World War II December 2, 2013

World War II begins in Europe World War II started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland Adolf Hitler was trying to unite all countries with Germans living in them under his Nazi government There were 2 groups fighting each other during the war The Axis Powers were Germany, Italy, and Japan The Allied Powers were Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union

The U.S. in WWII Just like with WWI, the U.S. remained neutral at the start of World War II However, President Franklin Roosevelt wanted to help our ally, Great Britain There were laws, however, stating that the U.S. could not sell any weapons to any warring nations In 1939, Roosevelt asked for and received a new law that allowed Allied Powers to buys weapons if they paid cash and carried them on their own ships

Lend-Lease In 1941, the British ran out of cash to buy American supplies. In response, the U.S. began lending or leasing weapons to them Also in 1941, Roosevelt gave lend-lease aid to the Soviet Union

American-Japanese Relations To protest Japanese expansion in the Pacific Ocean, Roosevelt stopped exporting aviation supplies, including fuel, to Japan Roosevelt also seized all property owned by Japanese in the U.S. In retaliation, Japan decided to strike at the U.S. Navy stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

Pearl Harbor Around 8 am, on December 7, 1941, sailors stationed at Pearl Harbor began hearing machine gun fire and low-level bombing Japanese war planes were flying in, dropping bombs, and flying out again The attack lasted less than 2 hours, but the damage was incredible to the U.S Navy’s Pacific fleet

Damage at Pearl Harbor There were 8 battleships in port at the time, and all were destroyed or severely damaged More than 180 planes were destroyed Over 2000 people were killed and over 1000 were wounded Almost half of the U.S. casualties were on board the U.S.S. Arizona, which sank with most of the crew on board Today, a national monument is in place over the site of the Arizona’s sinking

The U.S. enters World War II On December 8, 1941, the U.S. declared war on Japan A few days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. The U.S. joined the Allied Powers This meant they had to fight on two fronts They faced Germany and Italy in Europe and North Africa They faced Japan in the Pacific

World War II ends the Great Depression In order to fight a war, weapons and other supplies are needed When the U.S. began spending heavily in 1941 for defense, new plants and factories were opened Jobs were created, helping many who were still unemployed find a job Others joined the military This allowed for business recovery and unemployment numbers to go down and the economy recovered

Georgia in WWII Georgia played a large role in WWII Not only did Georgia have military bases that played a part, but new factories were opened in Georgia to build military supplies Georgia also had respected leaders, both in state government as well as federal government

Bell Aircraft When the federal government decided to build more B-29 bomber airplanes, new plants were needed One of these was built in Marietta When the plant first opened, only 1200 people were employed By 1945, 27,000 employees built 60-65 planes a month The plant closed after the war, but was reopened in 1950 by the Lockheed Martin Corporation and is still open today

Military Bases in Georgia Major military bases in Georgia played a role in WWII Fort Benning trained new infantry soldiers Fort McPherson received new draftees from all over the country Airmen from Glynco Naval Air Station, on the coast, patrolled for German submarines A military hospital operated in Atlanta, Fort Gillem was used for storage, and prisoners of war were held at Fort Benning, as well as others around the state

Savannah and Brunswick Shipyards Cargo ships, called “Liberty ships” for WWII were built at the shipyards at Savannah and Brunswick, on the Georgia coast The first was launched in 1942 – the U.S.S. James Oglethorpe All together, both shipyards had produced 187 ships by the end of the war

Richard B. Russell Russell became Georgia’s governor in 1931 He tried to run the state as a successful business, which helped ease some of the problems brought on by the Depression In 1932, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he supported strong national defense during WWII He went on to become an advisor to 6 future presidents

Carl Vinson Carl Vinson served 25 consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1914 to 1965 Vinson represented Georgia’s interest in the military during WWI and WWII He helped promote a strong national defense, both during WWII and after He retired to his farm in Milledgeville in 1965

The Holocaust Meanwhile, in Europe, Hitler believed that the German people were superior to everyone else He wanted to destroy others who he believed to be inferior He particularly hated people of the Jewish race In 1942, Hitler ordered the destruction of Europe’s entire population of Jews Jews were captured and put into concentration camps, like Auschwitz and Dachau The Holocaust is the mass murder of millions of Jews and other people by the Nazis during WWII

Georgia Remembers the Holocaust In 1986, the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust was established The Commission tries to foster tolerance, good citizenship, and character development in young Georgians It hopes to lead a new generation beyond racism

Franklin Roosevelt’s Connection to Georgia Roosevelt suffered from polio, which is a disease that damages the nervous system and can cause paralysis In 1924, Roosevelt began visiting Warm Springs, GA as treatment for his polio When he became president, his Warm Springs house became known as the Little White House On April 24, 1945, Roosevelt died while at the Little White House after suffering a stroke

The End of WWII Roosevelt’s vice-president, Harry Truman, became president after Roosevelt’s death He guided the U.S. through the end of the war in Europe, with the death of Hitler and Germany’s surrender in May 1945 He also made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan, ending the war in the Pacific in September 1945.

Questions… 1) Who were the 2 sides in WWII? 2) Who were Axis Powers in WWII? 3) Who were Allied Powers in WWII? 4) How was the U.S. helping the Allied Powers before entering the war? 5) Describe the Lend-Lease program. 6) Why did the Japanese decide to attack Pearl Harbor? 7) When was the attack at Pearl Harbor? 8) Describe the damage after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor. 9) Which side did the U.S. fight on in WWII? 10) How did WWII end the Great Depression? 11) What type of plant was built in Marietta and what specifically did it build?

More Questions… 12) How were different military bases used in Georgia? Be specific! 13) What was built at the Savannah and Brunswick shipyards during WWII? 14) How did Richard Russell ease the Depression while he was governor? 15) What did Russell support while he was in the U.S. Senate? 16) What interest did Carl Vinson represent for Georgia during the WWI and WWII? 17) What is the Holocaust? 18) How does Georgia remember the Holocaust? 19) Where did Roosevelt go in Georgia to ease his polio symptoms?