WORLD WAR II

1. WORLD WAR II DROPPING OF THE ATOMIC BOMB THE HOLOCAUST

2. Dropping of the Atomic Bomb • The Manhattan Project • Scientists create the atomic bomb • Many of the scientists are European Jews who escaped • The principal motivation for this project was the fear that the Germans would develop the bomb first • Tested the bomb successfully in New Mexico in July 1945

3. President Roosevelt dies, his Vice-President Truman takes over and orders the dropping of the bomb • Reasons for dropping the bomb • “An Okinawa from one end of Japan to the other” • Save American lives – est. it would cost 1 million killed soldiers • Save Japanese lives • Save time and money • People tired of the war • The Allies issue a demand for Japan’s surrender on July 26 – Japan doesn’t respond

4. Little Boy falls on Hiroshima • Aug. 6th, the Enola Gay drops the atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima • 80,000 die instantly, 35,000 injured • 2/3 of the buildings are destroyed • Over the years it is believed that up to 200,00 died • At ground zero • 7,000 degrees fahrenheit • Wind 980 m.p.h. • The Japanese still do not surrender

5. Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki – August 9th • Between 40,000 to 75,000 die • The Japanese agree to unconditional surrender on August 14th • August 15th is known as V-J Day = Victory Over Japan Day • Huge number of casualties inflicted by just two planes dropping only two bombs

6. The Internment • Removal of Japanese from the American west coast to internment camps • Fear of sabotage and spies • 110,000 interned, 2/3 are American born • They had to leave their homes and businesses, most lose everything • Most of the camps are located in the desert • Harsh climate, surrounded by fences and guards • Crowded conditions, poor health care

7. The Holocaust • Holocaust = the mass murder of the Jews by Germany • Why were the Jews hated? • Hitler and many German people blamed the Jews for Germany’s problems • The Jewish people were blamed for Germany’s loss in World War I • Racial superiority of the German master race • Hitler is obsessed – diverts the war effort to destroy the Jews • He is fighting two wars: one in Europe and one against the Jews

8. First isolate and dehumanize • Boycott of businesses, some violence, property and rights taken away • Laws aimed at excluding Jews from mainstream German life • Nuremberg Racial Laws (1935) • Created a separate legal status for German Jews • Took away their citizenship and many civil and property rights • Night of Broken Glass (Nov. 1938) • Known as Kristallnacht – refers to anti-Jewish riots across Germany and Austria • Jews were attacked and windows and store fronts shattered

9. Thousands of Jewish buildings and businesses destroyed and about 100 Jews were killed • Hitler issues the “Night and Fog” decree • Authorized the arrest of anyone endangering German security • Those who were seized were to “vanish without a trace into the night and fog” • The Final Solution • Hitler and his advisors come up with the final solution to the Jewish question = kill the Jews • First removed the Jews into ghettos = confined areas within a city • Starved, disease spreads, thousands die

10. Guards shot Jews trying to escape • From the ghettos Jews were sent to concentration camps • Long, crowded train ride in cattle cars – many die • Concentration Camps • At first special Nazi squads went from village to village carrying out mass executions of Jews • These mobile killing units were too slow, so Hitler established the concentration camps as a more efficient way of getting rid of the Jews • The Jews arrive, families are separated, and then the selection process begins • Separated into strong and weak, slave labor or “shower”

11. Gas chambers killed thousands every day and furnaces were used to get rid of the dead bodies • The ones who escaped the gas chambers worked as slave laborers and endured much hunger • Some were subjected to cruel medical experiments • Victims • 6 million Jewish people perish in the Holocaust • 2 out of every 3 in Europe – there were 9 million Jews in Europe when Hitler took power • Other groups at the concentration camps that the Nazis viewed as inferior: • Gypsies, homosexuals, Slavs, Poles, people with disabilities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other political enemies • Another 6 million from these groups died

12. Post War • Six years of fighting led to millions of lives lost, millions more injured, horrific property damage, and economies were on the verge of collapse • Peace treaty • The Allies wanted no territorial or financial gains, just peace • Germany was divided into four occupation zones • The Soviet Union received 1/3, the French, British, and U.S. divided up the rest • Berlin, which was in Soviet-held territory, was also divided • Nuremberg trials – couple hundred Nazi officials put on trial, some were executed

13. Japan was also placed under Allied occupation for several years • Had to adopt a new constitution that forbid it to wage wars • The United States and the Soviet Union emerge as world powers and leaders • Britain won the war, but at great cost • Economy nearly destroyed, will begin to dismantle their empire because they can no longer afford to keep it • France makes a successful recovery, but will never again regain its status as a major world power • Two months after the war in Europe ends, a new conflict called the Cold War begins, once again dividing Europe