2. Hitler's Belligerency
• On August 23, 1939, the Soviet Union
signed a nonaggression treaty with
Hitler.
• The Hitler-Stalin pact meant that
Germany could make war on Poland
and the Western democracies without
fear of retaliation from the Soviet Union.
3. The Wages of
The Wages of
Despair.
Despair.
Disillusioned and
Disillusioned and
desperate, millions
desperate, millions
of Germans in the
of Germans in the
1930s looked to
1930s looked to
Adolf Hitler as their
Adolf Hitler as their
savior from the
savior from the
harsh terms of the
harsh terms of the
Treaty of
Treaty of
Versailles, which
Versailles, which
had concluded
had concluded
WWI. This Nazi
WWI. This Nazi
poster reads: “Our
poster reads: “Our
Last Hope: Hitler”
Last Hope: Hitler”
4. The Invasion of Poland
• Hitler demanded from Poland a return
of the areas taken from Germany after
WWI.
• After Poland failed to meet his
demands, Hitler militarily invaded
Poland on September 1, 1939.
5. Adolf Hitler Reviewing
Troops, 1939. Egging his
people on with theatrical
displays of pomp and
ceremony, Hitler had
created a vast military
machine by 1939, when he
started World War II with a
brutal attack against
Poland.
6. Poland Falls to
the Nazi
Juggernaut,
1939. After
swallowing
Austria and
Czechoslovakia
in 1938, Hitler
launched all-out
war on Poland
in September
1939, and the
Nazi war
machine
seemed
unstoppable.
7. The Start of the War
• Britain and France, • Although Americans
honoring their were strongly anti-
commitments to Nazi, they were
Poland, declared desperately
war on Germany; determined to stay
World War II had out of the war.
started.
8. American Neutrality
Heeding to the need of France and
Britain of war materials from America,
Congress passed the Neutrality Act
of 1939.
It stated that the European
democracies could buy American war
materials as long as they would
transport the munitions on their own
ships after paying for them in cash.
America thus avoided loans, war
debts, and the torpedoing of
American arms-carriers.
Overseas demand for war goods
brought a sharp upswing from the
recession of 1937-1938 and
ultimately solved the decade-long
unemployment crisis.
9. “The Only Way
“The Only Way
We Can Save
We Can Save
Her”, 1939.
Her”, 1939.
Even as war
Even as war
broke out in
broke out in
Europe, many
Europe, many
Americans
Americans
continued to
continued to
insist on the
insist on the
morality of U.S.
morality of U.S.
neutrality.
neutrality.
10. The Fall of France
• The months following the collapse of Poland
were known as the "phony war."
• The Soviet Union took over Finland despite
Congress loaning $30 million to Finland.
• Hitler overran Denmark and Norway in April
1940, ending the "phony war." Hitler then
moved on to the Netherlands and Belgium.
• By late June 1940, France was forced to
surrender.
11. Hitler Swaggers into
Paris, 1940. The fall
of France to German
forces in June 1940
was a galling blow to
French pride and
convinced many
Americans that their
country must mobilize
to defeat the Nazi
menace.
12. France- Surrendered
• When France surrendered, Americans realized that
England was all that stood between Hitler controlling
all of Europe.
• Roosevelt moved with tremendous speed to call upon
the nation to build huge airfleets and a two-ocean
navy.
• Congress approved a spending of $37 billion.
• On September 6, 1940, Congress passed a
conscription law; under this measure, America's
first peacetime draft was initiated-provision was made
for training 1.2 million troops and 800,000 reserves
each year.
13. Havana Conference of 1940
• With the Netherlands, Denmark, and France
all fallen to German control, it was unsure
what would happen to the colonies of Latin
America (the New World).
• At the Havana Conference of 1940, the
United States agreed to share with its 20 New
World neighbors the responsibility of
upholding the Monroe Doctrine.
14. Bolstering Britain with the
Destroyer Deal (1940)
• After France fell to Germany in the Battle of France
(June), Hitler launched a series of air attacks against
Britain in August 1940.
• The Battle of Britain raged in the air over the British Isles
for months.
• During the Battle of Britain, radio broadcasts brought the
drama from London air raids directly to America homes.
• Sympathy for Britain grew, but it was not yet sufficient to
push the United States into war.
• President Roosevelt faced a historic decision:
whether to hunker down in the Western Hemisphere and
let the rest of the world go it alone; or to bolster Britain by
all means short of war itself.
15. To Aid, or not to Aid?
• Learning Goal: NJCCCS: 6.1.12.D.11.b
• Compare and contrast different
perspectives about how the United
States should respond to aggressive
policies and actions taken by other
nations at this time.
17. For or Against
• The most powerful group of those who supported aid for
Britain was the Committee to Defend America by Aiding
the Allies.
