WWII Notes — Mark Bao

I. Road To War: Causes of War

A. fascist (totalitarianism) was rising in Europe
1. fascist governments were powerful dictators with powerful militaries
2. included Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Francisco Franco (Spain)
3. fascism combined with Japan’s aggressive expansionist agenda was a large threat
4. League of Nations had no power over stopping nations from their actions
5. 1931: Japan invades Manchuria
a) 1937: started a full invasion of China
6. 1935: Italy invades Ethiopia (few independent African nations)
7. Problems in Germany
a) Germany was charged with huge reparations from WWI
b) their economy and labor systems were damaged
c) unemployment was at a high, and nation feared communist influence, so everyone
was like FML and all
d) 1933: Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, names self dictator essentially
e) wanted to create a large German landmass in Europe
f) Germany would be composed of the “master race,” and those that did not fit the
specifications for this “race” (Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, mentally impaired)
were to “make way”
g) 1933: Dachau concentration camp established
8. German Actions
a) PM Neville Chamberlain engaged in the practice of appeasement: allow
Germany to do as they like in order to not risk war
b) 1935: Germany proceeded to violate the Versailles Treaty and re-arm the nation
c) 1936: Germany invades the demilitarized zone of the Rhineland
d) 1936: Hitler and Mussolini agree to the Rome-Berlin Axis
(1) Both supplied the Fascist faction in the Spanish civil war
e) 1936: German/Japanese agreement in the Anti-Comintern Pact
f) 1940: Axis formalized
g) Appeasement policy still being used: France and GB did nothing still
B. Roosevelt: thought that it was possible for the US to be involved, and the US should be
involved in world affairs
1. 2/3 of the American public believed that US intervention in WWI was a mistake
2. still predicted US intervention in another European war, even though he campaigned
on that he hated war
3. United States Diplomacy and Foreign Policy before WWII
a) 1933: recognition of the Soviet Union
b) Good Neighbor Policy: refrain from using military in the Western Hemisphere
(1) friendship with Latin American countries was crucial, Roos believed
c) 1934: Platt Amendment, stated that the US had a right to intervene in Cuban
affairs, was repealed
 4. Isolationism: lit. isolation from affairs of other countries
a) 1934: Sen. Gerald P. Nye started an investigation on war profits
(1) concluded that the war was at least partly for profit reasons
b) Led to the Neutrality Act of 1935
(1) arms embargo against warring countries, and 1936 banned loans to the same
c) 1936: Cash and Carry Act: to get nonmilitary stuff from the US, pay in cash and
use your own transportation
d) United States, along with GB and France, did not get involved in Spain, and the
fascists had an easy win as a result
C. War is Triggered
1. 1938: started military forces with goal of annexing Austria
2. 1938: started military forces with goal of invading Czechoslovakia, a French ally
3. 1938 September: Munich Conference: GB and France allowed Germany to annex the
Sudetenland, in return for no more territorial expansion
4. Germany agreed, but didn’t go by the provisions of the agreement, and proceeded to
invade Czechoslovakia
5. 1939 August: Non-Aggression Pact with the Soviet Union signed
6. 1939 September: invasion of Poland starts, GB and France declare war on Germany
II. At first, US fopo stated neutrality in the war
A. However, Germany took over Poland, and through blitzkrieg, then proceeded to take
Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.
