World War II

How did the WWII homefront compare to WWI?

- WWII: Food, gas and clothing were rationed. Communities conducted scrap metal drives. To help build the armaments necessary to win the war, women found employment as electricians, welders and riveters in defense plants. Japanese Americans had their rights as citizens stripped from them. People in the U.S. grew increasingly dependent on radio reports for news of the fighting overseas. And, while popular entertainment served to demonize the nation's enemies, it also was viewed as an escapist outlet that allowed Americans brief respites from war worries. - WWI: Total War- all the resources went to the war effort, rationing-Resources such as food, war materials, oil, rubber, metal, etc., propaganda- Posters, speeches, parades, to get people to join the military or buy war bonds, women worked in factories to replace men who had gone to war, Women worked as nurses for the wounded.

Summarize the lasting effects of atomic weapons on Japan.

-Psychological effects: PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) symptoms include: nightmares, flashbacks, intense anxiety, feeling numb, anger and irritability, insomnia, having trouble concentrating, depression, and suicidal thoughts. - Infrastructure Damage: All buildings and houses, etc. destroyed. -Physical Damage: 90 percent of all medical personnel were killed or disabled and the remaining medical supplies quickly ran out. Many survivors began to notice the effects of exposure to the bomb's radiation. Their symptoms ranged from nausea, bleeding and loss of hair, to death. Flash burns, a susceptibility to leukemia, cataracts and malignant tumors were some of the other effects.

Compare/contrast the beginning of WWI and WWII with how European countries reacted differently...alliances versus appeasement. How did Hitler use emotions with the aftermath of WWI to enable his aggressive conquests between the wars? (Think of the Treaty of Versailles impact.)

-WWI began with fighting over the Balkans which many other countries were pulled into because they were all interconnected with alliances. European countries all ended up forming the treaty of Versailles, punishing Germany for all of WWI. -WWII started with Germany refusing the Treaty of Versailles and fighting back. As a reaction to this, the European countries used appeasement and gave Hitler the countries he wanted to avoid another world war. Hitler used this to his advantage and ended up causing another world war anyway. - Hitler used emotions with the aftermath of WWI to fight back against the treaty of Versailles, which had put all the charges of WWI on them, so out of anger he took over other countries and to avoid another war they used appeasement eventually leading to a war anyway.

Explain 2 ways of how people on the Homefront helped during WWII.

-Women found employment as electricians, welders, and riveters in defense plants to help build the armaments necessary to win the war. -Communities conducted scrap metal drives to collect enough metal for the production of weapons for the war.

Harry Truman

33rd President of the United States. Under Truman, the Allies successfully concluded World War II (Hiroshima and Nagasaki)

isolationism

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

The Potsdam Conference

Attlee, Truman and Stalin; Agreed that trials should be held of leaders who had committed crimes against humanity during the war. In 1945 and 1946, Nazi leaders were tried and condemned at trials in Germany, Japan, and Italy. Stalin did not agree to free elections in eastern Europe.

What areas did Hitler take?

Austria, Sudetenland, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Rhineland, Part of Russia, Yugoslavia, Denmark, Norway, Holland, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, Luxembourg, part of the Soviet Union.

how did Britain and France use appeasement prior to the invasion of Poland?

Britain and France used appeasement and allowed Hitler to have Sudetenland, only if he promised to stay out of Czechoslovakia. Hitler promised, gained Sudetenland, and then took invaded Czechoslovakia anyway.

Winston Churchill

British politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army.

The Yalta Conference

Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin; divided German into four zones, one each for the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. Agreed to free elections in Poland.

What were turning points in each theater?

European theater: Invasion of Normandy/ D-day or the Battle of Stalingrad -Pacific theater: Battle of Midway Island

Douglas MacArthur

General and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II.

blitz

German air raids; theory that the bombing of civilian targets (on London) would force peace was proved wrong.

blitzkrieg

German for "Lightning War", a swift and sudden military attack; used by the Germans during World War II.

Describe the death camps like the one at Auschwitz

Jews from countries occupied by Germany were rounded up and sent on freight trains to six different extermination centers in Poland. 30% of arrivals were sent to labor camps, where many starved or worked to death. The remainder of the people were sent to gas chambers or were subjected to cruel and painful "medical" experiments.

What were the lasting effects of the Holocaust?

Left thousands in physical or mental pain; those who luckily got away will be traumatized for the rest of their lives; The Holocaust today still affects us by the government cracking down. Today most countries don't except dictators to take over they now give power to people. In today's society you are taught from day one to "treat others the way you would want to be treated". You're taught discrimination is a sin.

Define kamikaze. Who were they during WWII?

Means "divine wind". They were young Japanese pilots on suicide missions against U.S. fighting ships at sea during WWII.

collaborators

People who assisted the enemy.

appeasement

Satisfying reasonable demands of dis-satisfied powers in an effort to maintain peace and stability.

How were some Nazis held responsible for the camps at the end of the war?

Some Nazis were held responsible for the camps at the end of the war and they were responsible for all of the deliberate death by shooting, starvation, and overwork of at least another 9 to 10 million non-Jewish people.

Normandy Invasion

The American and British invasion of France in World War II; The successful invasion began a series ofvictories for the Allies, and Germany surrendered less than a year later.

What were the two major theaters of WWII?

The European Theater and the Pacific Theater.

When and why did the U.S. come into WWII?

The U.S. joined WWII after the Japanese bombed the American fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941.

Holocaust

The mass slaughter of European Jews, run by Adolf Hitler.

What was the "final solution" of Hitler's New Order?

To exterminate all of the European Jews.

How did the warfare of WWII differ from WWI? How did technology change, or the way the weapons were used change?

WWI was Fought from lines of trenches and supported by artillery and machine guns, infantry assault, tanks, early airplanes and poisonous gas; mobility was minimal. WWII was fought with nuclear power, missiles, submarines and tanks. Encryption codes for secret communication became more complex. Germany used the Blitzkrieg fighting method.

Why was WWII a global war?

World War II was truly a global war. Some 70 nations took part in the conflict, and fighting took place on the continents of Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as on the high seas. Entire societies participated as soldiers or as war workers.

Compare/contrast Truman's reasons for dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

• it would end the war successfully at the earliest possible moment. • it justified the effort and expense of building the atomic bombs. • it offered hope of achieving diplomatic gains in the growing rivalry with the Soviet Union. • there were a lack of incentives not to use the weapons. • because of America's hatred of the Japanese and a desire for vengeance.