• Isolationists organized the America First Committee,
contending that America should concentrate what strength
it had to defend its own shores.
• On September 2, 1940, President Roosevelt agreed to
transfer to 50 destroyers left over from WWI to Britain.
• In return, Britain agreed to hand over to the United States
8 valuable defensive base sites. Shifting warships from a
neutral United States to Britain was a flagrant violation of
the neutrality obligations.
18. Albert Einstein Arriving in America, 1933.
Sadly, the United States admitted only a trickle of
Jewish refugees, while the Holocaust engulfed
European Jewry.
19. FDR Shatters the Two-Term
Tradition (1940)
• The Republicans chose Wendell L. Willkie to run
against President Roosevelt.
• Willkie's great appeal lay in his personality.
• The Republican platform condemned FDR's alleged
dictatorship, as well as the New Deal.
• Willkie was opposed not so much to the New Deal as
to its extravagances and inefficiencies.
• Roosevelt challenged the sacred two-term tradition
when he decided that in such a grave crisis he owed
his experienced hand to the service of his country.
20. The Election of
1940
• Both presidential nominees promised to
stay out of the war, and both promised
to strengthen the nation's defenses.
• FDR won the election of 1940; voters
generally felt that should war come, the
experience of FDR was needed.
21. Congress Passes the
Landmark Lend-Lease Law
• Fearing the collapse of Britain, Congress passed the
Lend-Lease Bill in 1941.
• Nicknamed "An Act Further to Promote the Defense
of the United States," it allowed for American arms to
be lent or leased to the democracies of the world that
needed them.
• When the war was over, the guns and tanks could be
returned. Key opponents of the bill, such as Senator
Taft, criticized it, reporting that the arms would be
destroyed and unable to be returned after the war.
22. No to Lend-Lease. Members of the Massachusetts Woman’s Political Club
presented President Roosevelt with a petition protesting adoption of the Lend-
Lease Bill and picketed the White House. They feared that America’s
increasing involvement with the Allied cause would eventually draw their sons
into battle- as it did, despite the president’s assurances to the contrary.
23. Praise for Lend-Lease
• It was praised by the FDR administration as a device
that would keep the nation out of the war rather than
dragging it in.
• America would send a limitless supply of arms to
victims of aggression, who would in turn finish the
war and keep it on their side of the Atlantic.
• Lend-lease was a challenge thrown at the Axis
dictators; America pledged itself to bolster those
nations that were indirectly fighting it by fighting
aggression.
• The bill marked the abandonment of any pretense of
neutrality.
24. Hitler’s Response
• Hitler recognized the
Lend-Lease Bill as an
unofficial declaration of
war. Until then, Germany
had avoided attacking
U.S. ships.
• On May 21, 1941, the
Robin Moor, an unarmed
American merchantman,
was destroyed by a
German submarine in the
South Atlantic, outside the
war zone.
25. Hitler's Assault on the Soviet
Union Spawns the Atlantic Charter
• Two events marked the course of WWII before the assault
on Pearl Harbor: the fall of France in June 1940, and
Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
• Even though the two nations were bound to peace under
the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939, neither Hitler nor Stalin
trusted one another. Hitler decided to crush the Soviet
Union, seize the oil and other resources of the Soviet
Union, and then have two free hands to battle Britain.
• On June 22, 1941, Hitler launched an attack on the
Soviet Union. President Roosevelt immediately promised
assistance and backed up his words by making some
military supplies available.
26. An Unexpected Ally
• With the surrender of the Soviet Union a very real
possibility, the Atlantic Conference was held in
August 1941.
• Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill met and discussed common problems of
the world.
• The two men came up with the eight-point Atlantic
Charter, outlining the aspirations of the democracies
for a better world at the war's end.
27. The Atlantic Charter
• The Atlantic Charter promised that
there would be no territorial changes
contrary to the wishes of the
inhabitants; it affirmed the right of a
people to choose their own form of
government and to regain the
governments abolished by the dictators;
and it declared for disarmament and a
peace of security, pending a new
League of Nations.
29. U.S. Destroyers and Hitler’s
U-boats Clash
• FDR made the decision to escort the shipments of arms to
Britain by U.S. warships in July 1941.
• In September 1941, the U.S. destroyer Greer was
attacked by a U-boat, without suffering damage.
• Roosevelt then proclaimed a shoot-on-sight policy.
• On October 17 the destroyer Kearny was crippled by a U-
boat.
• Two weeks later, the destroyer Reuben James was sunk
off southwestern Iceland.
• Congress voted in November 1941 to repeal the
Neutrality Act of 1939, enabling merchant ships to be
legally armed and enter the combat zones with munitions
for Britain.
