1. World War II

2. Axis Aggression

3. 1. Germany Expands a. Rebuilding the German Military i. 1933- Hitler secretly begins rebuilding the German military ii. Eventually he was open about his plans for rebuilding the German military 1. This would violate the Treaty of Versailles iii. 1935- Great Britain agreed to a treaty allowing Germany to build submarines and other warships again iv. Hitler claimed he was building up his army to resist the spread of communism 1. This was a diversion

4. b. Militarizing the Rhineland i. 1936- Hitler sent a small force into the Rhineland 1. German territory that bordered France 2. Hitler claimed to be reacting to French-Soviet agreement that he claimed threatened Germany 3. This was another violation of the Treat of Versailles ii. British and French complained about the violation but took no action

7. c. Annexing Austria i. Hitler began to plot more aggressive moves. He knew that his opponents were trying to avoid another war ii. Hitler’s next target was Austria 1. Wanted to unite all German-speaking people in Europe iii. 1938- He demanded that Austrian officials accept annexation by Germany 1. Annexation is the formal joining of one country to another

9. iv. Austrians agreed 1. Knew Hitler would take it by force if he had to 2. Many of the people within Austria supported this move v. March 1938- German troops marched into Austria 1. Austria is no longer an independent country

10. d. A Growing Crisis i. After Austria, Hitler was convinced that no would stop him ii. Turned to incorporate Czechoslovakia 1. The Czech prepared to fight hoping that France would support them 2. France was still more concerned with avoiding another war

13. iii. September 1938 1. British prime minister Neville Chamberlain and French Edouard Daladier agreed to let Hitler have his way 2. They told the Czech that if they opposed Hitler they would be doing it by themselves iv. Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement 1. He believed it had prevent an unnecessary war 2. Others disagreed with him a. Winston Churchill spoke out against Chamberlain’s policy

14. Neville ChamberlainEdouard Daladier

15. 2. Alliances and Civil War a. The Axis Forms i. Aggressive and totalitarian regimes had also emerged in Italy and Japan ii. The similarities between these two countries and Germany led to the formation of the Axis Powers 1. Had a series of agreements between them 2. 1936- Germany and Japan had agreed to the Anti- Comintern Pact a. United the two in an effort to prevent communism and to oppose the Soviet Union b. A year later Italy would join 3. 1939- Italy and Germany signed a military agreement in which each side pledged to aid the other in the event of a war

16. b. The Spanish Civil War i. Italy and Germany also worked for an alliance with Spain ii. 1939- The Spanish Civil War broke out 1. Two Groups a. Nationalist (fascists) i. Supported Germany and Italy b. Republicans i. Supported the Soviet Union 2. Nationalists will defeat the Republicans 3. Spain was now under the control of a Fascist dictator named Francisco Franco

17. a. A Secret Deal with Stalin i. 1939- British and French officials were discussing a possible alliance with the Soviets 1. Stalin lost confidence that they could help protect his country against the growing German Army ii. Stalin was secretly negotiating a separate agreement with the Germans

18. iii. Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact 1. Revealed in 1939 2. Each side promised not to attack the other 3. Designed to allow further German aggression in Europe 4. Secret section of the pact also recognized each side’s right to take territory in Eastern Europe a. Included dividing Poland between the Soviet and German area

19. iv. New of the pact shocked the British and French v. Became clear that the only way to stop Hitler would be by force

20. 3. The War Begins a. Lightning Attacks i. German forces used new attack called the blitzkrieg on their attack of Poland 1. Blitzkrieg means lightning war 2. Emphasized the speed and close coordination between aircraft and the fast-moving ground forces a. Airplanes damaged the defenses and caused panic among civilians b. Tanks and mobile artillery struck deep into the countryside c. Then came the foot soldiers, who looked for any area of resistance remaining

21. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ha0qKquG 2Ewww.youtube.com/watch?v=8ha0qKquG 2E

22. ii. Attack on Poland had a devastating effect 1. Polish air force was quickly destroyed 2. Soldiers were powerless to stop the German iii. Great Britain and France had promised to help Poland if attacked iv. September 3, 1939- Great Britain and France declare war on Germany 1. They became known as the Allies 2. Neither gave Poland any significant help

