Ch. 17: World War 11 and the Holocaust

Vichy France

"Puppet" government in southern France; basically run by Germany during the German occupation, led by Marshal Henri Pétain.

Some effects of WWII:

- 17 million died in battle. Perhaps 20 million civilians perished. Some estimates place total losses at 60 million. - The dropping of the atomic bomb marked the Nuclear Age. After the world witnessed the deadly potential of nuclear energy, other countries raced to build their own. In August 1949, the USSR set off its first atomic bomb, thus beginning an arms race with the U.S. for the next 40 years.

How did the tide of battle turn against Germany, Italy, and Japan?

- After Sicily fell, the Allies continued to advance and took Rome on June 4, 1944. By then, the Italian war was secondary as the Allied forces opened their long-awaited "second front" in Western Europe. Since 1943, the Allies planned an invasion of France from Great Britain across the English Channel. D-Day: U.S. general Dwight D. Eisenhower landed Allied forces on the Normandy beaches and fought past underwater mines, treacherous barbed wire, and horrible machine gun fire. Believing this battle was a diversion, Germany responded slowly, and the Allies began pushing inward and broke through German defensive lines. - Allies liberated Paris in 1944. Germans launched counter-attack (Battle of the Bulge) but Allies lines held. Allies then crossed the Rhine River, then moved northward toward the Elbe River, where they met with the Soviets.

What happened in the finale days of the European Theater?

- After Sicily fell, the Allies continued to advance and took Rome on June 4, 1944. By then, the Italian war was secondary as the Allied forces opened their long-awaited "second front" in Western Europe. Since 1943, the Allies planned an invasion of France from Great Britain across the English Channel. D-Day: U.S. general Dwight D. Eisenhower landed Allied forces on the Normandy beaches and fought past underwater mines, treacherous barbed wire, and horrible machine gun fire. Believing this battle was a diversion, Germany responded slowly, and the Allies began pushing inward and broke through German defensive lines. - Allies liberated Paris in 1944. Germans launched counter-attack (Battle of the Bulge) but Allies lines held. Allies then crossed the Rhine River, then moved northward toward the Elbe River, where they met with the Soviets. - The Soviets had deafened Germans at the Battle of Kursk, the greatest tank battle of WWII. Then advanced westward. They even occupied Berlin. - Allied forces also liberated concentration camps and death camps. Although some evidence was destroyed, the Allies were able to see the horrors. - By Jan. 1945, Hitler had moved to a bunker under the city of Berlin and committed suicide after Mussolini was shot. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered and the war was over in Europe.

What led to the Cold War?

- An ideological conflict between the U.S. and USSR. - The Western Powers were concerned with the USSR'S power and taking control of Eastern and Central Europe. - Stalin was suspicious of the Western Powers. He wanted a buffer to protect the USSR from future Western aggression. This meant pro-soviet governments along its borders. Roosevelt favored the idea of self-determination for Europe. - The Big Three agreed to divide Germany into 4 parts for Britain, U.S., USSR, and France. But it became clear that Stalin might not honor this provision for other Eastern European countries. - The issue of free election caused divide between the U.S. and USSR. - At the Potsdam Conference, Truman and Stalin clashed for Truman demanded free elections for Europe, and Stalin resisted. - Many in the West thought Soviet policy was a worldwide Communist conspiracy. The Soviets viewed Western and American policy as nothing less than global capitalist expansion.

What was the Asian Theater like at the end of the war?

- Beginning in 1943, U.S. forces went on the offensive and advanced across the Pacific. They continued their island-hopping campaign. At the beginning of 1945, the acquisition of Iwo Jima and Okinawa helped Allied military power draw closer to Japan. Iwo Jima was essential to air war on Japan. - Harry S. Truman had a difficult decision to make (due to fear of losing more soldiers if war in the Pacific continued). So, the Manhattan Project began. Truman decided to use the bombs. The atomic bombs caused Emperor Hirohito to accept unconditional surrender. WWII was finally over.

How did countries mobilize for war?