30. “Surprise” Assault of Pearl
Harbor
• Since September 1940, Japan had been allied with
Germany. In late 1940, Washington imposed the first of
its embargoes on Japan-bound supplies.
• The State Department insisted that the Japanese clear out
of China, offering to renew trade relations on a limited
basis. Forced with the choice of succumbing to the
Americans or continued conquest, the Japanese chose to
fight.
• On "Black Sunday" December 7, 1941, Japanese
bombers attacked Pearl Harbor, killing 2,348 people.
• On December 11, 1941, Congress declared war.
31.
32.
33.
34. America’s Transformation
from Bystander to Belligerent
• Pearl Harbor was not the full answer to the question of why the
United States went to war.
• Following the fall of France, Americans were confronted with a
devil's dilemma. They desired to stay out of the conflict, yet
they did not want Britain to be knocked out.
• To keep Britain from collapsing, the Roosevelt administration
felt compelled to extend the unneutral aid that invited attacks
from German submarines.
• Americans wished to stop Japan's conquests in the Far East.
• To keep Japan from expanding, Washington undertook to cut off
vital Japanese supplies with embargoes that invited possible
retaliation.
• Rather than let democracy die and dictatorship rule, most
Americans were determined to support a policy that might lead
to war.
36. The War in Europe and North Africa
The Main Idea
After entering World War II, the United States
focused first on the war in Europe.
Reading Focus
• How and why did the Allies fight the Battle of the
Atlantic?
• What were the key events of the war in the Soviet
Union?
• What did American forces accomplish in North Africa
and Italy?
• What were the events and significance of the Allies’ D-
Day invasion of France?
37.
38. How and why did the Allies fight the Battle of the Atlantic?
Defeating the Axis Powers depended on control of
the seas. The Atlantic needed to be kept safe for
shipping so that soldiers and goods could be
transported from the United States to the other
Allied nations.
Germany had a very powerful navy including with
new surface ships (including the giant Bismarck)
and U-boats.
German used new tactics to increase U-boat
effectiveness such as the so-called wolf pack. U-
boats sent hundreds of ships and tons of supplies
to the bottom of the sea. At the same time, the
German navy lost few of their boats.
The entry of the United States into the war would
help turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic.
39. The Allies Fight the Battle of the Atlantic
Allied ships and aircraft
• American shipyards began producing new ships at an
amazing rate.
• The new ships were used to form larger, better-
equipped convoys, which cut down on the effectiveness
of U-boat attacks.
• Allied aircraft protected convoys from the air.
Cracking the Enigma
• The Allies broke the German code system, which was
called the Enigma.
• The Allies began to gain vital information about the
locations and plans of U-boat formations.
• Finally, the Allies had an advantage over the Germans.
40. World War II in the Soviet Union
1. Hitler broke his nonaggression pack with Stalin and invaded the Soviet
Union in 1941.
– The Soviets then joined the Allies as enemies of the Axis Powers.
– At first the Soviets seemed unable to stop the German blitzkrieg; however, the
bitterly cold Russian winter proved a great ally.
– Still, the Germans held a vast portion of the western Soviet Union and besieged
the city of Leningrad.
1. The Germans attacked Stalingrad in August 1942.
– The Soviets refused to let Stalingrad fall, and Hitler suffered a stunning defeat
in early 1943.
1. Stalingrad marked the beginning of Germany’s collapse in the Soviet
Union.
– Soviet forces pushed Germany out of Russia, but lost 12 million soldiers and
millions of civilians.
41. American Forces in North Africa and Italy
Why was North Africa important?
By controlling North Africa, the British could
protect shipping on the Mediterranean Sea.
They needed the ability to ship oil from the
Middle East through the Suez Canal.
What was the result of fighting in North Africa?
Italy could not drive the British from Egypt.
Hitler sent troops under the direction of Erwin
Rommel – nicknamed the Desert Fox. After a
back-and-forth battle for North Africa, the Allied
forces handed the Germans a major defeat at
the battle of El Alamein.
What happened in Italy?
British and American forces invaded Italy in
1943. The Italian people forced Mussolini from
power, but Hitler rushed into Italy to stop the
Allies.
42. D-Day: The Invasion of France
To end the war as quickly as possible, the Allies
planned Operation Overlord—a large invasion of
mainland France.
The Allies landed at Normandy on June 6, 1944—
called D-Day—and began to march on France.
The Battle of the Bulge became a symbol of
American strength and determination.
43. D-Day: The Invasion of France
Operation Overlord D-Day Battle of the Bulge
• Planned invasion • June 6, 1944 • Surprise
of France from • Allied force of offensive by
the beaches of 3.5 million Germans
Normandy soldiers • Key moment
• General Omar • Germans were came at the
Bradley led the slow to respond Belgium city of
American troops. Bastogne.
