World War II

1. World War II Sara Peterson

2. What • World War II (WWII) started on September 1, 1939. • The war officially started when Germany invaded Poland. • After Germany invaded, Great Britain and France declared war with Germany because of a treaty with France.

3. In WWII, there were the ‘Axis’ and the Allies.’ Axis Germany* Japan* Italy* Hungary Romania Bulgaria Allies Soviet Union U.S.A. Britain China France Poland Canada Australia New Zealand South Africa Yugoslavia Norway Netherlands Belgium Greece Who *- Donates the three “Axis Powers.” They were the main problem for the Allies.

4. U.S. Involvement • Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president during the first part of WWII. • Harry Truman became president in the final year of the war. He ordered the bomb to be dropped on Japan. • During Germany’s invasion of Poland and other surrounding countries, the U.S. was still neutral about the war. • The U.S. was reluctant to enter the war because they didn’t want to waste lives, money, and resources on war. • The U.S. didn’t enter the war until Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. • The U.S. was the only country to become richer from the war instead of poorer.

5. Germany • Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933. • Hitler was idolized as Führer (Leader) by the Nazi state. • He was president from 1934-1945. • During the war, Germany had conquered most of Northern Africa and Europe. • Germany was defeated on May 8, 1945.

6. Japan • The leader of Japan during WWII was Emperor Hirohito. • The U.S. entered WWII when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on September 4, 1941. • Japan gained control of many islands including: the Philippines, the Dutch East Indies, Burma and Malaya. • The U.S. bombed Japan, and after the second Atom bomb, Japan surrendered.

7. Atom Bombs • The Atomic (Nuclear) Bomb was first used in WWII against Japan by the U.S. • There were two Atom bombs dropped in Japan. • The first was dropped on Hiroshima at 2:45 a.m. on August 6, 1945. • The first bomb was carried on Enola Gay (a B-29) aircraft bomber. • The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki at 11:02 am on August 9, 1945, only 3 days after the first bomb. • Another B-29, named Bock’s Car, was used to drop the second bomb.

8. Causalities • There are many estimates, but the total causalities is about 50-80 million. • About 61 million on the Allies side, and 11 million on the Axis side. • Civilian causalities vary from 40-52 million • There were about 22-25 million military deaths

9. After the War • After the war, Germany lost a fourth of its pre-war territories to Poland. • To try and maintain peace, the Allies formed the United Nations on October 24, 1945. • The end of WWII was the beginning of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

10. References • http://history1900s.about.com/od/worldwarii/a/hiroshima.htm • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Germany_during_World_War_II • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germany • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties • http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_people_died_in_World_War_2 • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_casualties_by_country • http://www.secondworldwar.co.uk/casualty.html • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States#World_War_I.2C_Great_Depression.2C_and_World_War_II