World War IIOutcome: Causes of World War II

Causes of World War II

1. Underlying Causes of World War II a. Nationalism (Review from WWI): Extreme pride in one’s nationality or

country

b. Imperialism (Review from WWI): Taking of land/property

c. Militarism (Review from WWI): Building weapons or a strong military

Causes of World War II

1. Underlying Causes of World War II d. Fascism: a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation

and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

Causes of World War IIe. Totalitarian Dictatorships: Leaders who control all

aspects of societyi. Each dictator took advantage of economic problems by:

1. Promising simple solutions to their nation’s problems

2. Rebuilding national pride (often using propaganda)

3. Providing scapegoats (targets for anger & blame)

4. Absorbing power, taking away individual rights, and crushing opposition (1 party; 1 ruler)

Adolf Hitler in Germany

Causes of World War II

2. Fascist Germanya. Dictator: Adolf Hitler (Der Fuhrer or The leader)

i. Nazism is German Fascism

b. Goals:i. Nationalism:

1. Wanted to rebuild Germany

2. Preached Vengeance against (4 hates)

a. Democracies (a weak & undisciplined form of gov’t)

b. Communism (a threat to Nazi growth)

c. November Criminals who signed the WWI Armistice

d. Jews (the source of all evil & problems in Germany)

Causes of World War II

2. Fascist Germanyii. Imperialism:

1. A desire to unite all people of German ancestry (Blood & language)

2. “Lebensraum” (a desire for more living space) needed to build his empire he called The Third Reich

iii. Militarism:

1. Defied the Treaty of Versailles & rebuild the army

2. Created the “Nazi War Machine”

3. Built #1 military in the world

Benito Mussolini of Italy

Causes of World War II

3. Fascist Italya. Dictator: Benito Mussolini (Il Duce = The Leader)

b. Goals:i. Nationalism:

1. Wished to rebuild the ancient Holy Roman Empire

ii. Imperialism:

1. Felt betrayed by the Allies at the Treaty of Versailles Conference due to a promise of land for joining the Allies that was not kept

2. Wanted to control lands around the Mediterranean Sea;

3. “Mare Nostrum” = Our Sea

iii. Militarism:

1. Formed the Rome-Berlin Axis (alliance) with Germany in 1936

Hideki Tojo & Emperor Hirohito

Causes of World War II4. Japan

a. Dictators: i. Hideki Tojo: Military Leader & Prime Minister

ii. Emperor Hirohito: Political & Spiritual figurehead

b. Goalsi. Nationalism:

1. Japan wanted to be #1 in Asia

2. Goal: Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere: name for power in Asia

ii. Imperialism:

1. To be #1 in Asia, they needed oil and raw materials

2. Wanted China’s land (and others) to obtain oil and raw materials

iii. Militarism:

1. Built up the strongest military regime in Asia

2. Soldier’s motto: “Death before Dishonor”

Causes of World War II

5. Othersa. Spain: Franco’s fascists won the Spanish Civil War

b. Soviet Union: Joseph Stalin took control of the communist nation

Germany, Italy, & Japan became known as the Axis Powers once the war began. AKA the Bad Guys!

Francisco Franco of Spain

Joseph Stalin in The Soviet Union

Causes of World War IIe. Poor Decisions were made by the powerful

democraciesi. France & Great Britain adopted a policy of appeasement

ii. The League of Nations would prove ineffective; lacked a military

iii. U.S.: Isolationism & Depression kept our focus on U.S. concerns; once aggression began we claimed to be neutral

Causes of World War IIEquation:

Nationalism + Imperialism + Militarism = Aggression

Extreme Aggression = War!

World War IIOutcome: The European Theater

The European Theater1. Aggression in Europe

a. Italy invaded Ethiopia and took control in 1935

b. Spain’s Civil War was won by the fascists in 1936

c. Germanyi. 1936: Hitler had rearmed and sent troops to the Rhineland

ii. 1938: Hitler annexed Austria & demanded the Sudetenland (W. Czech)

The European Theateriii. 1938: Munich Conference (Germany, Italy, Britain, & France)

1. Goal: To stop further German aggression in Europe2. Result: The Munich Pact gave Hitler the Sudetenland if he

promised to end territorial demands

3. Policy: “Appeasement”

iv. March 1939: Germany took rest of Czechoslovakia (appeasement failed)

v. France & Britain pledged war if aggression continued

vi. 1939: Hitler & Stalin signed a “Non-Aggression Pact”

The Sudetenland

Neville Chamberlain

The European Theaterd. United States’ reaction to foreign aggression

i. 1935: passed Neutrality Act – no arms to warring nations

ii. 1939: “Cash-n-Carry” policy (purpose to aid the Allies)

The European Theater2. War in Europe (Early Period)

a. Sept. 1, 1939: Germany invaded Poland with blitzkrieg attack (WWII begins)

i. France & Great Britain declare war the next day

ii. The Holocaust intensifies

The European Theaterb. “Phony War” Period (“Sitzkrieg”) ---> Sept 1939-April

1940

c. April, 1940: Germany resumed “Blitzkrieg” attacksi. Neutral nations fell quickly ---> Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium,

Norway

ii. France fell to Hitler in late June 1940

The European Theaterd. Summer/Fall, 1940: Battle of Britain (German Luftwaffe vs. Royal

Air Force RAF)

e. June, 1941: Hitler double crossed Stalin and invaded Russia through Poland

i. Big Mistake! Stalin used Scorched Earth military tactic

ii. Harsh winter and lack of useable supplies resulted in over 1 million Nazi loses

The European Theater3. Diplomacy was Failing

a. Appeasement was ineffective when dealing with Hitlerb. Sept 1940: Germany, Italy, and Japan signed the Tripartite

