Chapter 26 Summary World War II Section One – The Road to War ...

Chapter 26 Summary
World War II
Section One – The Road to War
The Rise of Dictators
● Adolf Hitler of Germany was one of many leaders to rise to power by taking advantage
of people’s anger and/or suffering
● Treaty of Versailles – Many Europeans hated this treaty that ended WWI
● Depression – The worldwide depression in the 1920s and 30s added fear and
frustration to anger
● Dictators – leaders who control their nations by force
Italy
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Benito Mussolini - won power by appealing to Italians who resented that Italy got little
from the Treaty of Versailles
Fascism – extreme nationalism; the belief your country can do no wrong
Mussolini’s Fascist Party gains control in 1922 and outlaws other parties
Mussolini was known as Il Duce (the leader)
Bans civil liberties and free press
Builds up military to create jobs
League of Nations - bans trade after Italy takes Ethiopia in 1935 but cannot enforce
this ban
Germany
● Germany was a mess after WWI – business and farms were destroyed
● Citizens scared about future and unemployment, angry about the Treaty of Versailles
harsh punishment being imposed on them
● Hitler wins support by channeling this anger and fear
● Nazi Party (AKA Nationalist Socialist Party) – Hitler political party who believed
Germans are superior to all others
● Anti-Semitism – Hitler blames the Jews for Germany’s issues
● Totalitarianism - In 1933, Hitler ends the democracy and creates a totalitarian state.
This means the leaders try to take total control of everything in society
● Lebensraum – (German for “living space”) Hitler claims to want to unite all German
people, including those living in other countries
● Germany and Italy form an alliance in 1936
Japan
● Japan suffers greatly during the depression
● Japan also has very few natural resources
● Military seeks to acquire land and resources by attacking mineral-rich Manchuria in
China’s northeast.
● League of Nations condemns this action but can do nothing
● In 1937, Japan invades China
● In 1940, Japan joins Germany and Italy in the “Axis” alliance
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
● The USSR (formerly Russia) was a communist country
● In 1924, Lenin dies and Joseph Stalin wins a power struggle to become leader of the
USSR
● Purges – Stalin quickly uses force to expand his power. He creates a personal police

force that execute his rivals and sends millions of people suspected of disloyalty to
forced labor camps in Siberia, the Russian tundra
American Neutrality
· Americans were stuck in the Great Depression in the 1930s and had no desire
to be involved in foreign troubles
· Neutrality Acts - passed in 1935 and 1937, they banned weapons sales and
loans with countries who were at war.
· Congress knew many countries had yet to pay US for debts from WWI and
Congress wanted to prevent even more debt
Germany on the March
● Lebensraum – Hitler begins to claim land to expand
● Rhineland (March, 1936) – German claims this land west of the Rhine River between it
and France. According to the Treaty of Versailles, this area was to be neutral.
● Austria (March, 1938) – Hitler claimed German speaking Austria should be part of
Germany, so he sent troops to take it over.
● Sudetenland (September, 1938)– The area of Czechoslovakia was home to German
speakers. Hitler falsely claimed they were being mistreated. The Czechs were willing
to fight Germany, but Britain and France, looking to avoid a war, chose to meet with
Hitler in Munich to discuss it.
● Munich Conference – Britain and France decide to give Hitler the Sudetenland as long
as Hitler promise to take nothing else. Very popular at the time.
● Appeasement – avoiding war by accepting Germany’s demands. This turns out to be
a BAD idea.
● Czechoslovakia (March, 1939) – Hitler takes the rest of the country after promising
not to. Britain and France do nothing.
● German is eyeing Poland, but afraid USSR would respond.
● Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact (August, 1939) –Germany and USSR agree to
not fight each other
● Germany now free to attack Poland
Section Two – War Begins
War in Europe
● FDR with the rest of the country in wanting to avoid war
● Germany Invades Poland - 9/1/1939 – two days later Britain and France declare war
on Germany and WWII has begun
● Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) – Germany has a terrific advantage over Poland in
technology. Battle plan is to first bomb with planes, then blast away with tanks, and
finally invade with thousands of troops.
● USSR invades eastern Poland and split the country with Germany
● USSR Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
● Winter of 1939-1940 was quiet on the western front (France and Belgium)
● Maginot Line – fortified defense of France along German border from Belgium to
Switzerland made of steel and concrete
● April,1940 - Hitler takes Denmark and Norway
● May, 1940 – Germany attacks Netherlands and Belgium, who are both quickly
overwhelmed
● Allied Powers – Great Britain, France, and their allies.
● Allied Troops chased to beach at Dunkirk in France. 800 British ships help to ferry
300,000 across the English Channel
● Axis Powers – Germany, Italy and Japan

