Teacher Notes MODULE 20.pptx

American History
World War II
Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
1
Germany invades neighboring countries and launches the Holocaust—the systematic killing of
millions of Jews and other “non-Aryans.” The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor ushers the U.S. into
World War II.

American History
ESSENTIAL QUESTION
World War II
2
War Breaks Out
LESSON 1
LESSON 2 The Holocaust
LESSON 3 America Moves Toward War
Why did the Allies win World War II?
LESSON 4
LESSON 5
LESSON 6
LESSON 7
The War Effort on the Home Front
The War for Europe and North Africa
The War in the Pacific
The End of World War II

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3
War Breaks Out
Lesson 1
The rise of rulers with total power in Europe and Asia lead to World War II.

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4
War Breaks Out
Lesson 1
Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
• Treaty of Versailles causes anger, resentment in Europe
• Germany resents blame for war, loss of colonies, border territories
• Russia resents loss of lands used to create other nations
• New democracies flounder under social, economic problems
• Dictators rise; driven by nationalism, desire for more territory

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Lesson 1
5
The Spread of Totalitarianism
Continued…
Joseph Stalin transforms the Soviet Union
• 1922 V. I. Lenin establishes Soviet Union after civil war
• 1924 Joseph Stalin takes over:
—replaces private farms with collectives
—creates second largest industrial power; famines kill millions
—purges anyone who threatens his power; 8–13 million killed
• Totalitarian government exerts almost complete control over people
• Postwar years bring the rise of powerful dictators driven by belief in nationalism

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Lesson 1
6
The Spread of Totalitarianism (continued)
The Rise of Fascism in Italy
• Benito Mussolini plays on fears of economic collapse, communism
• Unemployment, inflation lead to bitter strikes, some communist-led
• Middle, upper classes want stronger leaders
• Fascism stresses nationalism, needs of state above individual
• Supported by government officials, police, army
• 1922 appointed head of government, establishes totalitarian state
Continued…

American History
Lesson 1
7
Continued…
The Nazis Take Over Germany
• Adolf Hitler leader of National Socialist German Workers’ Party
• Mein Kampf—basic beliefs of Nazism, based on extreme nationalism
• Wants to unite German-speaking people, enforce racial “purification”
• 1932, 6 million unemployed; many men join Hitler’s private army
• Nazis become strongest political party; Hitler named chancellor
• Dismantles democratic Weimar Republic; establishes Third Reich
Militarists Gain Control in Japan
• Japan torn by political and economic conflict
• Limited territory; islands growing crowded
• Military leaders use violence to take control of imperial government
• Japanese want to expand territory to access more wealth and resources

American History
Lesson 1
8
Civil War Breaks Out in Spain
• 1936, General Francisco Franco rebels against Spanish republic
—Spanish Civil War begins
• Hitler, Mussolini back Franco; Stalin aids opposition
—Western democracies remain neutral
• War leads to Rome-Berlin Axis—alliance between Italy and Germany
• 1939, Franco wins war, becomes fascist dictator

American History
Lesson 1
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Dictators Expand Their Territory
• Dictators seek to increase territories, often through military action
• League of Nations does little to thwart their efforts
Japan’s Ambitions in the Pacific
• 1931, Nationalist military leaders seize Manchuria
• League of Nations condemns action; Japan quits League
• Militarists take control of Japanese government
• Hideki Tojo launches invasion further into China
Aggression in Europe and Africa
• 1933, Hitler quits League; 1935, begins military buildup
—sends troops into Rhineland, League does nothing to stop him
• 1935, League fails to stop Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia
Continued…

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Lesson 1
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Dictators Expand Their Territory (continued)
Austria and Czechoslovakia Fall
• Post WW I division of Austria-Hungary creates fairly small Austria
• Majority of Austrians are German, favor unification with Germany
• 1938, German troops march into Austria unopposed, union complete
• U.S., rest of world do nothing to stop Germany
• 3 million German-speakers in Sudetenland
• Hitler claims Czechs abuse Sudeten Germans, masses troops on border
• 1938, Prime Ministers Daladier, Neville Chamberlain meet with Hitler
• Sign Munich Agreement, hand Sudetenland over to Germany
• Winston Churchill condemns appeasement policy, warns war will follow
• Appeasement—giving up principles to pacify an aggressor