B. 1940 June 22: France falls to the Germans
C. Isolationists vs. Interventionists
1. US moved closer to intervention, albeit loud voices for isolationism
2. GB trade: 50 WWI destroyers, for permission to build military bases in British
territory
3. FDR wanted more help to go towards GB
4. Lend-Lease Act formed, allowed the lease of military goods to those that were vital to
United States interests
5. 1941: Germany breaks the Nonaggression Pact with Soviets, and Soviets became part
of the Allies, with the Lend-Lease Act provisions given to them
6. “Four essential human freedoms everywhere in the world”
a) freedom of speech and expressions
b) freedom of worship
c) freedom from want
d) freedom from fear
7. Atlantic Charter: secret meeting with GB PM Winston Churchill produced this
a) press release, documented that GB and US seek no territorial gains, and want to
ensure freedoms in countries
D. Pearl Harbor
1. 1940: Tri-Partite Pact: Germany, Italy and Japan
2. 1941: Japan occupied a large portion of Indochina, and Roosevelt froze Japanese
assets in the US, and embargo of goods to Japan
 3. 1941 September: Prime Minister Tojo started secret preparations of war against US
4. 1941 December 7: Japanese bombers attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
a) 2,400 Americans killed
b) 8 battleships, 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, 200 aircraft destroyed
5. Roosevelt asked for a declaration of war on Japan, Senate and House voted
affirmative
6. Germany and Italy declared war on the US shortly thereafter
III. America in the War
A. 1941 December 18: War Powers Act gave FDR a lot of power over the war
B. Fiscal effects
1. Federal budget was 10x that of 1939
2. National debt grew sixfold
3. Revenue Act of 1942 taxed regular citizens as well, and tax collections increased
from 2.2 billion to 35.1 billion
C. Cooperation between business and the government was necessary
1. Business executives joined Roosevelt in the function of the war, and became known
as “dollar-a-year men”
D. War Production Board was formed, oversaw productions
1. cost-plus provisions: guaranteed a profit, promised businesses tax cuts for building
new plants
2. allocating contracts to larger businesses
3. military-industrial complex binded government and business together
4. 1945 stats: “86,000 tanks, 296,000 airplanes, 15 million rifles and machine guns,
64,000 landing craft, 6,500 ships”
E. Forces
1. at the end of WWII: armed forces totalled >15 million
2. 700,000 African-American armed forces in the military, in all units of the mil.
F. Women in the War
1. 350,000 enlisted in the military, in various areas of the military
2. women were not allowed in combat
G. Labor in the War
1. With more people in military service, less labor needed
2. rectified the unemployment of the Depression
3. defense made 7 million jobs for both men and women
4. 1945: women composed 36% of the labor force
a) wages for women were lower, and they faced discrimination
b) when men returned, the women work force lowered slightly, then returned
5. Roosevelt established the National War labor Board
a) power over wages, hours, conditions, and enforcing regulations
b) as a result of businesses willing to pay more wages for smoother operations,
wages went up 70% due to overtime
c) however, the income raises were not sufficient, as workers still wanted a piece of
the rising profits that the businesses were raking in
 d) labor movement increased union membership from 9 million to 15 million
H. Civil Rights
1. irony between discrimination in Germany, which US was fighting against, and
discrimination against African-Americans at home
2. Double V campaign: victory over Nazism in Germany, victory over racism at home
3. Roosevelt was in favour of balanced civil rights
4. Executive Order 8802: “there shall be no discrimination in the employment of
workers in defense industries or government because of race, creed, color, or national
origin, and I do hereby declare that it is the duty of employers and of labor
organizations, in furtherance of said policy and of this order, to provide for the full
and equitable participation of all workers in defense industries, without
discrimination because of race, creed, color, or national origin”
5. Established the Fair Employment Practices Commission
a) however, did not affect the armed forces
b) orders were not binding
c) fair employment > defense production, or the other way around?
6. NAACP membership increased ninefold
7. LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) also formed
8. wartime prepared for civil rights changes in later years
I. Politics
1. conservatives won seats in the House and Senate
2. Roosevelt wanted a second bill of rights for “a new basis of security and prosperity”
3. improvements in veteran affairs and benefits issued
a) $4 billion in benefits to 9 million veterans
4. 1944 elections, with Harry S Truman
J. Americans and the American Front
1. Americans accepted the temporary change in lifestyle in WWII
2. Movies became popular, and soared in attendance
a) Pop culture relating to WWII was popular
3. Plusses in America: income almost doubled, no unemployment
4. Office of Price Administration (OPA) regulated and rationed many things
a) 1943: regulation of food purchases
5. Many Americans moved, as well
a) 15 million moved during the war
b) popular area was California, where many defense plants (and thus jobs) were
(1) however, this caused a lot of congregation and problems
(2) children and teenagers often posed a large concern
c) African-American migration to defense job areas was met with discrimination
(1) race riots, tension and resistance happened in areas
(2) 1943: 47 cities had racial conflicts
d) Racial discrimination and tension was also present with other races
K. Japanese Internment
 1. 1942: Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for Japanese
internment
2. Nisei: native-born American citizens, Issei: foreign-born American residents
3. Most Japanese-Americans in California, Oregon, and Washington were detained
4. Hawaiian Japanese-Americans, however, were not detained
a) served as 1/3 of the population of Hawaii
b) vital to their workforce
5. Japanese-Americans also joined the military
a) 442nd Regimental Combat Team was highly decorated
6. Supreme Court decisions ruled detainment as valid
IV. The War
A. Costs
1. 50 million lives claimed
2. 405,000 American deaths (<0.5% US Pop.)