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June 14, 1940 – Germans march into Paris and France falls one week later
Battle of Britain
● August, 1940 – all that was left to fight Hitler in Europe was Britain
● Luftwaffe – the German Air Force who began to bomb air bases, shipyards, and
industries in August, 1940 in the Battle of Britain.
● Battle of Britain –largely an air war over Britain in which the Germans hoped to crush
the will of British to fight
● Winston Churchill – British Prime Minister provides inspiration to English to continue to
fight
● Blackouts – Londoners and others living in cities hid their urban neighborhoods by
covering windows to stop light from escaping. German planes had difficulty finding
targets.
● RAF – British Royal Air Force uses small fighter planes and a new invention, radar, to
ward of the Luftwaffe
● Victory for British is one of courage and will
Germany Turns East –
● Germany needs natural resources of the Soviet Union and seeks land (lebensraum)
● June, 1941 – Germany attacks USSR and violates its own treaty.
● Scorched Earth – Germany sought to destroy everything in its wake so that USSR
would not be able to use anything and to terrorize the Soviet people
● Soviets destroyed own lands, crops, dams, factories before Hitler’s men could get to
them and use them.
● Took 500,000 Soviet soldiers captive
America and the War
● Most U.S. citizens support Allies but do not want to go to war
● FDR also wanted to stay out of the war, but made preparations in case entering was
necessary
● Neutrality Act (1939) – Also called “Cash and Carry” - Any warring nations can by
US goods as long as they come and get them and pay cash (US still fighting the
Depression)
● Selective Training and Service Act (1940) – First peacetime draft in US history, it calls
on men 21 to 35
1940 Election
● FDR decides to run for a third term because of the Depression and mounting war
concerns.
● Breaks the two-term precedent set by George Washington
● Easy victory by FDR over Republican Wendell L. Willkie
U.S. Involvement Grows
● FDR now supports Allies openly
● Lend-Lease Act (1941) – allows U.S. to sell, lend or lease weapons to any
country “vital to defense of U.S.” – essentially Britain, whom had begged for U.S. help
through Winston Churchill
Atlantic Charter
● Churchill and FDR meet to discuss creation of goals for the “destruction of Nazi
tyranny” but we are not yet at war
● Urged disarmament (giving up weapons) and a permanent system of national security
(this would become the United Nations)

The Japanese Threat
● Japan taking over much of the Pacific while Italy and Germany take over Europe
● Japan has very few natural resources and sought areas that would provide them,
especially oil
The U.S. Responds
● US responds to Japanese aggression by applying economic pressure – we froze all
Japanese funds (money reserves) in US banks and stopped sale of oil, gas, and other
products to Japan
● October, 1941 – General Hideki Tojo takes over from Prime Minister Funimaro
Konoye, who believed Japan could not defeat the US. Tojo disagreed.
● November 20, 1941 – Japan and U.S. begin talks in Washington.
● While these talks are going on, Japan is planning for war with U.S.
Attack on Pearl Harbor
● 7:55 AM on December 7, 1941 – Japanese warplanes attack the US naval base at
Pearl Harbor in the Territory of Hawaii
● The U.S. Pacific Fleet had anchored our ships in a neat row, perfect for attack
● 2300 soldiers were killed and many ships, including the USS Arizona, were sunk
● Fortunately, all three aircraft carriers were at sea at the time of the attack or our
whole fleet would have been wiped out.
Section Three – On the Home Front
America Prepares
● After Pearl Harbor, US citizens are motivated and prepare to fight with amazing speed
Building an Army
● Selective Service Acts (1940, 1941) – first peacetime draft, this laws began building
the military before we declared war
● G.I. – Clothing given to soldiers was labeled “government issue.” GI became a
nickname for US soldiers
● Basic training – 8 weeks to learn how to handle guns, dig trenches, pitch tents, and
get in shape
● 250,000 women join the military
● WACs – Women’s Air Corps
● WAVES – Women Appointed for Voluntary Service in the Navy
Creating a War Economy
● Mobilization - US had to get ready for war
● War Production Board – supervised the conversion of industries to war production.
Car companies would make jeeps, ships, and planes for example
● Office of Peace Administration – limited consumer prices and rents to prevent inflation
● National War Labor Board – cut down on work stoppages and problems like strikes to
ensure things get made quickly
Financing the War
● From 1941 to the end of the war in 1945, the US spent $320 billion (more than 10
times what we spent in WWI)
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Revenue Act – raised corporate taxes and made most citizens pay an income tax
War Bonds – govt. borrowed money from citizens. These were advertised by
celebrities and movie stars

