rises in power during WWII as

well as WWI

Misc.

• During WWII, less distinction is made between civilian and military targets

• Thailand remains neutral and cooperates with Japan

• United Nations is created after WWII – idea is to promote peace