• Estimated
• Good planning 10,000 Allied • Lieutenant
and speed were casualties, General George S.
vital. including 6,600 Patton provided
• Americans were Americans relief for the
concerned about • The Allies soldiers at
the V1 flying landed almost 1 Bastogne.
bomb and the V2 million soldiers
rocket. • Symbol of
and 180,000 American
vehicles. strength and
determination
44. The Holocaust
The Main Idea
During the Holocaust, Germany’s Nazi government
systematically murdered some 6 million Jews and 5
million others in Europe.
Reading Focus
• What was the history of the Nazi anti-Semitism?
• What was the Nazi government’s Final Solution?
• How did the United States respond to the Holocaust?
45. The History of Nazi Anti-Semitism
Anti- • Hostility toward or prejudice against
Semitism Jews
• Told Germans that they came from a
superior race – the Aryans
Hitler’s • Used the Jews as a scapegoat – someone
Views to blame for Germany’s woes after World
War I
• Jews lived in Germany for 1,600 years.
History • Hostility toward Jews existed since the
of Jews Middle Ages.
in • Anti-Jewish Nazi laws mirrored medieval
Germany efforts to humiliate Jews.
• Anti-Semitism changed from prejudice
based on religion to hatred based on
ancestry.
46. Nazi Anti-Semitism
Fleeing
Germany
Hitler in Power Attacks on Jews
• Over 100,000
• Began campaign • Many Germans managed to leave
against Jews soon supported Hitler’s Germany after
after becoming anti-Semitic Kristallnacht.
chancellor ideas.
• Others found it
• Established a • Discrimination difficult to leave the
series of anti- and violent country as Nazi
Semitic laws attacks against laws had left many
intended to drive Jews continued. without money or
Jews from • Anti-Jewish riots property.
Germany broke out in an • Many countries
• Laws stripped attack called were unwilling to
Jews of their Kristallnacht. take in poor
citizenship and • Jews were sent to immigrants.
took away most concentration
civil and economic • The United States
camps, killed, and limited the number
rights. fined for the of Germans
• Laws defined who attack. immigrants.
was a Jew.
47. The Nazi Government’s Final Solution
World War II brought many of Europe’s 9 million Jews under the control of the
Nazi SS.
•Concentration camps were built in Germany and in other countries that the
Germans occupied.
– The camps were prisons for Jews and others considered enemies of
Hitler’s regime.
– Conditions in the camps were horrific.
•The Nazis also established ghettos to control and punish Jews.
– Ghettos are neighborhoods in a city to which a group of people are
confined.
– Life in the Jewish ghettos was desperate.
– The worst ghetto was in Warsaw, Poland.
•In 1941 Hitler called for the total destruction of all of Europe’s Jews.
– At first mobile killing units—Einsatzgruppen—massacred Jews.
– Then, Nazi officials adopted a plan known as the Final Solution.
48. Concentration Camps, Ghettos,
and the Final Solution
Camps Ghettos The Final
• Prisons for Jews, • Walls or fences kept Solution
prisoners-of-war, the Jews inside and
and enemies of those trying to • Genocide – the
the Nazi regime leave were shot. killing of an entire
people
• Inmates received • Food was scarce;
little food and starvation was • Involved building 6
were forced to rampant. new extermination
labor. camps for Jews
• Diseases spread
• The combination rapidly. • Inmates were
of overwork and exposed to poison
• The worst ghetto
starvation was gas in specially built
was in Warsaw,
intended to kill. chambers.
Poland.
• Punishment for • 3 million Jews died
• Some Jews in the
minor offenses in extermination
Warsaw ghetto—the
was swift, sure, camps.
Jewish Fighting
and deadly. Organization— • 3 million Jews and 5
fought back. million others were
killed by the Nazi
using other means.
49. The American response to the Holocaust
• Despite knowing about Hitler’s policies toward the Jews and
events such as Kristallnacht, American immigration limited the
number of Jews who could move to the United States.
• In 1942, Americans officials began to hear about what was
happening to the Jews in Europe and specifically about Hitler’s
Final Solution.
– The Americans were doubtful at first and thought the reports might just
be war rumors.
• Finally in 1944, Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board.
– Through this board, the United States was able to help 200,000 Jews.
50. The American Response
Liberating the Nazi Camps The Nuremberg trials
• In 1944, Soviet troops began to • Many Nazis faced trial for their
discover some of the Nazi death roles in the Holocaust.
camps. By 1945 they reached the
• The court was located at
huge extermination camp at
Auschwitz. Nuremberg, Germany.
• Their reports gave proof of Hitler’s • The court was called the
terrible plan. International Military Tribunal.
• Also in 1945, American soldiers • Twenty two Nazis were tried for
came upon concentration camps. war crimes, including Hermann
Göering.
