1 / 15

World War II

World War II. Crisis in 1938. In the 1930s, Nazi Germany blatantly and openly defied portions of the Treaty of Versailles Germany re-militarizes, but European countries mostly ignore this

Download Presentation

World War II

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. World War II

  2. Crisis in 1938 • In the 1930s, Nazi Germany blatantly and openly defied portions of the Treaty of Versailles • Germany re-militarizes, but European countries mostly ignore this • Many British & French now considered the terms of the Treaty of Versailles to have been too harsh on Germany • European public opinion seemed to favor Hitler as being good for Germany & Europe

  3. In March 1938, Germany peacefully annexed Austria; many Austrians were ethnic Germans & welcomed the Nazis • By September 1938, Hitler was demanding the “Sudetenland” in Czechoslovakia • Leaders from Britain, France, Germany, and Italy meet to defuse crisis; strangely they didn’t invite Czechoslovakia...

  4. The Munich Pact, 9/29/38 • Britain & France allow Hitler to seize the Sudetenland rather than risk war • Many observers believe this is a positive development that avoided war

  5. Germany by 1939

  6. Outbreak of War in Europe • In March 1939, Hitler invades the rest of Czechoslovakia, completely betraying the Munich Pact • Britain & France soon realize war is probably imminent; they warn Hitler not to invade Poland • Germany & the USSR signed a non-aggression pact in August 1939 • Germany invaded Poland in Sept 1939, prompting Britain & France to declare war on Germany

  7. War in the Pacific • Japan had had troops in Manchuria (China) since the 1890s • In 1937, Japan renewed its attack, seeking to dominate China politically and control its natural resources • In 1940, Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact, forming the Axis Powers • By 1941, Japan knows its biggest threat to power in the Pacific is the US; they attack Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th

  8. World War II: Axis vs. Allies Axis Powers: Ger, Italy, Japan Allies: US, UK, France, USSR

  9. 1940-1943 • Nazi Germany initially does well in the war, conquering France with ease (very shocking at the time) • Hitler then tries to force Britain into a peace agreement through aerial bombing, but fails • Frustrated, Hitler invades Russia in summer 1941 (is that a good idea)? • British & American forces defeat German forces in North Africa by summer 1943

  10. D-Day & Midway • D-Day: a combined British & American invasion of France on June 6, 1944 is successful and signals the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany • By May 1945, Germany surrenders • In June 1942, the US Navy decisively defeated the Japanese Navy just 6 months after Pearl Harbor; Japan would never recover • Japan surrenders in Aug 1945 after the US drops atomic weapons on Hiroshima & Nagasaki

  11. WWII Stats • 100million people served in uniform, from over 30 different countries • 50-75million deaths, by far the deadliest war EVER! • 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust • Only use of nuclear weapons in warfare

  12. Pop Quiz! • Name a political, social, or economic cause of World War II. • What was the Munich Pact? • Name two battles that were turning points of World War II. • What two nations did Hitler try to conquer, but failed? • How did the US ultimately defeat Japan in 1945?

  13. Results of WWII • Japan & Germany unconditionally surrender; both are occupied by Allied forces after the war • The power of Western Europe ends, 2 world wars & a depression were too devastating • The US & USSR emerged as the only true world powers, initiating the Cold War • The scary “nuclear age” began • The United Nations was founded • Decolonization began

More Related