A collaboration between Mr. Irwin and his Honors U.S. History students - 2008/09 World War II
The Road to War
World War II Note: This PowerPoint Presentation has not yet been finalized. At this stage of completion it is mostly text only. In it’s current form, the second half of the presentation contains a number of unedited/unrefined slides (…but soon to be completed).
Even though this presentation is not yet complete,
you are still welcome to view it. World War II – After effects of Versailles
o In less than two decades after the end of World
War I, the continent of Europe was embroiled in another major conflict.
o World War I was felt by many to have been
“the war to end all wars.”
o So…What caused another major war to break
out? World War II – After-effects of Versailles
o The treaty of Versailles did not create a just
and secure peace.
o Germany had been blamed for being the
primary aggressor of World War I.
o The negative consequences imposed upon
Germany at Versailles, were too much for the new democratic Weimar Republic to overcome. World War II – The Rise of European Dictators o When Germany’s new democracy failed to bring about prosperity, the conditions were right for a dictator to rise to power.
o Based on ideas of strong nationalism and racial
superiority, Adolf Hitler, of the Nazi Party, rises to power and becomes Chancellor of Germany in 1933.
o With the help of thousands of “brown shirt” “storm
troopers,” Hitler declares himself Der Fuhrer, and becomes the absolute dictator of Germany in 1934. World War II – Hitler in Power o In 1933, Hitler took Germany out of the League of Nations.
o He initiated a massive rearmament program, which
was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
o Hitler strengthened Germany’s military forces and
expanded its borders.
o In 1936, Hitler sent troops into the Rhineland, even
though it had been “demilitarized” by the Treaty of Versailles. World War II – Hitler’s Initial Invasions
o In 1939, Hitler invaded Austria and annexed it
to his Third Reich.
o Hitler also demanded that Sudentland (western
Czechoslovakia) be joined to the Third Reich.
o At first, the weak League of Nations stood by
helplessly, as did the Allied nations of World War I. World War II – Hitler’s Initial Invasions o Initially, the powers of Europe did not want to get pulled into another large-scale war.
o France and Great Britain who were bound by treaties
to protect Czechoslovakia, did not act.
o These European powers chose appeasment as the
way to deal with Hitler and to avoid another large scale conflict. World War II - Appeasement
Appeasement - giving in to a competitor’s
demands in order to keep the peace.
• When Hitler made demands, other nations
gave in…they attempted to appease Hitler.
• Appeasement was used to avoid conflict.
World War II – Hitler’s Initial Invasions
o Once Hitler realized that the major powers of Europe
did not want to challenge him, he became even more aggressive.
o In 1939, Hitler seized the rest of Czechoslovakia, took
part of Lithuania, and invaded Poland. World War II – Hitler’s in Power o Hitler removed “undesirable” people from Germany (Non- Aryan race).
o Committed Genocide of Jews, Blacks, Gays,
and other minorities.
o Ultimately, He attempted to dominate the
European continent. World War II – Hitler’s Attack on Britain
o Once Hitler had control of France, he attacked Great
Britain.
o He had a 2-part strategy for taking Britain:
World War II – Hitler’s Attack on Britain
o First…
o weaken England by bombing strategic resources such
o Would be to launch a ground invasion of Great Britain.
World War II – Hitler’s Attack on Britain • The term, blitzkreig is used to describe Germany’s air attacks of England.
• Ultimately, the Germans launched 20,000 air raids over
Great Britain.
• The British had a sophisticated air defense system (for
the times), as the result, British fighter pilots were able to shoot down many German bombers. World War II – Hitler’s Attack on Britain
• In February 1940, British scientists cracked the
German communication code.
• This breakthrough gave the Allies information about
Hitler’s battle plans.
• The German ground invasion never came because
Germany was never able to establish air superiority over Great Britain. World War II - The U.S. Reacts o The U.S. attempts to stay out of the war and to remain neutral with the Neutrality Acts of 1935, 1936, & 1937.
o 1935: Congress bans the U.S. from providing weapons to
nations at war.
o 1936: Congress bans loans to nations at war.
o 1937: The U.S. begins trading with the nations at war in
non-military goods, on a cash and carry basis. World War II - U.S. Deficit Spending o Deficit Spending - Paying out more money from the annual federal budget than the government receives in revenues.
o The U.S. employed deficit spending as a strategy to
turn the economy around during the Great Depression.
o The process of deficit spending continued well into
WWII. World War II - U.S. Deficit Spending
o It was the massive war production that finally brought
the U.S. out of the Great Depression. World War II – U.S. Liberty Ships
o Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser introduced mass
production techniques into ship building.
o His techniques cut the time required to build supply
ships from 200 days to 40 days.
o These ships were nicknamed “Liberty Ships” because
the supplies that they would carry would help to “liberate” Europe from the Germans. World War II – Battle of the Bulge o After the battle, most Nazi leaders recognized that the war was lost.
o Hitler started drafting people as young as 15.
o Knocked the Germans back and restarted the
allied drive into Germany. World War II – VE Day o VE Day stands for victory in Europe Day.
o Fighting in Europe came to an end on May 8th,
1945 when Germany officially surrendered
o Although fighting had stopped in Europe, the
war wouldn’t be over until Japan was defeated. World War II – U.S. Internment Camps
o After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, U.S. government
officials became concerned that Japanese living on the West Coast might try to help a Japanese invasion of the U.S. mainland to take place.
o President Roosevelt issued an executive order that
required persons of Japanese ancestry, and living on the West Coast, be relocated to internment camps. World War II – U.S. Internment Camps
o The President’s executive order isolated Japanese-
Americans from other American citizens.
o Some felt the relocation and internment of Japanese-
Americans during WWII was Unconstitutional.
o The President claimed that during times of war, the
government has the right to temporarily restrict the rights & freedoms of its citizens. World War II – U.S. Internment Camps
o About 110,000 citizens and non-citizens were
moved and “relocated” under the executive order. World War II – Dwight D. Eisenhower
o U.S. General, Dwight D. Eisenhower was the
Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe.
o He oversaw the Invasion of Normandy and the
D-Day landings in France.
o He forged agreements among Allied military
commanders. World War II – Dwight D. Eisenhower
o The war helped Eisenhower establish a world-
class reputation. This helped him after the war, when he ran for and won the U.S. presidency in 1952. World War II *NOTE: o This is the end of the edited portion of this presentation.
o The subsequent slides have not yet been put
into their final form.
o Feel free to read on anyway.
World War II the Allies confront Japanese aggression Military planners wanted to bypass the Philippine islands and head straight for Japan. MacArthur and other generals opposed the idea and felt we are obligated to free the Filipino people. Roosevelt reversed this decision and ended up freeing the Filipino people. After the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa the US had more casualties than expected, making a ground attack on Japan not possible. World War II The War Finally Ends On August 6,1945, the “Enola Gay,” an American plane, dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima 80,000 died and many were injured by fire, radiation sickness, and the force of the explosion 90% of Hiroshima’s buildings were damaged or destroyed 3 days later, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki August 14, Japan accepted American terms for surrender The formal surrender agreement was signed on September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay World War II