World War II was an international conflict from 1939-1945 involving the Allied and Axis powers. It began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and eventually involved over 50 countries worldwide. By the end of the war, an estimated 60-80 million people had died, including up to 55 million civilians. Key leaders of the Axis powers included Adolf Hitler of Germany, Hirohito of Japan, and Benito Mussolini of Italy. Leaders of the Allied powers included Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, Franklin D. Roosevelt of the US, and Winston Churchill of Britain. Major events of the war included Germany's invasions of Western Europe in 1940, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, D-Day in 1944, and the

1. WMSU
WORLD WAR
II
CTE
BSED SOCIAL STUDIES
Mendoza, John
Carl C.

2. WORLD WAR II
• (1939 – 1945) International conflict principally between the Axis
powers Germany, Italy, and Japan and the Allied powers France,
Britain, the U.S., the Soviet Union, and China.
• The largest and deadliest conflict in human history, involved
more than 50 nations and was fought on land, sea and air in
nearly every part of the world.
• The war began when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 and
raged across the globe until 1945, when Japan surrendered to
the United States after atomic bombs were dropped on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the end of World War II, an
estimated 60 to 80 million people had died, including up to 55
million civilians, and numerous cities in Europe and Asia were
reduced to rubble.

3. KEY PERSONS
OF WW2

4. AXIS LEADERS
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30
April 1945)
• The dictator of Germany
• Leader of the Nazi Party
becoming the chancellor in 1933
and then taking the title of
Führer und Reichskanzler –
leader

5. AXIS LEADERS
Hirohito (29 April 1901 – 7
January 1989)
• Honored as Emperor Shōwa
• Emperor of Japan
• Reigning over 62 years the
longest of any historical
Japanese emperor and one of
the longest-reigning monarchs in
the world.

6. AXIS LEADERS
Benito Mussolini (29 July 1883
– 28 April 1945)
• Prime Minister of Italy
• Italian Dictator
• principal founder of fascism
• founded and led the National
Fascist Party (PNF)

7. ALLIED LEADERS
Joseph Stalin (6 December
1878 – 5 March 1953)
• A soviet revolutionary and
politician who was the leader of
the Soviet Union
• governing the country as part of
a collective leadership, he
consolidated power to become a
dictator by the 1930s

8. ALLIED LEADERS
Franklin D. Roosevelt (January
30, 1882 – April 12, 1945)
• an American politician and
statesman who served as the
32nd president of the United
States.
• elected as a member of the New
York State Senate from 1911 to
1913.
• Assistant secretary of the Navy
under President Woodrow Wilson
during World War I

9. ALLIED LEADERS
Winston Churchill (30 November
1874 – 24 January 1965)
• a British statesman, soldier, and
writer who twice served as Prime
Minister of the United Kingdom,
from 1940 to 1945 during the
Second World War.

10. CAUSES OF WW2

11. CAUSES OF WW2
• Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was signed by Germany and the Allied
Nations on June 28, 1919, formally ending World War One. The
terms of the treaty required that Germany pay financial
reparations, disarm, lose territory, and give up all of its overseas
colonies.
• Economic Depression
The whole world was hit by an economic depression in the late
1920s. In a depression, economies shrink, trade is reduced,
businesses close, prices fall, banks fail, and unemployment rises.
Sometimes during a depression, people look for a strong political
leader to resolve their problems. In 1933, Adolf Hitler became the
leader of Germany by promising to restore German wealth and
power.

12. CAUSES OF WW2
• Germany’s Militarism
Hitler immediately began secretly building up Germany’s army and
weapons. Although Britain and France knew of Hitler’s actions,
they thought a stronger Germany would stop the spread of
Communism from Russia. In 1936 Hitler ordered German troops to
enter the German-speaking areas of the Rhineland (France),
Austria, and Czechoslovakia. At this point neither France nor
Britain was prepared to go to war. In 1936, Hitler made alliances
with Italy and Japan. The military alliance of Germany, Italy, and
Japan was called the Axis Powers.

13. CAUSES OF WW2
• Failure of Appeasement
Appeasement meant agreeing to the demands of another nation in
order to avoid conflict. During the 1930s, politicians in Britain and
France began to believe that the Treaty of Versailles was unfair to
Germany and that Hitler’s actions were understandable and
justifiable. This belief, adopted by Britain, was the Policy of
Appeasement.
An example of appeasement was the Munich Agreement of
September 1938. In the Agreement, Britain and France allowed
Germany to annex areas in Czechoslovakia where German-speakers
lived. Germany agreed not to invade the rest of Czechoslovakia or
any other country. In March 1939, Germany broke its promise and
invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia. Neither Britain nor France was
prepared to take military action. Then, on September 1, 1939,
German troops invaded Poland. Britain and France immediately
declared war on Germany. World War II had begun in Europe.

