1. WORLD WAR II

2. Peace failed during the Interwar Years in between World War I and World War II because there was a weak League of Nations, weak democracies, aggressive dictators, the Great Depression, and the policy of appeasement – The League of Nations, which was created to maintain global peace, failed because it had no military support and the United States didn’t join – Appeasement = giving in to the demands of aggressor nations to maintain peace – World War I also led to World War II because Germany was upset about the Treaty of Versailles and wanted revenge The Germans owed France lots of reparations and to help pay for this the Germans just printed more money This caused German money to become worthless and led to serious inflation

3. An economic depression is a period of low economic activity and rising unemployment The Great Depression was mainly caused by the U.S. stock market crash in 1929 – The day of the U.S. stock market crash was known as Black Tuesday – The two nations that had it worst were the United States and Germany – A lot of people in Europe began to turn to dictators to fix their economic problems People in Germany turned to Hitler to solve the economic problems and to overturn the Treaty of Versailles

4. Japan – the dictator of Japan was Hideki Tojo – Japan was the first aggressor nation and invaded Manchuria and China Italy – the dictator of Italy was Benito Mussolini – Mussolini followed Fascism, which was a political ideology that has an authoritarian form of government that places the good of the nation above the individual and focuses on extreme nationalism – Mussolini made an agreement with the Catholic Church called the Lateran Pact, which creates Vatican City for the Pope – Italy will invade and take over Ethiopia and Albania

5. Soviet Union – the dictator of the Soviet Union was Joseph Stalin – Five Year Plans = Soviet factories and mines had production goals set by the state Spain – the dictator of Spain was Francisco Franco Germany – the dictator of Germany was Adolf Hitler – Hitler believed in lebensraum, which is living space for the German people – To accomplish this goal Hitler started to take over other places – Anschluss = the German annexation of Austria – Germany also took over Czechoslovakia Totalitarian state = government that aims to control the complete lives of its citizens The Munich Conference is where Germany, France, and Britain met to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia in 1938 – In the end Germany receives the northern part of Czechoslovakia called the Sudetenland

6. The immediate cause of World War II was the German invasion of Poland – The Germans will use blitzkrieg = lightning war using fast moving soldiers, tanks, and planes Allied Powers = France, Great Britain, Soviet Union, and the United States Axis Powers = Germany, Italy, and Japan On May 10 th, 1940 the Germans invade Belgium and the Netherlands – The Germans also blitzkrieg at the Ardennes Woods to get into France – With France in trouble, the British evacuate many soldiers (300,000) at Dunkirk, saving their army – On June 21, 1940 France surrenders to Germany Peace terms include military restrictions, loss of land, and paying lots of money

7. After conquering France, Hitler then tried to defeat Great Britain – The Battle of Britain was an air battle between the German Luftwaffe and the British RAF – Hitler needs to destroy the British air force so he can safely ship soldiers to Britain – When the British start to run out of supplies and money, the United States issues the Lend-Lease Act The Lend-Lease Act allows the British to “borrow” military supplies from the U.S. and then give them back at the end of the war This showed that the U.S. wasn’t completely neutral – The Battle of Britain ends when Hitler calls off the attack since he was unable to defeat the British In June of 1941 the Germans launch Operation Barbarossa which is the German invasion of the Soviet Union - this ends up being a mistake just like Napoleon – When winter comes the German advance stops

8. Dec. 7 th, 1941 the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor – They attack Pearl Harbor because they want to destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet and it is centered in Pearl Harbor – Many U.S. ships are damaged and 3,000 die, but overall the attack is a failure since the Japanese do not complete their goal of destroying the U.S. Pacific Fleet Half of the casualties at Pearl Harbor happen aboard the USS Arizona – The immediate effect of the attack is that the U.S. declares war on Japan

9. The turning point of the war in the Pacific was the Battle of Midway Island, which the U.S. won – At the Battle of Midway the U.S. destroyed 4 Japanese aircraft carriers in 5 minutes – After winning that battle, the U.S. slowly made their way to Japan using a strategy called island-hopping = attacking smaller, less defended islands to get closer to Japan and disrupting supply lines – During the battles on the islands, the Japanese refuse to surrender Instead they do suicide charges or kill themselves

10. Hitler will send General Rommel to defend Africa Operation Torch is the Allied invasion of Africa – The invasion ends in victory for the Allied Powers, who gain control of Africa Operation Husky is the Allied invasion of Italy – Hitler sends Rommel to defend Italy The Germans use submarines to destroy Allied ships in the Battle of the Atlantic Tehran Conference – the Allied Powers decide on the cross-channel invasion of France and to create the United Nations – The purpose of the creation of the United Nations is to keep global peace

11. Operation Overlord is the Allied invasion of France – Hitler sends Rommel to defend France – D-Day was the first day of the invasion of France – The Allied Powers want to invade Western Europe to open up a second front against the Germans In the end Operation Barbarossa was a failure – The Soviet city of Leningrad was under siege for 900 days – The first major defeat of the German army happened at the Battle of Stalingrad This was a turning point for the war on the Eastern Front – Operation Bagration was the Soviet attack against the Germans

12. Yalta Conference – the Allied Powers decide on the final strategy for defeating Germany – The Soviets get to Berlin first and Germany surrenders – V-E Day is Victory in Europe day

13. The purpose of the Manhattan Project was to create the atomic bomb President Truman orders the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan – The U.S. decides to drop atomic bombs rather than invade Japan so they can save American lives and end the war quicker – At ground zero the conditions were 7,000 degrees Fahrenheit and wind was 980 m.p.h. – Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the two Japanese cities that were bombed – Japan surrenders due to atomic bombs being dropped on their cities V-J Day = Victory over Japan Day

14. The Internment is when the United States rounded up all people of Japanese descent on the West Coast and put them in detention centers Hitler’s Final Solution is to kill all the Jews in Europe – The Holocaust was the mass murder of Jews and other undesirables by the Germans At the end of the war Germany is divided by the winning Allied Powers Both the United States and the Soviet Union emerge from World War II as superpowers