World War II 1939 - 1945

Totalitarian Governments Post War economic depression; political unrest and instability; debt Totalitarian regimes appear Complete rule by one person/party Terror and intimidation; secret police Propaganda, censorship, brainwashing Youth groups to indoctrinate Control of all elements of society, economy

Totalitarianism Italy – Benito Mussolini Germany – Adolph Hitler Fascist party – nationalistic party Il Duce; restore glory of Roman Empire Germany – Adolph Hitler Nazi party Third Reich (regime) Wrote Mein Kampf (my struggle) in prison Wanted “lebenstraum” (living space) Chancellor in 1933

WWII Allies – France, Britain, USSR (later U.S. and many more) Axis – Germany, Italy, Japan Japan – Emperor Hirohito Heideki Tojo – military leader Spain – Francisco Franco (fascist) but neutral

Axis Aggression & War Japan – Manchuria, China; brutal attacks Italy – Ethiopia (League of Nations failed) German Took over Austria, Czech; final straw Poland – September 1, 1939 – beginning of war Most of Europe fell by 1940 Battle of Britain – Hitler’s first defeat Luftwaffe vs. RAF (Royal Air Force)

War cont. Japanese expansion in Pacific threatened by U.S. ships, embargo Pearl Harbor – December 7, 1941 U.S. enters WWII Lost Philippines Douglas Macarthur – “I shall return.” Bataan Death March Midway – turning point; Japan loses 4 major ships

War cont. Americans turn tide of battle Asia – Midway, Guadalcanal, Coral Sea, Iwo Jima, Okinawa Europe – D-Day, June 6, 1944 Largest invasion in history Allied forces land at Normandy, France Push Germans back through France Battle of the Bulge – Hitler’s last effort to save Germany; costly for U.S

War cont. Russia – Germans defeated at historic Battle of Stalingrad US pushes from West, USSR from East April, 1945 – FDR dies May, 1945 – Hitler commits suicide War in Europe over May, 1945 VE Day

War cont. Japan refuses to surrender Kamikaze pilots Truman decides to use atom bomb August 6, 1945 – Hiroshima August 9, 1945 – Nagasaki War ends September 2, 1945

Holocaust Nuremburg Laws 1935 – stripped Jews of their rights Kristallnacht – Night of Broken Glass 1938 Allies discover concentration camps in Germany and Poland Nazi genocide of Jews and “undesirables” Aryan master race Forced into ghettos then sent to camps Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, Dachau, Sobibor, Chelmo, Theresienstadt

Holocaust Gassed (Zyklon B) then burned in ovens Profited from the process (glasses, clothes, hair, etc.) Nuremburg Trials after war – crimes against humanity Most escaped, took new identities, etc.