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Lesson 1
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The German Offensive
• Hitler is not finished with expansion of Third Reich; sets sights on Poland
Continued…
The Soviet Union Declares Neutrality
• March 1939, German troops occupy rest of Czechoslovakia
• Hitler charges Poles mistreat Germans in Poland
• Many think he’s bluffing; invading Poland would bring two-front war
• Stalin, Hitler sign nonaggression pact—will not attack each other
• Sign second, secret pact agreeing to divide Poland between them
Blitzkrieg in Poland
• Sept. 1939, Hitler overruns Poland in blitzkrieg, lightning war
• Germany annexes western Poland; U.S.S.R. attacks, annexes east
• France, Britain declare war on Germany; World War II begins

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Lesson 1
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The German Offensive (continued)
Continued…
The Phony War
• French, British soldiers on Maginot Line face Germans in sitzkrieg
• Stalin annexes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; defeats Finland
• 1940, Hitler invades Denmark, Norway, then Low Countries
The Fall of France
• German army goes through Ardennes, bypassing French, British
• British, French trapped on Dunkirk; ferried to safety in UK
• 1940, Italy invades France from south; Germans approach Paris
• France falls; Germans occupy northern France
• Nazi puppet government set up in southern France
• General Charles de Gaulle sets up government-in-exile in England

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Lesson 1
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The German Offensive (continued)
The Battle of Britain
• Summer 1940, Germany prepares fleet to invade Britain
• Battle of Britain—German planes bomb British targets
• Britain uses radar to track, shoot down German planes
• Hitler calls off invasion of Britain
• Germans, British continue to bomb each other’s cities

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The Holocaust
Lesson 2
During the Holocaust, the Nazis systematically execute 6 million Jews and 5 million
other “non-Aryans.”

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The Holocaust
Lesson 2
The Persecution Begins
• Hitler orders all “non-Aryans” to be removed from government jobs—begins campaign for racial
purity
• Campaign leads to Holocaust—the systematic murder of 6 million Jews across Europe
Jews Targeted
• Europe has long history of anti-Semitism
• Germans believe Hitler’s claims, blame Jews for problems
• Nazis take away citizenship, jobs, property; require Star of David
Continued…

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Lesson 2
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The Persecution Begins (continued)
Kristallnacht
• Kristallnacht—Nazis attack Jewish homes, businesses, synagogues
• About 100 Jews killed, hundreds injured, 30,000 arrested
A Flood of Jewish Refugees
• 1938, Nazis try to speed up Jewish emigration
• France has 40,000 refugees, Britain 80,000; both refuse more
• U.S. takes 100,000, many “persons of exceptional merit”
• Americans fear strain on economy, enemy agents; much anti-Semitism
The Plight of the St. Louis
• Coast Guard prevents passengers on St. Louis from disembarking
• Ship forced to return to Europe; most passengers killed in Holocaust

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Lesson 2
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Hitler’s “Final Solution”
• Hitler’s Final Solution—slavery, genocide of “inferior” groups
• Genocide—deliberate, systematic killing of an entire population
The Condemned
• Target Jews, gypsies, freemasons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, unfit Germans
• Nazi death squads round up Jews, shoot them
Forced Relocation
• Jews forced into ghettos, segregated areas in Polish cities
• Some form resistance movements; others maintain Jewish culture
Continued…

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Lesson 2
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Hitler’s “Final Solution” (continued)
Concentration Camps
• Many Jews taken to concentration camps, or labor camps
— families often separated
• Camps originally prisons; given to SS to warehouse “undesirables”
• Prisoners crammed into wooden barracks, given little food
• Work dawn to dusk, 7 days per week
• Those too weak to work are killed

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Lesson 2
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The Final Stage
Continued…
• The Final Solution reaches its final stage in early 1942
• Hitler and top officials meet to discuss a new phase of the mass murder of Jews—poison gas
Mass Exterminations
• Germans build death camps; gas chambers used to kill thousands
• On arrival, SS doctors separate those who can work
• Those who can’t work immediately killed in gas chamber
• At first bodies buried in pits; later cremated to cover up evidence
• Some are shot, hanged, poisoned, or die from experiments