• Many camp inmates died after
• Since Nuremberg, several Nazis
being rescued, but some were still
strong enough to survive. have been captured and tried in
different courts, including Israel.
52. SECTION 1: MOBILIZING FOR
DEFENSE
• After Japan attacked Pearl
Harbor, they thought
America would avoid
further conflict with them
• The Japan Times
newspaper said America
was “trembling in their
shoes”
• But if America was
trembling, it was with rage,
not fear
• “Remember Pearl Harbor”
was the rallying cry as
America entered WWII
53. AMERICANS RUSH TO ENLIST
• After Pearl Harbor
five million
Americans enlisted
to fight in the war
• The Selective
Service expanded
the draft and
eventually
provided an
additional 10
million soldiers
54. WOMEN JOIN THE FIGHT
• Army Chief of Staff
General George
Marshall pushed for
the formation of the
Women’s Auxiliary
Army Corps (WAAC)
• Under this program
women worked in
non-combat roles
such as nurses,
ambulance drivers,
radio operators, and
pilots
55. ALL AMERICANS FOUGHT
Despite discrimination at
home, minority populations
contributed to the war
effort
• 1,000,000 African
Americans served in the
military
• 300,000 Mexican-Americans
• 33,000 Japanese Americans
• 25,000 Native Americans
• 13,000 Chinese Americans
These “Golden 13” Great Lakes officers
scored the highest marks ever on the
Officers exam in 1944
56. A PRODUCTION MIRACLE
• Americans converted
their auto industry
into a war industry
• The nation’s
automobile plants
began to produce
tanks, planes, boats,
and command cars
• Many other industries
also converted to war-
related supplies
57. LABOR’S CONTRIBUTION
• By 1944, nearly 18
million workers
were laboring in
war industries (3x
the # in 1941)
• More than 6 million
of these were
women and nearly
2 million were
minorities
58. MOBILIZATION OF
SCIENTISTS
• In 1941, FDR created
the Office of Scientific
Research and
Development (OSRD)
to bring scientists into
the war effort
• Focus was on radar
and sonar to locate
submarines
• Also the scientists
worked on penicillin
and pesticides like
DDT
59. MANHATTAN PROJECT
• The most important
achievement of the
OSRD was the secret
development of the
atomic bomb
• Einstein wrote to FDR
warning him that the
Germans were
attempting to develop
such a weapon
• The code used to
describe American
efforts to build the
bomb was the
“Manhattan Project”
60. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
TAKES CONTROL OF
INFLATION
• With prices of goods
threatening to rise out
of control, FDR
responded by creating
the Office of Price
Administration (OPA)
• The OPA froze prices
on most goods and
encouraged the
purchase of war
bonds to fight
inflation
61.
62. WAR PRODUCTION BOARD
• To ensure the troops
had ample resources,
FDR created the WPB
• The WPB decided
which companies
would convert to
wartime production
and how to best
allocate raw materials
to those industries
63. COLLECTION DRIVES
• The WPB also
organized nationwide
drives to collect scrap
iron, tin cans, paper,
rags and cooking fat
for recycling
• Additionally, the OPA
set up a system of
rationing
• Households had set
allocations of scarce
goods – gas, meat,
shoes, sugar, coffee
66. SECTION 2: THE WAR FOR
EUROPE AND NORTH AFRICA
• Days after Pearl Harbor, British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill arrived at the White House and
spent three weeks working out war plans with
FDR
• They decided to focus on defeating Hitler first
and then turn their attention to Japan
67. THE BATTLE OF THE
ATLANTIC
• After America’s entry into
the war, Hitler was
determined to prevent
foods and war supplies
from reaching Britain and
the USSR from America’s
east coast
• He ordered submarine
raids on U.S. ships on the
Atlantic
• During the first four
The power of the German submarines was
great, and in two months' time almost two months of 1942 Germany
million tons of Allied ships were resting sank 87 U.S. ships
on the ocean floor. Efforts were soon
made to restrict German subs' activities.
68.
69. • In the first seven months of ALLIES
1942, German U-boats sank
681 Allied ships in the
Atlantic
CONTROL
• Something had to be done
or the war at sea would be U-BOATS
lost
• First, Allies used convoys
of ships & airplanes to
transport supplies
• Destroyers used sonar to
track U-boats
• Airplanes were used to
track the U-boats ocean
surfaces
• With this improved tracking, U-426 sinks after attack from the
air, January 1944. Almost two-
Allies inflicted huge losses thirds of all U-boat sailors died
on German U-boats during the Battle of the Atlantic.
70.
