SOL 12a WWII Events and Leaders
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Many economic and political causes led to World War II. Major theaters of war included Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Leadership was essential to the Allied victory.
Economic and political causes of World War II
·Aggression by the totalitarian powers of Germany, Italy, Japan
Germany invaded Rhineland, Sudetenland, Czech.; Japan into Manchuria, China, Korea; Italy into Ethiopia
·Nationalism
Legacy of French Rev, Congress of Vienna, etc.
·Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty placed almost all of the blame on Germany, was punitive and did not settle problems
· Weakness of the League of Nations
Could not enforce rulings, no military forces and no US
· Appeasement
Most of Europe was devastated and allowed Hitler to take lands rather than fight again
· Tendencies towards isolationism and pacifism in Europe and the United States
Europe was in ruins and did not want to fight, everyone was going through depression, the US wanted Europe's problems to stay just that: Europe's problems.
·Aggression by the totalitarian powers of Germany, Italy, Japan
Germany invaded Rhineland, Sudetenland, Czech.; Japan into Manchuria, China, Korea; Italy into Ethiopia
·Nationalism
Legacy of French Rev, Congress of Vienna, etc.
·Failures of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty placed almost all of the blame on Germany, was punitive and did not settle problems
· Weakness of the League of Nations
Could not enforce rulings, no military forces and no US
· Appeasement
Most of Europe was devastated and allowed Hitler to take lands rather than fight again
· Tendencies towards isolationism and pacifism in Europe and the United States
Europe was in ruins and did not want to fight, everyone was going through depression, the US wanted Europe's problems to stay just that: Europe's problems.
Major events of the war (1939–1945)
German invasion of Poland
This is the start of WWII. Both France and Britain were Allies with Poland and bound to help. Everyone was shocked at the speed Poland fell. Hitler used a new form of war called blitzkrieg ("lightening war"). It was fast and methodical. The Polish were not as advanced. They met the German tanks on horse back. Hitler agreed to let the USSR take the Baltic nations and part of Poland. They made a Non Aggression Pact. |
Battle of Britain
Napoleon failed to take Britain. Hitler failed to learn from history. Hitler bombed England day and night for 4 months. He could not make her fall. People lived in the subways; children were sent to the countryside to get away from the bombs. England had more planes than pilots. There are scores of heroic stories of pilots, military and civilian, losing limbs and insisting to be sent back up again. This was Hitler's first loss. Churchill's famous speech |
German invasion of the Soviet Union
Hitler signed a Non Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union. Not surprisingly, Hitler lied He attacked the Soviet Union in a stunning display of arrogance. Napoleon's 2nd biggest mistake was invading Mother Russia in winter. Yet Hitler did the same. His troops met Russian winter wearing summer uniforms. Men did not have supplies and they had marched so far into the USSR that retreat so long it was not necessarily a viable option. At the Battle of Stalingrad, Hitler's troops will be stopped in their tracks. They can progress east no further. This is a major turning point in the Eastern Front. Stalin's soldiers will begin the process of pushing the Germans back. |
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941 and September 1, 2001 have something in common. Both days your country was attacked without provocation or warning. On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked the Hawaiian base of Pearl Harbor. Japan believed it had a chance of taking out important fuel reserves and possibly keeping America quiet. The exact opposite happened. The US declared war on Japan. Germany declared war on the US. Japan had truly "awoken the slumbering giant". FDR's Speech |
D-Day (Allied invasion of Europe)
Dwight D. Eisenhower led an ambitious group of Allied men across the English Channel. They left the English shore and they arrived at Normandy France on June 6, 1944. This is called D-day (it means designated day, all missions have a D-day). This is the turning point of Western Europe. This force will liberate the west. |
Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
V-E day (Victory in Europe) came before Japan surrendered. The US was still fighting in the Pacific Theater. Victory was practically assured. President Truman was forced to make a decision. He relatively new to the presidency and had no time to adjust. He could take mainland Japan and lose American lives or use the atomic bomb. He bombed Hiroshima first and Japan refused to surrender. Next we bombed Nagasaki. Japan surrendered ending the war. |
Major Leaders of WWII
SOL 12b Holocaust and Modern Genocides
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genocide: The systematic and purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or cultural group
Various instances of genocide occurred throughout the twentieth century.