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Lesson 2
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The Final Stage (continued)
The Global Response
• News of Nazi violence against European Jews not always noticeably reported in United States
• As anti-Jewish violence increased, newspapers ran stories
• 1942—world becomes aware of Hitler’s horrifying Final Solution
• Leaders of the Allied nations publicly condemn Nazis
• Responses to Holocaust varied by nation and by individual
The Survivors
• About 6 million Jews killed in death camps, massacres
• Some escape, many with help from ordinary people
• Some survive concentration camps
— survivors forever changed by experience
— some risk their lives trying to save Jews, others take on refugees, offer passports
• United States criticized for not immediately taking action—wanted to rescue without violence and
end war

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America Moves Toward War
Lesson 3
In response to the fighting in Europe, the United States provides economic and
military aid to help the Allies achieve victory.

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America Moves Toward War
Lesson 3
Isolationism Amidst Conflict
• Most Americans believe United States should not get involved with current international conflicts
• After World War I, United States practiced isolationism—avoiding actions that would involve the
nation in global affairs
The Roots of Isolationism
• Horrors of World War I leave Americans determined to stay out of international war
• 1919 Congress refuses to allow United States to join League of Nations
• 1921 United States signs disarmament treaty; promise not to build warships in next decade
• 1928 United States signs Kellogg-Briand Pact—war would not be used as an instrument of
national policy
Continued…

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Lesson 3
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Isolationism Amidst Conflict (continued)
Americans Cling to Isolationism
• Public is outraged at profits of banks, arms dealers during WW I
• Americans become isolationists; FDR backs away from foreign policy
• 1935 Neutrality Acts try to keep U.S. out of future wars
—outlaws arms sales, loans to nations at war
Neutrality Breaks Down
• 1937 Japan launches new attack on China; FDR sends aid to China
• FDR wants to isolate aggressor nations to stop war

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Lesson 3
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Moving Away from Neutrality
• Roosevelt revises the Neutrality Act of 1935; prepares the nation for struggle
Moving Cautiously Away from Neutrality
• 1939, FDR persuades Congress to pass “cash-and-carry” provision
• Argues will help France, Britain defeat Hitler, keep U.S. out of war
The Axis Threat
• 1940, FDR tries to provide Britain “all aid short of war”
• Germany, Japan, Italy sign Tripartite Pact, mutual defense treaty
— become known as Axis Powers
• Pact aimed at keeping U.S. out of war by forcing fight on two oceans
Continued…

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Lesson 3
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Moving Away from Neutrality (continued)
Building U.S. Defenses
• Nazi victories in 1940 lead to increased U.S. defense spending
• First peacetime draft enacted—Selective Training and Service Act— draftees to serve for 1 year in
Western Hemisphere only
Roosevelt Runs for a Third Term
• FDR breaks two-term tradition, runs for reelection
• Republican Wendell Willkie has similar views on war
• FDR reelected with 55% of votes
The Lend-Lease Plan
• FDR tells nation if Britain falls, Axis powers free to conquer world
— U.S. must become “arsenal of democracy”
• By late 1940, Britain has no more cash to buy U.S. arms
• 1941 Lend-Lease Act—U.S. to lend or lease supplies for defense

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Lesson 3
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FDR Plans for War
• Roosevelt’s foreign policy under constant attack; takes action to ensure U.S. military is prepared
for war
Continued…
German Wolf Packs
• Hitler deploys U-boats to attack supply convoys
• Wolf packs—groups of up to 40 submarines patrol North Atlantic
— sink supply ships
• FDR allows navy to attack German U-boats in self-defense
The Atlantic Charter
• FDR’s proposal to extend the term of draftees passes House by 1 vote
• FDR, Churchill issue Atlantic Charter—joint declaration of war aims
• Charter is basis of “A Declaration of the United Nations” or Allies
• Allies—nations that fight Axis powers; 26 nations sign Declaration