- Soviet Union - Leningrad was under siege - Machines were taken from Leningrad to western Siberia - Women were directly involved in combat and workforce - United States - War wasn't on their territory - Not suffering from bomb raids - Height in war production - Boomtowns - More pop. and relocation of people - Social turmoils - Racial tensions - African Americans began work - Japanese Americans - Internment camps - Germany - Morale was low - Hitler refused to cut consumer goods or to increase production of armaments - Total mobilization of society - Women contribution didn't increase - Japan - To guarantee control over natural resources created gov. planning board - Over prices, labor, and resources - Kamikaze pilots - Suicide missions - Opposition to female employment

What at the Allied meetings?

- Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill were the leader of the Big Three of the Grand Alliance. They met at Tehran in Nov. 1943 to discuss a final assail ton Germany - and American-British invasion though France. This acceptance had consequences: Soviets would meet with British-American forces and liberate Eastern Europe alone. - Then they met at Yalta, with victory assured, and the Western Powers, having once believed the Soviets were in a weak position, now faced the reality of 11 million Soviet soldiers taking possession of Eastern and Central Europe.

What allied strategies helped change the tide of battle in the East?

1. Advancing on French North Africa to force surrender. 2. Soviet counterattack and defeat at Stalingrad of the entire Sixth Army. 3. Victory in the Pacific at Midway and Japanese moral being crushed. 4. American naval forced stopping Japanese advance on Australia.

What alliances and events contributed to the outbreak of World War II?

1. Hitler gained new allies. - Benito Mussolini of Italy had long dreamed of creating a new Roman Empire. Angered by French and British opposition when he invaded Ethiopia, he welcomed Germany's support. - As a result, they both send troops into Spain to help General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Then, Italy and Germany became allied as the Rome-Berlin Axis. - Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern pact, promising a common front against communism. - Hitler pursued Anschluss, or union, with Austria, by threatening invasion. He forced their gov. to put Austrian Nazis as the head of gov.. Hitler then annexed Austria to Germany. -In 1939, Germany signed the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact with the Soviet Union. Germany, not honoring the Treaty of Versailles, honoring promises, and invading Poland, despite knowing war could come, also triggered the Western states to declare war on them.

How did German and Japanese aggression affect the United States?

1. Japans attack on China aroused strong criticism in the United States. 2. US objected Japans exploitation of economic resources in French Indochina. 3. Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. 4. Germany bombed Britain and Britain was trading with the US.

Hitler's next objectives in gaining power after alliances were:

1. The destruction of Czechoslovakia, which he was risking "world war" for. -After a meeting with France, British, German, and Italian representatives in Munich, the agreement met virtually all of Hitler demands. The Czechs, stood helplessly. 2. He then invaded Bohemia and Moravia in western Czech. In the eastern part of the country, Slovakia became a puppet to the Nazis. Hitler then declared Prague would be known as the greatest German of them all.

Munich Conference

1938 conference at which European leaders attempted to appease Hitler by turning over the Sudetenland to him in exchange for promise that Germany would not expand Germany's territory any further.

Battle of Midway (June 4-7, 1942)

1942 World War II battle between the United States and Japan, a turning point in the war in the Pacific. The U.S. destroyed four attacking Japanese aircraft carriers and established naval superiority in the Pacific.

Battle of the Coral Sea (May 1942)

A battle between Japanese and American naval forces that stopped the Japanese advance on Australia.

Maginot Line

A fortification built before World War II to protect France's eastern border from an attack from German.

What effects did the blitz have on England?

Although the raids caused enormous destruction and heavy civilian casualties—some 43,000 British civilians were killed and another 139,000 were wounded—they had little effect on Britain's ability to continue in the war and failed in its immediate purpose of dominating the skies

The Battle of Britain

An aerial battle fought in World War II in 1940 between the German Luftwaffe (air force), which carried out extensive bombing in Britain, and the British Royal Air Force, which offered successful resistance. In Sept., instead of bombing military targets, German began bombing cities as a way to break British morale. Instead, because military targets weren't hit, the British were able to rebuild air strength quickly. Soon, the British Air Force was inflicting major losses on Luftwaffe and Hitler delayed the invasion.

United Nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

Review: What was Hitler's master plan for creating an Aryan racial empire?

Aryan race superior to other races and nationalities.great power he thought Germany needed more land to support larger population.Hitler indicated a Nazi regime to find land in Soviet Union. Soviet Union conquered, land resettled by German peasants. Slavic peoples used as slave labor to build Aryan racial state Hitler thought would dominate Europe for thousand years

Albert Speer

As Hitler's favorite architect, Speer was in charge of armaments and munitions productions in WWII

War with China

Chiang Kai-shek tried to avoid conflict with Japan to deal with the Chinese Communists by trying to appease Japan and allow them to govern areas in the north. However, as Japan moved southward, Chiang formed a new untied front against the Japanese. Although, Japan had not planned to declare war, the 1937 incident south of Beijing turned into a major conflict. Japan seized the capital of Nanjing, and when Chiang reused to surrender moved his gov. upriver, the Chinese continued to resist.

Hiroshima (August 6, 1945)

City in Japan, the first to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, on August 6, 1945. The bombing hastened the end of World War II. 190,000 citizens died.

Battle of the Bulge

December, 1944-January, 1945 - After recapturing France, the Allied advance became stalled along the German border. In the winter of 1944, Germany staged a massive counterattack in Belgium and Luxembourg which pushed a 30 mile "bulge" into the Allied lines. The Allies stopped the German advance and threw them back across the Rhine with heavy losses.

What effects did war have on civilians in the Soviet Union, the United States, Germany, and Japan?

Each country differing civilian goals, all working to help country win by time, energy, and resources. US mostly women and children, helped manufacture weapons; USSR gave everything to help state. Germany civilians goal to build Nazi state in family life while soldiers at war. Japan HUGE army, so needed supplies and civilians helped make those. countries mobilized, citizens sacrifice...especially in SU, Germany and Japan...food shortages

Why is it important that war crimes trials were held?

Even in war, there are some acts against humanity that should not be tolerated by any nation. Holding the leaders responsible is the only way to discourage the type of crimes committed by the Nazis against the Jews.

Japan Launches Attack

Even though a move southward would risk war with the European powers and the U.S., they demand the right to exploit economic resources in French Indonesia. The U.S. objected and warned Japan it would apply economic sanctions unless Japan withdrew from the area. Japan badly needed the oil and scrap iron from the U.S. and should these be cut off, Japan would have to find them elsewhere. Japan was now caught in a dilemma. To guarantee access to raw materials in Southeast Asia, Japan risked losing them from the U.S.. After much debate, Japan decided to launch a surprise attack on U.S. and European colonies in Southeast Asia.

blitzkrieg

German for "lightning war"; a swift and sudden military attack; used by the Germans during World War II

Battle of Kursk

German forces are soundly defeated by the Soviets, greatest tank battle of WWII

May 7, 1945 (VE Day)

Germany surrenders

How does Hitler violate the Treaty of Versailles?

Germany's military power was limited, however, Hitler, as chancellor, posing as a man of peace, stressed that Germany wished to revise the unfair provisions by peaceful means. In 1935, Hitler announces a new Air Force, and a military draft that expanded troops by 450,000. These steps were in direct violation with the treaty. However, while the other countries disliked this, they were in a depression and mostly were concerned with themselves. He was convinced the Western states wouldn't use force, so he sent troops into the Rhineland (a demilitarized area). France had the right to act, but not without British support. Great Britain didn't support the use of force, and tried to justify the actions of Germany. Great Britain began to practice a policy of appeasement. (if European states satisfied the demands of dissatisfied powers, there would be peace)

What assumptions did Hitler make about invading the Soviet Union? Do you think the invasion would have gone differently if he had not made those assumptions?`

He assumed that the Soviet army was weak and would be defeated efficently.. The invasion would have been more successful if the Germans had prepared for resistance and brought winter gear.