23. b. Attack on France i. Began in the Spring of 1940 ii. First they invaded Denmark and Norway 1. This helped improve Germany’s access to the Atlantic Ocean

24. iii. May 10- attacks on France begin 1. Assault started in the Netherlands and Belgium 2. Allied forces were no match for Germans 3. At the same time Germans attacked in the Ardennes a. A dense forest region between France and Belgium b. It was left virtually undefended c. Germany then moved toward the French coast

25. 4. Allied troops were trapped at the coastal city of Dunkirk a. 300,000 were rescued by the Allies and brought to Great Britain 5. June 22, 1940- France surrenders to Germany a. Germany occupied France b. Part of the country place under French leaders who cooperated with Hitler c. This area is known as Vichy, France

26. 6. Some French leaders escaped to Britain a. i.e. Charles de Gaulle b. Organized a resistance to Germany and the Vichy

27. c. The Battle for Great Britain i. Great Britain now stood alone against the Germans ii. Conquering Great Britain would prove to be more difficult for Hitler compared to the rest of Europe iii. Winston Churchill now led England

28. iv. Battle of Britain 1. Between August and October 1940 Germans sent thousands of aircraft over the English Channel to attack British targets 2. Hitler’s plan was to destroy the British Royal Air Force, so that they could invade Britain 3. The Germans failed

29. v. British were aided by a new technology: radar 1. Radar uses radio signals to locate and create an image of distant objects 2. This allowed the British to detect incoming aircraft before the Germans arrived 3. Made British air defense more effective

30. vi. Fall 1940 1. German plans began to bomb British ports and cities, including London a. Became known as the London Blitz 2. Hitler’s goal was to terrorize civilians and break their will to fight a. Bombs kill thousands of civilians b. Destroyed large areas in London and other cities c. British never gave in vii. 1941- Hitler is forced to call off his plans to invade Britain

36. d. The Invasion of the Soviet Union i. June 1941- Hitler broke his nonaggressive treaty with Stalin ii. At first the German blitzkrieg was highly effective iii. Despite heavy losses the Soviet Union did not collapse

37. iv. By Autumn was deep within Soviet territory but had not reached their goal of Leningrad and Moscow 1. Germans were also not prepared for the harsh winter 2. As winter set in their progress slowed, then stopped v. Soviets huge population allowed for it to rebuild its army quickly vi. They began to fight back

38. 4. Japan Attacks a. 1941 i. Japan moved its forces into French Indochina 1. Region was rich in oil, rubber and other natural resources that Japan would need to supply its military ii. American leaders banned the sale of oil to Japan 1. It was designed to slow the Japanese war machine 2. Serious threat to Japan’s future plans

39. b. Pearl Harbor i. Hideki Tojo 1. Japanese General 2. Developed plans for a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor a. An American naval base in Hawaii b. Home to the United States Pacific Fleet

40. ii. December 7, 1941 1. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor a. Were undetected by American military 2. Base was lightly defended, even though leaders felt an attack on the base was possible 3. Attack lasted less than 2 hours

44. 4. Destruction of the attack a. 2400 Americans were dead b. 200 aircraft destroyed c. All 8 battleships were either sunk or damaged 5. Only good news for Americans were that her 3 aircraft carriers were at sea and unharmed

45. c. The American Response i. Attack had a profound effect on the American public 1. Up until the attack many felt America should stay out of the war 2. This is known as isolationism a. The desire to avoid involvement in the affairs of other nations

46. ii. December 8, 1941 1. The U.S. Congress declared war on Japan 2. Three days later Germany and Italy declare war on the United States 3. U.S. joined on the side of the Allies

47. The Allied Response

48. 1. Early American Involvement a. The Battle of the Atlantic i. Control of the Atlantic was a critical factor in WWII ii. Allied nations depended on the supplies that were sent to their ports iii. If Germany cut those off the war would soon be lost

49. iv. Germany’s navy was powerful but could not match the battleships of Great Britain 1. Relied on the U-boats 2. Inflicted enormous amount of damage on the Allies v. United States had give aid to Great Britain before entering the war 1. They gave military escorts to convoys carrying supplies 2. Led to shooting between American and German vessels