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Lesson 3
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FDR Plans for War (continued)
Shoot on Sight
• Germans fire on U.S. ship, FDR orders navy to shoot U-boats on sight
• U-boat attacks lead Senate to repeal ban on arming merchant ships

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Lesson 3
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Japan Attacks the United States
• United States now involved in an undeclared naval war with Hitler
• Late fall of 1941, American leaders convinced that war with Japan likely—how and where?
Continued…
Economic Motivations
• After pushing eastward into Manchuria and other parts of China, Japan targets European colonial
possessions to the south
• Japan seizes French bases in Indochina; U.S. cuts off trade
• Japan needs oil from U.S. or must take Dutch East Indies oil fields
Peace Talks are Questioned
• Hideki Tojo meets with emperor Hirohito to discuss peace with Americans
• November 1941—Tojo orders Japanese navy to prepare an attack on the United States
• U.S. breaks Japanese codes; learns Japan planning to attack U.S.
• Peace talks with Japan last about 1 month
• December 6, Japanese envoy instructed to reject all U.S. proposals

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Lesson 3
29
Japan Attacks the United States (continued)
Continued…
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
• December 7, 1941 Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
• 2,403 Americans killed; 1,178 wounded
• Over 300 aircraft, 21 ships destroyed or damaged
Reaction to Pearl Harbor
• Congress approves FDR’s request for declaration of war against Japan
• U.S. unprepared to fight in both Atlantic, Pacific Oceans
• Germany, Italy declare war on U.S.

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Lesson 4
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States mobilizes for war.

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Lesson 4
Americans Join the Military
• Japan expects Americans to shrink from further conflict after attack on Pearl Harbor; United
States sets out to prove Japan wrong
Selective Service and the GI
• After Pearl Harbor, 5 million men volunteer for military service
• 10 million more drafted to meet needs of two-front war
• General George Marshall—Army Chief of Staff leads the armed forces mobilization effort
Expanding the Military
• General Marshall pushes for the formation of women’s corps
• Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC)—women in noncombat positions
• Thousands enlist; “auxiliary” dropped, get full U. S. army benefits
Continued…

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Lesson 4
32
Americans Join the Military (continued)
Recruiting and Discrimination
• Minority groups are denied basic citizenship rights
• Question whether they should fight for democracy in other countries
Dramatic Contributions
• 300,000 Mexican Americans join armed forces
• 1 million African Americans serve; live, work in segregated units
• 13,000 Chinese Americans and 33,000 Japanese Americans serve
• 25,000 Native Americans enlist

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Lesson 4
33
The Federal Government Manages the War Effort
• United States more prepared for World War II compared to World War I
• Roosevelt’s agencies to manage war effort
• 1943—The Office of War Mobilization created to oversee agencies, coordinate wartime efforts
Continued…
Winning American Support
• American leaders know public support of war effort is needed for success
• June 1942—government creates Office of War Information
— positive propaganda spread through poster and films
— danger warnings also issued

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Lesson 4
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The Federal Government Manages the War Effort (continued)
Continued…
Economic Controls
• Office of Price Administration (OPA) freezes prices, fights inflation
• Higher taxes, purchase of war bonds lower demand for scarce goods
• War Production Board (WPB) says which companies convert production
— allocates raw materials
— organizes collection of recyclable materials
Conserving Food and Other Goods
• Meeting the food needs of military becomes top priority in America
• Victory gardens are planted across the country
— In 1943, 20 million gardens yield 8 million tons of produce
• Rationing—fixed allotments of goods needed by military

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Lesson 4
35
The Federal Government Manages the War Effort (continued)
Mobilization of Scientists
• Office of Scientific Research and Development— technology, medicine
• Manhattan Project develops atomic bomb
Transporting Goods
• All American-made products for soldiers need overseas shipping
• U.S. merchant marine fleet used for most transport of goods
— dangerous; crossing enemy ships, submarines, and planes
• Perishable items difficult to ship; researchers develop new transportation methods