Why was Hitler so optimistic after he captured the Crimea?

He believed he would continue south to help rebels in Iran and Iraq defeat and that the English would run out of oil. He would then advance to India, and the British Empire would collapse.

What was Hitler's motivation for German expansion?

He believed the Germans belonged to a so-called Aryan race that was superior to all other races and nationalities. Consequently, he believed that Germany was capable of building a great civilization. To be this, though, Germany needed more land to support a larger population. He wanted to conquer the Soviet Union and resettle it with German peasants to create a vast empire.

How did the Great Depression prepare Roosevelt for the war effort?

He had seen the U.S. though the Depression, a major crisis, and was determined to see it though another: WW2. He had morale to lead, as well as the trust of congress and the people.

Germany mobilization

Hitler adopted economic policies that may have cost him the war to keep the home front involved. To maintain moral in the first 2 years, he refused to cut consumer goods production or to increase the production of armaments. The situation changed after some defeats as Hitler orders a massive increase in armaments and the size of he army. A total mobilization of economy was put into effect in July 1944. Schools, theaters, cafes were closed. Nazi attitudes of women changed; women were viewed as capable to work with many men gone. However, many women of the middle class didn't want jobs, especially in factories.

How did Hitler have a brief victory in 1942?

Hitler and his allies continued to fight against Britain and the USSR in Europe. In North Africa, German forces broke through British defenses in Egypt and advanced toward Alexandria. A renewed German offensive in the USSR led to the capture of the entire Crimea in the Spring. However, by fall 1942, the war turned against the Germans.

Attack on Soviet Union

Hitler assumed that is he smashed the Soviet Union, Great Britain's last hope would be eliminated. However, his attack was delayed due to Mussolini's failed invasion of Greece in 1940 because now Hitler's southern flank was exposed to births air bases. To secure his Balkan flank, he seized both Greece and Yugoslavia. Then, he invaded the USSR on June 22, 1941. He believed they would surrender before winter, and the attack stretched 1,800 miles. However, an early winter and fierce Soviet resistance halted the advance and for the first time, German armies had been stopped. A counterattack by a Soviet army came as an ominous ending to the year for the germans.

How were war preparations in Germany different from war preparations in the U.S.?

Hitler stepped up armaments production only after defeats and the US entry into the war. German women never entered the workforce in large numbers. The US became the arsenal of the Allies.

What was signed with between Germany and the Soviets?

Hitler, fearing that the Western states would make an alliance with the Soviet Union, made his own agreement with Stalin. They signed the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. In it, the nations promised not to attack each other. To get this, Hitler offered Stalin control of eastern Poland and the Baltic states. Hitler, however, planned on breaking the pact. He now planned to attack Poland, and on September 1st, he invaded, allowing France and Britain on the 3rd to declare war on Germany.

How did the Japanese create a path to war?

In 1931, disgusted as Chinese soldiers blew up a small section of the Manchurian Railway, Japan blamed the Chinese and used this to take all of Manchuria under its power. Manchuria offers many resources Japan needed, and new they became committed to an expansionist policy-thus enlarging the empire. They placed a puppet ruler there to control and oversee the state. Worldwide protests against the Japanese seizure of Manchuria led the League of Nations to send in investigators. When they issued a report condemning the seizure, Japan withdrew from the League. The U.S. refused to recognize the seizure, but wouldn't use force. Over the next few years, Japan continued expansion and control over the eastern part of Inner Mongolia and north China along Beijing. Neither emperor Hirohito or the gov. could control the army and the army established the foreign policy and had the upper hand.

U.S. mobilization of WWI

It became an arsenal of the Allied Power; producing the military equipment. The mobilization of the economy resulted in some turmoil. The construction of new factories created boomtowns; there was a shortage of housing and food. 32 Million military and wives constantly moved around the country. More than 1 million African Americans moved from the rural South to the cities of North and West for jobs. However, this created racial tensions. 1 million African American joined the military. Japanese American were removed to camps and had to take loyalty oaths.