Various instances of genocide occurred throughout the twentieth century.
There had been a climate of hatred against Jews in Europe and Russia for centuries.
Elements leading to the Holocaust · Totalitarianism combined with nationalism · History of anti-Semitism · Defeat in World War I and economic depression blamed on German Jews · Hitler’s belief in the master race · Final solution: Extermination camps, gas chambers |
Armenians by leaders of the Ottoman Empire
The systematic murder of the civilian Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire began in April 1915. This mass killing continued until 1923 when the Ottoman Empire fell to be replaced by the Republic of Turkey. By this time virtually the entire Armenian population of Turkey had disappeared with over two million dead. While representatives from many UN nations today condemn this genocide, the Turkish government denies that there ever was an Armenian genocide. Did you know Hitler referred to the Armenian Genocide in his book? He said no one cared about the Armenians and no one would care about |
Peasants, government and military leaders, & members of the elite in the Soviet Union by Joseph Stalin (Great Purges)
By 1928, Joseph Stalin was supreme leader of the Soviets. He launched a series of Five-Year plans to force the USSR into a modern industrialized state and to collectivize agriculture to feed the new nation of Communists. Both of these campaigns featured mass murder. In 1923, Stalin created a “famine” in the “breadbasket of the Soviet Union,” the Ukraine, which had resisted his collectivization plans. To break their resistance he confiscated grain and refused supplies, ultimately causing the deaths of 7 million people. The Five-Year Plan for industry was as equally brutal. Millions more died in Stalin’s network of labor camps known as gulags. Still millions more people were incarcerated or executed for holding opposing or “dissident” viewpoints to the great Stalin.
By 1928, Joseph Stalin was supreme leader of the Soviets. He launched a series of Five-Year plans to force the USSR into a modern industrialized state and to collectivize agriculture to feed the new nation of Communists. Both of these campaigns featured mass murder. In 1923, Stalin created a “famine” in the “breadbasket of the Soviet Union,” the Ukraine, which had resisted his collectivization plans. To break their resistance he confiscated grain and refused supplies, ultimately causing the deaths of 7 million people. The Five-Year Plan for industry was as equally brutal. Millions more died in Stalin’s network of labor camps known as gulags. Still millions more people were incarcerated or executed for holding opposing or “dissident” viewpoints to the great Stalin.
Artists, technicians, former government officials, monks, minorities, & educated individuals by Pol Pot in Cambodia
Despite its proximity to Vietnam, Cambodia attempted to remain . Communist rebels known as the Red Cambodians took control of the government of Cambodia in April of 1975. The new communist government was led by the dictator, Pol Pot. Typical of other communist nations’ early efforts, Pol Pot launched a program which forced people to abandon life in the cities and establish state farms across then land. Soldiers forced the people to leave their homes causing a collapse of the social structure and ultimately disease and famine. Between 1975 - 1979 over 2 million Cambodian people died under the Khmer Rouge government.
Despite its proximity to Vietnam, Cambodia attempted to remain . Communist rebels known as the Red Cambodians took control of the government of Cambodia in April of 1975. The new communist government was led by the dictator, Pol Pot. Typical of other communist nations’ early efforts, Pol Pot launched a program which forced people to abandon life in the cities and establish state farms across then land. Soldiers forced the people to leave their homes causing a collapse of the social structure and ultimately disease and famine. Between 1975 - 1979 over 2 million Cambodian people died under the Khmer Rouge government.