3. 21 million Soviet deaths (incl. civilians) (8% Soviet Pop.)
B. Strategy
1. Atlantic Charter was not agreed upon by Stalin, yet, since he was not part of it
2. 1941: Germany reaches Leningrad and Moscow, but Soviets are able to hold the line
3. Russians wanted a second front in France, to push the Germans away from Soviet
borders
4. 1943 November: second front established
a) Stalin agreed to join the fight against Japan in return, but the slowness that Britain
and the US meant that the Soviets took the damage, making Stalin suspicious
C. War in Europe
1. 1942-1943: Soviets stop German advance in Battle of Stalingrad
2. 1943: Generals Eisenhower and Patton defeat Germany’s Afrika Corps in N. Africa
3. Proceeding after that, attacks in southern Europe
4. 1945: German forces in Rome surrender
D. D-Day, June 6, 1944
1. 1.5 million American, British and Canadian soldiers cross the English Channel
2. Landed on beaches of Normandy
3. August, liberated Paris
4. September, most of Germans out of France and Belgium
E. Battle of the Bulge, 1944 December
1. Allies eventually push across the Rhine
2. Soviets arrive in Berlin from the east
3. April 30: Hitler commits suicide
4. V-E Day, May 8, 1945 marked the German surrender
F. The Holocaust
1. Few Jews were able to leave Germany, because foreign countries did not want to take
them in
a) 21,000 refugees to the US via State Department
b) War Refugee Board saves 200,000
 2. 1935 Nuremberg Laws: restricted Jewish social and political
3. reasons for non-reaction:
a) anti-semitism in the US
b) media inaccuracies
c) economic competition
d) fear of religious leaders
G. The War in the Pacific
1. 1942: news not good from the Pacific
2. 1942: American surrender in the Philippines
3. Japan invaded and expanded to many islands in the Pacific
4. 1942 June: major upper hand in destroying much of Japanese air fleet
5. submarines were also used, but had a high death rate
H. Island-hopping
1. Long process of taking islands back from Japan
2. Lasted 18 months
3. 1944: Philippines recaptured
4. 1944 July: Mariana Islands captured, good as an air base
5. Iwo Jima, a closer island to Japan: almost all 21,000 Japanese fighting died
a) fought fiercely, and more so when closer to the home soil
6. American bombing: 330,000 civilians, destroyed Japanese economy
a) result: kamikaze missions, crashing planes into American ships
b) America realized Japanese will fight fiercely to the end even though suffering
heavy losses
I. Yalta
1. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet in the Black Sea
2. Stalin wanted Soviet-controlled surrounding states to protect the Soviet Union
a) However, Roosevelt wanted independent elections in the countries
3. Division of Germany into 4 slices
a) GB, US, France, and Soviet Union
4. United Nations
a) formed the blueprint of the United Nations
b) security council: US, GB, France, China, and Soviet Union
c) convene in 1945 April 25
5. 1945 April 12: Roosevelt dies
J. End of War
1. VP to P Harry S. Truman didn’t know about the Manhattan project, $2 billion and
120,000-person project for the atomic bomb
2. 1945 July 16: first test, succeeded
3. Air raids killed more than the bomb, but not effective (and fearful)
4. Intimidation techniques used by the US
5. 100,000 dead in Hiroshima, 60,000 in Nagasaki, many died of radiation
6. Surrender offer on August 10, treaty of surrender September 2, 1945