The bombing of Britain:

It began in 1940, when Londoners took the first heavy blows, and was bombed nightly; thousands of civilians were killed, but morale remained high. The blitz, as the British called the German air raids, soon became a national experience. The ability of Londoners to maintain morale set the standards for the rest of the country. Many children were evacuated from cities and 6 million women and mothers were moved in 1939. Some sent children to the U.S. or Canada.

How did the involvement of the United States change the war?

It created a new coalition, the Grand Alliance. To overcome mutual suspicions, the three major allies - Great Britain, the United States, and the USSR - agreed to stress military operations and ignore political differences. At the beginning of 1943, they agreed to fight until the Axis Powers - Germany, Italy, and Japan- surrendered unconditionally. This cemented the Grand Alliance by making it nearly impossible for Hitler to divide his foes. The Tide Turns: In North Africa, British forces had stopped General Erwin Rommel's troops at El Alamein, causing the Germans to retreat. Then, they had American forces invade French North Africa, forcing the German and Stalin troops there to surrender. On the Eastern Front, Hitler decided that Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga River, was the next target. In perhaps the most terrible battle of the war, Soviets launched a counterattack. German troops were stopped, encircled, and cut-off. The entire German Sixth Army, considered the best of the German troops, was lost. The German forces were pushed back, and they knew they couldn't defeat the USSR. The Asian Theater: At the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japanese forces were stopped on their advance toward Australia. The turning point in the war came on June 4, 1942, at the Battle of Midway Island. By the fall of 1942, Allied forces in Asia were gathering for two operations. One, would move into the Philippines, and the other across the Pacific to capture Japanese-held islands. After engagements near the Solomon islands from August to November, Japanese fortunes began to fade.

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

Japan offered to liberate Southeast-Asian countries from western colonial rule but instead used them as conquered land for natural resources

The New Asian Order

Japan wanted China to join their New Order in East Asia, comprising China, Manchuria, and Japan and establish new control of Asia with Japan Guiding them. part of the plan was to seize Soviet Siberia, so they started to work with the Nazi's and wanted the Siberian resources. But with Stalin and hitler Nonaggression Pact, Japan turned their attention to south east Asia to fuel their war machines.

The bombing of Japan:

Japan was open to air raids due to a destroyed Air Force. It's cities were also built of fire-hazardous materials. Attacks by the new U.S. B-29 Superfortresses, the biggest bombers of the war, began in Nov. 1944. Many of Japan's industries had been destroyed and dwellings. In Japan, the bombing of civilians reached a ew level with the use of the first atomic bomb. Fearing high U.S. casualties in a land invasion,President Truman and his advisors dropped the boys in August 1945. The result was the deaths of thousand civilians.

Rape of Nanjing

Japanese attack on Chinese capital from 1937-1938 when Japanese aggressorts slaughtered 100,000 civilians and raped thousands of women in order to gain control of China.

What brought the US into the war?

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. More than 350 aircraft were damaged, damaged or sunk 18 ships, and killed or wounded more than 3,500 Americans. They also attacked the Philippines and advanced on Malaya. By spring, almost all of Southeast Asia and much of the Western Pacific was under Japanese control. Prime Minister Hideki Tojo hoped Japan's lightning strike at American bases would destroy the U.S. fleet in the Pacific. The Roosevelt administration, he thought, would now accept donation of the Pacific Instead, the attack unified American opinion and caused the U.S. to join with European nations and Nationalist China to defeat Japan. Believing American involvement in the Pacific would make the U.S. ineffective in the theater of war, Hitler declared war on the U.S. 4 days after Pearl Harbor.

Nagasaki (August 9, 1945)

Japanese city devastated during World War II when the United States dropped the second atomic bomb on Aug 9th, 1945.

kamikaze

Japanese for "divine wind"; a suicide mission in which young Japanese pilots intentionally flew their airplanes into U.S. fighting ships at sea

People's Volunteer Corps

Japanese government decreed the mobilization of all people between the ages of 13 and 60

D-Day

June 6, 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy, France. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which "we will accept nothing less than full victory." More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day's end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot- hold in Normandy.

