World War II was a global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. The war was caused in part by the Treaty of Versailles which ended WWI and humiliated Germany, as well as the worldwide economic depression in the 1930s. Key events included Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, the German blitzkrieg tactics across Europe, the US entry into the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Allied D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944. Ultimately, the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki led Japan to surrender in 1945, ending World War II.

1. World War II
The most significant event of the 20th
Century!

2. Causes of World War II
•Hitler, Mussolini,
and Tojo did not
cause World War II.
•The Treaty of
Versailles which ended
World War I is the
chief cause of World
War II.

3. Other Causes of WWII
 Germany was poor and humiliated.
 The Worldwide depression made life bad for everyone, but
especially Germany.
 Italy, Germany, and Russia turned to fascist leaders who
promised to restore national wealth and pride.

4. Divided and Weak Government in
Germany, Chaos in the Streets!
Von Hidenburg chooses Hitler to be Chancellor in 1933.

5. Hitler becomes “the fuehrer” when Hindenburg
dies!

6. German Socialist Workers Party, the Nazis, a Midnight Parade!

7. Europe on the Brink of War
 In 1934, Adolph Hitler announced a program
of rearming Germany which was a violation
of the Treaty of Versailles.
 In Italy, Benito Mussolini was also building a
powerful military force.
 Many American adults belonged to peace
organizations and were determined never
again to enter a foreign war.

8. World War II
•World War II, or the Second World War, was a worldwide
conflict which lasted from 1939 to 1945.
• World War II was the combination of two conflicts, one starting
in Asia as the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the other
beginning in Europe with the invasion of Poland.
•This global conflict split a majority of the world's nations into
two opposing camps: the Allies and the Axis. Spanning much of
the globe, World War II resulted in the deaths of over 60 million
people, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.
•World War II was the most widespread war ever experienced,
mobilizing over 100 million soldiers from 61 nations.
•As a result of World War II, the United States and Soviet Union
emerged as the world's two leading superpowers, dominating
the world's stage for the next 40 years.

9. Germany
Hitler
Italy
Mussolini
Japan
Tojo

10. Winston Churchill
FDR – Franklin D. Roosevelt
Joseph Stalin
Chaing Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle
The Allies
USA (joined the war in
1941), USSR, China,
Great Britain, and
France

12. War in Europe
 Roosevelt, while not an isolationist, was
determined to keep America out of the
European war.
 March 1938: Hitler takes the Sudetenland
of Czechoslovakia and later overruns the
entire country.
 August 1939: Germany and Russia sign
non-aggression pact; Germany attacks
Poland, making the official beginning of
World War II as France and Britain were
treaty-bound to come to the aid of Poland.

13. Appeasement
•giving Hitler what he wants to avoid
war
•The Rhineland
•Austria
•The Sudetenland
•Czechoslovakia
•Neville Chamberlain
–Prime Minister of Great
Britain 1930’s

14. WW II Europe
Red countries
are Allied or
Allied-controlled.
Blue is Axis or
Axis controlled
countries, and
the Soviet Union
is colored green
prior to joining
the Allies in 1941.

15. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army
expected the attack to come along the Polish frontiers, but Hitler
introduced a new kind of war called a blitzkrieg, which means
“lightning war.”Waves of German bombers targeted railroads, which
crippled Polish military mobilization. Hundreds of tanks smashed
through Polish defenses and rolled deep into the country. The Poles
fought hard, but on September 17, the Soviet Union invaded their
country from the east. By the end of the month, Poland had fallen.

16. Germans invade France!
June 1940

17. The French are defeated!!!

18. With the Fall of France in June 1940: 3 Frances are created!
1. Occupied
France
2. Vichy
France
3. Free France
http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/france/haxf
rance.html

19. Hitler’s Invasion of Russia – Operation Barbarossa
June 22, 1941
A potentially easy victory except for General Winter!

20. The U.S. and Lend-Lease
 Before 1941, the United States stayed
out of World War II.
 President Roosevelt worked out a deal
called lend-lease, which allowed him to
give weapons to any countries on the
Allied side (including tanks, airplanes,
and ships).

21. Propaganda
 Propaganda is information presented in
an attempt to influence people.
 3 Types
 testimonial – quoting or paraphrasing an
authority or celebrity to support one’s own
argument
 generalization – a statement that suggests all
members of a group are the same in some way
 scare tactics – the threat that if you do not do or
believe something, something terrible will happen

22. G
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23. G
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24. G
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25. G
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26. Scare
Tactic

27. Scare
Tactic

28. Scare
Tactic

29. Then came the
attack on Pearl
Harbor!!!

30. Pearl Harbor
 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was home to the
American Pacific Fleet in 1941.
 Japan, in retaliation for the economic stance of
the U.S. in terms of material sales and trade,
launched a surprise attack on the base on
December 7.
 This action unified the country and threw
America into World War II.

31. December 7th 1941

32. Isoroku Yamamoto planned the December 7th
attack on Pearl Harbor.
FDR asks for a declaration of
War on December 8, 1941.
FDR "Day of Infamy" Speech

33. Above -- U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the declaration
of war against Japan, December 8, 1941. (Photo credit: U.S. National Archives)

35. Basic Allied Strategy:
•win the battle of
supply
•stop the Axis
advance
•defeat Hitler first

36. Life expectancy in the first wave: 26 seconds!

37. Normandy Invasion,
D-Day (June 6, 1944)

38. Paris Liberated August 1944!

39. Pulitzer Prize Winning
Photograph of the US
Marines Raise the
Flag on Mt. Surabachi
The Battle for the Island of
Iwo Jima!

40. The first atomic
bomb was dropped
on Hiroshima,
Japan, on August 6,
1945, during World
War II. The blast
killed an estimated
60,000 to 70,000
people, according
to United States
estimates. The
second bomb was
dropped on
Nagasaki, another
city in Japan.

41. The Atomic Bomb!

42. World War II Changes the World!
•atomic age begins
•jets, computers, and rockets invented
•radar and sonar
•penicillin, sulfa, and antibiotics
•imperialism and colonialism end
•USA & USSR emerge as Superpowers
•Cold War begins
•Holocaust and the death of 6 million Jews