14. • Failure of the League of Nations
The League of Nations was an international organization set up in
1919 to keep world peace. It was intended that all countries would
be members and that if there were disputes between countries, they
could be settled by negotiation rather than by force. The League of
Nations was a good idea, but ultimately a failure. Not all countries
joined the league and the League had no army to prevent military
aggression such as Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia in Africa or Japan’s
invasion of Manchuria in China.
CAUSES OF WW2

15. WORLD WAR 2
MAJOR EVENTS

17. WW2 MAJOR EVENTS
• 1933 January 30 - Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.
His Nazi Party, or the Third Reich, takes power and Hitler is
essentially the dictator of Germany.
• 1936 October 25 - Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy form the
Rome-Berlin Axis treaty.
• 1936 November 25 - Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan sign the
Anti-Comintern Pact. This was a pact against communism and
Russia.
• 1937 July 7 - Japan invades China. (Manchuria)
• 1938 March 12 - Hitler annexes the country of Austria into
Germany. This is also called the Anschluss.

18. WW2 MAJOR EVENTS
• 1939 September 1 - Germany invades Poland. World War II
begins.
• 1939 September 3 - France and Great Britain declare war on
Germany.
• 1940 April 9 to June 9 - Germany invades and takes control of
Denmark and Norway.
• 1940 May 10 to June 22 - Germany uses quick strikes called
blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war, to take over much of western
Europe including the Netherlands, Belgium, and northern
France.

19. WW2 MAJOR EVENTS
• 1940 May 30 - Winston Churchill becomes leader of the British
government.
• 1940 June 10 - Italy enters the war as a member of the Axis
powers.
• 1940 July 10 - Germany launches an air attack on Great Britain.
These attacks last until the end of October and are known as
the Battle of Britain.
• 1940 September 22 - Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the
Tripartite Pact creating the Axis Alliance.
• 1941 June 22 - Germany and the Axis Powers attack Russia
with a huge force of over four million troops.

20. WW2 MAJOR EVENTS
• 1941 December 7 - The Japanese attack the US Navy in Pearl
Harbor. The next day the US enters World War II on the side of
the Allies.
• 1942 June 4 - The US Navy defeats the Japanese navy at the
Battle of Midway.
• 1943 July 10 - The Allies invade and take the island of Sicily.
• 1943 September 3 - Italy surrenders to the Allies, however
Germany helps Mussolini to escape and set up a government in
Northern Italy.
• 1944 June 6 - D-day and the Normandy invasion. Allied forces
invade France and push back the Germans.

21. WW2 MAJOR EVENTS
• 1944 August 25 - Paris is liberated from German control.
• 1944 December 16 - The Germans launch a large attack in the
Battle of the Bulge. They lose to the Allies sealing the fate of
the German army.
• 1945 February 19 - US Marines invade the island of Iwo Jima.
After a fierce battle they capture the island.
• 1945 April 12 - US President Franklin Roosevelt dies. He is
succeeded by President Harry Truman.
• 1945 March 22 - The US Third Army under General Patton
crosses the Rhine River.
• 1945 April 30 - Adolf Hitler commits suicide as he knows
Germany has lost the war.

22. WW2 MAJOR EVENTS
• 1945 May 7 - Germany surrenders to the Allies.
• 1945 August 6 - The United States drops the Atomic Bomb on
Hiroshima, Japan. The city is devastated.
• 1945 August 9 - Another atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki,
Japan.
• 1945 September 2 - Japan surrenders to US General Douglass
MacArthur and the Allies.

23. CONSEQUENCES OF WW2
World War Two created a new world:
• It has been estimated that 50 million people died in World War
Two.
• The old empires of France and Britain were ruined. A 'wind of
change' meant that by the end of the 1960s almost all the old
colonies of the British Empire had gained their independence.
• America and Russia were the new 'superpowers', and
immediately started on a Cold War.
• The dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
created a world which was terrified by the threat of atomic war.
• Germany was divided, and remained so until 1990.
• The League of Nations was disbanded. Instead, a new United
Nations was declared.