Chapter 10- America and World War II (1939-1945) Lesson 1- War Clouds Gather The Rise of Dictators
Adolf Hitler wrote Mein Kampf (My Struggle)
Many Europeans were upset about the Treaty of Versailles
Hitler and other leaders promised prosperity and a return to greatness
Came to power and became dictators (leaders who have absolute power and rule a nation by force)
Mussolini in Italy
Many Italians felt they didn’t get enough in the Treaty of Versailles
Benito Mussolini made fascism (dictatorial government that stresses the greatness of a race or nation) popular in Italy
The Fascist Party forced the king to declare Mussolini the head of government in 1922
Mussolini outlawed all other political parties
No more civil liberties and free press
Mussolini built up the military
Italy conquered Ethiopia in 1935
League of Nations protested
Italy left the League of Nations
Italy invaded Albania in 1939
Germany
Great Depression hit Germany hard
Bitterness over the Treaty of Versailles (blamed Germany for World War I)
Hitler led the Nazi Party
Nazis believed Germans were superior to all others
Blamed Jews for Germany’s problems (anti-Semitism)
Hitler gained power in 1933
Ended democracy and set up totalitarian (seeking to control all aspects of life through dictatorial control) rule
Rebuilt the Germany military (violation of the Treaty of Versailles)
Formed an alliance with Italy in 1936
The Soviet Union and Japan
Joseph Stalin came to power in the Soviet Union in the late 1920s
Killed his rivals
Millions sent to labor camps
Hirohito- Emperor of Japan
Japan’s military held great power
Believed Japan needed more land and resources
Japan attacked Manchuria in China in 1931
Hideki Tojo- one of the generals who led the invasion, later became prime minister
Criticized by the League of Nations, but nothing done about it
Japan formed an alliance with Germany and Italy in 1940 (the Axis)
The United States Tries to Stay Neutral
Americans wanted to avoid involvement in world affairs
Neutrality Acts passed between 1935 and 1937
Banned the sale of weapons and making loans to nations at war
Germany Pushes the Limits
Hitler ordered troops into the Rhineland in March 1936
Not allowed by the Treaty of Versailles
Hitler unified Germany and Austria
Hitler declared Germany’s right to take the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia was willing to fight
European leaders met in Munich, Germany, in September 1938
Britain and France tried to avoid war by accepting Germany’s demands
Appeasement- the policy of giving in to the demands of others in an effort to keep peace
Sudetenland turned over to Germany
Hitler promised not to expand Germany’s territory further
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain proclaimed “peace in our time”
Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia in March 1939
Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact in August 1939
Allowed Hitler to invade Poland without fear of a Soviet response
Lesson 2- World War II Begins War in Europe
Franklin Roosevelt wanted to keep out of war
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939
Britain and France declared war on Germany
Germans called their offensive a blitzkrieg (“lightning war;” fast, sudden attack by massed forces)
Poland divided by Germany and the Soviet Union in late September
Stalin forced the Baltic republics (Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia) to allow Soviet military bases
War broke out between the Soviet Union and Finland
Finland surrendered in March 1940
The Spread of War
British and French forces settled in at the Maginot Line (a string of steel-and-concrete bunkers along the French-German border)
Hitler attacked Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Belgium in the spring of 1940
Allied troops retreated to Dunkirk after Belgium surrendered
Trapped between the Germans and the coast
Rescued by more than 800 British ships
Germany and Italy invaded France in June
Germany, Italy, and Japan formed the Axis Powers
France surrendered in June 1940
Britain Battles for Survival
Germans began bombing of Britain
Hitler wanted to break British morale
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill refused to surrender
Battle of Britain went from July-October 1940
Royal Air Force (RAF) inflicted heavy losses on the German air force and Hitler gave up his invasion plans
Germany Turns on Stalin
Hitler attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941
Stalin ordered a scorched-earth policy- Soviets burned cities, destroyed crops, and blew up dams that provided electricity
Made it harder for the Germans to supply their troops and keep advancing
The United States and the War
Isolationists created the America First Committee
Roosevelt wanted to stay neutral, but got ready for war
Increased the size of the navy
Neutrality Act of 1939 allowed the US sell weapons to other countries on a “cash and carry” basis
Roosevelt gave the British 50 destroyers for in exchange for leases on eight British military bases
Selective Training and Service Act created the peacetime draft in US history (men between 21 and 35)
The 1940 Election
Roosevelt decided to run for a third term
Broke precedent set by George Washington
Republicans nominated Wendell L. Willkie
Agreed with Roosevelt on many issues
Roosevelt won
The United States’ Involvement Grows
Lend-Lease Act passed in March 1941
Allowed the US to sell, lend, or lease arms to Britain
Opposed by isolationists
Roosevelt had the navy protect British ships close to American shores
Germans began firing on American ships
Roosevelt ordered Americans to shoot German and Italian ships on sight
The Atlantic Charter
Roosevelt and Churchill drew up the Atlantic Charter in August 1941
Set goals for after the Nazis were defeated
Disarmament- giving up military weapons
Creation of a permanent system for preserving peace
The Japanese Threat
Japanese seized the French colony of Indochina in 1940
Planned to take the Dutch East Indies, British Malaya, and the Philippines
The United States Responds
Roosevelt froze Japanese funds in American banks
Also stopped the sale of gasoline and other resources to Japan
Japanese Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoye resigned in October 1941
Didn’t believe Japan could defeat the US in a war
Hideki Tojo became the new prime minister
US and Japan opened negotiations on November 20 in Washington
Tojo’s government planned an attack on the US
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese bombed US military base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941
Destroyed many ships and planes
More than 2,300 Americans killed
Roosevelt asked Congress for a declaration of war (“a date which will live in infamy”)
Germany and Italy declared war on the US on December 11
Lesson 3- On the Home Front The United States Prepares
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor united Americans
Building the Military
More than 15 million Americans joined the armed forces
Called GIs
Basic training for eight weeks- learned to handle weapons, read maps, set up tents, dig trenches, etc.
