ww2 test notes

🔐 Keys to Totalitarianism

• Control of media and propaganda to influence public opinion (e.g., Nazi Germany).

• Single-party rule with no opposition (e.g., Stalin’s USSR).

• Use of fear and violence—secret police, purges.

• State control of the economy and education.

• Cult of personality around the leader (e.g., Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini).

📈 Reasons for the Rise of Totalitarian Regimes

• Economic crisis (Great Depression created instability).

• Treaty of Versailles resentment (especially in Germany).

• Fear of communism—people turned to strong leaders.

• Weak democracies failed to protect citizens or respond to crises.

• Nationalism and the promise of restored greatness.

⚖ Ethical Dimensions of War

• Killing of POWs (e.g., Japanese treatment of prisoners, Nazi execution of captured soldiers).

• Civilian bombing (e.g., Dresden, Hiroshima/Nagasaki).

• Use of atomic bombs—ends war but kills thousands instantly and causes long-term suffering.

• Moral dilemmas—“Is it ever justified to kill to stop greater evil?”

⚔ Causes, Consequences, & Significance of Battles/Treaties

• D-Day (1944): Started liberation of Western Europe.

• Stalingrad (1942–43): Broke German momentum; USSR gained strength.

• Treaty of Versailles (1919): Harsh on Germany → resentment → Hitler’s rise.

• Yalta & Potsdam Conferences: Shaped post-war Europe; led to Cold War tensions.

• Pearl Harbor (1941): U.S. entered the war, shifting its course.

🕯 Genocide & Atrocities

• Holocaust: 6 million Jews and others systematically murdered.

• Nanjing Massacre: Japanese troops brutally killed civilians in China.

• Soviet purges and gulags.

• Rwanda, Bosnia (post-WWII genocides)—led to term “genocide” being defined (1948 UN Convention).

👥 Historical Perspectives

• Churchill: Hero for resisting Nazis? Or imperialist with racist views?

• Joining Nazism: Why did ordinary people support Hitler? Propaganda, fear, nationalism?

• Allied leaders: Did they ignore signs of genocide too long?

🇨🇦 Canada’s Reaction to WWII

• Joined the war independently in 1939.

• Major role in D-Day, Dieppe, and Battle of the Atlantic.

• Internment of Japanese-Canadians—example of racism at home.

• Welcomed war brides, but was slow to accept Jewish refugees before/during war.

🗺 Creation of New Countries / Terms

• Israel (1948): Created as a homeland for Jews post-Holocaust → led to ongoing Middle East conflict.

• "Genocide" coined by Raphael Lemkin during WWII to describe Nazi atrocities.

• UN formed to promote peace and prevent future genocides (but not always successful).

🌐 International Relations Post-WWII

• Cold War begins—USA vs. USSR (democracy vs. communism).

• Marshall Plan—U.S. helps rebuild Europe to prevent rise of communism.

• NATO and Warsaw Pact formed—global tension, arms race.

• United Nations created—attempt to ensure peace, prevent war crimes.

• Rise of superpowers (USA, USSR) and decolonization around the world.