| I. Aggression, Appeasement, and War a. Western democracies tried to strengthen the peace during the 20s + 30s b. Leaders of the western democracies were haunted by Great War c. Conflict was avoided by diplomacy A. Early Challenges to World Peace a. Mussolini and Hitler viewed that desire for peace as weakness and responded with aggression. b. League of Nations condemned Japan�s aggression and Japan withdrew from the organization, which strengthened the military. c. Appeasement needed to be obtained and was sought after by the western governments. B. The Spanish Civil War a. The Spanish Civil War drew European powers into the fighting. b. The republic was set up and there were sides: the nationalists (conservatives) who were supported by Franco, Hitler and Mussolinis and the communists. c. There were terrible acts of atrocities where one million people were killed and Franco came out on top and created a dictatorship. C. German Aggression Continues a. Hitler supported the German race, violated the treaty of Versailles and created a brief war scare and anyone who opposed was silenced. b. Hitler than concentrated on Czechoslovakia because it was one of the remaining democracies in E. Europe and appeasement was given to Hitler. c. The Czech crisis revealed the Nazi menace. D. The Plunge toward war a. Munich didn�t bring peace, Czech was taken over by Hitler, and appeasement failed in 1939. b. There was a nonaggression pact made between Hitler and Stalin which joined Russia and Germany; both joined for mutual reasons. c. Poland was invaded by Germany and Britain and France honored their commitment and declared war on Germany; WWII began. E. Why War came a. The war was an effort to revise the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in which, not all countries were satisfied. b. The western democracies also failed to respond forcefully to the Nazi threat. c. New and better technological advances made the war horrendous. II. The Global Conflict: Axis Advances a. WWII was the costliest war in history and lasted 6 years. b. It was Germany, Italy and Japan against the Allied forces. c. In beginning years, it went bad for the Allied forces. A. The First Onslaught a. In September of 1939, Hitler�s forces showed their power when they bombed and took over Poland. b. The Axis had early triumph in the beginning of the war but the �Miracle of Dunkirk� raised British morale. c. Advanced technology included better submarines, bombs, more airplanes, radar and sonar and also medical advances helped. B. The Battle of Britain a. Churchill stood against Hitler and Hitler launched a massive air attack to bombard the British and weaken their troops. b. The Germans changed from targets to blitzing and one became the famous London blitz. c. June 1941, Hitler abandoned the Battle of Britain and targeted the Soviet Union. C. Charging Ahead a. Axis armies were pushing into North Africa and the Balkans. b. British were worried that the Suez Canal would be seized and severe the lifeline to India for Britain. c. Axis powers consisted of Greece and Yugoslavia after Italy invaded Greece. D. Operation Barbarossa (conquest of the USSR) a. Hitler wanted to gain territory, gain resources, crush communism and defeat Stalin. b. Germans invaded Russia and killed thousands and weakened the already weak Russia but were killed off by the �general winter�. c. Stalin urged Britain to open a second front to help out with the war. E. Growing American Involvement a. Sympathy was felt by the neutral Americans and President Roosevelt helped out as much as he could with aid for the countries. b. FDR passed the Lend-Lease Act, which let the US give aid to any country fighting for freedom. c. 1941- FDR and Churchill met secretly and issued the Atlantic Charter. F. Japan Attacks a. Japan stepped in and wanted to conquer China but the US prohibited the sale to Japan of war materials. b. The attack of Pearl Harbor was what got Germany, Italy and Japan to declare war on the US. c. Japan had conquered much of the Pacific and the Axis powers had reached the high point of their successes. III. The Global Conflict: Allied Successes a. WWII was fought on a larger scale and in more places than anu other war in history. b. Civilians were targets just like soldiers. c. 1939- 1942 the Axis powers ruled but slowly that changed. A. Occupied Lands a. Hitler�s superior race was acknowledged and the Nazis systematically stripped countries of resources and culture and people. b. Hitler wanted extermination of Jews and other inferiors and he did this with work and extermination camps. c. The Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere�s mission was to help Asians escape western colonial rule. B. The Allied War Effort a. Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt had distrust for one another and thought that the other wanted to rule their land. b. Total war was achieved and democratic governments in the US and Britain increased their political power. c. Women were there to stand in not only in everyday life and work but in the war and in combat. C. Turning Points a. 1942-43 the Allies won several victories that would turn the tide of the battle. b. The long battle at El Alamein drove the Axis forces back across Libya into Tunisia. c. The Italian forces were defeated and Mussolini was fired and yet Hitler went back to save him. D. The Red Army Resists a. 1941 Germans were outside Moscow and Leningrad and Hitler launched attacks on the oil fields of the south. b. Stalingrad was where Germans and Russians fought for weeks to live and about 300,000 Germans were killed there. c. Soviets were advancing to E. Europe in 1944. E. Invasion of France a. 1944, Allies were ready to open the second front into France. b. Eisenhower led the Allies and bombers bombed Germany and targeted cities and factories. c. In Paris, French resistance rose up against the Germans and the Germans retreated. IV. Toward victory a. During the liberation of Europe, fighting in Asia continued. b. Most battles were fought at sea there. c. Japanese were successful at first but that changed. A. War in the Pacific a. The destruction of 2 Japanese fleets weakened the Japanese naval power and stopped advances. b. US went on the offensive and worked on recapturing small islands. c. Japan was being pushed back farther and farther but wouldn�t surrender. B. The Nazis Defeated a. The Battle of Bulge was Hitler�s last success and both sides suffered terrible losses. b. Air bombing destroyed the German forces and factories and erased the huge industrial city of Hamburg. c. May 7, Germany surrendered and it was called V-E (victory in Europe) C. Defeat of Japan a. In 1945 the first atomic bomb was made in New Mexico and tested. b. August 6, the first atomic bomb was dropped and killed 70,000 and still more after radiation and other problems and finally after the second was dropped Emperor Hirohito surrendered. c. There is still much controversy about Truman letting the atomic bomb go. D. Looking Ahead a. After the surrender, American forces occupied the smoldering ruins of Japan. b. The allies divided Hitler�s fallen empire into four zones of occupation. c. The allies faced difficult decisions about the future. V. From World War to Cold War a. 1945 Germany was an unrecognizable ruin. b. Total war gutted cities, factories, harbors, bridges, railroads, farms, homes and lives. c. Amid the devastation, hunger and disease took large tolls for years after the fighting ended. A. Aftermath of War a. 75 million people died; many were civilians b. The Holocaust was major issue and war crime trials against the Nazis were held at Nuremberg. c. Western Allies built new governments with democratic constitutions to protect the rights of all citizens. B. The United Nations a. The Un lasted longer and played a bigger role than the League of Nations. b. The goal was to give these great powers the authority to ensure the peace. c. The organization took on problems like preventing disease and improving education, protecting refugees and aiding nations to develop economically. C. The Crumbling Alliance a. Conflicting ideologies and mutual distrust divided the former Allies and soon led to the Cold War. b. Roosevelt didn�t correspond with Stalin on problems with Japan and therefore there were problems. c. There was conflict and mistrust between important leaders. D. Containing Communism a. The Truman Doctrine guided the US for decades and made clear that Americans would resist Soviet expansion in Europe and elsewhere in the world. b. Germany, because of unification of the Allies, became divided. c. There were arms race and much propaganda that led to the gain of power. |