Women for the first time
WACs (Women’s Army Corps), WAVES (Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service in the Navy), WASPs (Women’s Air Force Service Pilots)
Didn’t fight in combat- most worked in offices or as nurses
A Changing Economy
New agencies created to speed up preparations for the war
National War Labor Board- settled labor disputes
War Production Board- change of industries to war production
2.5 million women worked in shipyards, aircraft factories, and other manufacturing plants
Funding the War
US spent $320 billion on the war
Revenue Act of 1942
Raised corporate taxes
Required most Americans to pay income taxes
Pay withheld from workers’ paychecks
Government borrowed money- war bonds
The United States at War
Americans at home provided shelter, training, equipment, transportation, and medical care for soldiers
Making Sacrifices for Victory
Shortages of products needed for the war
Rationed (made scarce items available to people on a limited basis) by the government
Government-issued ration stamps allowed people to buy limited gas, tires, shoes, sugar, coffee, meat, etc.
Families separated by war
Helping in Many Ways
“Victory gardens”
Children collected scrap metal for use in industry
Civil defense- protective measures taken by civilians in case of attack
Volunteer spotters watched for enemy aircraft
Blackouts at night for coastal cities
Office of War Information promoted patriotism to unite Americans behind the war effort
Women at Work
Rosie the Riveter- encouraged women to take factory jobs
African Americans
One million African Americans in the armed forces
Only segregated units at first
Combat assignments starting in 1944
Tuskegee Airmen- destroyed more than 250 enemy planes
Benjamin Davis, Jr.- first African American general in the US Air Force
Philip Randolph demanded that the government outlaw job discrimination in American defense industries
Roosevelt created the Fair Employment Practices Committee
Native Americans
Thousands worked in defense industries or served in the armed forces
Ira Hayes- hero in the battle for Iwo Jima
Navajo “code talkers” used a code to send messages that the Japanese couldn’t break
Latinos
Hundreds of thousands of Latinos in the military
Mercedes Cubría- first Hispanic woman officer in the Women’s Army Corps
Horacio Rivero- first Hispanic four-star admiral since David Farragut to serve in the US Navy
Farm and railroad workers recruited from Mexico (bracero program)
Faced discrimination- not welcomed in some cities
Japanese Americans
Served in the 100th Infantry Battalion and the 442nd Regimental Combat Team
US Internment Camps
US leaders worried about what Japanese Americans would do if Japan invaded the US
Roosevelt ordered the relocation of more than 100,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps (camps where Japanese Americans were kept during World War II)
Crowded and uncomfortable camps
Two-thirds were US citizens
Most stayed for three years
Lost homes and businesses
Upheld by the Supreme Court in Korematsu v. United States (1944)
Government apologized in 1988 and paid $20,000 to survivors
Lesson 4- The European Theater of War Focusing on the Nazi Threat
Allies decided to concentrate on defeating Hitler first
Axis armies occupied most of Europe and much of North Africa
Threat to the Soviet Union
Setting a Strategy
Stalin wanted to attack Hitler’s forces in Europe
Churchill and Roosevelt decided to attack North Africa
Allied Success in North Africa
Erwin Rommel (“Desert Fox”) led Axis forces in North Africa
British defeated Rommel at El Alamein in November 1942
Kept the Germans from taking the Suez Canal
General Dwight D. Eisenhower led US and British forces into Algeria and Morocco in November 1942
Moved east while British forces from Egypt moved west
Drove the Germans out of North Africa in May 1943
The Allies Attack Italy
Allies took the island of Sicily and landed on Italy’s mainland in September 1943
Directed by Eisenhower
US General George Patton and British General Bernard Montgomery led the troops
Italians forced Mussolini from power
Italy’s new government surrendered
Germans continued to fight in Italy
Allies took Rome (Italy’s capital) in June 1944
Air attacks on Germany
Allies bombed factories and cities
Thousands killed
The Allies Take Control in Europe
Soviets fought Germany on Soviet soil
The Soviets Defend the Eastern Front
Germans advanced on Leningrad
Military center and symbol of the Soviet state
Citizens joined Red Army troops in defending the city
German siege (military blockade) of Leningrad lasted nearly 900 days
Hundreds of thousands of people died
Siege broken in early 1944
Germans tried and failed to capture Moscow in 1941
Germans attacked Stalingrad in the 1942
Germans took the city, but surrendered in February 1943 after the Soviets cut off their supply lines
