World War II in Images WWII in Europe and Asia: U.S. in WWII:

What was the cause of World War II? a. Germany, Japan, and Italy trying to take over land. b. people trying to save the Jews from Hitler’s gas chambers. c. an assassination that was blamed on the wrong group. d. Hitler attempting to turn Europe communist.

Hitler’s “Lebensraum” – living space

Japan’s growing empire

Fascist dictatorships Adolf Hitler in Germany Benito Mussolini in Italy FASCISM: form of government marked by the state’s assumed “right” to control individuals, usually through a dictatorship; usually highly nationalistic.

Who were the belligerents? ALLIES: Great Britain aka United Kingdom France (taken out early in the war) China USSR aka Soviet Union (joined in 1941) USA (joined in 1941) More than a dozen other countries AXIS Germany Italy Japan

What was the U.S.’ role at the beginning? A. neutrality B. declaration of war against Germany C. declaration of war against Japan D. helping the Allies with weapons and equipment

What brought us into the war? Our stand against Japan’s aggression in China etc. included cutting off oil supplies, freezing Japanese assets in U.S. banks, etc. We set up negotiations with Japan, but as these were going on, they attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, FDR called this “a day that will live in infamy.” We then declared war.

War on Two Fronts North Africa/Europe Asia

The Home Front – Total War Women working in industrial jobs Rationing

Japanese internment Shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor, FDR issued Executive Order 9066, mandating that Japanese- American citizens on the West Coast were to be moved out of “military zones” which included the states along the Pacific Coast. More than 120,000 people were held in internment camps until Congress has since declared this a violation of those people’s rights, and two presidents have formally apologized for the internment.

The Big Three – Churchill, FDR, Stalin

Preparing for Peace – the Big Three at Yalta, on the Crimea (Ukraine)

What’s up with the USSR? Before the war started, Hitler and Stalin signed a NON-AGGRESSION PACT, agreeing not to attack each other. Possibly because he’d failed at taking over Britain, Hitler decided he DID want to invade the USSR after all in This brought the U.S.S.R. into the war on the side of the ALLIES. This was an awkward partnership because we had STRONG disagreements over communism and the way the Russian people were treated.

During the Allies’ liberation of Europe, we discovered the death camps. Twenty-three Nazis who had played key roles in the holocaust and the war were tried for war crimes in Nuremburg, Germany. Twelve were sentenced to death. Sympathy for the plight of the Jews (and guilt over our unwillingness to take in Jews who were fleeing during the early stages of German aggression) led to the support of a Jewish homeland, Israel, established in 1948.

Ending the War with Japan Island-hopping Attack the mainland? Harry S Truman and the Manhattan Project Dropping the atom bomb: Hiroshima August 6, 1945; Nagasaki August 9, 1945 Japan surrendered August 15, 1945.

Allied occupations bring on the Cold War hs.htm hs.htm