World War II
CORE TOPICS
Origins of the Pacific War
Manchurian Incident (Sept. 18, 1931): Japan staged a railway explosion and used it as pretext to invade Manchuria. Established puppet state of Manchukuo.
Stimson Doctrine (1932): U.S. refused to recognize states created through Japanese aggression.
Japan invaded China in 1937; the Rape of Nanjing (250,000–300,000 killed) shocked the world.
U.S. embargoed oil, steel, and rubber to Japan in 1940 — Japan considered this a de facto declaration of war.
Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941): Japan's surprise attack on Hawaii killed 2,400 Americans and thrust the U.S. into the war. FDR called it "a date which will live in infamy."
Origins of the European War
Weimar Republic collapsed under the Depression; Hitler's Nazis rose to power. Hitler became chancellor in 1933.
Appeasement: Britain and France allowed Hitler to annex Austria and the Sudetenland (1938) to avoid war.
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939): Nazi-Soviet nonaggression agreement that divided Poland between them.
Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. Britain and France declared war two days later. Poland fell in three weeks via Blitzkrieg.
Battle of Britain (1940): RAF defeated the Luftwaffe, preventing German invasion of Britain.
Operation Barbarossa (June 1941): Hitler invaded Soviet Union — largest land invasion in history. Soviet Union ultimately broke the German army; 25 million Soviet soldiers and civilians died.
The U.S. War in Europe
U.S. first fought in North Africa (1942–43); then pushed up Italy's "soft underbelly."
Strategic bombing: American bombers hit German industry by day; British RAF bombed cities at night.
D-Day / Operation Overlord (June 6, 1944): Largest amphibious assault in history. Allied landings at Normandy, France. General Eisenhower commanded.
Yalta Conference (Feb. 1945): Big Three (FDR, Churchill, Stalin) planned postwar Europe and demanded unconditional German surrender.
Hitler died by suicide in his bunker; Germany surrendered May 8, 1945 (V-E Day).
The U.S. War in the Pacific
Bataan Death March: After Philippines fell, 10,000 American and Filipino POWs died on an 80-mile forced march.
Battle of Midway (1942): Decisive naval victory; U.S. broke Japanese codes and destroyed 4 aircraft carriers. Turned tide in Pacific.
Atomic Bombs: U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9, 1945). Japan surrendered Aug. 15 (V-J Day). Debate over necessity vs. morality continues.
The Wartime Homefront
Economic mobilization: WWII ended the Depression. Unemployment dropped to 1%. U.S. became the "Arsenal of Democracy."
"Rosie the Riveter": Over 6 million women entered industrial workforce in war industries.
Japanese American Internment: Executive Order 9066 (1942) forced ~120,000 Japanese Americans (2/3 U.S. citizens) into internment camps. Korematsu v. United States (1944) upheld internment.
Double V Campaign: African Americans demanded victory abroad AND against racism at home. Military remained segregated but Black soldiers served with distinction (e.g., Tuskegee Airmen).
Zoot Suit Riots (1943): White servicemen attacked Latino and Black youth in Los Angeles — revealed wartime racial tensions.
Toward a Postwar World
The Holocaust: Nazi genocide killed approximately 6 million Jews and millions of others.
Potsdam Conference (1945): Allies divided Germany and Berlin into occupation zones.
United Nations (1945): Founded to promote international peace and cooperation.
The U.S. emerged from the war as the world's dominant superpower — only intact economy and possession of the atomic bomb.
KEY TERMS — CHAPTER 24
PEOPLE TO KNOW — CHAPTER 24