Unit 9 -- World War II
VUS.10 -11, 12a
WWII Vocabulary
Dec. 7, 1941
Adolf Hitler island hopping
Lend-Lease Act
Destroyers for bases deal El Alamein
Manchuria Stalingrad
United Nations D-Day
Midway Nisei regiments
Iwo Jima and Okinawa
Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bataan Death March
Tuskegee Airmen genocide
Battle of Britain Final Solution
Nuremburg Trials
rationing
war bonds
Marshall Plan
Selective service
Internment camp
Geneva Convention
World War II : the beginning
(Europe)
World War II officially began
with Hitler’s invasion of Poland
from the west in Sept.1939.
Shortly after, the Soviet Union
invaded Poland from the east, and
the Baltic States.
During the first two years, the US
stayed officially neutral as
Germany overran France, most of
Europe, and pounded Britain from
the air (The Battle of Britain)
In mid-1941, Hitler turned on his
former partner and invaded the
Soviet Union
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Despite strong isolationist
sentiment at home, the US
increasingly helped Britain. It
gave war supplies (Lend-Lease)
and old warships (Destroyers for
bases) to Britain in exchange for
military bases in the Caribbean
and Bermuda.
FDR compared it to
–“ lending a garden
hose to a next-door
neighbor whose house
is on fire”
During the 1930s a militaristic
Japan invaded and brutalized
Manchuria and China as it sought
military and economic domination
over Asia
The US refused to recognize
Japanese conquests in Asia and
imposed an embargo on oil and
steel to Japan. TENSIONS
The US and Japan negotiated to
avoid war.
While negotiating with the US,
Japan carried out an air attack on
the US naval base at Pearl Harbor,
on DEC. 7TH, 1941
The attack killed several
thousand Americans and
destroyed much of the
American Pacific fleet.
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FDR called it:
–“a date that will live in
infamy”
He will ask Congress to declare
war on Japan.
Hitler will honor a pact with
Japan and declare war on the US.
The debate over isolationism in
the US was over. World War II
was truly a world war now and
the US was fully involved.
Allied Strategy
America and its Allies (Great
Britain and the Soviet Union)
followed a “Defeat Hitler
First” strategy.
Most American military resources
were targeted for Europe.
In the Pacific, American military
strategy called for an “Island
Hopping” campaign.
The US would seize islands closer
and closer to Japan and use them
for air raids on Japan.
We would also cut off Japanese
supplies by using submarine
warfare against Japanese
shipping
Germany’s strategy
Germany hoped to defeat the
Soviet Union quickly and gain
control of their oil fields.
Also hoped to force Britain out of
the war with a bombing campaign
and submarine warfare.
Hoped to end it before
American industrial and
military strength could turn
the tide
Japan’s strategy
Japaninvaded the Philippines and
Indonesia after Pearl Harbor.
They planned to invade Australia
and Hawaii.
Japan’s leaders hoped America
would accept Japanese
predominance in South Asia and
the Pacific rather than commit to a
bloody costly war to reverse their
gains
Major Battles and Turning Points
North Africa
–El Alamein--German forces
threatened to seize Egypt and
the Suez Canal. The Germans
were stopped by the British.
**This prevented Germany
from gaining access to
Middle Eastern oil and
possibly attacking the
Soviets from the south
Europe
–Stalingrad--Hundreds of
thousands of German soldiers
were killed or captured in a
month long siege of the Russian
city
.**This prevented
Germany from capturing
Soviet oil fields and
turned the tide against
Germany in the east
–Normandy--(D-Day) American
and Allied troops led by Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower landed in
German occupied France on
June 6, 1944.
Despite heavy German opposition
and heavy American casualties,
the landings were successful and
the liberation of western Europe
from Hitler had begun
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Holocaust
Genocide--the systematic and
purposeful destruction of a racial,
political, religious or cultural
group
Final Solution--Germany’s
decision to exterminate all Jews
Affected Groups
–Jews Poles
–Slavs Gypsies
–Undesirables (homosexuals,
mentally ill, political dissidents)
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Significance--In the Nuremberg
Trials, Nazi leaders and others
were convicted of war crimes.
The Nuremberg trials emphasized
individual responsibility for
actions during a war, regardless of
orders received.
The trials led to an increased
demand for a Jewish homeland
(Israel)
A new Jewish country will be
founded in 1948
Asia
–Midway--In the “Miracle of
Midway” American naval forces
defeated a much larger Japanese
naval force. A Japanese victory
would have allowed the
Japanese to invade Hawaii.
