World War II World War II Facts Started

World War II

World War II Facts • Started on Sep. 3, 1939. • Ended on Sep. 2, 1945. • Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945 and Japan on September 2, 1945. • Lasted 6 years. • Major battles include DDay, Invasion of Poland, Midway, and Pearl Harbor. • One of the worst wars in the history of our world. • It brought every major world power together to fight Germany, Italy, and Japan which were the Axis Powers. • In it happened the Holocaust and many other dreadful events.

Possible Causes of the War • In Asia: The reason was that Japan was trying to relieve population pressures and get oil back. • This led to the attacks by Japan on the U. S. , China , and British and Dutch colonies. • In Europe: Germany wanted to get back the lands taken away because of the Treaty of Versailles. • Also the Invasion of Poland.

People of the War

Benito Mussolini • Prime Minister of Italy. • Wanted to re-create the Roman Empire. • Brought Fascism to Italy in 1922 with the March On Rome. • Joined Hitler because the League of Nations was going to punish him for trying to extend Italy. • Shot to death, along with his wife and fifteen man train, on April 28, 1945.

Adolph Hitler • Was abused as a child so that is possibly why he became so mean. • Leader of the Nazi party. • Started the Axis also. • Killed 6 million Jews and about 3 million more people. • Committed suicide, along with his wife, in an underground bunker.

F. D. Roosevelt “Big Three” above were a group that tried to make peace between their countries. • Declared war on Germany on Dec. 11, 1941. • Started the “Big Three”, F. D. R. , Churchill, and Stalin. • Cut 95% of Japan’s oil off. This lead to Pearl Harbor happen. • Started an alliance with China and the Soviet Union. • Shipped about $50 billion worth of Lend Lease supplies to the Allies.

Joseph Stalin • General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party in 1922. • Influenced the Soviet intelligence and secret police. • Killed tens of thousands of priests, nuns, and monks in 1937 -38. • Part of the “Big Three”. • Passed away on March 1, 1953 because of a stroke.

Winston Churchill • British Prime Minister during WW II. • One of the “Big Three”. • His good relations with F. D. R. guaranteed Britain food, oil, and munitions via the Atlantic trade routes. • Russians called him the “British Bulldog” because of his war tactics. • For security, he traveled as Col. Warden.

Harry Truman • 33 rd president of the United States of America. • Decided to drop the atomic bomb, “Little Boy”, on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. • 30, 000 Americans killed before he stopped WW II.

General Douglas Mc. Arthur • Graduated first of his class at the U. S. Military Academy. • Became one of ten people to ever become the General of the army. • Could have been a 6 star general but turned it down. • He and his father both got the Medal of Honor. • Was to command the invasion on Japan but had to accept their surrender on Sep. 2, 1945.

General G. S. Patton Jr. • Nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts. ” • Created a new sword for fighting called the “Patton Saber”. • Controlled units all over the world.

Events of WW II

The Holocaust • 6 million Jews were killed in the camps, one of which was Auschwitz. • Twins were especially liked for the experiments they did like conjoining them. • Kids were organized into two groups, could work and couldn’t work. • They killed the ones that could not work. • The people left were starved and murdered. • The most famous there was Anne Frank. Auschwitz at right

Invasion of Poland • Germans invaded Poland along with Slovakia. • Poland had 950, 000 men and the Axis had 2, 500, 000 men. • The attack happened at 4: 40 a. m. on Sep. 1, 1939. • 150, 000 Polish were killed and 13, 000 sent to concentration camps.

Pearl Harbor • Surprise attack by the Japanese. • 2, 403 people killed, 1, 178 of those being from the Battleship Arizona. • Pearl Harbor now serves as the biggest ship repair station between the west coast U. S. and the far east.

Midway • A pair of atolls that the U. S. Pacific Fleet guarded to protect pearl harbor. • A four Japanese carrier that attacked it. • The Americans had picked up a message about the attack so it was not as bad as it could have been. • Japanese gave up and went home.

D-Day • Almost was postponed because of weather. • Invaded England on June 6 th. • They landed in Normandy.

Japanese Internment • In 1944 , about 120, 000 Japanese , many who were citizens, were sent to War Relocation Centers to live so that the U. S. would be safe. • They had to move from the west coast to other areas of the country or go to camps. • The centers had poorly built housing and no bathrooms or kitchens. • In 1990, the internees were given back money for their losses.

Atomic Bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Before and After bomb (left) Burns (right) • • • The bomb dropped over Hiroshima was called “Little Boy”. The bomb that was dropped over Nagasaki was called the “Fat Man”. Some people had their clothes burned into their body as seen above. The bomb killed 140, 000 people when it was dropped. This caused Japan to soon surrender the Allies. Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Home Front • Back in the U. S. A. , times were hard and good sometimes. • Women had to go to work and rationing started. • People were short on money sometimes. • Women proved themselves to the world. • The Baby Boom happened which is the time where the most babies were born then. • Taxes were raised to pay for the war. • Racial integration started and race riots broke out. • The government started a draft to get people to go to war. • Towers were built to spot enemies and watchers told if they saw anything.

Women at Home Women started to work outside of the home. They worked as mechanics, engineers, and gunsmiths and soldiers in the Soviet Union and Britain. They even started the Women’s Land Army where they taught each other how to farm. Women became 1/3 of the workforce in metal and chemical industries. They built the Waterloo bridge in London and built ships. Women pretty much made the U. S. A. and the rest of the world see that they are just as determined as men were.

Rationing • To save money, the countries rationed food, gas and tires. • Ration coupons were given out to limit the amount of items a person could get. • Gas cards were given out to ration gas. • Cards: A-(lowest) 3 -4 gal. B-(Military workers) 8 gal. C-(Doctors) 9 gal. T-(Truckers) X-(Community Workers) unlimited

Outcome and Effects • U. N. was created to take the place of the League of Nations which failed to stop WW II. • UK was no longer a world power , the Soviet Union and the U. S. A. took its spot. • Israel became a nation in 1948 because of the Holocaust. • The world somewhat learned to work with each other. • The Cold War started soon afterwards. • Airpower was advanced because of the war because of the inventions during it. • Many high-ranking Germans were prosecuted for war crimes including the Holocaust. Nuremberg trials were where the Nazi leaders were in Nuremberg, Germany. • The women either returned home or stayed in the work force.