World War

II
Standard SS6H7: The student will explain conflict and change in
Europe to the 21st century.
b. Explain the impact of WWII in terms of the Holocaust, the
origins of the Cold War, and the rise of Superpowers.

Acts of
Aggression

During the 1930s Japan, Italy, & Germany

committed acts of aggression against other
countries.

Aggression- a warlike action, such as an invasion

or an attack.

Hitlers
Aggression

In the 1930s, many Germans lived in Austria,

Czechoslovakia, & Poland. Hitler wanted to
unite these countries to bring all Germans
together.
Hitler invaded Austria in 1938; Hitler invaded
the Sudetenland (region of Czechoslovakia)
in 1938. Soon Hitler invaded the rest of
Czechoslovakia.

Hitlers
Aggression

Britain & France realized they could no longer

ignore Hitler. They asked the Soviet Union to be
their ally, but Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin had made
a secret alliance with Hitler.

Friends??

WWII Begins
September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland.
Two days later Britain & France declared war
on Germany.
Below is an interactive map of Nazi
controlled Europe:
http://www.worldology.com/Europe/world_war_
2_imap.htm

Blitzkrieg (Lightning
War)

The Germans adopted a

war tactic called
blitzkrieg, which means
lightning war.
A characteristic of
blitzkrieg was a highly
mobile infantry and
armor working together.

Battle of Britain

Next, in the summer & autumn of 1940, Hitler

sent his planes to bomb Great Britain. The
British fought back with their own air force.
This became known as the Battle of Britain.
The Battle of Britain was the 1st major battle
to be fought entirely by air forces.

Battle of Britain

German Luftwaffe (Air Force) vs. Great Britains

Royal Air Force (RAF).

Battle of Britain

Citizens of Great Britain had to take cover

daily during German bombing raids.

Battle of Britain

Londons subways became home to thousands

during the bombings.

Winston
Churchill

Winston Churchill
became Prime
Minister of Britain in
1940.
During the Battle of
Britain, Churchill
encouraged the
British people to
resist the Nazis.
The British Bulldog

Betrayal

In June 1941, Hitler turned on his ally &

invaded the Soviet Union.
The Battle of Stalingrad begins. It lasted from
July 17, 1942 February 2, 1943!
The battle was the bloodiest in the history
of warfare.
Combined casualties of 2 million people.

Battle of
As winter set in, the
Stalingrad
Germans found
themselves vulnerable to
Soviet attacks.
For the 1st time in the war,
Hitlers army was forced
to retreat.

Other Side of the

World

In late 1941, Japan was taking control of

Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Seeing the U.S. as a possible enemy, Japanese
leaders attempted to destroy the U.S. naval
fleet in the Pacific.
On December 7, 1941, Japan launched an air
attack on the naval base of Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii.

Japan Prepares for the

Attack

Pearl Harbor,
Hawaii

Attack on Pearl Harbor,

Hawaii

Interactive Attack
Map

Remembering Pearl Harbor @

nationalgeographic.com

Pearl Harbor Attack

Facts

Japanese force consisted of six carriers with 423

planes.
Eighteen U.S. ships were hit.
Casualties included 2,335 servicemen and 68
civilians.
More than 180 U.S. aircraft were destroyed.
During the attack, the USS Arizona sank with a
loss of more than 1,100 men.

USS Arizona
Memorial

World
Consequences

THE NEXT DAY, December 8, 1941,

President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked
Congress to declare war on Japan.
Great Britain also declared war on Japan.
3 days later, Germany & Italy (both allies with
Japan) declared war on the U.S.
In response, Congress declared war on both
countries!

Holocaust

In 1942, Adolf Hitler ordered

the destruction of Europes
entire Jewish population.
The Nazi genocide, the
planned killing of a race of
people, is called the
Holocaust.
6 million Jews and millions
of non-Jews were persecuted
and murdered.

by the Nazi regime and its followers.

Hitler believed that Germans were racially superior and that

Jews were inferior and a threat to the German Society.

Hitler blamed the Jews for everything:

1. Defeat in WWI
2. The Great Depression
3. Fall of Czar in Russia

At the beginning of WWII, Jews were taken from their

homes and sent to live in ghettoes or concentration (death)
camps.

Those who could work were forced into slave labor.

Those who could NOT work were sent to gas chambers and
killed.

Hitler also killed mentally ill people and physically handicapped

people claiming they were unworthy of life .

2:3 Ratio
Hitler killed 2 out of every 3
Jews.

Many Europeans ignored or refused to believe what was happening

during the holocaust. Some people still deny that the Holocaust ever
occurred to this day.

Oskar Schindler
Some brave Europeans tried to save Jews
from being killed.

TERMS TO KNOW:
1. Anti-Semitism hatred of Jews
2. Genocide planned killing of a
race of people.
3. Holocaust Greek word
meaning sacrifice by fire.

Auschwitz Virtual Tour

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/gen
ocide/launch_ani_auschwitz_map.shtml

Conflict

At the time of
Stalingrad, American &
British forces defeated
the Germans in North
Africa.

In the Pacific, Japan

lost several important
battles.
Led by the U.S., allied
forces, including
Australia & New
Zealand, began to
regain some of the
Pacific islands Japan
had taken.

The Allies Go Island

Hopping

Island by island, the

Allies slowly pushed
the Japanese forces
back across the
Pacific Ocean.