Wartime American Sacrifices – citizens had to do without some items and cut down on
others
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Rationing – consumers could only buy a limited amount of certain goods (ex. gasoline,
tires, sugar, meat
Victory Gardens – private gardens planted by citizens
Scrap Drives – children collected metals and rubber to aid the war effort
Civil Defense – civilian volunteers who kept eye out for air attacks
Office of War Information – propaganda office to keep citizens supporting the war
effort
Women and Minorities
● Women and minorities again took industrial jobs as men went to war
● “Rosie the Riveter” – a propaganda character who urged women that it was good to
work in industry – powerful female character created a new image of what it means to
be a woman
● 1 million Blacks served in the armed forces during the war
● Blacks mostly still in segregated units and lower level jobs
● 1942 – blacks and whites train together in officers school for first time
● Tuskegee Airmen – one of the most decorated units of WWII, this all black group shot
down over 200 planes
● A. Philip Randolph – gets FDR to ban discrimination against Blacks in defense industry
● Blacks continue to move from the south to northern cities to get better jobs
● Race riots broke out in cities on occasion as whites feared losing their jobs/
neighborhoods
● Code Talkers – Navajo Indians’ language was used to put secret messages in code.
Japanese Internment
● After Pearl Harbor, many Americans distrusted Japanese-Americans, especially on the
west coast
● Nisei – 2/3s of Japanese Americans; they were born in the US
● Executive Order 9066 - FDR issued this order on February 19, 1942. It ordered
100,000 Japanese Americans to internment camps for the duration of the war
● Internment Camps – crowded and uncomfortable, these camps served as homes for
thousands of relocated Japanese Americans
● Japanese Americans were given little time to prepare, so most had to sell of homes
and businesses at great losses
● Korematsu v. United States (1944) – Fred Korematsu sues the US for discrimination
as a result of his internment and loses in Supreme Court.
● 1988 – Under President Clinton, the US formally apologizes for Japanese Internment
and gives each survivor $20,000. Fred Korematsu is on hand for the formal event
Section Four –War in Europe and Africa
North African Campaign
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US and 23 Allies, including Britain and the Soviet Union, decided to focus on defeating
Germany before Japan
Goal was to create a two front war – Brits and US in western Europe, the USSR in the
east
To get US soldiers experience, it was decided to attack German forces in Africa before

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invading Europe
Erwin “Desert Fox” Rommel – German military genius in Africa
Allies chase Germany out of Africa by May, 1943 under leadership of US General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Invasion of Italy
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George S. Patton of the US and Bernard Montgomery of Britain lead the Allies into
Sicily in summer of 1943, and on to the mainland of Italy
Italian citizens overthrow Mussolini as the Allies are advancing.
June, 1944 – the Allies retake Rome, the capital of Italy
Bombing of Germany – Allies begin to bomb German targets day and night and kill
thousands of civilians in cities in order to break Germany’s will to fight.
The Eastern Front
● The Soviet Union fought Germany alone on the eastern front
● Siege of Leningrad – The Germans blockaded the city of Leningrad for 900 days
causing starvation of thousands of Soviet citizens by early 1944
● Attack on Moscow – Germans pushed all the way to the Soviet capital, but were
caught without necessary supplies to battle the harsh Soviet winters
● Battle of Stalingrad – Germans were cut off from supply routes deep into the USSR
as winter struck. By Feb, 1943, the Germans had surrendered. This was the turning
point on the eastern front as the Soviet began to push the Germans back into Europe
Invasion of France
● Operation Overlord – planned Allied invasion of France to create a two front war for
Germany
● D-Day (June 6, 1944) – Allied ships carried thousands of men into an attack on
Normandy beaches, code named “Omaha,” “Utah,” “Gold,” “Juno,” and “Sword.” They
faced withering machine gun fire and landmines during the attack
● 35,000 US troops landed at Omaha, 23,000 landed at Utah. 75,000 British and
Canadian troops landed ashore as well.
● The Allies now had opened up a western front, dividing the German army
● August 25, 1944 – French and US troops liberate (free) Paris to cheering citizens
Victory in Europe
● Germany was facing a two front war and losing in both directions
● Battle of the Bulge – Germans put together one last ditch attack along a 50 front in
Belgium in the dead of winter, 12/1944
● After weeks of fighting, the US troops push the Germans back at the Battle of the
Bulge and headed into Germany
● February, 1945 – the Soviets had pushed through Poland and just to the outskirts of
Berlin
● April 30, 1945 – Hitler realizes the situation is hopeless and commits suicide
● V-E Day (Victory in Europe) - May 7, 1945 – Germany signs an unconditional
surrender
● April 12, 1945 – FDR dies at vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia and VP Harry S.
Truman becomes the President
The Holocaust
● As the Allies began to free German occupied areas, they began to learn of

