POD Week of 5/18 - 5/22

5/18Why does Hitler want revenge for WWI?

World War II: 1939-1945I. Causes of WWII

A. Nationalism1. Hitler, Mussolini, and Japanese leaders are extreme

nationalists

2. Hitler- “Germans are the master race”

3. Believed they were superior and had the right to rule inferior people

B. Imperialism

1. Japan, Germany, and Italy wanted to take over land and resources of other countries.

2. Italy expanded into Africa and tried to claim the Mediterranean Sea

3. Germany annexed Austria and Czechoslovakia

C. Militarism

1. Italy, Germany, and Japan formed an military axis and became known as the Axis Powers

2. Axis powers glorified war and spent money on weapons and the military

D. Other Causes1. Treaty of Versailles punished Germany and

they wanted revenge against the Allies2. Depression of the world economy after 1929

leads to rise of dictatorsa. trade stopsb. businesses failc. Germany and Austria economy destroyed

b/c of reparations3. Axis countries were totalitarian dictatorships

with no freedom or equality4. Failure of the League of Nations

II. Fascism Threatens Other Countries

A. Italy takes over Albania and Ethiopia

B. Hitler breaks the Treaty of Versailles

1. rebuilds military

2. Puts troops in the Rhineland

3. Annexed Austria

C. Hitler wants the Sudetenland

1. Czechoslovakia

2. 3 million Germans living there

3. Munich Pact signed by British, French, Italians, and Germans Sept 1938

a. gives the Sudetenland to Hitler

b. Hitler promises not to attack the rest of Czech.

4. Hitler takes over the rest of Czech. 6 months later

D. Britain and France’s policy of appeasement fails

1. hoped to avoid war and gave into the dictators

2. Dictators demand more b/c they think Britain and France are weak

E. German and Russia sign a treaty

1. agree to not go to war with each other

2. agreed to invade Poland

3. Soviets gained….

a. avoid war and strengthen military

b. control of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia

4. Germans gained…a. protection from a two-front war

b. free to invade Poland

F. World War II Begins Sept 1, 1939

1. Germany invades Poland from West and Soviet Union from the East

2. Sept 3, Britain and France declare war on Germany

G. Who Fights?

a. Allies- France and Britain (later- US, Soviet Union, and 48 other nations)

b. Axis- Germany, Italy, Japan

III. Axis Successes in Europe and Asia

A. Germany uses blitzkrieg warfare and takes over…

1. Denmark

2. Norway

3. Netherlands

4. Luxembourg

5. Belgium

B. Maginot Line

1. French line of defense

2. Hitler gets around the line by going through Belgium

3. June 6, 1940- Germans march into Paris

C. Axis wage Total War on Great Britain

1. Battle of Britain

a. air battle that Aug 1940- Oct 1941

b. Germans bombed London

c. Germans lost 2300 planes and British lost 900

d. First German defeat

2. US Helps Britain by sending 50 destroyers (Lend-Lease program)

D. Hitler invades the Soviet Union summer 1941

1. Wants resources

2. Dec 1941- almost reached Moscow and Leningrad, but Russians stop retreating

3. Cold winter causes issues for Germans

4. Battle of Stalingrad- turning point, Germans retreat

E. Other Axis Fights

1. invaded Greece and Yugoslavia

2. attacked British North Africa

3. threatened the Suez Canal

4. Battle of El Alamein in Egypt- turning point

5. Surrender May 1943

F. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor1. US stopped selling gas and iron to Japan2. US Pacific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor3. Dec 7, 19414. 2500 Americans killed5. 18 ships sunk/damaged and 188 planes

destroyed6. US enters the war Dec 8, 19417. Japanese conquer northern and central China,

the Philippines, and most of southeast Asia

IV. Tide Turns in Favor of the Allies

A. Allies begin to win in the Pacific 1. 1942- Battle of Midway- turning point in the

Pacific, forces Japan to retreat

2. Guadalcanal- defeat for Japan

3. Island hopping strategy for Allies

4. Japan uses kamikazes

B. Allie Victories in Europe

1. July 1943- invasion of Sicily and Italy forces Mussolini out

2. June 6, 1944- D-Day invasion of France drives the Germans back and begins two front war

3. Soviets regain control of eastern and central Europe

C. War Ends in Europe

1. March 1945, Allies cross Rhine River

2. April- capture Berlin

3. April 30- Hitler kills himself

4. May 7- Germany surrenders

5. V-E- DAY- May 8

D. War Ends in the Pacific

1. Americans bomb Japanese cities

2. US drops Atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

3. Aug 14- agreed to end war

4. Sept 2- V-J- Day

V. Effects/Results of WWIIA. 60 million people deadB. Holocaust- 11 million people killed (6 million

Jews, slavic people, gypsies, political prisoners, mentally ill)

C. Wrecked most economies, except USD. RefugeesE. Creation of 2 super powers- US and Soviet UnionF. Creation of United NationsG. Cold War Begins due to political changes in

eastern Europe and rise of communismH. Iron Curtain