The great war 1939-45

1. World War II

2. Causes Of World War II
1. German resentment at Treaty of Versailles.
2. Worldwide economic issues (Great Depression).
3. Increase in nationalism in Germany, Japan, and Italy.
4. Appeasement and Weak League of Nations.
5. Militarism and Aggression by Japan and Germany.
6. Rise of Totalitarian Leaders.

3. In the Years Following WWI
• Treaty of Versailles has hit Germany hard.
• Germany’s currency, the mark, dropped in
value. The Germans also printed more
money to get out into the public’s hands
which also devalued the currency and it
became worthless.
• Great Depression hits Europe really hard.
• Many countries will give up rights for
security or sacrifice standing up for peace.

4. New Political Ideals
• Fascism: A military/nationalistic movement that would
require the people to give their undivided loyalty to their
leader and to their country. Fascists would take complete
control of their country and run every aspect of it. Most of
these leaders would be dictators. Fascism would start in
Italy and then spread to Germany, Spain, Hungary, and
Argentina as well as other nations in Eastern Europe.
• Totalitarianism: A type of government that takes total
control of every aspect of a country. This type of
government is usually run by a dictator. Most fascist
leaders were totalitarianists.

5. Fascism in Italy
• Led by Benito Mussolini “Il Duce.”
• He is the fascist leader of Italy.
• He comes into power with his “Black shirts” and
proclaims he wants to bring Italy back to the glory years
of the Roman Empire.
• He talks of making Italy strong and powerful.
• When he takes power in 1922, he outlaws all other
parties and takes control for himself.
• His secret police jails opponents. He ends up becoming
a model for all other fascist leaders in Europe.
• He eventually moves to making Italy a worldwide power.

6. Nazism in Germany
• The National Socialist German Workers Party.
• They are a German nationalistic party.
• They blend racism with fascism to create a party that is intent on making a
strong Germany that excludes certain groups (mostly Jews). They are also
violently anti-Bolshevist.
• They will use propaganda greatly in an attempt to convince people that
Germany is a powerful nation, should be powerful again, and should
punish those enemies (internal and external) who have betrayed Germany.
• Adolf Hitler, “Der Furher” is the Nazi Party leader.
• He gains support during the economic freefall of the Great Depression.
• He takes control of Germany in 1933 and goes on a spree eliminating all
those who pose as a threat; including those who once supported him.
• He is a violently racist man but also is a dynamic orator.
• He rallies the German people behind him and begins to build Germany’s
economy and military up

7. Flight of the Jews
• Many Jews wanted to leave Germany because of fear of
persecution.
• Quotas kept many Jews out.
• During WWII, less than 30,000 Jews a year reached the US,
and some were turned away due to immigration policies.
• SS St. Louis –“Ship of Fools” 936 Jews seek freedom.
• 288 of the passengers disembarked in England.
• The remaining 619 passengers disembarked at Antwerp. 224
were accepted into France, 214 into Belgium and 181 into
Holland, safe from Hitler's persecution until the German
invasions of these countries.
• Estimates suggest that 180 of the St. Louis refugees in
France, along with 152 of those in Belgium and 60 of those in
Holland survived the Holocaust, giving a total of 709
estimated survivors and 227 killed of the original 936 Jewish
refugees.

8. Communism in Soviet Union
• Joseph Stalin was the harsh ruler of the Soviet Union from
1928-1953.
• Stalin makes political alliances, assumes control of the
Communist Party, and then eliminates anyone who is a threat.
• He constantly purges the military and executes those he feels
are not loyal.
• He is ruthless and bloody and pushes the Soviets towards
industrialization during the 5-year plans.
• He kills 7 million during the Ukrainian “famine”.
• He wants to spread communism, and fears the West is out to
get him.
• He hates Hitler.

9. Militarism in Japan
• People in the government who are either in the military or
support the military.
• They support having a strong military presence in the
government and in international affairs.
• Militarists took over Japan’s government after assassinating
prime minister Inukai Tsuyoshi in 1932.
• Japanese militarists wanted to dominate Asia. “Greater East
Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.
• When the military took over in 1932, Emperor Hirohito
became their puppet from which they could control Japan.
• Hideki Tojo will become prime minister in 1941 after a
decade of encourage Japanese imperial growth and
escalating tensions with the US.