Pact (Axis Powers)

c. U.S. Neutrality? Biased?i. 1940: WWI destroyers given for bases deal with Great Britain

ii. 1941: Lend-Lease Act --> U.S. became the “Arsenal of Democracy”

iii. 1941: FDR and W. Churchill (Britain) agreed to the Atlantic Charter

The European Theater4. Last Events to U.S. Entry

a. 1941: U.S. attempted to stop Japan’s invasion of China (in Civil War)

i. Sent ultimatum (warning)

ii. Issued a scrap metal and oil embargo

The European Theaterb. By Aug. 1941: Indo-China fell to Japan

i. U.S. began a full trade embargo against Japan

ii. Japan responded by:

1. Sending a negotiator to Washington D.C.

2. Preparing for an attack on the U.S. (decoded message)

Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor

The European Theater5. December 7th, 1941: Japanese Attack on Pearl

Harbora. U.S. Pacific Fleet was based at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii

b. Attack was meant to cripple U.S. fleet so couldn’t interfere with Japan

c. Six aircraft carriers and 353 Japanese planes attacked in two waves

d. 2,403 died (1,177 killed on the U.S.S. Arizona)

e. U.S. declared war on Japan the next day “…Date that will live in Infamy…”

f. Germany & Italy declared war on the U.S. on Dec 8, 1941 (Tripartite Pact)

g. The U.S. was officially in the war! (Isolationism was over)

U.S.S. Arizona

U.S.S. Arizona Today

The European Theater6. Key Nations at War

1. Allies: Great Britain, France, Soviet Union, United States

2. Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan

The European Theater7. European Theater

a. Name given to the fighting that took place in Europe

b. 1942: Britain stood alone against Axisc. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower = Supreme Allied Commander of the

European Theater

d. Allies first invaded through Sicily and up into Italy

e. Mussolini was overthrown and killed

The European Theaterf. Eastern Front: Stalingrad

i. The Nazis were fighting the Russians in Stalingrad (Aug 1942-Feb 1943)

ii. One of the bloodiest battles in the history of warfare

iii. Nazis are defeated; turning point of the war for the Allies

D-Day

The European Theaterg. Western Front: D-Day

i. General Eisenhower planned D-Day for June 6, 1944

ii. Allied invasion across English Channel into Normandy, France

iii. Largest military invasion in history

iv. Allies success allowed them to push further into France

D-Day Map

The European Theaterh. Battle of the Bulge

i. Hitler’s last major offensive

ii. Allies were pushing from the West (from France), South through Italy, and from the East (Soviets)

iii. Germany was surrounded

The European Theater8. German Surrender

a. Hitler committed suicide before he could be capturedb. Germany officially surrendered on May 7, 1945; following day is known

as VE Day

c. Now the Allies had to figure out how to defeat Japan

World War IIOutcome: The Atom Bombs and the Decision to Use Them

The Atom Bombs1. The A-Bomb Project

a. 1939: German scientists split uranium atoms, creating a nuclear reaction

b. May ’42: FDR created a secret $2B A-bomb program ---> Manhattan Projecti. 600,000 workers and world famous scientists contributed (a race

was underway)

1. Albert Einstein – German refugee (Jewish)

2. Enrico Fermi – Italian refugee

3. J.R. Oppenheimer – American Jew (Scientific Director)

ii. Dec. 1942: The U.S. program successfully created a nuclear reaction

iii. The actual bombs were constructed in a lab in Los Alamos, New Mexico

Albert Einstein & JR Oppenheimer

The Atom Bombsc. Upon FDR’s death (April 12, 1945) even Truman was unaware of

the project

Meeting at Potsdam, Germany

The Atom Bombs2. Following V-E Day (May 8, 1945) Allied leaders agreed to meet in

Potsdam, Germany

a. Purpose: To decide the fate of post-war Europe and how to defeat Japan

b. July 16, 1945: While at the Potsdam Conference, Truman received news that:

i. The “Trinity Test” in Alamogordo, New Mexico had succeeded

ii. 2 more bombs had been produced, and others were on the way

iii. Stalin did not seem surprised when Truman told him. Why? He knew

c. July 26, 1945: Allies warned Japan to surrender or face prompt & utter destruction

Trinity Test

The Atom Bombs3. President Truman relied on advisers, but Truman made the

final decision

a. Over 70 project scientists and Gen. Eisenhower advised against using the bombs

b. The decision was based on:i. Saving U.S. lives & $ and shorten the war by 12-18 months

ii. The fact that conventional warfare had not forced a Japanese surrender, despite high casualties

iii. Estimates that Japan still had 4 million soldiers ready to fight and die

iv. Gaining an upper hand on the Soviet Union in the post-war negotiations (*The Soviet Union was scheduled to enter the war against Japan on Aug 8, 1945)

v. Preventing its future use by using it now (deterrent)

The Atom Bombsc. Truman never questioned or apologized for his

decision

The Atom Bombs

4. The Defeat of Japan in 1945a. Aug 6: Little Boy was dropped from the B-29 bomber

nicknamed the Enola Gay, exploding 2000 feet above Hiroshima (100,000 died)

b. Aug 9: Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki (100,000 died)

c. Aug 14: V-J Day; Sept 2, ;45: Japan signed the unconditional surrender!

The Enola Gay

Fat Man

Hiroshima

Fat Man Explodes…

Little Boy

Nagasaki

The Atom Bombs

Result: The Allies had won World War II. The war literally ended with a bang and no country has used the atomic bomb since Nagasaki. Peace would be short lived, however, as tensions with the Soviet Union were on the rise which would begin the Cold War.