What is a blitzkrieg, and what supplies and equipment did it require?

Known as "lighting war";Hitler's attack strategy that consisted in attacking both land and air at the same time. It required tanks and airplanes.

How did the USSR mobilize?

Known to the USSR as the Great Patriotic War, the German-Soviet war witnessed the greatest land battles in history, and ruthlessness. The initial military defeats cost them heavily, as the city of Leningrad experienced more than 900 days of siege and they were starving. 1.5 million died in the city. As Germany made its rapid advance, Soviet workers dismantled and shipped the factories in the west to the interior. Machines were placed on the ground, and walls built as work continued. The Soviets won, producing 78,000 tanks and 98,000 artillery pieces. Also, more income went to military production. Thus, they experiences shortages of food and housing. Women and girls worked in industries, mines, and railroads. They also dug antitank ditches to work as air-raid wardens. They also used women in battle as snipers and aircrews of bomber squadrons.

The bombing of Germany:

Major bombing raids began in 1942, with the first city being Cologne attacked by 1,000 bombers. These air raids caused an element of terror due to shortages of food, clothing, and fuel. The Germans, too, evacuated children from cities. Especially fearful to German were incendiary bombs, which created firestorms that swept through cities. Germany suffered enormously as millions of buildings were destroyed, 500,000 civilians died, but they were still driven by a desire to live. IN the last years of the war, 14 and 15 year olds served on the front lines of the war. However, the bombings didn't destroy morale pf industrial capacity. Materials production actually increased but transpiration was difficult.

What regions did Japan consider in its search for natural resources?

Manchuria in China and Southeast Asia; the Soviet Union was briefly considered

How did munitions factories impact U.S. communities?

More job opportunities for men and women were created, and boomtowns arose, which had little food or shelter. The comfy was a more wartime economy and the people were often moving because of that.

What is the connection between national sovereignty and demilitarization?

National Sovereignty is the condition of a nation that has self-rule, a stable government, and the right to exist without interference from other nations. Demilitarization is the process of reducing and even eliminating the armed forces of a nation. The policy of demilitarisation affects the sovereignty of some states.

Could the Allies have beaten Germany without a "second front" in Europe?

No, without Russia opening another front, allies chances of winning very little.if Britain and America invaded from one side, all German forces would be against them ...Germans had well-provisioned army.Having Russia (who had a very big and intimidating army) open another front scared Nazis and divided troops, allowing other allies chance to attack.

appeasement

Satisfying the demands of dissatisfied powers in an effort to maintain peace and stability

What political tensions, suspicions, and conflict of ideologies led to the Cold War?

Tension between US and SU led to Cold War. Soviets distrusted Western powers because feared future aggression from them. Americans distrusted Soviets because of Stalin's questionable free election policies. conflict between communist and capitalist views led to Cold War also.

What was the strategic importance of the "second front" that the Allies opened in Western Europe?

The "second front" was west of Germany and was opened in the D-Day invasion of Normandy in northern France. It gave the Allies a foothold from which to retake France and invade Germany from the west.

What were some people reactions to the meeting in Munich?

The Munich conference was the high point of Western appeasement of Hitler. When Neville Chamberlain, British prime minister retuned, he thought it meant peace. However, Winston Churchill, a British statesman, thought it was a disaster. Hitler was more convinced that the Western democracies would not fight. He was sure that he could not make a mistake.

Describe the social effects of U.S. mobilization for WWII.

The US became the arsenal for all of its allies during the war. During the height of the war, it pumped out 6 boats a day and 96,000 planes a year. The construction of these factories created boomtowns and not enough houses or schools were in the boomtowns. African Americans moved north which created racial tension and riots, and 110,000 Japanese Americans were transported to internment camps out of fear.

What was the major disagreement between the United States and the Soviet Union at the conclusion of WWII?

The US supported free elections in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union did not.