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Lesson 4
36
A Production Miracle
• Rapid industrial change from peacetime to wartime production
• Federal government spends billions on weapons and supplies
• Roosevelt relies on government agencies to regulate industry
• Millions of Americans go to work in the nation’s factories; many for the first time
Continued…
The Industrial Response
• Factories convert from civilian to war production
• Shipyards, defense plants expand, new ones built
• Produce ships, arms rapidly
— use prefabricated parts
— people work at record speeds

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Lesson 4
37
A Production Miracle (continued)
Labor’s Contribution
• Wave of patriotism sweeps nation; 1944—nearly 18 million working in war industries
• Laborers worked long hours; unions pledged not to strike which would slow production
• Workers grew frustrated with hours and low wages
• Roosevelt establishes National War Labor Board in 1942
—mediator between labor and management
—prevents protests by setting limits on wage increases
—bans workers from quitting or changing unions while employed
New Workers
• More than 6 million women working to support the country
• Over 2 million minorities hired; face strong discrimination at first
• New workers come from American farms; results in shortage of agricultural laborers
• 1942—government launches bracero program; invites Mexican hired hands for farm work

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Lesson 4
38
Opportunity, Discrimination, and Adjustment
• The war opens up many opportunities for women and minorities
• Old prejudices and policies persist in the military and at home
• Americans adjust to the absence of loved ones fighting abroad
Continued…
Confronting Labor Issues
• A. Philip Randolph, head of Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters
• Organizes march on D.C.; FDR executive order forbids discrimination
Civil Rights Protests
• Racial tensions rise in overcrowded Northern cities
James Farmer founds Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
— works on racial segregation in North
• 1943 racial violence sweeps across country; Detroit riots worst case

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Lesson 4
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Opportunity, Discrimination, and Adjustment (continued)
Tension in Los Angeles
• Anti-Mexican zoot suit riots involve thousands servicemen, civilians
Hardships for Native Americans
• Many states still prohibit them from voting
• Federal government reclaims reservation land for use during war
—lands yield $39 million worth of minerals; Native American tribes paid only $6 million
Social Adjustments
• Families adjust to fathers in military; mothers rear children alone
• Families must get to know each other again after fathers return
• Many couples rush to marry before husband goes overseas

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Lesson 4
40
Internment of Japanese Americans
Japanese Americans Placed in Internment Camps
• Hawaii governor forced to order internment (confinement) of Japanese
• 1942 FDR signs removal of Japanese Americans in four states
• U.S. Army forces 110,000 Japanese Americans into prison camps
• 1944 Korematsu v. United States—Court rules in favor of internment
• After war, Japanese American Citizens League pushes for compensation
• 1988, Congress grants $20,000 to everyone sent to relocation camp

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41
The War for Europe and North Africa
Lesson 5
Allied forces, led by the United States and Great Britain, battle Axis powers for
control of Europe and North Africa.

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42
The War for Europe and Africa
Lesson 5
The United States and Britain Join Forces
• Churchill wires President Roosevelt two days after Pearl Harbor attack; suggests meeting
• Roosevelt invites Churchill to Washington; a remarkable alliance begins
War Plans
• Churchill convinces FDR to strike first against Hitler
The Battle of the Atlantic
• Hitler orders submarine attacks against supply ships to Britain
— wolf packs destroy hundreds of ships in 1942
• Allies organize convoys of cargo ships with escort:
— destroyers with sonar; planes with radar
• Construction of Liberty ships (cargo carriers) speeds up

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Lesson 5
43
The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean
• By the winter of 1943, Allies begin to see victories on land as well as sea
The Battle of Stalingrad
• Hitler wants to capture Caucasus oil fields and destroy Stalingrad
• Soviets defeat Germans in bitter winter campaign
— Over 230,000 Germans, 1,100,000 Soviets die
• Battle a turning point: Soviet army begins to move towards Germany
The North African Front
• General Dwight D. Eisenhower commands invasion of North Africa
• Afrika Korps, led by General Erwin Rommel, surrenders May 1943
Continued…

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Lesson 5
44
The Eastern Front and the Mediterranean (continued)
The Italian Campaign
• Allies decide will accept only unconditional surrender from Axis
• Summer 1943, capture Sicily; Mussolini forced to resign
• 1944 Allies win “Bloody Anzio”; Germans continue strong resistance
Heroes in Combat
• African Americans —Tuskegee Airmen, Buffaloes—highly decorated
• Mexican-American soldiers win many awards
• Japanese-American unit most decorated unit in U.S. history