71. THE EASTERN FRONT &
MEDITERRANEAN
• Hitler wanted to wipe out
Stalingrad – a major
industrial center
• In the summer of 1942, the
Germans took the
offensive in the southern
Soviet Union
• By the winter of 1943, the
Allies began to see
victories on land as well as
sea
• The first great turning
Battle of Stalingrad was a huge point was the Battle of
Allied victory Stalingrad
72. BATTLE OF
STALINGRAD
• For weeks the Germans pressed in on
Stalingrad
• Then winter set in and the Germans
were wearing summer uniforms
• The Germans surrendered in January of
1943
• The Soviets
lost more
than
1 million
men in the battle (more
Wounded in the than twice the number of deaths the U.S.
Battle of Stalingrad suffered in all the war)
73. THE NORTH
AFRICAN FRONT
• “Operation
Torch” – an
invasion of Axis
-controlled North Africa
--was launched by
American General Dwight
D. Eisenhower in 1942
• Allied troops landed in
Casablanca, Oran and
the Algiers in Algeria
• They sped eastward
chasing the Afrika Korps American tanks roll in the
deserts of Africa and defeat
led by German General German and Axis forces
Edwin Rommel
75. CASABLANCA MEETING
• FDR and Churchill
met in Casablanca
and decided their next
moves
• 1) Plan amphibious
invasions of France
and Italy
• 2) Only unconditional
surrender would be
FDR and Churchill in accepted
Casablanca
76. ITALIAN CAMPAIGN –
ANOTHER ALLIED VICTORY
• The Italian Campaign got
off to a good start as the
Allies easily took Sicily
• At that point King
Emmanuel III stripped
Mussolini of his power and
had him arrested
• However, Hitler’s forces
continued to resist the
Allies in Italy
• Heated battles ensued and
it wasn’t until 1945 that
Italy was secured by the
Allies
77. TUSKEGEE
AIRMEN
• Among the brave men
who fought in Italy
were pilots of the all-
black 99th squadron –
the Tuskegee Airmen
• The pilots made
numerous effective
strikes against
Germany and won two
distinguished Unit
Citations
78. On May 31, 1943, the 99th Squadron, the first group of African-American
pilots trained at the Tuskegee Institute, arrived in North Africa
79. ALLIES LIBERATE EUROPE
Allies sent
fake coded
messages
indicating
they would
attack here
• Even as the Allies were battling for Italy, they began plans on
a dramatic invasion of France
• It was known as “Operation Overlord” and the commander
was American General Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Also called “D-Day,” the operation involved 3 million U.S. &
British troops and was set for June 6, 1944
80. D-DAY JUNE • D-Day was the
largest land-sea-air
6, 1944 operation in
military history
• Despite air support,
German retaliation
was brutal –
especially at
Omaha Beach
• Within a month, the
Allies had landed
1 million troops,
567,000 tons of
supplies and
D-Day was an amphibious landing –
soldiers going from sea to land 170,000 vehicles
85. FRANCE
• By September 1944, FREED
the Allies had freed
France, Belgium and
Luxembourg
• That good news – and
the American’s
people’s desire not to
“change horses in
midstream” – helped
elect FDR to an General George Patton (right)
unprecedented 4th term was instrumental in Allies
freeing France
87. FDR: The Fourth-Termite of
1944
• For the election of 1944, the Republicans
nominated Thomas E. Dewey for the
presidency and isolationist Senator, John W.
Bricker for the vice presidency.
• The Democrats nominated Roosevelt for the
presidency and, after dispute of trust with
current vice president Henry A. Wallace,
Senator Harry S Truman was chosen for the
vice presidency.
88.
89. BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
• In October 1944,
Americans captured
their first German
town (Aachen)– the
Allies were closing in
• Hitler responded with
one last ditch massive
offensive
• Hitler hoped breaking
through the Allied line
would break up Allied
supply lines
90. BATTLE OF THE
BULGE
• The battle raged for a
month – the Germans had
been pushed back
• Little seemed to have
changed, but in fact the
Germans had sustained
heavy losses
• Germany lost 120,000
troops, 600 tanks and
1,600 planes
• From that point on the
Nazis could do little but
The Battle of the Bulge was retreat
Germany’s last gasp
91. LIBERATION OF DEATH
• While the British and CAMPS
Americans moved
westward into
Germany, the Soviets
moved eastward into
German-controlled
Poland
• The Soviets
discovered many
death camps that the
Germans had set up
within Poland
• The Americans also
liberated Nazi death
camps within
Germany
94. ALLIES TAKE BERLIN; HITLER
COMMITS SUICIDE
• By April 25, 1945, the Soviet
army had stormed Berlin
• In his underground
headquarters in Berlin, Hitler
prepared for the end
• On April 29, he married his
longtime girlfriend Eva Braun
then wrote a last note in
which he blamed the Jews for
starting the war and his
generals for losing it
• The next day he gave poison
to his wife and shot himself
95. V-E DAY
• General Eisenhower
accepted the
unconditional
surrender of the Third
Reich
• On May 8, 1945, the
Allies celebrated V-E
Day – victory in
Europe Day
• The war in Europe
was finally over
97. FDR DIES; TRUMAN
PRESIDENT
• President
Roosevelt did
not live to see
V-E Day
• On April 12,
1945, he suffered
a stroke and
died– his VP
Harry S Truman
became the
nation’s 33rd
president
98. A Reluctant Truman
• On April 12, 1945, President
Roosevelt died suddenly from a
brain hemorrhage. Harry S
Truman took over the presidency.