The American victory ended
the Japanese threat to Hawaii
and began a series of
victories in the island
hopping campaign.
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Iwo Jima and Okinawa--
American victories on the two
island brought the US even closer
to Japan but at the cost of
thousands of American lives and
even more Japanese lives.
Japanese soldiers fought fiercely
over every square inch of the
islands and Japanese soldiers and
civilians committed suicide
rather than surrender
Hiroshima and Nagasaki--because
we faced terrible casualties of
both the Americans and Japanese
if we had to invade the Japanese
home islands, President Truman
ordered the use of the atomic
bomb on both cities.
**Tens of thousands of people
were killed in both cities, but it
convinced the Japanese leaders
to surrender.
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Geneva Convention
Attempted to ensure the humane
treatment of prisoners of war. It
established rules to be followed
by all nations
It still exists today.
The treatment of prisoners in the
Pacific often reflected the savagery
of the fighting there.
In the Bataan Death March--
American POWs suffered brutal
treatment by the Japanese after their
surrender in the Philippines
Japanese soldiers often
committed suicide rather than
surrender
The treatment of prisoners in
Europe more closely followed
the ideas of the Geneva
Convention
Japanese Americans were
relocated to internment camps
Internment affected Japanese
American populations along the
West Coast. The Supreme Court
upheld the government’s right to
act against Japanese Americans
living on the West Coast of the
US.
Reasons for internment
1. Strong anti-Japanese
prejudice on the West Coast
2. False belief that Japanese
Americans were aiding the
enemy
Apublic apology was
eventually issued by the US
government. Financial payment
was made to survivors.
War at HOME
Success in the war required the
total commitment of the nation’s
resources. On the home front,
public education and the mass
media promoted nationalism
Economic Resources--The US
government and industry forged a
close working relationship to
allocate resources effectively
1. Rationing was used to
maintain the supply of products
essential to the war effort
2. War bonds and the income tax
were used to finance the war.
3. Businesses retooled from
peacetime to wartime production
(ex.--car manufacturing to tank
manufacturing)
Human resources
1. More women and minorities
entered the labor force as men
entered the armed forces
2. Citizens volunteered in support
of the war effort.
Military Resources
The draft/selective service was
used to provide personnel for the
military
Minority participation
African-Americans generally
served in segregated military units
and were assigned to non-combat
roles.
They demanded the right to serve
in combat rather than support
roles
There were two all- minority units
in particular--Tuskegee Airmen
and Nisei regiments
Tuskegee Airmen--African-
American pilots who served with
distinction in Europe
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Nisei Regiments--Asian-
Americans earned high
number of decorations earned
in fighting in Europe
Communication codes of the
Navajo Indians were used as code.
It was an oral, not written,
language
*It was impossible for the
Japanese to break
Mexican-Americans fought but in
non-segregated
Minority units suffered high
casualties and won numerous
unit citations and individual
medals for bravery in action
Contributions to a war effort
come from all segments of a
society. Women entered into
previously male job roles as
African Americans and others
struggled to obtain desegregation
in the armed forces and end
discriminatory hiring practices.
Women increasingly participated
in the work force to replace men
serving in the military (ex.--Rosie
the Riveter)
They typically participated in the
military in non-combat roles
(WAACS and WAVES, and
nurses)
African Americans migrated to
cities in search of jobs in the war
plants
They campaigned for victory in
war and equality at home
The US government maintained
strict censorship of reporting the
war.
Public morale and ad campaigns
kept Americans focused on the
war effort
The entertainment industry
produced movies, plays, and
shows that boosted morale and
patriotic support for the war
effort as well as portrayed the
enemy in stereotypical ways.
WW II aftermath
The Soviet Union occupied most of
Eastern and Central Europe, eastern
Germany and North Korea
German was divided (partitioned)
into four zones. The US, Great
Britain, France and the Soviet Union
each controlled a zone
The US, GB, and FR will combine
their zones into a democratic self-
governing country called West
Germany
East Germany will be created and
dominated by the SU for the next
40+ years. It will be communistic
Japan will also be occupied by the
US. It will also adopt a democratic
government based on the US model.
It becomes a strong ally of the US in
the region.
Marshall Plan
Because Europe lay in ruins, the US
will launch an economic aid program
called the Marshall Plan.
We provided massive amounts of
financial aid to rebuild Europe.
We did this to prevent the spread of
communism.
United Nations
A new world peace organization was
formed near the end of WWII.
It was to prevent future global wars.
The US will play a prominent role in
the UN.
The UN’s headquarters are located in
New York City.