50. vi. October 1941 1. A U-boat sank the American escort ship USS Reuben James, killing most of its crew a. 1 st U.S. Navy ship sunk by Germany during the war

51. b. The American Home Front i. U.S. entered the war 2 months after the Reuben James was sunk ii. It was an enormous task to mobilize the U.S. forces iii. Millions of Americans volunteered to fight, others were drafted

52. iv. Women 1. Worked as pilots 2. Clerks and other positions v. Many factories that made consumer goods were converted to produce weapons and supplies vi. Gave new opportunities for women and African Americans

59. vii. Other ways Americans helped country 1. Did with less items like food and fuel 2. Participated in scrape drives to collect materials like iron and rubber viii. Negative effects of Patriotism 1. Fear that people of German, Italian, and Japanese heritage would help the enemy 2. Imposed certain restrictions 3. Japanese suffered the most

60. ix. Japanese Internment Camps 1. More than 100,000 Japanese Americans were forced to leave their homes and businesses on the West Coast and move to internment camps 2. Most were American citizens a. Government was only concerned about their racial background 3. Many camps were located in desert areas 4. Surrounded by guards and barbed wire fences

61. 5. Families lived in small facilities 6. Education and health care were poor 7. They were released later in the war

66. c. Winning the Atlantic i. Germany sent U-boats into American water when America entered the war ii. 1943- Allies had made number of adjustments in the war for the Atlantic 1. Allied factories began producing ships and planes in large numbers 2. Allies broke a key German code system used to transmit information about German plans a. Helped with the location of U-boats

67. 2. War in North Africa and Italy a. Back and Forth fighting i. Afrika Korps 1. German and Italian forces in Africa 2. Led by German general Edwin Rommel a. Nickname was the Desert Fox b. Pushed the British out of Libya and back into Egypt 3. Did have trouble supplying forces 4. El Alamein a. Key battle between the British and the Afrika Korps b. British were led by General Bernard Montgomery c. British were able to use information gained from secret German codes to win the battle 5. The Battle of El Alamein weakened Axis power in North Africa

68. b. The Americans Join the Battle i. Soviets wanted the Allies to invade Europe, to create a second front so that Hitler would have to pull away from Soviet territory ii. British and America leaders said that it would take time iii. Invaded North Africa first 1. November 1942 a combined British and American force landed in North Africa 2. Led by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower 3. Faced little resistance and the French soon joined them

69. iv. Put Rommel in a difficult spot 1. Supply problems continued to worsen v. May 1943, the Germans and Italians surrender North Africa 1. Nearly 250,000 Axis soldiers were taken prisoner

70. c. Fighting in Italy i. Next goal for Allies was Italy ii. July 1943, Allied moved their forces from North Africa and landed on the island of Sicily iii. Italian resistance was weakening 1. The government will force Benito Mussolini out of power by the end of the month iv. Allies captured the island and moved to take mainland Italy v. September 1943, Allies met German resistance

71. 3. A Turning Point in the Soviet Union a. The Battle of Stalingrad i. Spring 1942, Hitler orders renewed assaults on the Soviet Union ii. Summer 1942, Axis force was poised to take the industrial city of Stalingrad iii. Stalingrad 1. One of the largest cities in the Soviet Union 2. Factories produced tanks, guns and other military supplies 3. Stalingrad’s ports shipped grain, oil and other products throughout the Soviet Union

72. iv. The Battle of Stalingrad 1. After they had bombed the city into rubble, the Axis troops moved into the city to wipe out the surviving Soviets 2. Joseph Stalin wanted to hold the city that was named after him at all costs 3. The costs were high a. Tens of thousands on both sides died

73. v. Fall 1943, Soviet marshal Georgy Zhukov gathered his remaining forces for a counterattack vi. Broke through the Axis defenses and surrounded 250,000 men vii. Hitler refused to allow his troops to retreat west 1. Wanted his troops to stand and fight 2. Promised to supply them by air

74. viii. Late January 1943 1. German commander informed Hitler that his troops had no ammunition, food, or supply 2. Hitler told him surrender was forbidden 3. 90,000 Axis troops would be captured and sent to Soviet prison camps, where many died

