World War II Begins

1. World War II Begins EQ: What caused the United States and countries in Europe and Asia to go to war in the 1930s and 1940s?

2. Introduction The United States was not the only country to suffer an economic depression in the 1930s. The depression was worldwide. Many Europeans, still rebuilding after World War I, had a hard time finding jobs to support their families. In some places in Asia, countries were running out of the resources they needed to make their economies grow. Strong leaders in both Europe and Asia promised to solve their countries’ problems by force. Another war was on its way. This second world war, or World War II, would be worse than the first. Boehm, Richard G. "World War II Begins." Harcourt Brace Social Studies. Orlando: Harcourt Brace &, 2000. 324-30. Print.

3. The Rise of Dictators • Germany was economically destroyed • Adolph Hitler rose to power • Believed “true Germans” were better than everyone else • Blamed Jews for Germany’s economy • Led a party called National Socialists or Nazis • Soldiers called “Storm troopers”

4. Nazis rounded up people to put in concentration camps • Non-Germans • Jews • People against Hitler • 1933 – Nazi party took over Germany • Hitler ruled as dictator • Rebuilt Germany’s economy • Factories produced tanks, guns, war supplies • Joseph Stalin ruled Soviet Union • General Francisco Franco ruled Spain • Benito Mussolini ruled Italy • Hideki Tojo ruled Japan • Japan planned to conquer other countries in the Pacific and Asia

5. The War Begins • 1931 – Japan invades Manchuria, China • 1935 – Italy takes over Ethiopia • 1937 – Japan invades the rest of China • 1938 – Germany takes over Czechoslovakia and Austria • September 1, 1939 – Germany invades Poland • Britain and France declare war on Germany • September 3, 1939 – World War II begins

6. 1940 – Germany had conquered • Netherlands • Luxembourg • Belgium • Denmark • Norway • Most of France • President FDR promised to keep the United States out of the War • First peacetime draft in history • US started making tanks, bombers, war supplies • US sent equipment and supplies to Britain • 1940 – Japan invaded French Indochina German soldiers march beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

7. The United States Enters the War • 7:55 am, Sunday, December 7, 1941 • Japanese planes drop bombs on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii (American naval base) • Attack lasted 2 hours • Most of the US Pacific Fleet lay at the bottom of the harbor or burning in the harbor • Hickam Airfield, nearby, 300 planes damaged or destroyed • 2,000 sailors and soldiers killed • 68 civilians killed

8. Monday, December 8, 1947 • President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan • Declaration passed that day with only one “no” vote • December 11, 1947 Germany and Italy declare war on the US • Germany, Japan, Italy (Axis Powers) • United States, Britain, Soviet Union (Allies) “Yesterday, December 7, 1947 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan… I ask that Congress declare that since the … attack by Japan… a state of War has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.”

9. Americans at War • Producing war supplies gave people jobs • This ended the Great Depression • Women took over jobs men left behind • Some women served in the armed forced • Made maps • Drove ambulances • Worked as clerks or nurses • Flew airplanes from factories to airfields With American men enlisting in the war effort, the work force quickly diminished. Filling a gross shortage of manpower, through the factory gates flooded an army of woman power. They were encouraged by such icons as “Rosie the Riveter”.

10. Power of Federal government grew • Took over businesses • Set prices and wages • Laws called for rationing, or limiting • Supplies bought with coupons • Butter • Sugar • Meat • Heating oil • Gasoline • Citizens receive coupon books to buy rationed items

11. African Americans in World War II • More than 2.5 million African Americans registered for the draft in World War II • About 909,000 served in the Army • Approximately 167,000 African Americans served in the Navy during the war • Over 17,000 African Americansenlisted in the Marine Corps • They were denied military leadership roles • Before 1940, African Americans were barred from flying for the U.S. military. • Civil rights organizations and the black press exerted pressure that resulted in the formation of an all African-American pursuit squadron based in Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

12. The Tuskegee Airmen became America's first Black military airmen • From 1941-1946, some 1,000 Black pilots were trained at Tuskegee. • Had one of the lowest loss records of all the escort fighter groups • The 332nd Fighter group was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for its' longest bomber escort mission to Berlin, Germany on March 24, 1945. During this mission, the Tuskegee Airmen (then known as the 'Red Tails') destroyed three German ME-262 jet fighters and damaged five additional jet fighters. • The 332nd Fighter Group had also distinguished itself in June 1944 when two of its pilots flying P-47 Thunderbolts discovered a German destroyer in the harbor of Trieste, Italy.

13. Problems for Japanese Americans • War with Japan led to problems for Japanese Americans • February 1942, FDR ordered Army to place 110,000 Japanese Americans in relocations camps • Believed they would help Japan invade the US • Had to sell homes, businesses, and belongings • Camps located in • California • Arizona • Wyoming • Arkansas • Idaho

14. Japanese Americans had to wear identification tags • At the same time, more than 17,000 Japanese Americans served in the Army The 442nd Combat Team received more service awards than any other unit its size in WWII.

15. Review: • In what countries did dictators rule after World War I and who were they? (SS5H6d) • Describe Germany’s aggression in Europe and Japan’s aggression in Asia. (SS5H6a) • When and where did the Japanese attack the United States? (SS5H6b) • Who was “Rosie the Riveter”? (SS56e) • What role did women play in the war effort? (SS56e) • Who were the Tuskegee Airmen? (SS56e) • What did the government do to produce war supplies and feed its soldiers? (SS5H6e) • Why did Presided Roosevelt order the Army to put Japanese Americans in relocations camps?