10. Question Time
• 1. Why would people allow such evil and
cruel leaders to lead them?
• 2. How did Hitler’s message appeal to
people?
3. Why is Japan becoming so militaristic?

11. The Axis Powers
• Treaty signed in October 1936, the Rome-
Berlin Axis is an alliance between Italy and
Germany.
• It is called “Axis” because they stated that the
world will now turn on the axis between Rome
and Berlin.
• In 1940, Japan joins the alliance as well.

12. Aggression Begins
• “Lebensraum”: Living space in German.
• It is a major theme in Mein Kampf.
• Accoring to Hitler, the Germans need room to expand
because they will become overcrowded.
• They should first unite all the lands Germany used to
own (parts of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Austria, etc.).
• Afterwards, the Germans should expand eastward into
Poland, Ukraine, and Russia and use the farming lands
here as a base of supply for food.
• The Slavic populations will be converted to slaves.
• Lebensraum will be the cornerstone for what Hitler called
“The Third Reich” which “would last for 1,000 years”.
• “Master Race”

13. Spanish Civil War
• The war will be a prelude to WWII.
• Army leaders who wanted a fascist style of government supported
Francisco Franco.
• Others supported the new republican style of government that has
tried to keep order in the five years that it has ruled.
• Germany and Italy step in and give aid to Franco by bombing cities,
support troops, and personnel.
• The Germans test their weapons and new tactics in Spain.
• In 1939, the Republicans fall in Madrid and Franco becomes dictator
of Spain.
• Guernica: A town in the northern part of Spain. On April 26, 1937,
the German Condor Legion flew over and bombed the town. It was
the first time in history that civilians would be targeted for aerial
bombardment. An estimated 1,500 people died (although reports
range from 120 to 10,000) in the attack.

14. The
Appeasement
Cycle
Germany
makes
demands.
Threatens war.
Allies meet
with Germany.
To prevent war,
Allies agree to
the German
demands.
Germany
senses
weakness in
the Allies.

15. Hitler’s Aggression
• Hitler remilitarized the
Rhineland in violation of
the Treaty of Versailles.
• Forced a union with
Austria.
• Bullied Czechoslovakia
into ceding the
Sudetenland.
• Annexed all of
Czechoslovakia
• Demanded Poland
surrender “Polish
Corridor”
You were given the choice between war
and dishonor. You chose dishonor, and
you will have war.—Winston Churchill

16. Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
• Treaty signed on August 23,
1939.
• The treaty promises that Nazi
Germany and the Soviet Union
would not fight each other.
• The also pact included a secret
protocol, in which the signers
divied up Poland in half.
• The Soviet Union also was
allowed to dominate the
independent countries of
Finland, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, and Romania in any
way they saw fit.
• This treaty would help give
Hitler the means to invade
Poland.
• Stalin signed this because he
believed the West or Germany
was gearing up for a war with

17. Meanwhile…in China
• Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931, the Japanese and created the puppet state
of Manchukuo.
• The Japanese promoted Japanese colonization of the region.
• The Japanese invade China in 1937 and capture Beijing, Shanghai, Nanking,
and other coastal cities.
• The Chinese, weakened by years of civil war, are easy prey to the stronger
Japanese armies with over a million fighting for Shanghai alone.
• From 1937-1945, the Chinese will lose 3.2 million killed while the Japanese lost
more than a million.
• Another 17.5 milllon Chinese will die in the Japanese atrocities committed by the
military.
• Rape of Nanking: From December 1937 to January 1938, the Japanese go
crazy in the city of Nanking. They rape women and children in the city and go on
a murder spree of the civilian populace. In six weeks, their genocidal acts will kill
300,000 innocent people.

18. US Isolationism
• In the years following WWI, the US will
stay out of European affairs as it deals
with the Depression.
• We did not want to get involved in the war
in Europe because of the death and
destruction before.
• Combined with Appeasement, it will help
Germany branch out.

19. Question Time
• 4. What was the goal behind
appeasement?
• 5. Why did appeasement not work?
• 6. If Hitler hates Communism, why did he
sign a treaty with Stalin?