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Lesson 5
45
The Allies Gain Ground in Europe
• Allies begin working on a dramatic plan to free Western Europe from the Nazis
• Late 1943—Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at Tehran Conference
• Soviets agree to launch major offensive against Germany; Allies plan to invade Normandy
Continued…
D-Day
• General Eisenhower selects Omar Bradley to lead American forces in Normandy invasion
• Allies set up phantom army, send fake radio messages to fool Germans
• Eisenhower directs Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day June 6, 1944
The Allies Gain Ground
• General Omar Bradley bombs to create gap in enemy defense line
• General George Patton leads Third Army, reach Paris in August
• FDR reelected for 4th term with running mate Harry S. Truman

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Lesson 5
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The Allies Gain Ground in Europe (continued)
The Battle of the Bulge
• October 1944, Allies capture first German town, Aachen
• December German tank divisions drive 60 miles into Allied area
• Battle of the Bulge—Germans push back but have irreplaceable losses

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47
Lesson 6
After early defeats in the Pacific, the United States gains the upper hand and begins
to fight its way, island by island, to Japan.

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48
Lesson 6
A Slow Start for the Allies
• Allies agree that defeat of Nazis is first priority
• United States chooses not to wait until V-E Day to move against Japan
Japanese Advances
• In first 6 months after Pearl Harbor, Japan conquers empire
• Allies stunned by rapid success of Japanese military
The Philippines
• Gen. Douglas MacArthur leads Allied forces in Philippines
• March 1942 U.S., Filipino troops trapped on Bataan Peninsula
• FDR orders MacArthur to leave; thousands of troops remain
• Japanese forced captured soldiers through Bataan Death March

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Lesson 6
49
Fortunes Shift in the Pacific
• Loss of Philippines was a low point for the United States
• Spring 1942—Allies begin to turn the tide against the Japanese
Doolittle’s Raid
• April 1942, Lt. Col. James Doolittle leads raid on Tokyo
Battle of the Coral Sea
• May 1942, U.S., Australian soldiers stop Japanese drive to Australia
• For first time since Pearl Harbor, Japanese invasion turned back
The Battle of Midway
• Admiral Chester Nimitz commands U.S. naval forces in Pacific
• Allies break Japanese code, win Battle of Midway, stop Japan again
• Allies advance island by island to Japan

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Lesson 6
50
The Allies Go on the Offensive
• With the Japanese navy crippled, the Allies take the fight to Japan
Guadalcanal
• First step in new Allied strategy is to win control of territory in Solomon Islands
• Allied presence would help protect nearby Australia
• Key goal was to capture island of Guadalcanal; Allied offensive begins August 1942
• Japanese abandon Guadalcanal after six months
The Allies Press On
• Japanese control a number of heavily fortified islands throughout the Pacific
• Allies choose to focus on strategically important but less-well-defended islands
• Allies begin island hopping—capture and secure islands while avoiding heavy concentrations of
enemy forces
• Hundreds of Navajo work as code talkers, translating coded messages into their own language
— complex language; Japanese never decipher
• Allies begin to take advantage of America’s vast resources
Continued…

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Lesson 6
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The Allies Go on the Offensive (continued)
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
• Japan uses kamikaze attack—pilots crash bomb-laden planes into ships
• Battle of Leyte Gulf is a disaster for Japan
— Imperial Navy severely damaged; plays minor role after
Iwo Jima
• Iwo Jima critical as base from which planes can reach Japan
• 6,000 marines die taking island; of 20,700 Japanese, 200 survive
The Battle for Okinawa
• April 1945 U.S. Marines invade Okinawa
• April–June: 7,600 U.S. troops, 110,000 Japanese die
• Allies fear invasion of Japan may mean 1.5 million Allied casualties

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52
Lesson 7
While the Allies completed the defeat of the Axis Powers on the battlefield, Allied
leaders were making plans for the postwar world.

