Introduction to WWII

2 Quick Facts WWII – The Most Devastating War in History A. War Costs US Debt $9 billion US Debt $98 billion The war cost $330 billion times the cost of WWI & as much as all previous federal spending since 1776 B. Human Costs 50 million people died (compared to 15 million in WWI) 21.3 million Russians (7.7 million civilians) 11 million died as a result of the HOLOCAUST (6 million Jews + 5 million others)

3 When? 1939 Sept.1 - Germany invades Poland (official start to the war ) Sept. 3 - Britain & France declare war on Germany Dec. 7 – Japan bombs Pearl Harbor; US enters the War 1941 May - Germans Surrender Sept. - Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japanese Surrender US involvement

4 Who? Allies Axis Great Britain France (note: France surrendered to Germany in 1940 (after 6 weeks of fighting) United States Russia Germany Italy Japan (major powers)

5 Major Leaders Adolf Hitler Nazi Germany Benito Mussolini Italy

6 Major Leaders Hideki Tojo Japanese Prime Minister Winston Churchill British Prime Minister

7 Major Leaders Franklin Delano Roosevelt US President Joseph Stalin Russian Leader

8 Causes 1. Treaty of Versailles A. Germany lost land to surrounding nations B. War Reparations 1) Allies collect $ to pay back war debts to U.S. 2) Germany must pay $57 trillion (modern equivalent) 3) Bankrupted the German economy & embarrassed Germans Lloyd George, Georges Clemenceau, and Woodrow Wilson during negotiations for the Treaty

9 Causes 2. World-wide Depression A.The Depression made Germany’s debt even worse. B. Desperate people turn to desperate leaders. Hitler seemed to provide solutions to Germany’s problems. Hitler provided scapegoats for Germany’s problems (foreigners, Jews, communists, Roma (Gypsies), mentally ill, & others)

10 Hitler Gets Busy Gestapo Created -- April, 1933 Jewish Boycott – April, 1933 Jewish Books Banned & Burned – May, ,000 People in Camps – July, ,000 People in Camps – 1938 Illegal to Leave Germany – October, 1941

11 German Territorial Gains German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca Austria – March, 1938 Border of Czechoslovakia – Sept., 1938 All of Czechoslovakia – March, 1939 Poland – Sept., 1939 By Summer of 1940, Germany Controlled Most of Europe World shocked as France falls to Germans

12 Results of Alliance to Hitler Stalin and the Soviet Union, 1939 Betrayed by 1941 Mussolini and Italy, 1939 Off and on betrayed until Italian defeat in 1943

13 US Assistance Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies: Lend-Lease US “lent” war materials to cash-strapped Great Britain London Firefighter Tackles an Air Raid Blaze Atlantic Charter US secretly meets with England to commit to defeating Germany

14 Meanwhile … in the Pacific Pearl Harbor: “a date which will live in infamy” USS Arizona Sinking in Pearl Harbor What? Surprise attack by the Japanese on American forces in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Effect? US declares war on Japan & other Axis powers

15 Resources ppt/6-12/ww2.ppt#15 ories/academics/social_studies/emcintyre/Intr o%20WWII%20Forum%20Lecture.ppt