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WWII and the End of WWII and the End of the European World the European World
OrderOrder
Causes of WWII
Gradual militarization of Japan and imperialistic tendencies (seized Manchuria in 1931 and proclaimed it the independent state of Manchukuo)
Nazi party in Germany gaining in success, Hitler’s policy to dismantle the political system set up in Versailles
Hitler’s success emboldened Mussolini to go on military adventures of his own, i.e. Ethiopia
Hitler and Mussolini realized that the western powers weren’t going to do anything in defense of the small states
Beginning of WWII
Japanese military actually moved first in 1937 to launch an attack on China. By 1938 controlled quite a large area
Japan had entered the war without coordination of allies, Germany and Italy (only signed pact in 1940)
Germany had its eyes on the east 1939 non – aggression pact with Soviet Union Sept. 1, 1939 invasion of Poland, Soviets then
take over eastern half of Poland
Nazi Blitzkrieg and Retreat
Blitzkrieg “lightening war” rapid penetration of enemy territory quickly overwhelmed the Poles, French, British.
Weak French leadership. By 1940 Germans had north and central France and set up puppet regime in Vichy
Britain driven from continent but was able to fend off Germans in London at Battle of Britain under the leadership of Winston Churchill
Mid-1941 Germans controlled most of European continent- used conquered nations for supplies, labor
1941 drove Soviet forces out of central Europe and then moved onto Soviet Union but winter stalled them. 1942 spring renewed attempt on Soviets . Failure to capture Stalingrad in 1942 and 1943
1943 Soviet armies went on the offensive and took back central Europe
Holocaust: Hitler’s War Against the Jews
1942 final solution at Wannsee conference
The more war turned against Hitler, the more he turned against the Jews
12 million deaths (about 7-8 million Jews and 4 million others)
Intensified plight of Zionists for place of their own
End of European War
U.S. entered to counter German U-boat attacks, then helped British fight Germans in N. Africa
1944-45 Battle of the Bulge Allies invading Germany from the East and Soviets from the east
April 30, 1945- Hitler committed suicide and two weeks later the military surrendered
Rise and Fall of Japanese Empire in the Pacific
Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attack U.S. base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii
Japanese attacking colonial holdings in ChinaBattle of the Coral Sea 1942- Japan abandons
hope of taking over portsMidway 1942 U.S. defeats Japan March 1945 mass bombardment of vulnerable
Japanese cities
Japanese Americans Imprisoned
Propaganda against Japanese- Americans Feb. 1942 internment program March Japanese-Americans sent to camps
(31,275 total in five years)
Aug. 6 and 9 Hiroshima and Nagasaki- U.S. President Truman drops the atomic bomb on two cities and Japanese surrender unconditionally
Facts about the Atomic Bomb in Hiroshima
Ground Temperatures 7000 degrees F. Hurricane Force Winds 980 mph Energy released 20,000 tons of TNT Buildings destroyed 62,000 Killed immediately 70,000 Dead by the end of 1945 140,000 Total deaths related to the A-bomb 210,000
Allies and Axis Costs of WWII
Country Military Killed/missing
Civilians Killed
United States 292,131 -
Great Britain 271,311 60,595
France 205,707 173,260
USSR 13,600,000 7,720,000
Germany 3,300,000 2,893,000
Japan 1,140,429 953,000
Cold War: 1940s-1980s
Arose over Allied Powers’ disagreement in postwar settlement- who would get which territory
Tehran 1943- strategy to defeat Germany Yalta 1945- plan for governing postwar
Germany Potsdam 1945- division of Poland
Nationalism and Decolonization
WWII further destroyed the myth of white superiority
Total war drained resources so Europeans couldn’t hold on to colonies anymore
Atlantic Charter 1941- right to self-determination
Independence in South and Southeast Asia
WWII destroyed alliance between Indian National Congress and Britain
1947 India divided on religious lines- India- Hindu and Pakistan – Muslim
Sri Lanka and Burma later got independence Dutch and French pull out of Indonesia and
Vietnam Philippines given independence by U.S.
Liberation of Africa
Western-educated individuals led independence movements in Africa (Nkrumah in Ghana)
By mid-1960s the British, French, Portuguese and Belgian nonsettler colonies were free
Settler Colonies in Africa and S. Africa
Algeria, Kenya, Southern Rhodesia- bloody fighting to get independence
Only white minority in S. Africa able to maintain power after 1980
Apartheid
Arabs, Israelis, and Palestine
Strains of nationalism conflicted in Palestine
Warfare over Palestine after WWII Zionists better armed, had world
sympathy, and expanded U.N. sanctioned territory