Global Study-guide: 

Germany Builds Up Military

• In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had built up its military again (re-armament)

• German military grew rapidly once the Nazis took control of the country in 1933

• Not only did the German military expand immensely but Germany was investing a lot of money and effort in scientific research

• For instance, Germans discovered “nuclear fission” in 1938; the predecessor to developing nuclear weapons

Germany Territorial Expansion: Lebensraum “living space”

Austrian Anschluss

• March 1938

• Anschluss = Annexation of Austria

• First country that Hitler takes over; Hitler himself was Austrian

• Hitler and the Nazi’s occupy Austria

• Austria did not resist, in fact, some WANTED to become a part of Germany

• Hitler wanted to rebuild a German Empire with ALL lands that have ethnic Germans living in them (NATIONALISM)

• HOW WAS THIS HAPPENING IF THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES STRICTLY FORBADE THIS?

Appeasement

• Appease: agreeing to one's demands to satisfy them

• The Allies (Britain, France, Italy) allowed Hitler and the Nazis to take over these lands to avoid war

• Munich Conference (or Munich Agreement) of September 1938: Germany can take over portions of Czechoslovakia… but no more.

• Neville Chamberlain (British Prime Minister) claimed that the agreement had secured “peace for our time”

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

• Signed August, 1939

• Stalin and Hitler agreed to a 10 year “non-aggression pact”

• Stalin was unhappy with the West b/c the USSR was not invited to the Munich Conference (sound familiar?)

• Hitler had promised to divide Poland between Germany and the USSR

• USSR also received the rights to take over Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia in the Baltics.

Beginning of WW2

• After signing the Non-aggression Pact with the Soviets, Hitler quickly conquered Poland

• Sep. 1, 1939 – most people consider this the date that WW2 began

• Blitzkrieg: lightning war…Germany’s newest military strategy

• Use of planes, tanks and infantry to quickly take down enemies in a surprise attack

• France & Great Britain declared war on Germany on Sep. 3 (but it was too late for Poland)

• USA stays neutral-ish. Lend-Lease Act begins in 1941.

• Lend-Lease Act: “An Act to Promote the Defense the United States”

  • Supplied arms, food, oil to France, UK, China, and later, the USSR.

U.S. Involvement

• U.S. remained neutral towards the beginning of WW2 Darkest Hour (2017) - Churchill & Roosevelt Scene (5/10) | Movieclips 

• Between 1937-1939, Congress passed several Neutrality Acts which made it illegal to sell arms to countries involved in WW2

• By 1941, FDR knew that the U.S. would be dragged into war if the Allies fell

• Lend-Lease Act: America can lend or lease weapons or aid to countries that protected American interests Britain receives war equipment made in America via the Lend-Lease Act (1941) 

• -Sneaky loophole to the Neutrality Acts

• American ship was shot down by a German U-boat in September 1941. FDR ordered navy commanders to shoot German submarines.

• U.S. still technically neutral

“Hollywood Goes to War”

• The newest, and perhaps, the most influential form of propaganda was film.

• In the United States, the U.S. Government worked with Hollywood to produce films that encouraged support for the war effort, patriotism and the spread of American democratic ideals.

• Censorship of films became common - Hollywood and the government often clashed.

• War Bonds increased as a result of these popular, patriotic films.

• Popular films correlated with an uptick in enlistment once the U.S. joined the war.

• Britain also took advantage of the power of film.

• Days after WW2 began, the British government ordered cinemas to close down. This was revoked after 2 weeks.

• Numbers show that cinema attendance greatly increased in Britain during the war. Estimates show that half of all people in Britain attended the cinema regularly during the entirety of the war.

The Tripartite Pact

• September 1940 - Berlin, Germany

• Saburo Kurusu of Imperial Japan

• Joachim von Ribbentrop of Nazi Germany

• Galeazzo Ciano of Fascist Italy

• Eventually signed by:

• Hungary

• Romania

• Bulgaria

• Kingdom of Yugoslavia

• Defensive Alliance - Effectively creates the Axis Powers

Fall of France

• May 1940: Hitler advances across Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg (BENELUX)…The goal was to attack Northern France where the defenses were weaker.

• Germany moved into France and avoided heavy resistance by moving through the wooded Ardennes Forest in Northern France

• Operation Dynamo (The Rescue at Dunkirk): With the help of Britain, France holds the Germans off for a little while. British forces able to withhold and retreat back to England.

• BUT…

• June 14, 1940: Germany occupies Paris

• June 22, 1940: France surrenders to Hitler

• Germany took control of the Northern part of France

• Southern France = Vichy France (German puppet state)

• Led by Philippe Petain (he transformed Vichy France into an authoritarian regime…did not end well for him)

  • French General Charles de Gaulle was exiled to London and used radio broadcasts to keep French spirits high and resist the Germans

  • Mussolini takes French lands too (see map)

Significance of the Fall of France

• FIRST MAJOR DOMINO TO FALL OF WW2…Many thought the war was over - many in Britain argued for peace.