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Hitler’s “Final Solution” – a plan to kill all Jews, along with gypsies, gays, Slavs, Soviet
soldiers and mentally and physically disabled people
Genocide – the deliberate killing of a group of people
About 6 million Jews were killed in addition to millions of others in “Concentration
Camps” built for this purpose such as Dachau, Buchenwald and Auschwitz
Allied governments had evidence of death camps as early as 1942, but the Holocaust
was NOT a reason the US entered the war in 1941.
Section Five – War in the Pacific
The Philippines Fall
● After months of fighting, exhausted Allied troops defending the Bataan Peninsula
(west of Manilla), surrendered on April 9, 1942
● Bataan Death March – Japanese troops forced the starving and sick troops to march
60 miles to a prison camp. About 76,000 troops started out but only 56,000 made it
through the beatings and lack of food and rest.
● General Douglas MacArthur, head of the Filipinos and US troops, vows, “I shall
return.”
Island Hopping
● US troop morale was low in the Pacific at first
● Battle of Midway (June, 1942) – US destroys four Japanese aircraft carriers and
hundreds of planes
● Island Hopping - US strategy in the Pacific where US would attack and capture
certain key islands and leave others alone to work closer and close to Japan. Created
uncertainty in Japan because they did not know what islands to defend
● SeeBees – Construction Battalions – would construct necessary airfields/ports in areas
taken
● Battle of Guadalcanal – (8/1942 to 2/1943) – US overcome stiff resistance on an
island filled with Japanese tunnels
● June,1944 – US retakes Guam. US can now reach Japan by bombers.
● March, 1945 – US takes Iwo Jima (famous for the flag raising photograph)
● June,1945 – US captures Okinawa, an island very close to Japan. Japanese battle
fiercely and thousands of Americans are killed and many more are wounded.
● Kamikaze – Japan pilots who are trained to crash their planes into American ships in
an effort to sink them
The End of the War
● Manhattan Project – IN 1942, FDR orders US operation to create an atomic bomb in
secrecy
● July 16, 1945 – the first atomic bomb is set off in the New Mexico desert as a test
after being developed at a secret lab at Los Alamos, NM
● Truman’s Decision – Truman did not know of the bomb until only a few weeks before
his decision to drop it
● Truman knew the atomic bomb would kill many innocent civilians, but he also knew
that if it ended the war, he might save many American soldiers’ lives
● Potsdam Declaration – Truman warns Japan to surrender or face “prompt and utter
destruction.” When the Japanese did not surrender, Truman authorized the use of the
atomic bomb
● Enola Gay – (August 6, 1945) – this US bomber flew alone over the city of Hiroshima
and dropped “Little Boy,” an atomic bomb that leveled the city and killed between
80,000 and 120,000.
● Fat Man – When Japan did not surrender, “Fat Man” was dropped on the city of
Nagasaki, killing between 35,000 and 75,000 people

● The Emperor of Japan then called for surrender.
● V-J Day (Victory over Japan) – August 15, 1945
War Trials
● Nuremberg Trials – German officials were tried in a civilian court and given the
opportunity to defend themselves against charges of war crimes. Shows the world
the Allies are focused on the rule of law, not revenge. Improvement of the Versailles
Treaty.
● Details of the Holocaust were used as evidence.
● Robert H. Jackson – this Supreme Court Justice was selected by FDR before his death
to head the US delegation. He was from Jamestown, NY.
● Tokyo Trials - similar in concept to Nuremberg, these trials held Japanese officials
accountable for war crimes.
Cost of the War
● WWII was the most destructive conflict in history
● 55 millions deaths
● More than half of the deaths were citizens killed by bombings, starvation, torture,
disease, and murder
● The US lost 322,000 men and had 800,000 injured.
● The Soviet Union (USSR) saw 22 million of their citizens die