History Tri 3: WWII/Holocaust/The Cold War

Chinese Civil War Dates

1927-1949

Chinese Civil War

• China had been in chaos since 1916, when a short-lived republic faltered after toppling the empire in 1911​

• Some had worked to unify China against local warlords​

• In the late 20s, the unifying forces split into nationalist and communist factions, led by Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong, respectively​

• The nationalists held control while fighting off communist insurgency

Japanese Invasion of China

• Marco Polo Bridge Incident​

• Massacre of Nanjing (Rape of Nanjing)​

• 200,000 deaths and 80,000 rapes​

• The warring Chinese factions banded together to oppose the Japanese

Japanese Invasion of China Date

1937

First Movements in Europe

• 1933 – Germany withdrew from the League of Nations​

• 1935 – Italy invaded Ethiopia​

• While they were condemned by the League of Nations, no troops were put into motion in response​

• 1935 – Hitler started open rearmament in violation of the Treaty of Versailles

Spanish Civil War Dates

1936 – 1939

Spanish Civil War

• In 1936, the military, backed by the church, rebelled against the struggling republican government​

• Mussolini and Hitler sent troops to support Francisco Franco’s fascist troops, giving Hitler a practice ground for dive-bombing and blitzkrieg tactics​

• Russia backed the republican government, but the fascists eventually won

Anschluss

• Hitler annexed Austria, helping to grow a “Greater Germany”​

• Hitler also wanted to take control of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, as it was a heavily German-speaking region​

• An emergency conference was held in Munich​

• Neville Chamberlain and Eduard Daladier of France met with Mussolini and Hitler, agreeing to give Hitler what he wanted in exchange for a promise that he would halt expansion

Anschluss Date

1938

Maginot Line

• After the Locarno Pact, France fortified its borders to ensure that a German invasion would be harder than it had been in WWI​

• This featured a series of bunkers designed to be resistant to aerial bombing and tank assaults, with some connected by underground railroads

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact

1939

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact

• The Nazis and Soviets made a secret pact to not attack one another for the next decade​

• The agreement was secret, but details leaked in the news almost immediately

Invasion of Poland

• Germany invaded Poland​

• Britain and France demanded that Germany stop. When they were ignored, they declared war on September 3rd.​

• On September 17th, Russia began invading Poland, and the country was completely split between the two powers by early October

Axis Powers

• Germany

• Italy

• Japan

Allied Powers

• England

• France

• China

Winston Churchill Dates

1974-1965

Winston Churchill

• Had been a politician since the first decade of the 1900s and was seen by many to be at fault for some of the economic struggles of England in the 1920s​

• He had been one of the loudest voices in England regarding the dangers of German rearmament, leading to him sailing back into political power with the start of WWII

Invasion of France

• The Nazis swept north of the Maginot Line and through northern France​

• Philippe Pétain established a pro-Nazi dictatorship (Vichy France)​

• Tens of thousands of French people continued to engage in guerrilla warfare, distribute anti-Nazi newspapers, etc. (the French Resistance)

Battle of Dunkirk ​(1940)

• Germany halted their assault to ensure that they had the French and English hemmed in.​

• The English were able to evacuate 338,000 French and British troops, with about 35,000 eventually being captured by the Germans.

Battle of Britain (1940)

• Germany tried to crush the spirits of the British people and gain control over England’s airspace.​

• Rebuffed by civilian coordination and RAF fighting and counter-bombing​

• While Hitler was successful elsewhere, he had failed against the big boys in the West and soon sought a big win in the East

Operation Barbarossa (1941)

• Hitler wanted Lebensraum and to exterminate the Slavs​

• Key cities:​

• Moscow​

• Stalingrad (Volgograd)​

• Leningrad (St. Petersburg)

• Germany swept through Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, parts of Ukraine, and the western part of Russia​

• The Soviets dug in, fine with making it a war of attrition​

• 3.3 million prisoners of war killed or starved to death by the Nazis

• Stalingrad was bombed out and fighting there degenerated into house-to-house fighting with more than 2 million total casualties in 5 months as the Soviets held off the Nazis​

• Siege of Leningrad failed while killing 3 million Russians​

• A blizzard bogged down the German assault of Moscow and forced them to turn back

Precursors of Holocaust

Jews in Germany had been forced to wear Stars of David and excluded from government positions

Poland’s Jewish Population

• Warsaw alone was home to over 300,000 Jews (of 1.3 million total residents)​

• In 1939, another 90,000 Jewish refugees came to the city as the Nazis swept through Poland​

• In 1940, the Germans built a walled ghetto, which was less than 3% of the land area of the city, and required all Jews to live there​

• Forced labor was used for manufacturing​

• 1942 - Deportations to death camps start​

• In 1943, the remaining Jews were killed or deported while the ghetto was levelled

Killings in the Field

• Often, people would be shot en-masse by Nazis advancing through Eastern Europe​

• In other cases, the Nazis intentionally starved people​

• Transportation to concentration camps would only be possible once infrastructure was connected

Concentration Camps

• Death camps were established in Poland​

• Hitler used lots of resources to relocate Jews (and other untermenchen) to camps from across the lands Germany was conquering​