How did the bombing of cities impact the home front?

The bombing of cities led to an enormous amount of death destruction for both sides. In the Battle of Britain, many English cities were completely leveled by German planes, and thousands died in the destruction. Children were moved to the countryside where there was less risk of attack, and air raid shelters were built throughout most cities. In Germany, widespread Allied bombing led to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians. Over the course of three days in Dresden, Allied bombers killed over 25,000 civilians and leveled the city. The bombings deeply demoralized many members of the population and led to widespread grief, death, and destruction throughout all of Europe. Yet cities still maintained some morale.

What was the central ideological conflict of the Cold War?

The central ideological conflict of the Cold War was over communism and capitalism.

How did the development of airplanes change the way militaries fought?

The fight could be brought to more land and civilians; the fight could be on the front and on the Homefront. New, more destructive tactics were created.

Potsdam Conference

The final wartime meeting of the leaders of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union was held at Potsdamn, outside Berlin, in July, 1945. Truman, Churchill, and Stalin discussed the future of Europe but their failure to reach meaningful agreements soon led to the onset of the Cold War.

What effects did the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have on Japan?

The first atomic bomb killed more than half of Hiroshima's residents; the bombs leveled Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The dropping of the second bomb caused Japan to surrender, ending WWII.

Why is the Normandy invasion considered a turning point in the war?

The invasion enabled the Allies to put 2 million men in German-occupied France and establish a beachhead from which they could move to Paris, liberate it, join the Soviet army, and attack Germany from two sides.

Iwo Jima and Okinawa

The last two heavily defended Japanese islands conquered by the United States in 1945. Iwo Jima was important for air war on Japan. Also, capturing Iwo Jima would lessen Japanese threat and could aid an. invasion of Japan. And controlling Okinawa could provide the Allies with a base near the mainland. The Allies were victorious in both battles, but they came at a cost. Casualties were great on both sides.

How did WWI affect European leader's attitudes toward international aggression?

The terrible loss of life and destruction from WWI made some European leaders determined to stay out of war. Instead, they sought peace and negotiations.

What were Germany and Japans goals when they expansded?

Their most important goals were to expand their influence by conquering national borders. By conquering, they got hold of important resources, including oil, metal ores, and lands. Both countries developed a strongly nationalistic and racial code of leadership under Nazism and Imperial Japan. They treated conquered people poorly and as an inferior race.

Why was the German assault on Stalingrad a crushing defeat for the Germans?

They lost important territory, as well as their best fighting army for the rest of the war.

Why didn't the U.S. originally join the war?

They passes a series of neutrality acts, that prevented them from taking sides since many Americans believed the U.S. had been dragged into WWI our to economic involvement in Europe and wanting to prevent a reoccurrence. Although, Roosevelt was convinced that these acts encouraged the Axis aggression and eventually supplied food, ships, planes, and weapons to Britain.

What resources was Japan looking for when it attacked Southeast Asia? What dilemma did Japan face?

They were looking for coal and oil. They faced the U.S. resentment as threatening to halt trade with Japan.

Hideki Tojo

This general was the Prime Minister of Japan during World War II and a military dictator of the country. He gave his approval for the attack on Pearl Harbor and played a major role in Japan's military decisions

Japan mobilization

To guarantee its control over all national resources, the gov. created panning board to control prices, wages, labor, and resources. Traditional habits of obedience and hierarchy were used to encourage citizens to sacrifice resources, and sometimes tier lives. Young Japanese were encourages to volunteer to serve as pilots in suicide mission (kamikaze). Japan was reluctant to mobilize women on behalf of the war effort; General Hideki Tojo opposed women employment. Instead, the Japanese brought in Korean and Chinses laborers.

What methods did the Nazis use in their genocide?

Two ting the Nazis did. In the beginning: gather jews from town and villages and shoot them. Thousands were killed in this method. After being shot, they would be put in ditches. Later on: Final solution was to demolish all jews. Made concentration camps death camps. Concentration camps were made much earlier, but they weren't necessarily eat camps. The final solution was to kill all the jews in death camps.