20. The Road to World War II
1. Mussolini Invades Ethiopia in 1935.
2. Hitler remilitarizes the Rhineland in 1936.
3. Hitler and Mussolini aid Franco in the Spanish Civil War.
4. Hitler annexes Austria in 1938.
5. Hitler demands the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in
1938.
6. Hitler is given Sudetenland in Sept of 1938.
7. Hitler takes over rest of Czechoslovakia in 1939 and divides
it with Hungary.
8. Mussolini takes over Albania in 1939.
9. Hitler demands Poland surrenders the Polish Corridor in
1939.
10. Hitler and Stalin sign non-aggression pact in Aug 1939.
11. Sept. 1, 1939—Hitler invades Poland

21. War in Europe
• “Blitzkrieg”—lightning war
• Sept. 1939, Germany and
USSR divide up Poland.
• Spring 1940, after the phony
war, Hitler invades Western
Europe. Belgium,
Netherlands, Denmark, and
Norway fall quickly.
• The Germans reached the
French coast of the English
Channel in 10 days.
• The French fall back and fall
apart.
• On June 22, 1940, the French
surrender.—Vichy France
• Western Europe has fallen to
the Nazis.
• Dunkirk rescue.

22. War in Europe
• Winston Churchill is new prime minister.
• Starting on July 10, the Luftwaffe was sent to smash up the British defenses in
preparation for Operation Sea Lion (invasion of England).
• The badly outnumberd Royal Air Force (RAF) had only 2,900 planes to fight off
Germany’s 4,500. The Germans started by attacking airbases.
• However, on the night of August 25, RAF bombers in retailition are sent to bomb a
munitions plant in Germany. They miss and bomb Berlin instead.
• A furious Hitler orders that London and other cities become the targets.
• With the targets shifted, the RAF regroups and attacks the German bombers and
escorts.
• The Luftwaffe is defeated and ends the campaign on October 31, 1940.
• Britain is saved from invasion. Nazi aggression in the West had ended.
We shall defend our island, whatever the cost
may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall
fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the
fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender…Let us therefore brace
ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves,
that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth
last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This
was their finest hour‘---Winston Churchill
Never in the field of human conflict was
so much owed by so many to so few. –
Winston Churchill

23. Invasion
of Russia
• On June 22, 1941, Operation
Barbarossa was the German
codename for the invasion of
the Soviet Union.
• It was hoped that the invasion
would get the Nazis the oil fields
of the Caucausus, the
farmlands of Ukraine, and the
industrial regions of Western
Russia.
• Hitler moved 3.2 million men to
the Soviet border as part of the
attack.
• The Germans will push deep
into Russia, however the cold
will catch them off guard.
• The Germans, by the end of
1941 will be within 20 miles of
Moscow.
• After 3 years, the Germans will
begin to fall back and be
overwhelmed by the Russian
armies.
• It will be Hitler’s greatest
mistake.

24. Election of 1940
• Because of the looming war, the Democrats
nominate FDR again for a third term.
• Republicans nominate Wendell Willkie on a
platform that the New Deal is failing and that
FDR will get us into war.
• FDR cruised to
his third term in
office.

25. Lend Lease Act
• While we do not get involved in
the war quite yet, we are seen
as friends of the Allies.
• In 1941, Congress passes the
Lend-Lease Act.
• Initially, it would cost $7 billion
but eventually be $50 billion.
• “Arsenal of Democracy”
• We would lend weapons and
money to Allied countries
(mostly Britain, France, China,
Australia, and…later
on…USSR). Britain would let
use navy bases in Caribbean
in return.
Aircraft 14,795
Tanks 7,056
Jeeps 51,503
Trucks 375,883
Motorcycles 35,170
Tractors 8,071
Guns 8,218
Machine guns 131,633
Explosives 345,735 tons
Railroad freight cars 11,155
Locomotives 1,981
Cargo ships 90
Submarine hunters 105
Ship engines 7,784
Food supplies 4,478,000 tons
Machines and
equipment
$1,078,965,000

26. Atlantic Charter
• Meeting between FDR and Churchill to discuss aims of
the war.
• No territorial gains were to be sought by the United
States or the United Kingdom.
• Territorial adjustments must be in accord with wishes of
the peoples concerned.
• All peoples had a right to self-determination.
• Trade barriers were to be lowered.
• There was to be global economic cooperation and
advancement of social welfare.
• Disarmament of aggressor nations, postwar common
disarmament
• Defeat of Germany and other Axis powers .
• Would push us closer to war with Germany.