75. ix. Over 1 million Soviet soldiers died in the defense of Stalingrad but the end result was a crushing defeat for Hitler x. German army was now retreating to the west

76. 4. A Turning Point in the Pacific a. The Allies Fight Back i. Early months in the Pacific were difficult for the Allies ii. Japan was better equipped and was fighting closer to home a. Conquering vital territory, i.e. Singapore, Hong Kong, Burma and many strategic islands

77. iii. One target was the Philippines 1. General Douglas MacArthur led forces in a doomed defense 2. America surrendered the Philippines in April 1942 a. Japanese forced 70,000 prisoners to march up the Bataan Peninsula to a distant camp b. Became known as the Bataan Death March i. Captors kill 600 Americans and 10,000 Filipino prisoners c. Thousands more perished in the prison camps

79. b. The Battle of the Coral Sea i. Japan was at its height of power in May 1942 ii. Japanese and American aircraft carriers met in the Coral Sea iii. Battle took place as Japan was preparing to invade the British controlled Port Moresby on the island of New Guinea 1. Group of Allied forces tried to stop the attack 2. Both sides lost an aircraft carrier a. This hurt America more than Japan 3. 1 st time Japan’s advance was stopped

80. c. The Battle of Midway i. June 1942 1. Japan and American carriers fought again at the Battle of Midway ii. Japanese wanted to capture the island of Midway, that was home to a key American military base iii. Japanese had the advantage with the number of ships and aircraft carriers they could bring to Midway

81. iv. Americans had a greater advantage: they had broken the Japanese code used to transmit messages 1. Americans knew the date and location of the planned Japanese attack 2. Allowed American admiral Chester Nimitz to plan an effective defense that over came the Japanese superiority in firepower v. Americans destroyed 4 carriers and the Japanese only 1 vi. Sent a heavy blow to the Japanese navy

82. d. Island Hopping i. Battle of Midway had changed the balance of power in the Pacific ii. This allowed the Allies to go on the offensive 1. Pursued a strategy called island hopping a. They would skip over Japanese strongholds and capture weaker targets b. The captured islands would serve as base for the next attack

83. iii. Battle of Guadalcanal 1. Six month battle 2. Each side won small victories 3. The Japanese finally fled the island in February 1943

84. iv. Battle of Leyte Gulf 1. Took place in October 1944 2. Largest naval battle ever fought 3. First major battle in the Philippines 4. First major use of a new Japanese weapon: The Kamikaze attack a. Kamikazes were Japanese pilots who loaded their planes with explosives and deliberately crashed into Allied ships, sacrificing their own lives in the process 5. Battle ended in Allied victory 6. It would take many more months of fighting to take control of the Philippines

85. The Holocaust

86. 1. Nazi Anti-Semitism a. The Jews i. At the time of Hitler’s rise to power there were 9 million Jews in Europe 1. Most lived outside of Germany ii. Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s problems

87. iii. The 1930s 1. The Nuremberg Laws created a separate legal status for German Jews 2. Thousands were deported from Germany a. Deported, is to be forced to leave a country 3. Many left Germany on their own

88. iv. Emigration was not an option for many 1. German laws left many without money or property 2. Many countries were often unwilling to take in the poor immigrants v. At the start of WWII 250,000 Jews still lived in Germany and Austria 1. Emigration became more difficult 2. Germany outlaws it in 1941

89. 2. The Final Solution a. The Final Solution i. The deliberate mass execution of Jews b. The Killing Begins i. Nazis used several brutal methods to deal with the Jewish civilization under German control

90. 1. Initially Jews were forced into the ghetto a. A confined area of the city b. Walls or barbed wire fences prevented the Jews from leaving c. Armed guards shot anyone trying to escape d. Warsaw i. Most notorious ghetto ii. Located in Poland iii. Housed 400,000 people iv. Most died from starvation or were murdered by the Nazis

91. 2. Concentration Camps a. Labor camps b. Meant to hold people considered to be enemies of the state c. Forced to work as slave laborers d. Some were subjected to cruel medical experiments e. All endured severe hunger, which killed many