Tutsi minority by Hutu in RwandaCentral Africa used to include two groups that peacefully coexisted; the Hutus and the Tutsis. Approximately 600 years ago, the Tutsis from Ethiopia invaded the homeland of the Hutus. The conquered Hutus agreed to raise crops for the Tutsis in return for protection. The two groups spoke the same language and even intermarried and worshipped the same religion. This continued despite imperial conquests by first Germany and then the rule by Belgium following Germany’s defeat in World War I. However, once they gained their independence and the monarchy was dissolved competition for the power to rule began. Ethnic fighting between the two groups continued when in 1994 a civil war in Rwanda began. Hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed. Tutsi rebels won control causing a million Hutus to flee to Zaire and Tanzania.
BOSNIA AND KOSOVO - The area known as the Balkans, including Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia was controlled by the Ottoman Empire until the late 19th century. Later it was controlled by Austria-Hungary until Yugoslavia was formed in 1918. The many ethnic groups in this region wanted their independence and additionally did not get along with one another. They practiced diverse religions, spoke different languages and carried on different cultural traditions. Bosnia’s Muslims are Slavs who adopted their faith during the centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule. Serbs are Orthodox Christians. Croats are Roman Catholic.
War erupted in 1991 after Slovenia and Croatia declared independence. After a cease-fire in January of 1992, Bosnian Serbs rebelled against Bosnia’s independence. Approximately 200,000 people died and one million lost their homes in this war against the Muslim-led government. The term “ethnic cleansing” has been used to describe the brutal methods used by the Serbs in Bosnia to achieve their goal of killing Bosnian Muslims to create an ethically pure area. In 1995, under then President Slobodan Milosevic, 6000 Bosnians were murdered at Srebrenica. In 1999, Milosevic continued this genocide in Kosovo when he displaced thousands of Muslim Kosovars and murdered many more until NATO forces intervened.
War erupted in 1991 after Slovenia and Croatia declared independence. After a cease-fire in January of 1992, Bosnian Serbs rebelled against Bosnia’s independence. Approximately 200,000 people died and one million lost their homes in this war against the Muslim-led government. The term “ethnic cleansing” has been used to describe the brutal methods used by the Serbs in Bosnia to achieve their goal of killing Bosnian Muslims to create an ethically pure area. In 1995, under then President Slobodan Milosevic, 6000 Bosnians were murdered at Srebrenica. In 1999, Milosevic continued this genocide in Kosovo when he displaced thousands of Muslim Kosovars and murdered many more until NATO forces intervened.
SOL 12c WWII Outcomes
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The outcomes of World War II included the war crimes trials, the division of Europe, plans to rebuild Germany and Japan, and the establishment of international cooperative organizations.
Outcomes of World War II
· Loss of empires by European powers
· Establishment of two major powers in the world: The United States and the U.S.S.R.
· War crimes trials (Nuremberg in Europe)
· Division of Europe, Iron Curtain
· Establishment of the United Nations (replaced League of Nations)
· The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - signed by Eleanor Roosevelt
· Marshall Plan (gave aid to western Europe to prevent spread of communism)
· Formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO still exists) and Warsaw Pact (defunct)
· Loss of empires by European powers
· Establishment of two major powers in the world: The United States and the U.S.S.R.
· War crimes trials (Nuremberg in Europe)
· Division of Europe, Iron Curtain
· Establishment of the United Nations (replaced League of Nations)
· The Universal Declaration of Human Rights - signed by Eleanor Roosevelt
· Marshall Plan (gave aid to western Europe to prevent spread of communism)
· Formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO still exists) and Warsaw Pact (defunct)
Efforts for reconstruction of Germany
· Democratic government installed in West Germany & West Berlin · Germany and Berlin divided among the four Allied powers · Emergence of West Germany as economic power in postwar Europe Look at the map. Britain, France, and the US put their pieces of Germany and Berlin back together. It is democratic because those Allies are democratic. The Eastern half of Germany and Berlin are communist they are controlled by the USSR, who is communist. |
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was issued in 1948 to protect the “inherent dignity and…the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family….”
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: · Established and adopted by members of the United Nations · Provided a code of conduct for the treatment of people under the protection of their government |