27. Question Time
• 7. Despite being neutral, FDR is slowly
pushing us towards war. Why is he doing
this?
• 8. How did Hitler take over so much of
Europe so quickly?

28. Embargo of Japan
• Meanwhile, Japan is continuing to attack
China’s cities.
• As the Japanese become more and more
aggressive, the United States refuses to
trade several raw materials with Japan (oil,
steel, etc.).
• This embargo really hurts the Japanese
war efforts (we had 80% of their oil supply)
and convinces them that the United States
is out to get them.
• While they want to expand towards
Indonesia, they feel that would bring the
US into the war.
• When Tojo became prime minister, he
pushes for a war with the US.

29. Attack at Pearl Harbor
• Planned by Isoroku
Yamamoto.
• It would be a “knock out
blow” designed to destroy
the US fleet and force us
to surrender.
• A surprise attack on the
American naval base in
Hawaii on Dec. 7, 1941.
• 8 battleships and 8
cruisers were lost along
with 2,400 lives. Carriers
spared.
• The attack brings the US
into the war.

30. Attack at Pearl Harbor

31. Attack at Pearl Harbor
• The day after the attack, FDR asks
Congress for a declaration of war.
• By the end of the month, Germany and
Italy have declared war against the US.
• The US is firmly involved in WWII.
• Europe first policy.
• Doolittle Raid.

32. Japan
Runs Amuck
• Soon after Pearl Harbor, the Japanese
overrun the European colonies.
• The Japanese capture Hong Kong,
Singapore and Malaya from the British,
Dutch East Indies and French Indochina.
• Also shortly after Pearl Harbor, the
Japanese made bombing runs on the
Philippines.
• The Japanese prepare to invade in
December of 1941 and continue their
attacks until May of 1942.
• US forces are forced back onto the Bataan
Peninsula and the island of Corregidor.
• American commander Douglas MacArthur
escapes before the troops fall.
• The Japanese take over 100,000 POW’s
and force them to walk the grueling Bataan
Death March where over 10,000 die.
I came out of Bataan and I shall
return.—Douglas MacArthur

33. The Home Front
• Many people join the armed forces.
• FDR brings back the draft. 10 million drafted.
• 16 million Americans will serve in the armed
services and 400,000 will be killed.
• WAAC—Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps
would free up valuable manpower for the war,
but they wouldn’t get equal rank or pay.
• 6 million women go to work— “Rosie the
Riveter”

34. The Home Front
• Most goods are rationed for the
war effort: gas, leather, meat,
sugar, coffee, etc.
• People donated copper, tin,
steel pots and pans as scrap
metal. Rubber tires too.
• All factories converted to war
effort.
• No strike pledge by unions.
• Cartoons go to war.

35. Propaganda

36. Propaganda

37. Propaganda

38. Japanese Internment
• Nisei—Japanese people born in
this country, were sent to live in
internment camps.
• Afraid they were spies.
• 110,000 sent away in Feb. 1942.
(11,000 Germans)
• Held there until 1946.
• 442 Reg. fought in Europe.—
Highest decorated regiment in US
Army history. (21 CMH, 52 DSC,
560 SS, 4,000 BS, 9486 PH)
• Korematsu vs US.

39. Question Time
• 9. Why was Japan so angry with the US?
• 10. Japan thought that they could knock
us out of the way by attacking Pearl
Harbor. Why were they wrong?

41. North Africa
• Germans under Erwin Rommel drives across North
Africa to get the oil fields and Suez Canal.
• Germans are stopped by the British under Bernard
Montgomery at El Alamein.
• The first combat action carried by American forces in the
European theater of war led by Dwight D. Eisenhower.
• “Operation Torch” Americans land in Algeria and
Morocco and move east. Meanwhile, Montgomery
moves his forces west from Egypt.
• The two armies link up in Tunisia and force the
surrender of the Afrika Korps and 275,000 forces.
• It is the first major victory over the Axis in Europe.