• Sometimes German troop movements were slowed because trains were being used to transport prisoners

• Prisoners were intentionally and systematically degraded, underfed, and overworked​

• Many prisoners were used for medical experiments, some of which were legitimately beneficial to the German military, while others were just cruel

Death Camps

• “Final solution to the Jewish question”​

• 6 camps that were primarily tasked with extermination​

• Systematically murdered 2.7 million Jews​

• Gassings began in June 1941​

• Logistics were overseen by Adolf Eichmann

Jews in Italy

• Of the 44,000 Jews in Italy, 7,680 were killed in the Holocaust​

• ​

• Stumbling stones like this can be found all over Europe (most notably in Germany and Italy), marking locations where Jews were taken from their homes

Pearl Harbor - US enters WWII

• Due to attacks on French Indochina, the US announced a total embargo on Japan in July 1941​

• December 7, 1941​

• Japan attacked the Philippines and a variety of other targets at the same time​

• Japan and Germany then declared war on the United States

Allied Advances

• May 1943, the Allies won North Africa​

• Despite the fact that Hitler had sent Rommel to bail out Mussolini and temporarily turned the tide​

• Sept. 1943, the Allies invaded southern Italy

• In June of 1944 French courts were established to remove Nazi cooperators from government​

• By February of 1945, the allies had entered Germany from both sides

The Big Three

• FDR, Churchill, and Stalin​

• Tehran Conference ​
  (Nov. 1943)​

• USA and UK promised to open a second front

• Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)​

• Agreed that Germany and Berlin would be split into occupied zones​

• Nazi war criminals would be tried​

• Soviets would be given control over Poland

• Potsdam Conference (July 1945)​

• Determined what would happen with various Axis and Axis-occupied territories

D-Day

• June 6, 1944​

• Allied troops, led by Dwight Eisenhower, invaded Normandy​

• Established an Allied stronghold on the continent

Battle of Berlin Date

1945

Battle of Berlin

• Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945)​

• Agreed that Germany and Berlin would be split into occupied zones​

• Nazi war criminals would be tried​

• Soviets would be given control over Poland

VE Day

• May 8, 1945​

• Germany unconditionally surrendered

Outcomes of WWII

• Germany was split between the Allies (with France’s section being taken from the areas originally apportioned to the US and UK)​

• Eastern Europe suffered significant losses in population

The Pacific

• After the Battle of Midway in 1942, the U.S. had been controlling the war in the Pacific, island-hopping their way to Japan​

• Japan did not surrender, even with the defeat of the Axis in Europe​

• A direct invasion of Japan was projected to cost 10 million American lives​

• The United States started bombing Japan with napalm

The Bomb

• Was a response to Japan’s refusal to surrender unconditionally​

• August 6th and 9th, 1945​

• Made an invasion of Japan unnecessary ​

• Demonstrated the United States’ ability to use nuclear weapons

Cold War Dates

1946 (or ‘47) - 1991

Background for the Cold War

• While the United States saw free elections and self-determinism as the ultimate goal for governments around the world, the Soviet Union saw soviet communism as the ideal state​

• The West was nervous not to repeat the mistakes of the Interwar Period and stay strong in the face of Soviet expansion​

United Nations

Established in 1945, with the UK, France, the US, and the USSR among its founding members

Truman Doctrine (1947)

the United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces

Marshall Plan (1948)

• First practical step of the Truman Doctrine​

• Lasted for four years​

• The United States government agreed to send $13 billion in financial aid to Western European countries to help stabilize their economies after WWII.

Nuclear Weapons

• Russian spies and American communist sympathizers brought Russia the science behind nuclear weapons during World War II, before the U.S. had ever used them​

• The USSR conducted its first successful test of a nuclear weapon in 1949

Germany after WWII

• Split into zones controlled by each of the allies​

• Berlin was also partitioned​

• The USSR heavily patrolled their area and made it difficult for people to travel in or out of Berlin​

• Korea, which had been occupied by China and Japan at different times, was also divided between the US and USSR

Berlin Airlift

• June 1948 – May 1949​

• Allies dropped between 3.4 and 13 tons of supplies into Berlin every day​

• With the conclusion of the airlift West Germany and East Germany were officially established

NATO

• Established in 1949 as a treaty system to protect Europe from Soviet aggression​

• The United States agreed to permanently establish military bases in Europe​

• The USSR responded by forming the Warsaw Pact with Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania (the Eastern Bloc)​

Destalinization

• Stalin died in 1953​

• When Nikita Khrushchev took power in 1957, he gave a “secret speech” to the communist party denouncing Stalin as using terror to suppress dissent and leading with a “cult of personality”​

Imre Nagy

• Hungary’s leader, Imre Nagy, promised free elections and called for the removal of Soviet troops​

• Khrushchev ordered the Red Army into Hungary, put a stop to changes, and had Nagy executed

Khrushchev’s attempts led to

• The West saw this as an opportunity to pull the USSR further from communism and totalitarianism​

• It quickly became clear that there were still stronger limits on free speech in the USSR than elsewhere​

