World War II

Overview Involved nearly every nation Started by Germany Was a war of the dictators and free states

Causes Treaty of Versailles –Created in 1919 –Contract to ensure to in Europe following WWI German restitution The disarming and disbandment of German forces Hitler coming into power –The breaking of the Munich agreement (Chamberlain’s appeasement) –League of Nations failure

Axis of Evil Powers –Hitler (Germany) –Hirohito (Japan) –Mussolini (Italy)

The Big Three Allies –Roosevelt (US) –Stalin (USSR) –Churchill (Britain)

The War The Beginning –1939: The invasion of Poland –Declaration of war from Britain and France The Eastern Front –1941: Germany invades Russia Pearl Harbor –Japan attacks US German declaration of war US enters the war

Poland

Pearl Harbor

The War (cont’d) Auschwitz –1942: Begins the systematic murder of Jews Stalingrad –1943: German surrender; major defeat D-Day –1944: Allies invade France –Liberation of Paris Death of Hitler (1945) –Germany surrenders –Russian army liberates Auschwitz

Auschwitz

Normandy Beach

The War (cont’d) Hiroshima and Nagasaki –1944: Japanese surrenders Official end to the war –September 2, 1945

Numbers In the 1928 elections, less than 3% of Germans voted for the Nazi party. In 1938, Hitler was Time magazine’s man of the year From , the U.S. defense budget increased form $1.9 billion to $59.8 billion. The greatest loss of life ever sustained by the U.S. Navy occurred on July 30, The USS Indianapolis was shot by Japanese submarine I-58. Captain Charles McVay, commanding officer of the cruiser, was the only U.S. Navy officer ever to be court- martialed for losing a ship in war CitiesDeathsAreas Destroye d Bomb Hiroshima90, , sq miles Tall Boy Nagasaki60, , sq miles Fat Man CountryMilitary Deaths USSR13,600,000 China1,324,000 Germany3,250,000 Poland850,000 US500,000 Italy330,000 Britain326,000