German defeat at Stalingrad was a turning point
German forces were in retreat
D-Day
Soviets pushed toward Germany from the east
Eisenhower prepared for Operation Overlord (invasion of occupied Europe)
D-Day- June 6, 1944
Allies landed on the coast of Normandy
“Utah,” “Omaha,” “Gold,” “Sword,” and “Juno” beaches
Faced land mines and fierce fire from the Germans
More than 9,000 Allied troops killed or wounded on the first day
One million Allied troops in France within a few weeks
Allies liberated Paris on August 25
Victory in Europe
Soviet forces pushed from the east, US and British forces from the west
Battle of the Bulge
Germans drove into a bulge in Allied line, but were pushed back after several weeks
Soviets were just outside Berlin in February 1945
Hitler committed suicide on April 30
Germany signed an unconditional surrender on May 7
Allies declared May 8 V-E Day (“Victory in Europe”)
Roosevelt died in Warm Springs, Georgia, on April 12, 1945
Harry S Truman became president
The Holocaust
Nazi leaders developed “the final solution”
Genocide- attempt to kill an entire population, such as an ethnic group
About two-thirds of Europe’s Jews (6 million) killed in Holocaust (the mass slaughter of Jews by the Nazis during World War II
Millions of Slavs, Roma (Gypsies), communists, homosexuals, and disabled people killed also
Persecution of Germany’s Jews
Nuremberg laws (1935)- removed citizenship from Jewish Germans and banned marriage between Jews and other Germans
Jews not allowed to vote, hold public office, and employ non-Jewish Germans
Jews banned from owning businesses and practicing law or medicine
November 9, 1938- Nazis burned Jewish places of worship, destroyed Jewish shops, and killed many Jews
About 30,000 Jewish men sent to concentration camps (large prison camps used to hold people for political reasons)
The Persecution Spreads
Jews forced to wear yellow stars on their clothing
Mass killing of Jews began when Germany invaded the Soviet Union
Thousands of Jews sent by railroad to concentration camps
Shaved heads, tattooed camp numbers on arms
Very little food
The Final Solution
Nazis agreed on the “final solution” in January 1942
Death camps (such as Auschwitz) built
People died in poison gas chambers and of starvation
Experiments by Nazi doctors
Healthy prisoners used for slave labor
Bodies burned in giant furnaces
Allies knew about the death camps as early as 1942
In Remembrance
US Holocaust Memorial Museum built near the National Mall in Washington, DC
National World War II Memorial opened in 2004
Lesson 5- The War in the Pacific The Pacific Front
Japanese attacked American airfields in the Philippines, Wake, and Guam on December 7, 1941
Invaded Thailand and Malaya, captured Guam, Wake Island, and Hong Kong
Invaded the Philippines and took Manila
General Douglas MacArthur led a retreat to the Bataan Peninsula and the island of Corregidor
The Japanese Take the Philippines
Allied troops defending Bataan surrendered on April 9, 1942
Japanese forced prisoners to march more than 60 miles to a prison camp
About 22,000 people died on the Bataan Death March
MacArthur left for Australia, but promised to return to the Philippines
The Island Hopping Strategy
Americans bombed Tokyo
Lifted American spirits
US won the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942
Battle of Midway (June 1942)- four Japanese aircraft carriers and hundreds of airplanes destroyed; major loss for Japan
MacArthur and Admiral Chester Nimitz used a strategy called island hopping (attacking and capturing certain key islands and then using these islands as bases from which to attack others)
Moved closer to the Philippines and Japan
Americans won control of Guadalcanal after fighting from August 1942 to February 1943
Americans captured Guam in June 1944
Gave US bombers a base from which they could reach Japan
Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippines (June 1944)- most of the Japanese fleet destroyed
On Toward Japan
Americans seized Iwo Jima in March 1945 and Okinawa in June 1945
Thousands of Americans killed and wounded
Americans bombed Tokyo and other Japanese cities
Japanese used kamikazes (suicide pilots who crashed their planes into enemy ships)
The Atomic Bomb Ends the War
Japan refused to surrender
Albert Einstein warned Roosevelt that the Nazis might try to build an atomic bomb
Manhattan Project created in the US to build an atomic bomb
Atomic bomb tested in the New Mexico desert in July 1945
Deciding to Use the A-Bomb
Truman’s advisers warned that casualties would be high if the US invaded Japan
Truman wanted to save American lives
Potsdam Declaration- Allies warned Japan that it faced “prompt and utter destruction” if they didn’t surrender
Japan Surrenders
Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945