WW2

WORLD WAR II

WWI ended in 1918, and the conflict led directly to World War II. The war had traumatized the generation who looked to leaders offering radical solutions. In Germany, the Treaty of Versailles set the stage for the rise of Adolf Hitler. Hitler blamed all Germany's problems on Jews, so once he became the Führer, he led a campaign to remove Jewish people through concentration camps. Millions of Jews and other targeted minorities died in the Holocaust. In Italy, Mussolini seized power in 1922, installing a dictatorship of the National Fascist Party. And in Japan, Hirohito started a military expansion of his empire in 1926. Germany, Italy, and Japan would operate as an alliance called the Axis Powers during WWII.

Acts that led up to the war: Japan attacked China in 1937, Germany took over Austria in 1938, and when Hitler invaded Poland in September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and WWII began.

Fighting occurred all over Europe as Germany expanded and in the Pacific against Japan's actions. Blitzkrieg overwhelmed British and French forces. Germany occupied several British cities and the seat of the French government in Paris by 1940 but failed to take the city of London in the Battle of Britain.

On December 7, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, and the United States declared war on Japan. Days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, and American forces were fully engaged in WWII combat as part of the alliance of Allies: Britain, France, and eventually the USSR.

Major turning points in WWII include the Battle of Midway and D-Day. Americans participated in the war effort by rationing, recycling, buying government bonds, and planting Victory gardens. From 1942-1946, the US government imprisoned Japanese Americans in internment camps or military housing.

WWII came to an end in 1945. (Italy had already surrendered in 1943) In April 1945, Germany surrendered after the death of Hitler. Months later, in August 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to force Japan's surrender. The Allies divided up Germany into districts they would control. The United States passed the Marshall Plan, and to prevent another world war, the United Nations was formed.

American soldiers returning home from the war could take advantage of housing and educational opportunities offered

WORLD WAR II VOCABULARY

  • World War II: War involving the world's great national powers in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Axis Powers (1939-1945)

  • Treaty of Versailles: Treaty that punished Germany at the end of World War II

  • Adolf Hitler: Leader of Nazi Germany who provoked World War II in Europe and directed the imprisonment and execution of the Jewish population

  • Concentration camp: A facility where masses of people are detained in poor conditions, often forced to work or put to death

  • Holocaust: Systematic killing of millions of Jewish people and others by the German state during World War II

  • Fascism: A movement or government characterized by absolute control of social and economic systems and populations, extreme nationalism, and brutal suppression of opposition

  • Dictatorship: A type of government in which one person (a dictator) exercises unrestricted power

  • Axis Powers: The alliance between Germany, Italy, and Japan in World War II

  • Blitzkrieg: German word meaning "lightning war," a military strategy that overwhelmed enemy forces with firepower and shocking speed

  • Battle of Britain: Successful defense of Great Britain against German air raids from July through September 1940

  • USSR (Soviet Union): A former country called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics that included Russia and several other present-day countries (1922-1991)

  • Pearl Harbor: Hawaiian coastal site of a U.S. naval base that was attacked by Japanese air bombers on Sunday, Dec 7, 1941

  • Allies: The WWII alliance between Great Britain, France, the United States, and eventually the Soviet Union

  • Battle of Midway: Defeat of Japanese by American forces in June 1942

  • D-Day: Invasion of northern France by Allied forces on June 6th, 1944

  • Victory Garden: Gardens planted to increase food production during a war

  • Internment camp: Military housing used to confine members of national or minority groups for reasons of state security

  • Atomic bomb: A weapon using nuclear energy to cause widespread damage

  • Marshall Plan: American Aid plan to help Western Europe rebuild after WWII

  • United Nations: An international organization formed after WWII to maintain peace and security among nations

  • GI Bill: Benefits for WWII veterans returning to the United States that increased access to college education and home ownership