World War II
1939 - 1945
World War II
Official Start of the War
September 1, 1939America Enters the War
December 8, 1941Official End of the War
August 14, 1945America
Franklin D. Roosevelt as President of the US
March 4, 1933 - April 12, 1945- 32nd President
- Democratic Party
- First and only president to serve 3 terms
- 3rd term dominated by WWII
America declares Neutrality
September 5, 1939- The US was in a "Great Depression"
- Many Americans wanted to stay in isolation
- Neutrality Acts forbade trading and shipment of war materials to nations in war https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREQ-SXij-gtJNDPe2BzoQ4uss4B2jxiPHSoQXr4dlzOJWTxmEI
Selective Training and Service Act
September 16, 1940- Required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards
- when the U.S. entered World War II, all men aged 18 to 45 were made subject to military service, and all men aged 18 to 65 were required to register
Lend-Lease Act
March 11, 1941- Allowed the United States to lend war materials to any nation that was "vital to the defense of the United States."
- This act lead to much controversy over whether the US was holding to its neutrality in the war https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkPVMVQaXDhGl1uN0coEUc8wxl3eZJUiB_rzYgfFlqlDf4rfU0
Atlantic Charter
August 14, 1941- Drafted by Roosevelt and Churchill
- Agreed on by all Allies
- A joint declaration of war arms
- Set goals for the world after the war https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT2GmrGaBaFesA3DHausXbOFMy4eY96xDDnYKIM0cArvDzsj7hi4A
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941- Japan tired of US negotiations
- Surprise attack
- 183 Japanese aircraft
- 4 US battleships sunk
- 188 US aircraft destroyed
- US declares war on Japan
War Production Board established
January 16, 1942- Used raw materials normally used for consumer goods and converted them to production of weapons, ammunition, and other war materials
- Distributed/rationed scarce materials like: steel, aluminum, and rubber
Manhattan Project
April 1, 1942- US created an atomic bomb
- The first nuclear weapon of mass destruction to use during the war https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQrPQugwZNKIbjMZLqCmoZJp234w0j2mb3nEqdcrNP9GGPay5rM
Battle of Midway
June 4, 1942- Most important naval battle
- Japanese wanted dominance in the Pacific
- Japanese planned to lure the US into a trap
- American code breakers were able to find out the date, time, and location of the attack
- 4 Japanese carriers sunk, 248 Japanese aircraft destroyed
- Decisive American victory
War Plans
Dec 1, 1943- The plans developed by Churchill and Roosevelt on what effective action they should strike against Hitler.
Harry S. Truman as President of the US
April 12, 1945 - January 20, 1953- 33rd President
- Democratic Party
- To many Americans, Truman's legacy as the nation's leader centers on the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan
Japan
Hirohito as Emperor of Japan
December 25, 1926 - January 7, 1989- Japan's longest reigning emperor
- Did not object to the invasion of China
- More concerned with and attack from the USSR https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQs-xBf_-aq7upaXxIlirlyr2rX2lETO3tavAr_rtl2ARgh2LGUwg
Doolittle's Raid
April 18, 1942- America's first air raid on Japan in WWII
- FDR wanted to boost morale in America after the attack on Pearl Harbor
- 16 US bombers; four 500 lbs bombs each
- Chinese civilians sheltered/ helped Americans escape once they landed https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSZRKiyZMPunei9u84y3xhTYBllYooSvEM9tLAbXm4jzDJRDS6h
Battle of Iwo Jima
February 19, 1945 - March 26, 1945- Some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of Pacific fighting in WWII
- Conquered and captured the island of Iwo Jima
- Only battle in which American deaths/injuries exceeded that of the Japanese
- Ultimately and American victory
Battle of Okinawa
April 1, 1945 - June 21, 1945- Last and largest of the Pacific battles
- 12,000 Americans killed, 36,000 wounded
- Over 107,000 Japanese killed, over 10,000 captured or surrendered
- American victory
US bombs Hiroshima and Nagasaki
August 1945- United States called for a surrender of Japan and threatened "prompt and utter destruction"
- Japanese ignored the threat
- Hiroshima bombed on Aug 6
- Almost 30% of the population were killed by the blast and resultant firestorm
- All died in less than one second
- Nagasaki bombed on Aug 9
- Estimated 70,000 immediate deaths https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTmXwLJGnK23n-tWjOxYIaLg0F2_9GpCUeTfF1j3KPevqID4cht
Japan surrenders
August 14, 1945- Japan surrendered to the Allies six days after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
- Signed the Instrument of Surrender
- Official end of World War II https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRqsTPA5byGDSg-EnRcDR-xGFksT0doyXfELEsoMYrVt2ZbvxZu
Germany
Adolf Hitler in control of Germany
January 30, 1933 - April 30, 1945- Austrian-born German leader
- Gained support by attacking the Treaty of Versailles and promoting Pan-Germanism, antisemitism, and anti-communism
- Leader/promoter of the Holocaust