42. Italian
Campaign
• In the summer of 1943, British and American
units invade and take over Sicily.
• They use the island as a base for an attack
against Italy.
• During the Sicilian Campaign, the Italians rose
up and overthrew Mussolini and joined the
Allied side.

43. Italian Campaign
• Starting in September,
the Allies make landings
on the “shoe” part and
move up.
• The battles through the
mountains were rough,
but a breakthrough was
made at the Battle of
Anzio where Americans
landed near Rome.
• On June 4, 1944 the
Allies captured Rome,
however it would still be
a tough fight as the
Allies pushed the
Germans out of Italy.

44. Normandy Invasion
• Also known as D-Day. It is the
largest amphibious invasion in
the history of warfare.
• On June 6, 1944, over 150,000
in the initial waves American,
British, and Canadian men land
on beaches codenamed Utah,
Omaha, Gold, Sword, and Juno
on the coast of Normandy on
the English Channel.
• It is the beginning of the
liberation of France and
Western Europe.
• Codenamed “Operation
Overlord”, it will begin the drive
to Berlin.
• At the end of June, over 3
million Allied forces will have
landed.
• 1,500 dead and 5,200 wounded

45. Normandy
Invasion

46. The Russian Front
• The turning point in the Russian Front was the Battle of Stalingrad
• It is the bloodiest battle in the war and in human history. Germany and
her allies lost 850,000 while the Soviets lost 1,129,619 (478,741 killed
and 650,878 wounded).
• The Germans wanted to capture the city and take the oil fields to the
south. The Soviets were determined to hold the city that holds the name
of their leader.
• The Germans stormed into the city and captured it, inflicting many
casualties on the Soviets. However, as the winter arriver, the Soviets
counterattacked.
• Hitler refused to allow his men to fall back and Stalin refused to allow his
men to quit the battle.
• Under Georgy Zhukov and Nikolai Vatutin, the Russians attacked the
German rear and surrounded the Germans inside the city. Germans will
surrender on Feb. 2, 1943.
• From this point on, the Soviets will drive relentlessly back towards Berlin.

47. The Push to Germany
• As the summer of 1944 wanes
on, the Allies breakout of
Normandy’s hedgerows.
• Led by Omar Bradley and
George Patton, the American
armies push towards the
German border.
• Paris is liberated on August 25,
1944.
• The British advance through
Belgium and Holland.

48. Battle of the Bulge
• A last ditch attempt by Hitler to
save Germany. With the Allies
approaching the Germany
border, Hitler launches a
massive surprise attack on the
American lines.
• 500,000 US soldiers were
attacked by 600,000 Germans
on Dec. 16, 1944.
• As the Germans stormed
through the US lines in the
Ardennes forest, a bulge is
formed in the lines.
• When the lines are made stable
by Christmas, the Germans
have run out of gas and must
fall back.
• By January 25, the lines are
back to where they belong.
• It is the largest battle in US
history. It also helped to speed
up the war.

49. Election of 1944
• FDR runs for 4th term against Thomas E.
Dewey of NY.
• FDR wins fairly easily although Dewey did
better than any other Republican.
• FDR’s health.

50. Yalta Conference
• A meeting held in the Russia resort of Yalta February
4 to 11, 1945 between Winston Churchill, Stalin, and
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
• The meeting discussed the goals for the final months
of the war: Unconditional surrender of Germany,
Division of Germany into occupied zones,
Demilitarization and Denazification of Germany,
Reworking Poland’s borders, the United Nations, and
getting the USSR to fight Japan.

51. Death of FDR
• FDR was getting a portrait painted of him
in Warm Springs, GA on April 12, 1945.
• He collapses and dies later on that
evening of a cerebral hemorrhage.
• Harry S. Truman became the next
president.
I have a terrific headache .--FDR

52. Defeat of Germany
• American forces cross the Rhine River
at Remagen in March 1945.
• Mussolini is executed by Italians.
• Russians are poised to take over
Berlin.
• Allied bombers are destroying German
factories and cities.

53. Defeat of Germany
• 2.5 million Soviet troops fight 1 million Germans in
urban combat for Berlin.
• The Germans, in a tough defense of the city, will lose
173,000 while killing 100,000 from April 16 to May 8.
• Berlin is captured by the Soviet forces and Germany
is compelled to surrender.
• Hitler commits suicide on April 30
• V-E Day: Victory in Europe Day, May 8, 1945. It is the
day that Germany surrenders.