• Hitler had expected a million Germans to die in conquering France; instead, his goal was accomplished in just six weeks with only 27,000 Germans killed, 18,400 missing and 111,000 wounded.

• "If an increase in feeling for Adolf Hitler was still possible, it has become reality with the day of the return to Berlin."

• Even opponents to the regime found it hard to resist the victory mood. Workers in the armaments factories pressed to be allowed to join the army. People thought final victory was around the corner.

• Only Britain stood in the way. For perhaps the only time during the Third Reich there was genuine war-fever among the population.” — Ian Kershaw (British Historian)

• There are many lessons— both political and military—to be learned from the Fall of France in 1940.

• A hesitant French government, a weak Allied alliance and a passive attitude in the face of fascism after the bloodbath of World War I allowed Nazi Germany to win the first rounds of World War II.

• The summer of 1940 shows how battlefield leadership and modern tactics won out over modern equipment (France had in many cases better equipment than Germany).

• The end of the summer of 1940 saw the beginning of the Allied war effort that started the long road back from defeat for Britain and France.

Battle of Britain

• Great Britain now the only major power to resist Hitler

• New British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill was able to rally his nation 

• Hitler attacked Britain with his air force Luftwaffe

• His plan was to take out Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF)

• Bombing began in the summer of 1940 and lasted nearly 4 months

• -First, the Germans targeted British factories and airfields

• -By September, the Germans start bombing British cities. 

• -British citizens would take shelter in subways and bomb shelters

• -The Battle of Britain lasted almost a year. Hitler decided to abandon this campaign and focus on the rest of Europe.

• POLITICAL  TURNING POINT OF WW2

Italy’s Spazio Vitale (“living space”)

• Mussolini wanted to unite Southern Europe and Africa into one - “Eurafrica” - He believed Italy would reinvent the Roman Empire.

The Mediterranean, North Africa, & the Middle East

• Hitler turned his attention to North Africa after the Battle of Britain

• Hitler had the help of Mussolini and dispatched the British from North Africa in the Spring of 1941

• Both Germany and Italy looked to expand their influence in North Africa

• Italy’s was more about territorial gains

• Germany’s was more economic (e.g. railroads, access to waterways, trade, etc).

• The battles in the Med, M.E. & N Africa were usually to take strategic locations and military bases from the enemy

The Mediterranean, North Africa, & the Middle East

• The Allied Powers successfully invaded North Africa in November 1942 after several months of attempts.

• This was also the first U.S. military operation of World War II (“Operation Torch”)

• Operation Torch was a a planned British-American amphibious landing (land, air, & sea)...keep this in mind because it will happen again!

• This operation opened up a two-front war - Mainland Europe and the Mediterranean - soon to be three once the Soviet Union pushed Germany back (coming up next!)

• Allied victory…allowed the Allies to get a foothold in Europe and invade Italy after. Major military turning point of the war.

• SIGNIFICANCE: The Axis Powers had finally lost a major military operation

• Battle of Britain was more of an act of resistance than a true military operation, in case you want to be technical!

Start of the War on the Eastern Front

• War in the Balkans: Hitler attempted to build military bases in the Balkans. Why?

• Hitler persuaded Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary to join the Axis Powers.

• Yugoslavia & Greece resisted at first (pro-British) but…they both fell in 1-2 weeks

• Decisive Axis victory in the Balkans

• Fascist dictatorships rise in the Balkans during this time

• What’s Hitler’s next move?

Hitler invades the Soviet Union

• Operation Barbarossa (June-Dec. 1941)

• Why is Hitler attacking USSR if they had a non-aggression pact?

• Hitler believed that the USSR was not ready for war (that’s partly why they signed the Non-aggression Pact in the first place)

• This was the largest land invasion in history…

• -USSR had the largest military in the world but they weren’t well trained and had inferior weaponry

• Russians used a “scorched-earth strategy” as they were pushed back (sound familiar?)

• Soviets withstand the invasion and start to push Germany back.

The Grand Alliance a.k.a. “The Strange Alliance” (Formed Dec. 1941)

• An alliance of necessity in response to the Axis Powers.

• Prior to the alliance, Britain fought by itself and France had fallen to Germany. USSR was in a nonaggression pact with Germany until June 1941.

The Atlantic Conference

• August 1941

• Issued the Atlantic Charter

• Great Britain – Winston Churchill

• United States – Franklin D. Roosevelt

• Later became the foundation of the United Nations

• Unanimously approved at the Inter-Allied meeting in London, September 1941

• No territorial gains were to be sought by the United States or the United Kingdom. 

• Territorial adjustments must be in accord with the wishes of the peoples concerned.

• All peoples had a right to self-determination. 

• Trade barriers were to be lowered. 

• There was to be global economic cooperation and advancement of social welfare. 