• The first president without a
college education in many years,
President Harry S Truman was
known as "average man's
average man."
• He had down-home authenticity,
few pretensions, rock-solid
probity, and the political ability
called "moxie" - the ability to face
difficulty with courage.
99. SECTION 3: THE
WAR IN THE
PACIFIC
• The Americans did
not celebrate long, as
Japan was busy
conquering an empire
that dwarfed Hitler’s
Third Reich
• Japan had conquered
much of southeast
Asia including the
Dutch East Indies,
Guam, and most of
China
100.
101. BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA
• The main Allied forces in the Pacific were
Americans and Australians
• In May 1942 they succeeded in stopping
the Japanese drive toward Australia in the
five-day Battle of the Coral Sea
102. THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY
• Japan’s next thrust was
toward Midway Island –
a strategic Island
northwest of Hawaii
• Admiral Chester Nimitz,
the Commander of
American Naval forces
in the Pacific, moved to
defend the Island
• The Americans won a
decisive victory as their
planes destroyed 4
Japanese aircraft
carriers and 250 planes
103. •The Battle of Midway was a turning point in the war –
soon the Allies were island hopping toward Japan
104. KAMIKAZE
PILOTS ATTACK
ALLIES • The Americans
continued leapfrogging
across the Pacific
toward Japan
• Japanese countered by
employing a new tactic
– Kamikaze (divine
wind) attacks
• Pilots in small bomb-
In the Battle for the Philippines, 424 laden planes would
Kamikaze pilots sank 16 ships and crash into Allied ships
damaged 80 more
105. • General
MacArthur and IWO JIMA
the Allies next
turned to the
Island of Iwo Jima
• The island was
critical to the
Allies as a base
for an attack on
Japan
• It was called the
most heavily
defended spot on
earth
• Allied and
Japanese forces American soldiers plant the flag on
suffered heavy the Island of Iwo Jima after their
casualties victory
106. THE BATTLE FOR OKINAWA
• In April 1945, U.S.
marines invaded
Okinawa
• The Japanese
unleashed 1,900
Kamikaze attacks
sinking 30 ships and
killing 5,000 seamen
• Okinawa cost the
Americans 7,600
marines and the
Japanese 110,000
soldiers
107. INVADE JAPAN?
• After Okinawa,
MacArthur Okinawa
predicted that a
Normandy type
amphibious
invasion of Japan
would result in
1,500,000 Allied
deaths
• President Truman
saw only one way
to avoid an The loss of life at Iwo Jima and Okinawa
invasion of convinced Allied leaders that an invasion
Japan . . . of Japan was not the best idea
108. No Going Back
• Learning Goal: NJCCCS: 6.1.12.A.11.d
• Analyze the decision to use the atomic
bomb and the consequences of doing
so.
109. ATOMIC BOMB
DEVELOPED
• Japan had a huge
army that would
defend every inch of
the Japanese
mainland
• So Truman decided to
use a powerful new
weapon developed by
scientists working on
the Manhattan Project
– the Atomic Bomb
110. U.S. DROPS TWO
ATOMIC BOMBS
ON JAPAN
• Truman warned
Japan in late July 1945
that without a
immediate Japanese
surrender, it faced
“prompt and utter
destruction”
• On August 6
(Hiroshima) and August The plane and crew that dropped
9 (Nagasaki) a B-29 an atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
bomber dropped Atomic Japan
113. JAPAN SURRENDERS
• Japan surrendered
days after the second
atomic bomb was
dropped
• General MacArthur
said, “Today the
guns are silent. The
skies no longer rain
death . . .the entire
world is quietly at
peace.”
At the White House, President Harry
Truman announces the Japanese
surrender, August 14, 1945
114. • In February 1945,
as the Allies THE YALTA
pushed toward
victory in Europe,
CONFERENCE
an ailing FDR met
with Churchill and
Stalin at the Black
Sea resort of Yalta
in the USSR
• A series of
compromises
were worked out
concerning
(L to R) Churchill, FDR and Stalin
postwar Europe at Yalta
115. YALTA AGREEMENTS
• 1) They agreed to divide Germany into 4 occupied zones
after the war
• 2) Stalin agreed to free elections in Eastern Europe
• 3) Stalin agreed to help the U.S. in the war against Japan
and to join the United Nations
116. NUREMBERG WAR TRIALS
Herman Goering, Hitler's right-hand man and chief
architect of the German war effort, testifies at his trial.