54. Potsdam Conference
• A conference of allied leaders Harry S. Truman,
Stalin, and Clement Attlee from July 17 to
August 2, 1945.
• The conference dealt with Post-WWII issues:
German territories, Division of Germany into
occupied zones, War criminal trials, Reworking
Poland’s borders, German reparations, and
Japan.
• It also focused on free elections in Eastern
Europe where the Soviet Union had liberated the
nations there.

55. Question Time
• 11. What led to the ultimate victory over
Germany?
• 12. What decisions were made at the
Yalta and Potsdam Conferences to keep
the peace after the war?

56. Battle of Midway
• The major turning point in the Pacific
Theater of WWII from June 4-7,
1942.
• The American fleet decodes secret
Japanese communications and learn
their plan of attack for the conquest of
Midway Island and, eventually,
Hawaii.
• The US navy sets a trap and sinks 4
Japanese carriers.
• It is a loss the Japanese can never
recover.
• It is the final offensive thrust by
Japan.

57. Island Hopping
• The strategy employed by the
US of bypassing heavily
fortified Japanese positions
and instead concentrating on
strategically important islands
that were less well defended
but capable of supporting the
drive to the main islands of
Japan.
• The Allies would “hop” over
the other islands on their way
to Japan.

59. Guadalcanal
• The first offensive move by the
Americans in the Pacific.
• The US landed 16,000 men on
the island in the Solomon
Islands on August 7, 1942 and
would fight until February 9,
1943.
• The Japanese fought for every
inch of land.
• It was the first step in the “island
hopping” campaign.

60. Return to the Philippines
• Fought from October 23-26, 1944 it was the battle
that began the liberation of the Philippines from
Japan.
• One of the largest naval battles in history was
fought off of the islands. It would practically finish off
what was left of Japan’s navy as the Japanese lost
4 carriers, 3 battleships, and 20 other ships.
• It would also be the first battle that the Kamikaze
were employed.
• Douglas MacArthur led the drive that liberated the
islands.
I have returned. By the grace of
Almighty God, our forces stand again
on Philippine soil.—Douglas
MacArthur

61. Saipan
• Island in the Northern Marianas chain that
saw heavy fighting from June 15 to July 9,
1944.
• Out of a force of 31,000 men, the
Japanese will lose 21,000 killed in action
and 9,000 by suicide.
• Only 921 were captured.
• Hundreds of civilians also died by suicide
as well.
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62. Iwo Jima
• Fought from February
16 to March 26, 1945, it
was an American
victory that put Japan
within bomber range.
• Only 1,083 Japanese
troops out of 21,000
surrendered.
• The US lost 7,000 men
in the battle.

63. Kamikaze
• Japanese word for “divine wind”.
• As the Americans creep closer to Japan, the Japanese become
desperate.
• They begin to load their planes up with bombs and extra fuel
and deliberately crash them into the American ships.
• 3,912 Japanese will sacrifice themselves for their emperor.
• 34 navy ships were lost and 368 were damaged at a cost of
4,900 dead and 4,800 wounded.
• Only 14% of the kamikazes hit their target, but the desperate
efforts help led to the Manhattan Project.

64. Okinawa
• One of the bloodiest battles, and final
battles, of the war.
• Fought from April 1 to June 21, 1945,
18,900 marines were killed with
another 38,000 wounded as the
Americans close in on the Japanese
home islands.
• 110,000 Japanese died with only
2,300 Japanese captured.
• On this battle, the Japanese sent
wave after wave of kamikaze attacks
and suicidal charges against the
American forces.
• The island was only about 300 miles
from the Japan itself.

65. Operation Downfall
• Proposed 2-part
invasion of Japan that
would take place in
Nov. 1945.
• Estimated that a 90
day Olympic
campaign and
Coronet took another
90 days, the
combined cost would
be 1,200,000
casualties, with
267,000 fatalities.
• Japan was preparing
for an attack at home.

66. The Manhattan Project
• Code name used for development of
nuclear weapons at Los Alamos, NM and
Oak Ridge, TN.
• Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer and others,
physicists attempt to create nuclear fission
and then harness this energy for the first
nuclear weapons.
• Two bombs were made: one from uranium
and one from plutonium.