• Freedom from want and fear; 

• Freedom of the seas; 

• Disarmament of aggressor nations, postwar common disarmament

Attack on Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941

• Japan had been building an empire across Asia which threatened European and American colonies in the area

• America cut off trade with Japan and began aiding China

• Japan had attacked British posts before Pearl Harbor and they even attacked American bases in the Philippines later THAT DAY!

• “A Day of Infamy” 

• FDR & Churchill meet days after Pearl Harbor to discuss America’s official entry into WW2 (on the European Theater)

Executive Order 9066: Japanese Internment

• Stated that all Japanese regardless of citizenship, age, gender, place of birth or pronouncement of loyalty were to be taken into custody and interned.

• About 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast were forced to leave their homes/businesses and moved to distant internment camps.

• Japanese Americans were forcibly moved to more central locations (next slide).

• Usually in the desert.

D-Day Invasion

• Code named Operation Overlord: June 6, 1944

  • Invasion of Normandy (northwestern France) was the largest land, air, and sea invasion ever

  • British, American, French, and Canadian troops fought their way onto a beach controlled by the Germans

  • Objective was to break Germany’s Atlantic Wall → set of coastal defenses built after Fall of France

• Invasion was a success

  • Allies took heavy losses but were able to take control of the coast.

  • Position allowed for Allies to liberate France, Belgium, and Luxembourg by September of 1944

Liberation of the Nazi Concentration Camps

• As the Allied Powers were advancing towards Germany, one major realization was the crimes against the European Jewish population by Nazi Germany.

• Holocaust: the state-sponsored genocide of the Jewish population across German-occupied Europe.

• Approx. 6 million Jews were murdered by the Nazis - about two-thirds of Europe’s Jewish population.

• Despite warnings from the Nuremberg Laws (1935) which stripped Jews of German citizenship and basic rights, many within the Allied Powers did not know about the Holocaust, or chose to ignore it.

Holocaust - the Aftermath

• Nuremberg Trials: a set of legal proceedings from 1945-1946 that set to put major Nazi officials on trial for crimes against humanity and other war crimes.

  • Led by the U.S., France, Britain, and the Soviet Union → considered the first landmark moment for international criminal law.

  • Before the trials, the major Allied nations had different ideas about how to handle Nazi officials post-war.

  • Also used to delegitimize the German elites who were complicit in the rise of Hitler and supported the Nazi regime.

  • Showed the world the atrocities that the Nazis committed during the Holocaust.

Victory in Europe: Unconditional Surrender

• April 30, 1945: Adolf Hitler commits suicide as the Soviet Union are about to storm Berlin.

• May 2, 1945: Soviet Union captured Berlin first; the U.S. & Britain arrive in Berlin two months later.

• May 7-9, 1945: General Eisenhower (USA) accepts the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich from the German military (V-E Day - Victory in Europe Day)

  • Unconditional surrender in which no guarantees or promises are made. In other words, “it’s over but no one’s leaving right away.”

  • Unconditional surrender, though  prolonged the war, showed Germany that they would not be allowed to rebuild their country on their own. Also forced the Nazis to accept the conditions of the Nuremberg Trials - held in their country.

Post-War – Yalta & Potsdam Conferences

• FDR, Churchill, Stalin meet in Yalta (Ukraine…or is it Russia?) then in Potsdam (outside Berlin)

• These conferences decided the post-war map of Europe.

  • Yalta focused more on Europe as a whole, Potsdam was about Germany.

  • Potsdam demanded Japanese surrender in the Pacific (Japan declined)

    • “Prompt and utter destruction” -U.S. President Harry Truman

• Germany would be split into 4 occupied zones → the unofficial start of Cold War tensions

War in the Pacific

• Japan had been spreading as an empire across Asia (including China)

• Japan and the US have some very bloody conflicts across the Pacific Ocean…basically on microscopic islands

-Island Hopping

• While both Japan and the US had some major victories; the US put all of their forces into defeating Japan after V-E Day.

• What was the final straw which caused Japan to surrender?

Atomic Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

• Even with the United States closing in on Tokyo, Japan refused to surrender.

• Manhattan Project: plan to develop first successful nuclear weapons.

• President Truman’s advisers informed him that an invasion would cost the Allies 500,000 lives.

• This information led to President Truman’s decision to use the atomic bomb

• August 6, 1945 the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb (Little Boy) on Hiroshima, a Japanese city of 350,000, killing 75,000.

• August 9, 1945, the U.S. dropped the second atomic bomb (Fat Man) on Nagasaki, a city of 270,000 killing 70,000 immediately.

Japanese Surrender (V-J Day)

• August 15, 1945: Emperor Hirohito addressed the public regarding surrender: "the enemy has begun to employ a new and most cruel bomb, the power of which to do damage is, indeed, incalculable ... . Should we continue to fight, not only would it result in an ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation, but also it would lead to the total extinction of human civilization."

• The Japanese officially surrendered to U.S. General Douglas MacArthur on September 2, 1945. (V-J Day)

• The ceremony took place aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.

• Japan’s surrender officially ended World War II - almost 6 years to the date in which World War II began.