WWII

Between the Wars

Rise of Fascist/Militarist Governments:

  • Economic depression and anger over WWI treaties → fertile ground for dictators

  • Weak democratic governments in Italy, Germany, Japan.

  • Fascism = nationalism, militarism, loyalty to the state, anti‑communism

  • Totalitarianism = complete govt control over politics, economy, society.

  • Democracies responded weakly → appeasement, League of Nations inaction.

Why America Stayed Isolationist:

  • Disillusionment with WWI (Nye Committee blamed bankers & arms dealers).

  • Focus on domestic recovery during the Great Depression.

  • Neutrality Acts (1935–1937) restricted travel, loans, arms sales to belligerents.

  • Fear of being dragged into another European conflict.

Treaty of Versailles: Harsh reparations, territorial loss, war‑guilt clause → German resentment → rise of Hitler.

League of Nations: Weak (US never joined) → failed to stop Japan (Manchuria), Italy (Ethiopia), Germany.

Characteristics of Fascism:

  • Extreme nationalism

  • Dictatorship, one‑party rule.

  • Militarism.

  • Anti‑communist.

  • State > individual.

Fascism vs. Communism

  • Similarity: One‑party dictatorship, suppression of liberties.

  • Differences: Fascism = nationalist & private property allowed; Communism = classless society & state ownership.

Dictators

  • Mussolini: Founded Fascism, Black Shirts, Il Duce, promised stability.

  • Japanese Militarists: Emperor Hirohito (figurehead), Tojo (military leader), sought empire.

  • Stalin: 5‑Year Plans, collectivization, totalitarian control.

  • Hitler: WWI veteran, Nazi Party, wrote Mein Kampf, Aryan supremacy, 3rd Reich, propaganda under Goebbels.

  • Franco: Spanish Civil War, supported by Hitler & Mussolini.



Aggression & Appeasement

  • Appeasement = giving into demands to avoid war (e.g., Munich Conference).

  • Locations of Aggression: Manchuria, Ethiopia, Rhineland, Austria, Sudetenland.

  • Stimson Doctrine: US refuses to recognize land taken by force.

Neutrality Laws (1935–1939)

  • 1935: No arms to belligerents.

  • 1936: No loans.

  • 1937: No travel on belligerent ships; cash‑and‑carry added.

  • 1939: Cash‑and‑carry for weapons to democracies.

Quarantine Speech: FDR suggested isolating aggressor nations; public reacted negatively.
Panay Incident: Japan bombed US gunboat → apologized → US accepted to avoid war.
Key European Actions

  • Annexation of Austria

  • Sudetenland crisis → Munich Pact

  • Non‑Aggression Pact (Hitler–Stalin)

  • Invasion of Poland → WWII begins

Fall of France / Battle of Britain:

  • Blitzkrieg → fall of France.

  • Britain survives via RAF.

US Pre‑War Moves

  • Selective Training & Service Act.

  • Lend‑Lease.

  • Atlantic Charter.

  • "Shoot on Sight" order.

Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7, 1941)

  • Rising tensions over Japan’s expansion.

  • Oil embargo → Japan desperate.

  • US expected attack in Asia; instead hit Hawaii.

  • Brought US into WWII.

WWII

US Involvement (Europe & Pacific)

  • Europe: North Africa → Italy → D‑Day → Liberation of France → Battle of the Bulge → Berlin.

  • Pacific: Pearl Harbor → Island Hopping → Midway → Iwo Jima → Okinawa → atomic bombs.

Home Front

Japanese American Internment

  • Anti‑Japanese hysteria.

  • EO 9066 authorized exclusion zones.

  • Korematsu v. US upheld internment.

  • 442nd Regiment: most decorated unit.

Women in WWII

  • WAVES, WAAC, WASP, SPARS.

  • Rosie the Riveter → symbol of women in industry.

  • Postwar → many forced out of jobs.

Economy & Mobilization

  • War Production Board, Office of War Mobilization.

  • OPA: controlled prices, rationing.

  • National Debt increased.

  • Smith‑Connally Act: limited strikes.

  • Braceros: Mexican laborers.

  • Double V Campaign: victory abroad + at home.

  • FEPC: anti‑discrimination in defense industries.

Science & Tech

  • War Production Board  - Office of War Mobilization: radar, sonar, penicillin, synthetic rubber.

  • Manhattan Project → atomic bomb.

European Theater

  • Stalingrad: Turning point in Europe.

  • Battle of the Atlantic: German U‑boats → Allies use convoys + sonar.

  • North Africa: Rommel → defeated at El Alamein.

  • Operation Torch: US invasion of North Africa.

  • Invasion of Italy: tough fighting; Mussolini killed.

  • Tehran Conference: Big Three plan D‑Day.

  • D‑Day: June 6, 1944; Allied success due to planning, deception, air superiority.

  • Battle of the Bulge: last German offensive.

  • V‑E Day: May 8, 1945.

Pacific Theater

  • Bataan / "I shall return" – MacArthur.

  • Doolittle Raid – morale boost.

  • Coral Sea – first aircraft‑carrier battle.

  • Midway – turning point of Pacific.

  • Island hopping – bypass strongholds.

  • Guadalcanal – first land victory.

  • Leyte Gulf – largest naval battle.

  • Iwo Jima / Okinawa – fierce resistance, tunnels, kamikazes.

  • Atomic bombs – Hiroshima (Aug 6), Nagasaki (Aug 9).

  • V‑J Day – Japan surrenders.