92. ii. Hitler’s forces carried out large scale executions of Jews and other civilians in villages across Poland iii. Mobile Killing Units 1. Established during Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 2. Carried out execution of Jews on a massive scale a. Often aided by local people and police i. Called collaborators b. An example: Babi Yar i. Located near Kiev ii. In one two-day period in September 1941, 35,000 Jews were murdered

93. iv. Nazi leaders were not satisfied because the killing left behind too much evidence 1. Germans will set up special concentration camps in Poland for the main purpose of killing large number of Jews and destroying their bodies 2. Known as Death Camps a. Famous one is Auschwitz b. Had specially designed gas chambers in which thousands of people were killed everyday c. Also had furnaces for the disposal of bodies

94. c. The Victims i. Jews were not the only victims of Nazi concentration and death camps ii. Imprisoned other groups thought to be inferior 1. i.e. Poles, Slaves, homosexuals, people with disabilities and the Romany a. Romany were an ethnic group known as Gypsies 2. By the end of the war about 5 million from these groups had died in Nazi camps

95. iii. Jews however suffered the most 1. 6 million, that is 2 out 3 Jews in Europe died at Nazi hands 2. Entire families were killed 3. This is known today as the Holocaust

96. 3. The World Reacts a. Other Countries i. Other countries were aware of what was going on in Germany before the war ii. Tried to shield the brutality of Hitler during the war, from the outside world

97. b. The United States i. 1942 1. People in the U.S. and Europe began to hear reports of widespread killing of Jews in Europe 2. At first seemed too horrific to believe 3. Reports were confirmed and led to the U.S. and Great Britain meeting to discuss possible responses

98. ii. January 1944 1. The United States established the War Refugee Board to help rescue European Jews a. This was after million had already died b. Board helped save 200,000 Jews

99. iii. Allied leaders were unwilling to take action, like bombing the railroad lines that led to the death camps 1. Allied leaders did not want to do anything that would interfere with the war effort 2. Apathy and anti-Semitism also contributed to this inaction

100. iv. Sumer 1944 1. Soviet troops were the first to discover an abandoned death camp in Poland a. Germans had tried to cover up evidence of their crimes before the Allies arrived i. This included killing or removing the prisoners

101. v. January 1945 1. Soviets liberated Auschwitz a. They found 7,000 starving survivors b. Also found hundreds of thousands of pieces of clothing i. Strong indication that more people had been housed there vi. April 1945 1. Americans reached Buchenwald a. Found thousands of corpses as well as many inmates who were nearly dead 2. Around the same time the British reached Bergen-Belsen camp a. They found tens of thousands were murdered there

102. vii. Soldier who made the discoveries were shocked by what they had found there viii. The scenes of horror gave a clear picture of what a world under Hitler would have been like

103. The End of The War

104. 1. War Ends in Europe a. Soviet Victories i. In early 1944, the Soviets finally ended the siege of Leningrad ii. Major offensive in the summer led to great success for the Soviets 1. 800,000 casualties for the Germans iii. Soviet Union began pushing Germans back into central Europe iv. By the end of January 1945, Soviets were within 40 miles of Berlin

105. b. D-Day i. Allies were finalizing their plans for a massive invasion of Western Europe ii. An effective invasion would be difficult 1. The assault would have to come by sea 2. Also had to be made against strong German positions

106. iii. Preparations were made by American generals George Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower iv. Allies also need to develop specialized equipment for transporting tanks and troops across open water v. Also staged a complex plan to mislead Hitler about where the invasion would take place

108. vi. June 6, 1944- D-Day 1. Allied forces invaded France 2. Over 150,000 troops land on the beaches on Normandy and forced their way through the strong German defenses 3. High casualties but was a success for the Allies 4. Once the beaches were secure more soldiers came 5. By July nearly 1 million soldiers had come ashore

112. vii. Allied forces broke through German defenses in July viii. Quickly re-conquered much of France ix. By end of August Germans had surrendered Paris

113. c. The Battle of the Bulge i. December 1944- Hitler ordered one last, massive counterattack in Belgium 1. Germans made solid advances at first 2. Produced a bulge in the Allied battle lines a. Battle became known as the Battle of the Bulge