67. Using the Atomic Bomb
• It would help to end the war quicker.
• Japan seemed to want to fight to the
death.
• Japan refused to surrender.
• Would save American lives.
• Scare Soviet Union in future.
• Prevent Soviet Union from taking over too
much land in Asia.

68. Hiroshima
• The first time nuclear weapons were ever
used in combat.
• On Aug. 6, 1945, a B-29 named Enola Gay
dropped the uranium “Little Boy” on
Hiroshima.
• 70-100,000 people were killed with over 90%
of the city destroyed.

69. Nagasaki
• Three days later, Bockscar drops “Fat
Man” on Nagasaki.
• Again, 80,000 die in and following the
attack.
• On August 14, the Japanese agree to
surrender.

70. Question Time
• 13. What was the rationale behind
dropping the atomic bombs?
• 14. Why were the Japanese such
determined fighters?

71. End of the War
• Victory in Japan Day, Aug. 15, 1945.
• It is the day that Japan agrees to
surrender and end the war.
• The formal surrender takes place on
September 2, 1945 on the USS Missouri.

72. Holocaust
• “The Final Solution”
• Over 6 million Jews and 6 million others (Poles,
Russians, Gypsies, Handicapped, Mentally Ill,
Catholics, Communists, Jehovah’s Witnesses,
Homosexuals, etc.) were killed in concentration
camps.
• The Final Solution refers to the “final solution of
the Jewish Question”…what to do with the Jews.
• Auschwitz was the largest of the Nazi death
camps. Between 1-2 million people die at this
camp alone. (on average 1,200 a die from its
opening in 1940 to liberation on Jan. 27, 1945)

73. Persecution of the Jews
• Nuremburg Laws: Began in 1935, they were laws that denied the
Jewish populations in Germany many rights. Jews were denied
certain jobs, had their citizenship stripped, and could not own
property. They also had to wear golden Stars of David on their outer
clothing to identify themselves as Jews.
• Kristallnacht: A massive nationwide pogrom in Germany and
Austria on the night of November 9, 1938. It was directed at Jewish
citizens throughout the country. The Nazi government helped
organize it by attacking German shops and synagogues 100 Jews
were killed during the pogrom. It was a major step in the persecution
of Jews in Nazi controlled areas and would eventually lead to the
Holocaust.
• Ghettos: Areas of a city that were normally run down and occupied
by the Jews. As the war goes on, all Jews are herded into these
neighborhoods that are run down and are given little food and water.
The crowding causes diseases to spread rather quickly. It would
later be used as a final step before deporting the Jews altogether.

74. Holocaust

75. Holocaust

76. Nuremburg Trials
• War crime trials held from 1945 to 1949 to convict Nazi
leaders for various war crimes.
• Out of the 24 major criminals, 12 are sentenced to be
executed and 3 are sent to life.
• Others have other sentences or are acquitted.
• Overall, about 185 individuals were indicted in the 12
cases.
• A number of doctors and SS leaders were condemned to
death by hanging, and approximately 120 other
defendants were given prison sentences of various
durations; 35 defendants were acquitted.
• It is a landmark for the upholding of human rights in the
world.

77. Legacy of the War
• UN will replace the League of Nations
• US will occupy Japan and help to democratize it.
• Germany will be divided up.
• Human Rights will become a major issue following the
war.
• Civil Rights Movement in America.
• Cold War will begin.
• No wars for conquest is tolerated.
• Women work outside of the home.
• Philippines become independent on July 4, 1946.
• We acquire Northern Marianas chain from Japan and
administer many island groups in the Pacific Ocean.

78. Race Relations in the War
• Blacks fought in segregated units.
• Japanese-Americans could only
fight in Europe.
• Navajo Indians used as “code
talkers” in the Pacific Theater.
Admiral Chester W.
Nimitz pins Navy
Cross on Doris
Miller, at ceremony
on board warship in
Pearl Harbor, 27
May 1942

79. WWII
Weapons

80. Question Time
• 15. Describe some of the events of the
Holocaust.
• 16. Why are the Nuremburg Trials so
important?
• 17. What was ironic about minorities
fighting in the US concerning the way they
were treated?