EOC Preparation: WWII and the Early Cold War Era
WWII Begins • Adolf Hitler and Nazi Party
were elected to power and took over the German government
• Hitler held a strict rule over Germany and set his sights on other countries in Europe
• 1936: Hitler invades the Rhineland – Only a few years later:
takes control of Austria and parts of Czechoslovakia
WWII Begins • Instead of using military force to halt Hitler,
British and French leaders used a policy of appeasement – Allowed Hitler to keep the areas he had invaded, in
the hopes to “appease” him and stop any future aggression. • Did not work: Hitler invaded Poland in 1939
Stalin and the Soviet Union
• Joseph Stalin-took over the Communist Party and became the leader of the Soviet Union – Brutal leader:
• murdered rivals and political opponents
• No political opposition
• Little freedom for the people
Mussolini in Italy
• Benito Mussolini came to power in 1922 – Fascist
• His government controlled all aspects of business and politics
• No political opposition allowed under his rule
• 1935: Mussolini invades Abyssinia in North Africa (Ethiopia) – League of Nations
condemned these actions, Italy left League.
– Italy and Germany form an alliance
Tojo in Japan
• Japan began expanding it’s territory in the 1920s – Parts of China, Korea, Eastern Asia
• Hideki Tojo became PM in 1941 – Controlled government despite
emperor rule
– Continued to invade and conquer areas of Asia
– Formed an alliance with Italy and German
Axis Powers
• Germany
• Italy
• Japan
US Actions During Early WWII Years
• Neutral
– Feelings of isolationism persisted among the public
• Neutrality Act (1935)
– Prohibited selling of weapons to warring nations
– Almost passed an amendment to the Constitution that would required a national vote before going to war.
Hitler’s Aggression Continues
• Sept. 1st, 1939: Hitler invades Poland officially starting WWII in Europe
• Spring 1940: conquered Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Netherlands, and then France
• Hitler forces France to sign an armistice (truce) allowing half of the country to be under German control with the rest to be controlled by French pro-German government (Vichy regime)
Britain’s Resistance
• Hitler’s air force launched attacks against Great Britain
– Meant to destroy British air force so that Hitler could cross English Channel and launch an invasion
– July-Oct. 1940
• Winston Churchill-British leader
• Hitler eventually gives up plan to invade
The United States Enters WWII
• FDR reelected (3rd term!) in 1940
– Knows neutrality won’t work for much longer
• Lend-Lease Act
– 1941
– President can send aid to any nation whose defense was considered vital to US national security
• Foreign countries could pay for aid later
Pearl Harbor • US saw Japanese aggression and
used an embargo (will not ship certain items to a country) to try and stop them – Japan decided they would use
force to take what they needed (specifically oil and steel)
• Dec. 7, 1941 – Japanese airplanes began
bombing fleet at Pearl Harbor, HI
Allies
• Soviet Union
• Great Britain
• United States
The Big Three
• Stalin
• Churchill
• Roosevelt
Issues Among Allies
• Soviet Union wanted to invade Western Europe
– US and Great Britain didn’t want to invade W. Europe until they had control of North Africa and Suez Canal (Egypt)
• After gaining control of North Africa, Churchill and Roosevelt met and decided to invade Italy
Issues Among Allies
• Stalin upset with Allies for being unwilling to attack western front
• Stalin held off the Germans along the eastern front
• Tehran Conference-all Allied leaders met in Dec. 1943 – Stalin pushed for an attack in France
– Great Britain and US agreed: General Dwight D. Eisenhower made the Supreme Allied Commander of Operation Overlord
The Beginning of the End • D-Day Invasion-June 6, 1944
– Invasion of beaches in Normandy, France
– Allied forces were able to fight their way into Paris (Aug. 25, 1944) and liberated the city
Victory in Europe
• Allies met in February at Yalta Conference – 1945
– Made a plan for post-war world • Stalin would declare war on
Japan – Would also allow free
elections and a democratic government in eastern European countries
• Churchill and Roosevelt would allow USSR to keep land in Poland and have control some islands and Chinese land in the East
Victory in Europe
• USSR lost the most people – Half of war reparations from Germany
• Germany divided up into 4 zones – Allies would control each zone
• United Nations would be created as a permanent peace-keeping organization
• Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945 – Germany surrendered ending the war
• V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945
War in the Pacific: Battle of Midway • June 1942
• US planes able to attack Japanese carriers
• Japanese had hoped to finish off American fleet in an attempt to win the war
Island Hopping
• After winning the Battle of Midway, US forces began island hopping – Attack and conquer one
group of islands, then move on to the next • Want to end by attacking
and conquering Japan
• US General Douglas MacArthur retook the Philippines from Japanese
• Admiral Nimitz won battles at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa
War in the Pacific
• Atomic bomb
– US began developing this under the name Manhattan Project
• Headed by J. Robert Oppenheimer
– July 16, 1945 weapon tested in New Mexico
War in the Pacific
• Harry S. Truman (new president)
– When discussing politics with allied leaders, policy of “unconditional surrender” was determined
• Truman authorized the bombing of Japan due to Japan not immediately agreeing to surrender
The Atomic Bomb
• August 6, 1945
– B29 Bomber, Enola Gay dropped first A-bomb on Hiroshima
• August 9, 1945
– Second A-bomb dropped on Nagasaki
• Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945
– V-J Day (Victory over Japan)
The War at Home
• FDR created the War Production Board (WPB) to help switch America’s economy from peacetime to wartime industries
• Withholding income tax: government required employers to withhold taxes from paychecks and give it to gov. immediately
• War bond drives- promote the purchase of bonds – These were basically loans to the government
Women and the War • Victory gardens and rationing
– Send food to troops, conserve anything that you can
• Rosie the Riveter
– Women leaving the home and entering workforce while men are at war
Women and the War
• 275,000 women served in the military
• Women’s Army Corps was the largest area where women served
– Did nearly everything except in combat
African Americans and the War • 1 million African
Americans volunteered/drafted
• Originally, not allowed to be in combat roles, eventually this changed
• Tuskegee Airmen-all black squadron of fighter pilots
Native Americans & Mexicans in the War
• Navajo language used to deliver secret messages – Code Talkers
• Mexican soldiers won 17 Congressional Medals of Honor
Japanese Americans and the War
• In 1943 Japanese Americans allowed to join military
– The 442nd was an extremely decorated military unit
• Executive Order 9066
– Feb. 19, 1942 Japanese Americans no longer allowed on/near military facilities
– 100,000 Japanese Americans forced from homes and business and placed in internment camps.
– Supreme Court ruled that this was Constitutional
Nuremberg Trials
• Began in Nov. 1945 following atrocities of Holocaust
• You are responsible for your own actions, not just following orders
The Beginning of the Cold War
• Tensions rose between the Allied countries following WWII
• The new technologies and innovations that were created during WWII led to the nuclear arms race between the US and USSR
– Who can develop the most powerful military