He was found guilty of war crimes but avoided
execution by swallowing potassium cyanide.
• The discovery of Hitler’s death camps led the Allies to put 24
surviving Nazi leaders on trial for crimes against humanity, crimes
against the peace, and war crimes
• The trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany
• “I was only following orders” was not an acceptable defense as 12
of the 24 were sentenced to death and the others to life in prison
117. THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN
• Japan was occupied by U.S. forces under the command of
General MacArthur
• During the seven- year occupation, MacArthur reshaped
Japan’s economy by introducing free-market practices that
led to a remarkable economic recovery
• Additionally, he introduced a liberal constitution that to this
day is called the MacArthur Constitution
118. Challenges after the War
United Nations Potsdam Conference Rebuilding
• Representatives • Allied leaders met • MacArthur led
from 50 in the German city efforts to help
countries met of Potsdam to
Japan rebuild its
to form a new discuss the spread
organization, of communism and government and
the United Soviet influence in economy.
Nations. the postwar world. • Seven Japanese
• The UN was • Truman hoped to leaders were
meant to get Stalin to live tried for war
encourage up to his promises crimes.
cooperation from Yalta.
among nations • Rebuilding
• Stalin did not do
and to prevent Europe caused
this.
wars. tensions between
the U.S and the
Soviet Union.
119. SECTION 4: THE HOME FRONT
• The war provided a lift
to the U.S. economy
• Jobs were abundant
and despite rationing
and shortages, people
had money to spend
• By the end of the war,
America was the
world’s dominant
economic and military
power
120. On the Home Front
• Learning Goal: NJCCCS: 6.1.12.C.11.a
• Apply opportunity cost and trade-offs to
evaluate the shift in economic
resources from the production of
domestic to military goods during World
War II, and analyze the impact of the
post-war shift back to domestic
production.
121. ECONOMIC GAINS
• Unemployment fell
to only 1.2% by
1944 and wages
rose 35%
• Farmers too
benefited as
production
doubled and
income tripled
122. WOMEN MAKE GAINS
• Women enjoyed
economic gains
during the war,
although many lost
their jobs after the war
• Over 6 million women
entered the work force
for the first time
• Over 1/3 were in the
defense industry
123.
124.
125. Women at
Women at
War. Members
War. Members
of the
of the
Women’s Army
Women’s Army
Corps
Corps
disembark in
disembark in
North Africa in
North Africa in
1944. (Note:
1944. (Note:
“Auxiliary” was
“Auxiliary” was
dropped from
dropped from
the name in
the name in
1943.
1943.
126. POPULATION SHIFTS
• The war triggered the
greatest mass
migration in American
history
• More than a million
newcomers poured
into California
between 1941-1944
• African Americans
again shifted from
south to north
127. GI BILL HELPS RETURNING
VETS
• To help returning
servicemen ease back
into civilian life,
Congress passed the
Servicemen’s
Readjustment Act (GI
Bill of Rights)
• The act provided
education for 7.8
million vets
128. Japanese Internment
• NJCCCS 6.1.12.A.11.c
• Determine if American policies
regarding Japanese internment and
actions against other minority groups
were a denial of civil rights.
129. INTERNMENT OF
JAPANESE AMERICANS
• When the war began,
120,000 Japanese
Americans lived in the
U.S. – mostly on the
West Coast
• After Pearl Harbor,
many people were
suspicious of possible
spy activity by Japanese
Americans
• In 1942, FDR ordered
Japanese Americans felt the
Japanese Americans sting of discrimination during
into 10 relocation WWII
centers
132. U.S. PAYS REPARATIONS
TO JAPANESE
• In the late 1980s, President
Reagan signed into law a
bill that provided $20,000
to every Japanese
American sent to a
relocation camp
• The checks were sent out
in 1990 along with a note
from President Bush
saying, “We can never
fully right the wrongs of
the past . . . we now
recognize that serious
Today the U.S. is home to wrongs were done to
more than 1,000,000 Japanese- Japanese Americans
Americans during WWII.”
133. Nearly 59 years after the end of World War II,
the National World War II Memorial was
dedicated in Washington, D.C., on Saturday,
May 29, 2004 to honor the 408,680 Americans
who died in the conflict
134. Geography and WWII
• NJCCCS: 6.1.12.B.11.a
• Explain the role that geography played
in the development of military strategies
and weaponry in World War II.
