1. Introduction to WWII

2. Quick Facts
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

3. Quick Facts (write 2-3)
B. Human Costs

4. B. Human Costs Quick Facts
50 million people died (compared to 15 million in WWI)
21.3 million Soviets (7.7 million civilians)
11 million died as a result of the
Holocaust (6 million Jews + 5 million others)

5. When?
US involvement
1939
1941
1945
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
May 8 - Germans Surrender
August 6 and 9 - Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japanese Surrender

6. Axis Allies Who? (major powers) (major powers) Great Britain Germany
Soviet Union
Italy
United States
Japan
France
(note: France surrendered to Germany in 1940 after 3 weeks of fighting)

7. Adolf Hitler, Germany Austrian born Wounded in WWI
Furious with Germany’s part in Treaty of Versailles
Stripped Germany of land and colonies
Huge burden of debt for war damage in France, Belgium, Great Britain
War-guilt clause blaming Germany for starting WWI

8. Mein Kampf Translation, “My Struggle”
Outlined the philosophy of the Nazi Party
(NSDAP-National Socialist German
Worker’s Party)
His views on Germany’s problems
Blamed minorities for weakening Germany
Most specifically, Jews
Called for purification of the Aryan Race
Removal of undesirable races through mass extermination, genocide

9. Hitler as Chancellor
Hitler overthrew the German Constitution and took control of the government
Ended freedom of speech
Violently silenced critics using brown shirts, Nazi thugs
Hindenburg died 1934, then Hitler assumed both chancellor and president
Called himself “der Fuhrer,” the leader

10. Benito Mussolini, Italy
Fought and injured in WWI
Believed the Treaty of Versailles deprived Italy
Charismatic speaker who gained supporters
1919, Formed the Fascist Party

11. German-Italian Alliance
1936, Hitler and Mussolini formed the Rome-Berlin Axis Alliance
Later referred to as “The Axis”
1940, Japan joined the Axis Powers

12. The Fascist Party Political philosophy that advocates…
Strong dictatorship
Extreme patriotism and nationalism
Often linked to racism and cultural superiority
Organized gangs of fascists developed around Italy
Vowed to end Italy’s economic problems
Black shirts, thugs who controlled the opposition

13. Benito Mussolini Comes to Power
By 1922, Mussolini had built so much power, he threatened to invade Rome
The Italian King panicked and appointed him prime minister
1925, Mussolini became dictator
Called himself “il Duce,” the leader

14. Italy invades Ethiopia
1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia
Overpowered Ethiopian resistance
Ethiopian emperor fled

15. Racial Superiority in Italy
During WWII, Mussolini deported 7,000 Italian Jews to German death camps
5,910 of them died

16. Joseph Stalin, Soviet Union
1924, took power after leader Vladimir Lenin died while in office
Lenin led a Communist takeover of Russia in 1917
Vicious and often cruel communist dictator
Reworked the economy

17. Stalin’s Economic Plan
“Collectivization campaign” – 5 year plan
Convert small family farms to huge, government controlled plots
Faced with resistance, Stalin reacted by:
Forcing the poor off their lands
Confiscating the food they produced
Sending millions to labor camps in Siberia
Agricultural production fell, forced rationing

18. Stalin’s Economic Plan, con’t
Pursued rapid industrialization
Assigned millions of laborers from rural areas to build and run new industrial centers
All government money flowed into goods that benefited the government
Iron, steel, oil, and coal
No housing, clothing, or consumer goods
Resulted in shortages of essential products
Standard of living plummeted
Despite troubles, by 1940, Stalin was successful
The Soviet Union was a modern industrial power

19. Stalin’s Reign of Terror
Political Domination through purges
“Purified” the Communist Party by removing opponents and anyone else he believed to be a threat to his power or ideas
Purges successfully eliminated any resistance
Great Purge of 1939
Stalin’s agents arrested more than 7 million people, mostly men
More than 1 million executed, millions of others put in labor camps

20. Hideki Tojo, Japan 1941, became Prime Minister
As WWII progressed, he assumed virtual dictatorial powers
Wanted to build Japan into a great Empire
Needed natural resources not available on small island nation

21. Japan Invades China
Japan needed natural resources to build an empire and for its growing population
Northern Chinese province of Manchuria was rich in natural resources
1931, Japan invades Manchuria

22. Major Leaders Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Nazi, Germany
Fascist, Italy

23. Major Leaders Hideki Tojo Winston Churchill Japanese Prime Minister
British Prime Minister

24. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Major Leaders
Joseph Stalin
Soviet Leader
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
US President

25. Why? (underlying causes of WWII)
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

26. Why? (underlying causes of WWII)
2. World-wide Depression
A. The Depression made Germany’s debt even worse
B. Desperate people turn to desperate leaders
1) Hitler seemed to provide solutions to Germany’s problems
Wallpapering with German Deutchmarks

27. Why? (underlying causes of WWII)
2. World-wide Depression, cont.
2) Hitler provided scapegoats for Germany’s problems (foreigners, Jews, communists, Roma (Gypsies), mentally ill, homosexuals) 3) Kristallnacht - vandalism & destruction of Jewish property & synagogues

28. Why? 3. Rise of Totalitarian Regimes
A. In a Totalitarian country, individual rights are not viewed as important as the needs of the nation
Communist Dictatorship (USSR)
Fascist Dictatorship (Germany, Italy)
Fascism: military government with based on racism & nationalism with strong support from the business community
Totalitarianism
Military Dictatorship (Japan)

29. Why? 4. Isolationism of Major Powers A. Why was the U.S. Isolationist?
1. Great Depression (problems at home)
2. Perceptions of WWI
a. WWI did not seem to solve much
b. People began to think that we got into WWI for the wrong reasons (greedy American businessmen!)

30. Why? 4. Isolationism of Major Powers, cont.
3. Opposition to war (Pacifism)
a. Washington Conference - Limits on size of country's navies
b. Kellogg-Briand pact - condemned war as a way to solving conflicts

31. Why? 4. Isolationism of Major Powers, cont.
B. This led to policies of “Appeasement”
1. Appeasement: give dictators what they want and hope that they won’t want anything else
2. Begins with Japanese invasion of Manchuria, Italian invasion of Ethiopia, and continues with Hitler . . .

33. So What Was Hitler Asking For?
Return of German Speaking Lands - “Lebensraum”
Austria - Peacefully Annexed in 1938
German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca. 1939

35. So What Was Hitler Asking For?
Return of German Speaking Lands - “Lebensraum”
Sudentenland - (now part of Czech Republic)
Munich Conference - Great Britain & France give in to Hitler in return for peace
Hitler then invades the rest of Czechoslovakia
German Troops Parade in Streets of Czechoslovakian Town, ca. 1939

39. So What Was Hitler Asking For?
Return of German Speaking Lands
Nonaggression Pact Russia stays out of the war in return for 1/2 of Poland
September 1, 1939, Hitler invades Poland, WWII officially starts
Great Britain & France finally declare war on Germany
Hitler's triumphal entry into Danzig, Poland 1939

40. How Did Hitler Make War? Blitzkrieg “Lightning War”
In the next year, Hitler invades:
Denmark
Norway
Belgium
The Netherlands
France
Hitler in Paris

41. US Assistance Roosevelt provided aid to the Allies:
Lend-Lease Act
US “lent” war materials to cash-strapped Great Britain
Atlantic Charter – 1941
US secretly meets with England to commit to defeating Germany
London Firefighter Tackles an Air Raid Blaze

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