What were Germany's gains and losses during the early years of the war?

Victories: - Swiftly and efficiently attacked Poland by using his blitzkrieg, or "lightening war", to surround Polish troops and force them to surrender. Germany and the Soviets divided up territory in 1939. - In 1940, he launched another blitzkrieg attack against Denmark and Norway. Then, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The main assault was through Luxembourg and the Ardennes Forest. They brook through the fRench and raced across northern France. - Went around the Maginot Line and split the Allied armies, and only the heroic efforts of the Royal Navy and civilians in private boats did the British manage to evacuate 338,000 troops. This forced France to sight an armistice in 1940. The Germans set up in 3/5 of France Vichy France. Losses: - Invasion of Britain was halted due to resistance and heavy losses on his Air Force. - Invasion of USSR didn't go successfully sue to an early winter and society residence. For the 1st time in the war, German armies had been stopped.

How did the Western states finally react?

When Hitler began to demand the Polish port of Danzig, Great Britain saw danger and offered to protect Poland in war. Also, both France and Britain saw that only the Soviet Union was powerful enough to help them. They began political talks and military negotiations with Joesph Stalin, the Soviet dictator.

Arandora Star

a ocean liner being used by British parents to send their children to safety in Canada from German air raids, it was torpedoed by the Germans and had 77 British children on board who never made it to Canada

collaborators

a person who assists the enemy

isolationism

a policy of national isolation by abstention from alliances and other international political and economic relations

partisan

a resistance fighter in World War II

How and where did the Allies turn the tide in the Asian theater of operations?

at the Battle of Midway Island. US planes took out four Japanese aircraft carriers, effectively defeating Japanese navy. US establish naval dominance in Pacific after Battle of Midway.

Manhattan Project

code name for the secret United States project set up in 1942 to develop atomic bombs for use in World War II

demilitarized

elimination or prohibition of weapons, fortifications, and other military installations

Why did world powers try to appease or ignore Germany's and Japan's expansionist policies at first?

id not want to be dragged into another war.wanted peace to last, hoped if they let Germany and Japan roam free, they would stop and be satisfied. thought peace would last, not true. powers did not want to get involved and were too scared to get involved. also dealing with economic issues.

What was the goal of bombing cities and was it successful?

leaders believed bombing civilian cities would create an outcry that governments would be forced to make peace and end war. When Nazis bombed London, believed it would force England to surrender. Londoners kept up morale and government continued to fight Nazi Germany. England later tried same tactic against Germany and failed. Civilian bombing accomplished nothing except adding to wartime desperation.not successful until US used atomic bombs

How did the slogan "Asia for the Asiatics" differ from the reality?

promised to establish local governments in occupied territoriesIn reality, Japanese military authorities that controlled by Army General Staff in Tokyo held power. Japan destroyed economies of its occupied territories to fuel country's war machine. give impression they were rescuing them from Western colonizers.

War Trials

put Japanese and Nazi officers on trial for mistreatment of prisoners and other war crimes

neutrality

refusal to take sides or become involved in wars between other nations

sanctions

restrictions intended to enforce international law

What new tactic did Hitler use to conquer much of Europe early in the war?

stun Europe with speed and efficiency of German attack on Poland. blitzkrieg, or "lightning war," used armored columns, called panzer divisions, supported by airplanes. The forces of the blitzkrieg broke quickly through Polish lines and encircled Polish troops.four weeks, Poland surrendered. On September 1939, Germany and Soviet Union divided Poland.

blitz

the British term for the German air raids on British cities and towns during World War II

Rome-Berlin Axis

the alliance between Italy and Germany (Mussolini and Hitler)

genocide

the deliberate mass murder or physical extinction of a particular racial, political, or cultural group

Cold War

the period of political tension following World War II and ending with the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union at the end of the 1980s

mobilization

the process of assembling troops and supplies and making them ready for war

Anti-Comintern Pact

treaty between Germany and Japan promising a common front against communism