World War II

Franklin D. Roosevelt•U.S.•President

•President for most of WWII•U.S. representative at the Yalta Conference

Adolf Hitler•Germany•Chancellor

•Dictator of Germany•Known for his attempt to exterminate

Jews from Europe

Emperor Hirohito•Japan•Emperor

•Japan’s god-like leader•More of a figurehead

Tojo Hideki•Japan•President

•Ran the show for Japan

Benito Mussolini•Italy•Dictator

•Established fascism in Italy

Winston Churchill•England•Prime Minister

•U.S.’s biggest ally•Met with FDR in Canada for the Atlantic

Charter•Also at Yalta & Potsdam Conferences

Joseph Stalin•Soviet Union•Prime Minister

•Leader of the Soviet Union during WWII & beginning of the Cold War

•Took part in Yalta & Potsdam Conferences

Harry Truman•U.S.•President

•President for the end of WWII•Decided to drop atomic bomb on Japan•Represented U.S. at Potsdam Conference

Dwight D. Eisenhower•U.S.•Supreme Allied General

•Supreme Allied Commander of Europe•In charge of D-Day operation

Douglas MacArthur•U.S.•Pacific General•U.S. commander in the Pacific

Charles de Gualle•France•Exiled leader•Ran “French” gov’t from exile in England

Chiang Kai-Shek•China•President•U.S. backed leader of the Nationalist Party

Francisco Franco•Spain•Dictator•Set up a totalitarian state in Spain

Fascism•A political philosophy that advocates a

strong, centralized, nationalistic gov’t headed by a powerful dictator

Nazism•Political philosophy based on extreme

nationalism, racism, and militaristic expansionism

Germany, Italy, & Japan

Appeasement•Giving in to aggressor demands to keep

peace

America Prepares for War

Neutrality Acts of 1935 & 1937•U.S. would stay totally neutral in

European conflicts

•Whose advice? _____________________George Washington

Lend – Lease Program•U.S. would lend money and weapons to

British & Soviets; who would return them or replace them after the war.

•“You break it, you buy it!”

Atlantic Charter•FDR meets with British Prime Minister

Winston Churchill in Canada to discuss plans if the U.S. enters the war

Draft•First peacetime draft in U.S. for men 21 –

45 years old

WWII Casualties @ Pearl Harbor•The following is a list of how many people

were killed on Dec. 7, 1941 as a result of the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor.

▫US Navy 2,008 KIA ▫USMC 109 KIA ▫US Army 218 KIA ▫Civilians 68

Total 2,403

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv1niwxQgoY

110 minutes ~ 7:55am -9:45am

•Close to 2/3 of those who died occurred in the first 15 minutes of the battle when the Oklahoma, Utah and the Arizona were bombed.

•Japanese Casualties: ▫64 dead▫1178 wounded

Military Strength•GI – Government Issue•3 months•3 months

Women in WWII•20 – 49 years old•2 years of high school•Non-combative units•2 million replaced men in factories•Got 60% less pay

Blacks in WWII•One million entered; 500,000 served

overseas•Were segregated•Over a million blacks, Indians, & Mexican

– Americans entered the workforce•Even more blacks moved north to cities

Japanese Americans in WWII•Called the Nesei (ne – say)•Also were segregated•Received more decorations than other

minority combat units

Victory in Europe

D-Day•Allied invasion of Europe•Allies land on beaches of Normandy,

France•Dwight D. Eisenhower was the supreme

Allied Commander

VE-Day•Victory in Europe Day (May 8, 1945)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCwB7LHk-p4

Victory in PacificIsland – hopping •U.S. military tactic of liberating one

island at a time in the Pacific

Gen. Douglas MacArthur•Commander of U.S. fleet in the Pacific•Liberated the Philippines

ATOMIC BOMB

Ends war quickly

Saves an estimated 1 million U.S. military casualties

Japanese civilian casualties

Don’t know long-term side effects of weapon

http://www.carloslabs.com/node/16

WWII InjusticesKorematsu v. United States•Because Japanese – Americans were seen

as a threat to the war and national security, their constitutional rights could be taken away.

•They were rounded up from the west coast and sent inland to be guarded by the military in internment camps

Nuremberg Trials•Convicted Nazi war criminals

(Holocaust)

•Officials (head honchos) could be held accountable for you actions

POST WWII PLANS

Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)•Participants (FDR, Churchill & Stalin)

1. Germany would be divided into 4 partsa. (U.S., England, France, USSR would control a zone)

2. Free election in Poland (not kept)

3. Plans for a United Nations

•International peace-keeping organization set up after World War II

4. USSR pledges to declare war on Japan

5. USSR would recognize Chiang Kai- Shek’s democratic Chinese government (not kept)

6. Soviet Union would have influence in Eastern Europe

Potsdam Conference (July 1945)Participants•Truman, Churchill, and Stalin

Terms of Conference•German’s war reparations based on how

much they could afford•Soviet – U.S. spheres of influence around

the world•Discussion over the atomic bomb