114. ii. January 1945, The Allies crushed the German offensive at the Battle of the Bulge 1. Defeat marked the end of major German resistance iii. Within two months Allied forces crossed the Rhine River and were headed toward Berlin

115. d. The Germans Surrender i. Soviets surrounded Berlin in late April 1945 1. They found Hitler’s body on May 2 2. He had taken his own life ii. Germany surrendered on May 7 iii. Next day was proclaimed V-E Day

116. 2. War Ends in the Pacific a. Final Battles i. Mid-1944, American bombers had begun making regular bombing raids on Japanese cities 1. This was done at great risk for American pilots ii. Americans need islands closer to Japan to continue making these raids

117. iii. Battle of Iwo Jima 1. Started in February 1945 when Allied troops landed on the island 2. Battle lasted a month 3. 7,000 Americans died capturing the island 4. Japanese had 20,000 on the island; all but a thousand of them fought to the death

118. iv. After Iwo Jima, Americans invaded Okinawa v. Battle of Okinawa 1. Lasted 3 months 2. 12,000 Americans died 3. Japanese lost a. Lost nearly all of the more than 100,000 Japanese defenders

119. b. The Atomic Bomb i. Next step was for the Allies to take Japan ii. Japanese defenders’ willingness to fight to the death led military leaders to conclude that an invasion of Japan would be too costly 1. Estimated it would cost up to 1 million lives

120. iii. Leaders considered another option: the atomic bomb 1. Weapon used energy released by the splitting of atoms 2. More powerful than regular bombs iv. Program to develop the bomb started in 1939; it was successfully tested in July 1945

121. v. Harry S. Truman 1. Became president when Roosevelt died in May 1945 2. Advisors believed that using the atomic bomb would help bring the war to an end and help save lives 3. Others believed it should only be used as a last resort 4. Truman decided to drop the bomb

122. vi. July 26, 1945 1. Allies issue a demand for Japan’s surrender 2. Japanese did not respond 3. Plans moved forward to use the bomb

123. vii. August 6 1. An American plane dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima 2. Devastation a. More than 70,000 were killed instantly b. Thousands of buildings destroyed 3. Japanese still did not surrender

127. viii. August 9 1. Americans drop a second bomb over the city of Nagasaki 2. Devastation a. 75,000 people died 3. Tens of thousands of residents in both cities would die later from radiation poisoning

128. ix. August 15, 1945 1. Emperor Hirohito surrendered 2. Known as V-J Day (Victory in Japan Day)

129. 3. The Postwar World a. Planning for the Future i. Allied leaders had been planning for the day the war would end ii. July 1941 1. Roosevelt and Churchill met 2. They issued the Atlantic Charter a. Outlined what the two leaders saw as the purpose of the war b. They proclaimed that they sought no territorial gain c. Looked forward to a peaceful world in which all nations chose their own governments and worked together for mutual prosperity

130. iii. November 1943 1. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin met at a conference in Tehran, Iran a. They agreed on a schedule for the D-Day invasion b. Also agreed to work together in the peace that would follow after the war

131. b. Yalta and Potsdam i. Early 1945 1. Allies were on the brink of victory 2. Had difficulties agreeing on the plans for peace

132. ii. The Yalta Conference 1. Primary goal of the conference was to reach agreement on what to do with postwar Europe 2. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin agreed on plans for governing Germany after the war 3. Stalin got his way on other key points a. He was able to keep territory that had formerly been part of Poland b. He promised to respect democratic ideals in the Eastern European countries his armies now occupied

133. 4. Roosevelt won some points a. Persuaded Stalin to join the fight against Japan as soon as the war in Europe ended b. Also convinced Stalin to join a new world organization proposed by the Allies….The United Nations

134. 5. The United Nations a. Was designed to encourage international cooperation and prevent war b. June 1945 representatives of many of the world’s nations signed the UN charter c. United States, Great Britain, France, Soviet Union and China formed the UN Security Council i. Had more power than other member nations

135. iii. July 1945 1. Allies met again in Germany in the city of Potsdam 2. Potsdam Conference a. Took place among ill will between the Soviets and the Allies b. Discussed many issues concerning postwar Europe c. Had difficulty reaching agreement