World War II Introduction

LONG TERM CAUSES LEADING UP TO WORLD WAR II (WWII) Treaty of Versailles Germans were forced to: pay reparations Redraw boundaries and reduce territory Reduce the size of their military The Germans were upset with this treaty and the Weimar Republic for signing it because it made them look WEAK

Economic and Political Factors Great Depression hit Germany hard High unemployment rates High inflation making German money worthless Germans were afraid communists would take over Hitler was seen as a defense against this

Appeasement (giving in to someone’s demands) Americans passed Neutrality Acts to stay out of foreign affairs France and Britain appeased Hitler and his violation of the Treaty of Versailles Germany, Italy, and Japan united to form an alliance called the AXIS POWERS

Hitler invaded Austria, the Sudetenland and eventually all of Czechoslovakia This territory was known as the “Third Reich” Chamberlain appeased him to avoid another war, even though it violated the Treaty of Versailles

Hitler’s Leadership Challenged the Treaty of Versailles Rebuilt German military Practiced territorial aggression to claim back land Promoted extreme Nationalism Encouraged Anti-Semitic Scapegoating

WWII Begins

WORLD WAR II BEGINS Hitler invaded Poland in 1939 France and Britain promised that they would defend Poland if this happened As a result, WWII began in September of 1939

WAR BEGINS Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 using a tactic called “Blitzkrieg” meaning “lightning war” It was a very fast, forceful fighting tactic and Poland surrendered after one month After this, the war was called a “phony war” because there wasn’t much fighting until April 1940 Germany began invading Denmark, Norway, and other surrounding countries Before attacking France and Britain The only country that was not conquered by the Nazis was Britain WWII Map

JAPANESE INVOLVEMENT Japan wanted to expand their empire and become an imperialist power Japan invaded Manchuria (part of China) because it had many natural resources The League of Nations investigated this invasion, and Japan withdrew their membership from the League Japan allied with Germany Thought they would invade Soviet Union together When Germany signed Nazi-Soviet Pact, Japan instead invaded the South Pacific Led to the attack on Hawaii

ALLIANCES AXIS POWERS Germany, Italy, and Japan ALLIED POWERS  France, Great Britain, Poland; later joined by Soviet Union and USA The Soviet Union made a non-aggression pact with Germany called Nazi-Soviet Pact promising neutrality between the two countries

AXIS POWERS Germany ~ Adolf Hitler Italy~ Benito Mussolini Japan~ Hideki Tojo

ALLIED POWERS Great Britain Neville Chamberlain until 1940 Winston Churchill took over in 1940 Soviet Union ~ Joseph Stalin USA~ Franklin D. Roosevelt ~ until 1945 Harry S. Truman ~ End of the war FDR Truman Churchill Chamberlain

US INVOLVEMENT USA passed the Neutrality Acts in 1935, stating that we would not supply weapons to belligerent countries (countries at war) taking a position of isolationism In 1941, the US passed the Lend-Lease Acts which allowed us to supply weapons to the Allied Powers without going to war Kept us directly out of the war, but showed that we supported Allies

US ROAD TO WAR FDR and Churchill met in 1941 and wrote the Atlantic Charter Document stated their democratic goals that both share US also helped defend Britain against German submarines US was showing support for Britain in the war

PEARL HARBOR Dec. 7, 1941~ US naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by Japan Dec. 8, 1941~ Congress declared war on Japan Event caused the US to enter WWII as an Allied Power

ALLIED VICTORIES IN EUROPE Battle of Stalingrad~ Soviets defeated the Germans turning the war against Germany Battle of El Alamein~ North African battle that eventually led to the defeat of Italy D-Day~ June 6, 1944~ led to the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany

END OF WAR IN EUROPE V-E Day~ May 8, 1945 Victory in Europe Day Germany surrendered ending the war on the European Front

VICTORIES IN THE PACIFIC Battle of Midway~ air battle that turned the tide of the war in favor of the Allies on the Pacific Front Island hopping – strategy of capturing some of the Pacific Islands making a path to Japan

ATTACK ON JAPAN Japan refused to surrender in the war US dropped two atomic bombs in August of 1945 Hiroshima ~ 80,000 killed Nagasaki~ 40,000 killed Led to the surrender of Japan

WAR ENDS IN JAPAN V-J Day~ September 2, 1945 Victory in Japan Day Japan surrendered and World War II was over

EFFECTS OF THE WAR Over 22 million military personnel died 34 million wounded Holocaust resulted in over 12 million deaths, 6 million being Jews Millions of dollars spent on the war Territory destroyed