World War II  World War II would be a fight between the: – Allies – United States, Great Britain, Soviet Union (and France, China) – Axis Powers – Germany, Japan, Italy

Rise of Dictators  Adolf Hitler Hitler leader of Nazi Party. Wanted to unite all German-speaking people in a great German empire.  Benito Mussolini – Seized power in Italy in 1922 as leader of Fascist Party  Joseph Stalin – Became leader of Soviet Union in – Wanted to create a model Communist state. Hideki Tojo Leader of Japanese military

WWII Begins  Invasion of Poland – Sept 1, Germany invaded and quickly defeated Poland (World War II begins) – Sept. 3, France & Britain declare war on Germany.  Blitzkreig – Germans used new military strategy called blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Use powerful aircraft first, then quick, mobile armored divisions. Fight one front at at time & quickly crush enemy.

WWII Begins  Lend-Lease Plan – 1941, FDR felt U.S. had to help defeat Axis Powers by turning itself into “great arsenal of democracy”. – Great Britain had run out of cash to buy war supplies from U.S. Lend- Lease Act allowed FDR to lend or lease supplies to any country whose defense was vital to U.S. – Aided not only Great Britain, but Soviet Union when Hitler invaded it in 1941.

WWII Begins  The Axis Powers – Sept – Germany, Italy, and Japan had signed a mutual defense treaty, the Tripartite Pact. – Tripartite Pact designed to keep U.S. out of war. If U.S. were to declare war on any one of the Axis Powers, it would face a two ocean war in Atlantic & Pacific.

U.S. Enters WWII  Attack on Pearl Harbor – U.S. cut off trade with Japan. Embargoed goods included oil – essential for Japan’s war machine. – Either get U.S. to end oil embargo or seize oil fields in Asia. This would mean war. – Dec. 7, 1941 – Japanese attack began early in the morning on the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. Raid nearly devastated U.S. Pacific fleet. Over 3,000 Americans killed or wounded. – The next day, FDR asked Congress for a declaration of war against Japan. Three days later, Germany & Italy declared war on U.S.

Pearl Harbor Dec. 7 th, 1941

 D-Day - June 6, 1944 – Code named Operation Overlord, Allied plan to send 3 million British, American, Canadian troops to invade Nazi-controlled France across the English Channel. – D- Day opened second major front in Europe. – General Dwight Eisenhower would lead Allied invasion of Europe. Fighting in WWII - Europe

 D-Day - June 6, 1944 (cont) – June 6, 1944, Allied troops began largest land-sea-air invasion in history when they landed on the beaches of Normandy, France.

Fighting in WWII - Europe  D-Day - June 6, 1944 (cont) – By Sept., 1944, Allies had freed France and other countries on their way toward Germany. – Allies needed clear weather, complete secrecy, and massive supplies. Spent months building floating harbors called Mulberries to carry troops & supplies across Eng. Channel

Fighting in WWII - Europe  Holocaust – Six million Jews were murdered as part of Hitler's "Final Solution" – Six million others also killed including gypsies, homosexuals, physically handicapped, and political opponents – Allied soldiers first began to liberate concentration & death camps in July of 1944 (most camps were located in Poland and liberated by Soviet soldiers) Soldiers found thousands of starving prisoners, mass graves filled with the dead, and crematoriums…..news of the true horrors of the Holocaust soon began to spread to the rest of the world… U.S. Ninth Army liberated this group of prisoners at the German concentration camp at Wobbelin

 Germany Surrenders – May 1945 – April 1945, Soviet armies were closing in on Berlin. Hitler, in his underground bunker, committed suicide. Germany was nearly defeated, and had struggled to fight a two-front war. – May 8, 1945 Germany surrendered. Celebrated as V-E Day (Victory in Europe Day). – FDR did not live to see V-E Day. April 12, 1945 FDR had a stroke and died. Harry Truman (vice-president) was now in charge. President Harry S. Truman Fighting in WWII - Europe

 Japanese Victories in the Pacific – After Pearl Harbor, Japan had a number of victories. Seized much of China, Guam, Wake Islands, some Aleutian islands, and others. Fighting in WWII - Pacific

 Battle of Midway - June 1942 – Americans had broken Japanese code, knew Midway Islands (northwest of Hawaii) were next target. – Battle fought by air. U.S. planes found and destroyed large Japanese fleet. Turning point in Pacific War & halted Japanese advance. – Americans began “leapfrogging” – island by island winning territory back from Japan. Fighting in WWII - Pacific Japanese ship under attack by U.S. planes

 Manhattan Project – Led by scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, it was the top secret project to develop the atomic bomb. Almost completely funded by U.S. – July 16, A-bomb first tested in New Mexico desert. July 25, President Truman made decision to drop bombs on Japan to end WWII and save American lives. – Aug. 6, 1945 – first A-bomb (“Fat Man”) dropped on Hiroshima. – Aug. 9 – second bomb (“Little Boy”) dropped on Nagasaki. Over 200,000 people dead. Japan surrendered September 2, J. Robert Oppenheimer

Hiroshima, after the bomb Atomic bombs, “Fat Man” & “Little Boy”

End of WWII  Conclusion…. – World War II most costly, destructive war in history. Approx. 60 million people died (400,000 were Americans). – United States had abandoned its policy of isolationism by entering WWII, and was now the reigning world superpower (victorious in war & only nation to have atomic weapons). – U.S. would assume position as world leader in international affairs. COLD WAR BEGINS