- When Germany surrendered, he committed suicide in order to escape capture by the Red Army https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRkEzwj6HwOkx90ePJtBPMk-43fvs8Nw7w-6oZwT9ppZDDe3UUjmA
Holocaust
January 30, 1933 - May 8, 1945- Nazis believed that Germans were "racially superior" and that Jews were a threat to the German community
- created ghettos and forced labor camps for Jews
- deported millions of Jews from Germany, occupied territories, and the countries of many of its Axis allies to ghettos and to killing centers
- developed gassing facilities in extermination/concentration camps
- Nearly six million Jews died along with countless other victims https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRwhJM9_uUt6u3d6wS6Ew4-mXvLMg0YbhvmzlJBGyHJqED6L4S8
First German Concentration Camp
March 22, 1933- Dachau concentration camp near Munich
- wanted to suppress all real and potential opposition
- Designed for holding German political prisoners and Jews, as well as ordinary criminals
- Divided into two sections: the camp area and the crematorium
Kristallnacht
November 9, 1938- 17 year old Jewish boy, Herschel Grynzpan shot a German diplomat after finding out that his father was being deported
- In retaliation, Nazis launched a violent attack on the Jewish community
- Attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany
- close to 100 Jews murdered
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
August 23, 1939- Non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union
- Soviets would not be involved in European war
- Germany and Japan would not form an alliance
- Remained in effect until June of 1941, when Germany invaded the USSR
Jews sent to Ghettos
September 21, 1939- Hitler ordered Jews in all countries under his control to be moved to designated cities
- Overcrowded and segregated neighborhoods
- Sealed off the with barbed wire and stone
- Jews died from starvation or disease https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSNiVje-FHmfhqgO_Lo1DiORhZ12a-HwQpJC_c8CCnRv9HH-OrqBQ
Polish Jews to wear Yellow Star of David
November 23, 1939- ordered to sew yellow Star of David on their outer garments
- marked them as Jews in public
The "Final Solution"
September 3, 1941- Program of genocide
- Hitler wanted a more direct way of killing those he thought to be a threat or inferior to his "master race"
- Sept. 3, 1941 was the first test of Zyklon-B gas
- This was later used in gas vans and gassing chambers
- They could kill as many as 6,000 people a day
Soviet Union
Josef Stalin in control of the USSR
January 21, 1924 - March 5, 1953- Socialist leader of the communist Soviet Union
- Led the Soviet Union through WWII and post-reconstruction phase that led to the Cold War
Battle of Stalingrad
August 23, 1942 - February 2, 1943- German army invaded Soviet Union
- Close-quarters combat and little to no regard for military and civilian casualties
- Decisive Soviet victory
- Turning point of World War II in Europe
Europe and Africa
Benito Mussolini in control of Italy
December 24, 1925 - July 25, 1943- Led the National Fascist Party in Italy
- One of the key figures in the creation of fascism
Germany Invades Poland
September 1, 1939- One week after the signing of the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union
- Germans invaded from north, south, and west
- Britain and France then declared war on Germany
- Officially started WWII https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR4mm2wzHjUWObQNhd41_b21kztTJxIpCmm9SHDokr0gQLzxTpJ
Winston Churchill as Prime Minister of UK
May 10, 1940 - July 26, 1945
Operation Torch
November 8, 1942- Part of the North African Campaign
- British and American troops invaded French North Africa
- USSR had been pushing UK and US to open another front
- Allies organized three task forces to capture key ports/ airports
- The Western Task Force aimed for Casablanca
- The Center Task Force was aimed at Oran
- The Eastern Task Force aimed for Algiers
- Allied victory
Casablanca Conference
January 14, 1943- Held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, Morocco
- To create the plan for the next phase of the Allies
- Roosevelt, Churchill, and Charles de Gaulle and Henri Giraud representing the French
- Stalin did not attend because of the ongoing battles at Stalingrad
- Came up with the Casablanca Declaration which called for an "unconditional surrender" of the Axis powers
D-Day
June 6, 1944- Allies invaded France
- landed on five beaches along the heavily fortified coast of Normandy
- 3 million Allied troops led by Eisenhower
- Beginning of the end of the war in Europe
- Decisive Allied victory
Battle of the Bulge
December 16, 1944 - January 25, 1945- Allied front line bulged inward on wartime news maps, giving the battle the nickname
- Fought at the border of Germany & Belgium
- Attempt by Hitler to split the Allies in two
- Allied victory
Germany surrenders
May 8, 1945- Soviets advancing from the west; Americans from the east
- Germany knew the war was over and surrendered
- End of war in Europe https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTEmQFL7pAD4r6_blu6bfFer95VllCj-Y9VljUe6nOVIsp9pb1RTQ