World War II Begins 1939 - 1941

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World War II Begins1939 - 1941
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Causes of World War II

• Political instability and economic devastation in
  Europe resulting from World War I
• Rise of Fascism in several countries
• Fascism is a type of government where total power
  is given to a dictator and freedoms are denied to
  people

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1. Economic Devastation

• Worldwide depression (even though the depression
  began in the U.S., its effects were felt
  throughout Europe)
• Massive unemployment throughout the world like in
  Italy, Germany, and Japan

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Economic Devastation (cont.)

• High inflation was occurring in countries like
  Germany and Italy
• Inflation means that money was not worth as much
  as it used to be, and the prices of items were
  higher
• Reparations Germany owed a high war debt of 33
  billion from World War I
• Both the Allies and the Central Powers from WWI
  owed huge debt from the cost of the war

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Appeasement at Munich

• Hitler was taking over many weaker countries
  around Europe.
• A meeting was called between Britain, France, and
  Germany (Hitler) in the German city of Munich.

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Appeasement at MunichContinued

• In the end, Germany was allowed to have the
  countries it took over without a fight.
• This was known as the Munich Pact.
• This agreement between the countries was known as
  appeasement (pleasing someone to avoid a fight or
  war), which did not work

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Appeasement
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Allied Powers

• Democratic nations were known as the Allies.
• These nations included the United States, Great
  Britain, and Canada.
• The Soviet Union joined the Allies after being
  attacked by Germany.

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Allied Powers

• Great Britain (led by Winston Churchill)
• United States (led by Harry S. Truman)
• Soviet Union (after Germany attacks) (led by
  Joseph Stalin)
• Canada

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World War II Begins

• Germany Starts the War
• Hitler soon broke the agreement he made in Munich
  and conquered (took control of) Czechoslovakia.
• He also said he was going to invade Poland.
• Great Britain and France warned that an attack on
  Poland would mean WAR.

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World War II begins Germany invades Poland!
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Pact - Germany and Soviet Union

• Germany and the Soviet Union signed a pact that
  said they would not declare war on or attack one
  another.
• Germany then invaded Poland and Great Britain and
  France declared WAR on Germany.
• World War II had begun.

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Germany and Soviet Union attack Poland

• Germany attacked Poland from the west and the
  Soviet Union invaded from the East.
• Poland soon fell to the invading armies.

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Germany invaded other countries

• Germany invaded with speed and surprise, called
  blitzkrieg, or Lightening War
• They used tanks, troops, and planes to conquer
  other countries like Denmark, Norway, Belgium,
  and Luxemburg.
• The British and French troops could do little to
  stop the Germans.

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Germany attacks France

• In June 1940, the Germans attacked France and in
  less than 2 weeks they captured Paris (the
  capitol city).
• Days later France surrendered.

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France Crumbles
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Germany attacks Britain

• Hitler believed that the British would quit after
  France fell.
• The British, led by Winston Churchill, had no
  intention of surrendering.
• Hitler made plans to invade Britain.

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Germany attacks Britain (continued)

• There was a huge air battle
• between the German Air
• Force and Britains
• Royal Air Force (RAF).
• Germany bombed London in the Battle of Britain.
• The British won the air battle and did not
  surrender as Hitler had hoped

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Battle of Britain
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Hitler betrays Stalin and invades Soviet Union

• After failing to defeat the Royal Air Force
  (RAF), Hitler turns his attention elsewhere.
• He sees a chance to expand his empire by invading
  the Soviet Union and having access to its vast
  resources.
• Hitler breaks his non-aggression pact with Stalin
  and invades the Soviet Union by surprise.

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Germany invades Soviet Union
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December 1941

• By the end of 1941, things look bad for the
  Allies.
• Germany initially rolls rapidly through the
  Soviet Union and threatens to take Moscow the
  Capitol.
• However, things are about to change!

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U.S. Involvement
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United States Aids the Allies

• Prior to December 1941 the U.S. was not a part of
  the war at this time.
• President Roosevelt tried to help the Allies
• He proposed the Lend Lease Act
• This allowed the U.S. to lend or lease war
  materials to Allied Nations.
• The U.S. was still not physically fighting in the
  war.

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Germany Attacks the Soviet Union

• Hitler did not trust the Soviet Union and invaded
  (attacked) Leningrad in June 1941.
• The Soviets held them off and the Germans never
  took the city.

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Germany Attacks Moscow

• In December 1941, they ran into the harshest
  Russian winter in decades.
• Many soldiers died and their tanks and weapons
  broke down in the cold.
• The German advance had come to a halt, (stopped)
  and driven back.

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Battle of Stalingrad

• The Germans attacked Stalingrad, a major
  industrial city, in September of 1942.
• The Soviets defeated the Germans.
• In February 1943, the German troops surrendered
  and Hitlers hope of conquering the Soviet Union
  was gone.
• The Battle of Stalingrad, marked the turning
  point of the war in Eastern
• Europe.

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StalingradTurning Point of War in Europe
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Japan in need of resources

• In 1940, Japan joined the Axis alliance with
  Germany and Italy.
• Japan was led by Hideki Tojo
• Japan needed more resources (oil, metals,
  grains), so Tojo decided to invade other
  countries to get it.
• The only thing in his way was the United States
  Navy because the U.S. warned Japan to stop
  invading other countries.

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Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor

• On December 7, 1941, Japanese warplanes bombed
  the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in
  Hawaii.
• 2,400 Americans, both (military) servicemen and
  civilians died during this attack.

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Pearl Harbor
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U.S. declares War

• President Roosevelt and the U.S. government
  declared WAR on Japan.
• A few days later, Germany and Italy declared WAR
  on the U.S. because of its alliance with Japan.

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U.S. Involvement

• Now, the U.S. is in direct fighting in WWII.
• They went from being neutral (not on the side of
  anyone), to giving economic and military aid, to
  now direct fighting in the war.