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53
Lesson 7
The Allies Liberate Europe
• Manhattan Project scientists work feverishly to create a weapon to end the war
• The Allies move closer and closer to victory
Marching Deeper into Germany
• Allied forces prepare to cross the Rhine River—last physical obstacle between Germany and France
• Hitler determined to stop Allied advance at Rhine
• American forces capture a railroad bridge over the Rhine; Allies move into heart of Germany
Liberation of the Death Camps
• Allies in Germany, Soviets in Poland liberate concentration camps
— find starving prisoners, corpses, evidence of killing
Continued…

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Lesson 7
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The Allies Liberate Europe (continued)
The Yalta Conference
• February 1945, FDR, Churchill, Stalin meet in Yalta
— discuss post-war world
• FDR, Churchill concession: temporarily divide Germany into 4 parts
• Stalin promises free elections in Eastern Europe; will fight Japan
• FDR gets support for conference to establish United Nations
Unconditional Surrender
• April 1945, Soviet army storms Berlin; Hitler commits suicide
• Eisenhower accepts unconditional surrender of German Reich
• May 8, 1945, V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day
Truman Becomes President
• FDR dies April 12; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes president

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Lesson 7
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The Atomic Bomb Ends the War in the Pacific
• In order to defeat Japan and end the war in the Pacific, the United States unleashes a powerful
new weapon—the atomic bomb
The Manhattan Project
• J. Robert Oppenheimer is research director of Manhattan Project
• July 1945, atomic bomb tested in New Mexico desert; successful detonation
Weighing the Options
• President Truman must decide if Allies will use the bomb to end war
• Soviet entry into Pacific would not be necessary
—bomb could provide American advantage over Soviets in postwar world
• If not used, waste of money and wartime resources
• Many scientists had doubts about using bomb
• President Truman orders military to drop two atomic bombs on Japan
Continued…

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Lesson 7
56
The Atomic Bomb Ends the War in the Pacific (continued)
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• August 6, Hiroshima, major military center, destroyed by bomb
• 3 days later, bomb dropped on city of Nagasaki
• September 2, 1945 Japan surrenders

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Lesson 7
57
The Challenges of Victory
• With Japan’s surrender, the Allies turn to the challenge of rebuilding war-torn nations in a
changed world
The United Nations
• Fall 1943—Secretary of State Cordell Hull and Allied leaders work to form international
organization based on equality of nations
• June 1945—delegates sign charter establishing United Nations (UN)
• October 24, 1945—UN becomes official
• UN commissions a document to declare fundamental equal rights of all human beings
• December 1948— after two years, Universal Declaration of Human Rights is adopted
• United States and Soviet Union most powerful countries; become major players in UN affairs
—two superpowers competed; used UN as a forum to spread influence over others
Continued…

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Lesson 7
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The Challenges of Victory (continued)
Continued…
The Potsdam Conference
• July 1945—Allied leaders come together for final wartime conference
• Stalin refuses to allow free elections in Poland; bans democratic parties
• Truman convinced that U.S. and Soviet aims are deeply at odds
• Conference focuses on how to deal with a post-war Germany
• Truman objects to Soviet request for reparations from Germany
• Germany divided into four occupation zones; navy and merchant fleet also divided
The Nuremberg War Trials
• Nuremberg trials—24 Nazi leaders tried, sentenced
— charged with crimes against humanity, against the peace, war crimes
• Establish principle that people responsible for own actions in war

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The Challenges of Victory (continued)
The Occupation of Japan
• MacArthur commands U.S. occupation forces in Japan
• Over 1,100 Japanese tried, sentenced
• MacArthur reshapes Japan’s economy, government

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Changes on the Home Front
• Defense industries boom, unemployment falls to 1.2% in 1944
— average pay rises 10% during war
• Farmers prosper from rising crop prices, increase in production
— many pay off mortgages
• Percentage of women in work force rises to 35%
• War triggers mass migrations to towns with defense industries
• 1944 GI Bill of Rights or Servicemen’s Readjustment Act:
—pays education; loan guarantees for homes, new businesses

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Teacher Notes MODULE 20.pptx

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Teacher Notes MODULE 20.pptx