1. World War II
Introduction

2. Axis Leaders Adolf Hitler – German Nazi Leader
Benito Mussolini – Fascist Dictator of Italy
Hideki Tojo- Prime Minister
of Japan

3. Allied Leaders Winston Churchill – Prime Minister of England
Joseph Stalin – Communist Dictator of Russia (was initially in the alliance with Germany, but switched sides when Germany invaded)
Franklin D. Roosevelt/Harry Truman – President of the USA
Winston Churchill – Prime Minister of England

4. Axis Strategy
Germany hoped to defeat Soviet Union, gain control of their oil fields and force Britain out of the war through bombing and submarine warfare - “Blitzkrieg” (lightning fast warfare)
Japan invaded Philippines and Indonesia. They also planned to invade Australia and Hawaii for full Pacific Island dominance.

5. Allied Strategy
In Europe: Defeat HITLER first! With our allies Britain and the Soviet Union!
In Pacific: Island Hopping. (seizing islands closer and closer to Japan) use the islands as bases for air attacks and cut off Japanese supplies through submarine warfare.

6. The War in Europe
WWII began when Hitler invaded Poland in Then the Soviet Union invaded Poland.
During the first 2 years of the war the US stayed neutral, while Germany overran France and most of Europe and pounded Britain from the air (Battle of Britain)
In mid-1941 Hitler turned on his former partner and invaded the Soviet Union

7. Despite strong isolationist sentiment the US increasingly helped Britain. The US gave old naval warships and war supplies in return for military bases in Bermuda and Caribbean.
Soon after, the Lend-Lease Act gave the President authority to sell or lend equipment to countries to defend themselves against the Axis Powers.

8. FDR compared the Lend-Lease Act to “lending a garden hose to a next-door neighbor whose house is on fire.”

9. The War in Asia
During the 1930’s, Japan invaded and brutalized Manchuria and China as it sought dominance of Asia
The US refused to recognize Japan and placed an embargo on oil and steel.

10. While negotiating with the US (and without any warning), Japan carried out an air attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.
The attack destroyed much of the American Pacific fleet and killed thousands of Americans
FDR said “a date that will live in infamy” and therefore asked Congress to declare war on Japan.

12. Geneva Convention
Attempted to ensure humane treatment of prisoners of war by establishing rules for all nations to follow…however:
The treatment of prisoners of war in the Pacific often reflected the savagery of the fighting there.
Bataan Death March was the brutal treatment of American POW’s in Japan