• Some members of the Warsaw Pact responded by moving further, with protests and strikes becoming common​

Khrushchev attempts

• Khrushchev then began to:​

  • Attempt to make consumer goods more available​

  • Curb the use of secret police​

  • Allow more intellectual and artistic freedom

Berlin Wall

• Between 1949 and 1961, 3 million East Germans had fled to West Germany​

• Built in 1961 with Soviet support, the wall was a symbol of East Germany oppression

Sputnik (1957)

• The first satellite, it was designed to be highly reflective, so that people on the ground all over the world would notice it​

• The ability to put things in the sky communicated several things:​

• Superiority of science​

• Superiority of industry​

• The ability to drop things out of the sky

Outworkings of Truman Doctrine Around the World

• The Korean War (1950 – 1953)​

• The Vietnam War (1955 – 1975)​

• Started because of a communist nationalist revolution against the crumbling French colonial government

Cuban Missile Crisis

• October 1962​

• In 1961, the U.S. had put nukes in Turkey and Italy (and also attempted an invasion of Cuba at the Bay of Pigs)​

• Khrushchev constructed nuclear weapons in Cuba​

• The U.S. blockaded Cuba and contemplated an attack

• The U.S.S.R. backed down and agreed to remove the weapons, in exchange for the U.S. removing nukes in Italy and Turkey​

• A nuclear hotline between the two governments was also created

Leonid Brezhnev ​
(1964 – 1982)

• Conservatives in USSR thought Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization was too great a threat to Communist power and privileges. ​

• Disappointed in his foreign policy miscalculations, failure to reform collective farms, and attacks on party elites Khrushchev was removed from power in 1964.​

• Leonid Brezhnev was appointed to replace him

Repression and Stagnation

• Brezhnev clamped down on outspoken dissidents (ex: Solzhenitsyn)​

• Hard-line policies led to prolonged political repression and economic stagnation​

• Stagnation: period of slow economic growth

Czechoslovakia

• In Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubček (communist) initiated democratic reforms (Prague Spring, 1968)​

• Seeks “socialism with a human face”​

• Brezhnev called on Warsaw Pact countries to invade, remove Dubček from power​

• Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet Union and allies have right to intervene in domestic affairs of other Communist countries.

Dentente

• Détente: Easing or relaxation of hostilities, relations​

• President Nixon initiated policy of détente to reduce tensions. ​

• US and USSR agree to limit nuclear arms and expand trade. ​

• Helsinki Accords (1975), the high point of Cold War détente ​

• Ratified European boundaries established after WWII​

• Committed signers to recognize and protect basic human rights

Salt and Salt II

• Strategic Arms Limitation Talks​

• Agreements in 1969 and 1979 that limited the types and numbers of nuclear weapons that the U.S. and U.S.S.R. would have

Renewed Tensions

• Late 1979, Brezhnev ordered Soviet forces into Afghanistan to save its unpopular Marxist regime. ​

• Ends détente, “reignites” Cold War​

• Reagan built up American forces, causing Soviets to increase military spending​

• This exacerbated Soviet economic problems

Continuing Soviet and Domestic Problems

• Rigid centralization created massive bureaucracy that discouraged innovation and reduced productivity.​

• Economic system guaranteed employment, but absence of incentives produced waste and inefficiency​

• After Brezhnev’s death (1982), Soviets faced stagnant economy, political corruption, economic mismanagement, and expensive war in Afghanistan.

1983 False Alarm Incident

• September 26th, 1983, Soviet alarms went off indicating that 5 US nukes had been fired at them​

• Stanislav Petrov, the commanding officer, decided to wait for corroborating evidence, rather than relay the information up the chain of command.​

• This decision is seen as likely preventing a full-scale retaliatory attack by the Soviets

Cold War Sports

• Cold War manifested in numerous arenas: politics, economy, culture, and literal arenas​

• USSR did not attend 1948 London Olympics – Stalin thought athletes were not prepared​

• 1952 (Helsinki): 71 medals (22 gold) (2nd)​

• US: 76 medals (40) (1st) ​

• 1956 (Melbourne): 98 medals (37 gold) (1st)​

• US: 74 medals (32 gold) (2nd) ​

• Focus on other sports, including volleyball, basketball, and soccer

Blood in the Water

• USSR vs Hungary, two weeks after Imre Nagy was deposed ​

• Violent match (kicking, punching, etc.)​

• Game was called with a minute remaining after Hungarian Ervin Zador was struck in head ​

• Hungary 4 – 0 USSR​

• Hungary eventually won gold, USSR settled for bronze

1972 Olympic Basketball Gold Medal Game

• The United States and USSR squared off​

• Officials failed to call two clear flagrant fouls against the Soviets and required Doug Collins to shoot free throws after being concussed.​

• The Soviets had to inbound the ball down by one with 3 seconds left, and ultimately did so three times… and scored to win the game on the third.

Miracle on Ice (1980)

• Lake Placid, New York​

• USSR vs. US, medal rounds​

• USSR: Won five of six previous gold medals, mostly professional athletes​

• Had not lost an Olympic match since 1968​

• US: Youngest team in tournament (and American history), mostly college players (four players had minor league ex