World War II

1. Why did the United States get involved in World War II ? World War II

2. Dictators of the Axis Powers • Dictator – a leader with complete authority over the government. • Power Hungry – wanted world control • Took place after The Great Depression

3. Adolf Hitler - The Nazis PartyDictators of Germany

4. 1930 – Axis expand their powers by invading other countries • Japan – conquered a region of China called Manchuria • Italy invaded Ethiopia • Germany – took over Austria and Czechoslovakia • Americans hoped the U.S. would not get involved in the war.

5. 1920’s and 1930’s • Militarism and Nationalism were strong forces. • 1922 – Benito Mussolini and the Fascist party came to power in Italy. • Fascism – the government’s goals were more important that those of the people. • 1933 – Adolf Hitler and the Nazis party came into power. Hitler was elected chancellor, or head of state, but soon became dictator. Hitler promised that Germany would become a powerful nation. • Hitler – wrongfully blamed Germany’s Jews for the economic hard times.

6. Steps toward War • Japan was becoming a militaristic power • 1935 Mussolini conquered Ethiopia • Hitler moved to control Rhineland • Hitler thought Great Britain and France would oppose him • Hitler turned to a small part of Czechoslovakia that he claimed belonged to Germany • Prime Minister of Great Britain, Neville Chamberlain worked out an agreement with Hitler to keep Czechoslovakia • The agreement was called an Appeasement • Appeasement – to give in to someone in order to keep peace

7. A World At War • 1938 – China was under Japanese rule • Japan massacred 200,000 Chinese civilians • Hitler threatened Poland • Britain and France warned Hitler that attacking Poland would mean war

8. Josef Stalin – dictator of the Communist Government in the Soviet Union

9. Communism • Communism - an economic and political system in which all property is owned by the government. • Stalin and Hitler signed an agreement to keep their two countries at peace. • Great Britain and France were Allies – declared war on the Axis Powers when German tanks invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 – World War II begins. • Blitzkrieg – lightning attack by Germany over Poland. • 1940 – Hitler takes over Netherlands, Belgium, and France. • 1941 – Great Britain was the only major European country left to oppose Germany.

10. The Battle of Britain • Hitler attacks Great Britain from the air • For eight months Nazis bombers pound British cities • 12,000 lives were lost • Winston Churchill – British Prime Minister worked to keep up the spirits of his people. • Britain did not give up and won in the end • Churchill stated, “This was his people finest hour.”

11. Invasion – to take over • June 1941 – Hitler made a huge mistake. He tried to attack the vast territory of the Soviet Union. • Soviet Union fights with the Allies against Germany • The struggle lasted for 3 years • Hitler was defeated and this war was very costly to Germany

12. By the end of 1941, World War II had been raging for two years • President Roosevelt – The Lend Lease Program – allowed Allies to get the weapons and supplies they needed without having to pay for them until after the war. • Allied Powers were _ Great Britain and France

13. Pearl Harbor – under Attack • December 7, 1941 – Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor – destroys ships, planes, and military supplies and killed 2,403 Americans.

14. December 8, 1941, President Roosevelt declares war on Japan • Roosevelt called the attack on Pearl Harbor “ a day that will live in infamy,”

15. The U.S. fought war on two fronts • Pacific Front – with Japan • The front that stretched through Europe and North Africa against Germany and Italy

16. “The Home Front” • American factories worked overtime to produce war supplies. • War goods were made by women • Factories produced 263 planes per day • Children help collect scrap metal and paper • 15 million Americans served in the war • 1943 Women began to serve in the war • 270,000 Women called WAC – Women’s Army Corps signed up.

17. Relocation Camps – a place were Japanese Americans were held during the war • After the attack on Pearl Harbor, 1942 the government made more than 100,000 Japanese Americans leave their homes. • The Japanese lost their homes, businesses, property, and were moved to relocation camps. • 330,000 Japanese Americans volunteered to serve in the U.S. military. • 1988 – the U.S. government issued an official apology to Japanese Americans.

18. Victory in Europe • 1943-1944 – Allies pushed back their enemies • Dwight D. Eisenhower – planned a massive invasion – June 6,/D-Day – troops landed at Normandy and France – many soldiers lost their lives. • September 11, Allies freed France, Belgium, and Luxembourg from the Axis Powers. • April 16, 1945 – Berlin the capital of Germany, fell. • May 7, 1945 – The war in Europe was over.

19. The Holocaust – destruction by fire • Concentration camps – Germany enslaved and murdered people they considered enemies. • 12 million men, women, and children were killed by the Nazis. Half the victims were Jews. • 1939 – Hitler promised to destroy the Jews in Europe. He unfairly blamed the Jews for Germany’s loss during the war. • By the end of the War, 6 million Jews had been murdered.

20. Japan Surrenders • 1945 – Americans capture Iwo Jima and Okinawa – two islands of Japan. • Harry S. Truman – becomes President in 1945 after Roosevelt suddenly dies. He is faced with the difficult decision of whether to drop the atomic bomb. • Atomic Bomb – a new weapon based on the latest advances in Science. • August 6, 1945 – an airplane called the Enola Gay, dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima • 100,000 people died • 3 days later the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, 70,000 people died. • August 15, 1945 Japanese government surrendered. World WarII finally ended.