Italy Crumbles

Summer of 1943 Allies

capture the Italian island
of Sicily
Italians forced Mussolini
to resign.
Italys new leader
dissolved the Fascist Party.
September 1943- Italy
agreed to stop fighting the
Allies.

Mussolini alive and

dead. He is the person
farthest on the right.

Allies Invade
Europe

On June 6, 1944, Allied

forces landed on the
beaches of Normandy
in NW France.
This is known as
D-Day.
It was a success, but at
a heavy cost of life.

D-Day

D-Day

Allies Advance Towards

Germany

August 1944 Allies

liberate (free) Paris
Fall of 1944 Allies
on German Border
Winter of 1944-1945
Battle of the Bulge in
Belgium

Battle of the
Bulge

December 16, 1944

January 25, 1945
Last German offensive
move of the war
Americans held strong &
defeated the Germans

End of the War in

Europe
With the Americans

attacking from the west

and the Soviet Red Army
attacking from the east,
the Nazi defenses fell
apart.
On April 30, 1945, with
Berlin surrounded, Adolf
Hitler committed suicide.
A week later, Germany
surrendered.

FDR Dies/End of War

Nears

On April 12, 1945President Franklin D.

Roosevelt dies.

On April 12, 1945President Harry Truman

takes command.

A New Weapon Ends the

War

President Truman decided to end the war with

a deadly, new weapon- the atomic Bomb.
August 6, 1945- U.S. drops an atomic Bomb
on Hiroshima, Japan
August 9, 1945- U.S. drops another Atomic
Bomb on Nagasaki, Japan
5 days later Japan surrendered
Surrender Ceremony happened on September
2, 1945 aboard USS Missouri officially
ending WWII

Atomic Bomb

Mushroom cloud of
the atomic bombing
of Nagasaki, Japan
Cloud rose 11 miles
above the ground
Atomic Bomb Fat
Man

Japan Surrender on USS

Missouri

Hitler-Jugend
(Hitler Youth)
Motto: Blut und Ehre
(Blood and Honor)

Its Beginnings

HJ existed from 1922-1945.

HJ was the second oldest group in the Nazi
Party.
Hitlerjugend male youth ages 14-18.
Deutsches Jungvolk male youth 10-14.
Bund Deutscher (BDM: the League of German
Girls) all children to adulthood.

Translation: Youth serves the

leader. All ten year-olds into
Hitler Youth.

Why The Young?

Hitler

wanted to build a master

race. The children of Germany
were viewed by Hitler as his future
hope for such success.
Children were also more naturally
teachable and would therefore be
more easily molded by Hitler than
older adults.
Children could also be of future
use in his war efforts.

Hitlers Future

How Did Hitler Control His Youth?

Hitler used his image as a father figure. In traditional

German homes, you were to obey your father without
question.
Hitler used an organized program to keep his kids
occupied.
Hitler made certain that children were kept as ignorant
as possible. The more ignorant children are, the less likely
they are to question authority.
Hitler gathered the children into frequent rallies. Youth
rallies can have a strong peer pressure effect.

How Did Hitler Control His Youth?

Hitler used uniforms. By enforcing a dress code, Hitlers

youth were taught to act and think the same.
Hitler used the Jews as a focus of blame.
Hitler used a propaganda program. He did this to make
sure only his ideas were advanced.
Hitler installed spies within these ranks of children.
Hitlers children were taught to distrust each other and to
only trust Hitler.

HJ Training- The New Boy Scouts

The HJ put more emphasis on physical and military

training than on academic study.
After the boy scout movement was banned through
German-controlled countries, the HJ borrowed many
of its activities, but changed the content and their
intentions.
They now practiced weapons training, assault courses,
and other military training.
Some cruelty by the older boys toward the younger ones
was tolerated and even encouraged, since it was
believed this would weed out the unfit and harden the
rest.

HJ Training

HJ Training

HJ Membership
From 1936, membership
in the HJ was mandatory
for all young German men.
HJ was also seen as
an important stepping
stone to future
membership of the elite
Schutzstaffel (the SS).

HJ Membership:

At the end of 1933, the HJ had 2,300,000 members.

By December 1936, HJ membership was just over 5
million. That same month, HJ membership became
mandatory for all Aryans.
In 1939, HJ membership was required even when it
was opposed by the members parents.
By 1940, HJ had 8 million members.

HJ members in
1933

League of German Girls

HJ Organization

HJ was organized into local cells on a community

level. Such cells had weekly meetings at which
various Nazi doctrines were taught by adult HJ
leaders.
Regional leaders typically organized rallies and
field exercises in which several dozen HJ
community groups would participate.

HJ Organization

The largest HJ
gathering usually
took place annually,
at Nuremberg.
Members from all
over Germany would
converge for the
annual Nazi Party
rally.

Nuremberg Rally

Nuremberg Rally

HJ in WWII

By 1943, Nazi leaders began turning the HJ into a

military reserve to draw manpower which had
been decreased due to huge military losses.
Some HJ units were known for their ferocity and
fanaticism for fighting to the very end.

After World War II

The

HJ was disbanded by Allied authorities as

part of the denazification process.
Some HJ members were suspected of war
crimes, but because they were children, no serious
efforts were made to prosecute them.

1945 marked the end of Hilter Jugend forever.