Global Outline Chapter 37: New Conflagrations: World War II

Intro U.S. marine Victor Tolley heard news of Hiroshima attack via Saipan (U.S. Island) radio Then heard news of Nagasaki- happy that war might be over- later, was sent to occupy Japan Was told he would be very safe- when he got there, said it was just like walking into a tomb Tolley visited Japanese family, saw they lost family- for the 1st time he felt bad for Japanese War started w/ Japan invading Manchuria, ended with U.S. dropping bombs on Japan This total war was even more involved than WWI The Cold War and the atomic age that began after WWII ended complicated WWII recovery Allowed colonies to construct sovereign states and the U.S. & Soviet Union to gain power

I: Origins of World War II Japan, Germany, and Italy formed the Axis powers- also later included Japan Allied powers included France, Great Britain and its Commonwealth allies (Canada, Australia, New Zealand), the Soviet Union, China, the U.S. and its Latin American allies Japan, Italy, & Germany engaged in a campaign of expansion- broke inter natl cooperation Called the revisionist powers, because they revised the terms of the post-Great War peace They remilitarized & conquered territories deemed central to their needs- Allies didnt like

A: Japans War in China Global conflict began with Japans attacks on China- Manchuria first Japanese began to support the militarist position- civilians lost control of the govt & army League of Nations condemned Japans actions in Manchuria- Japan withdrew in 1933 Japan followed an ultranationalist and promilitary policy- saw territorial control essential 1937- Chinese/Japanese battle at Marco Polo Bridge in Beijing =1st undeclared war on China Japanese forces took over Shanghai and eventually the capital city, Nanjing Japanese used aerial bombing on the Chinese- caused mass death Rape of Nanjing- Japanese raped 7k women, murdered 100k+ unarmed soldiers & civilians, and burned 1/3 of the homes in Nanjing- 400k Chinese used for bayonet & gun practice Japanese aggression aroused feelings of Chinese nationalism Nationalists & communists agreed on a united front policy against the Japanese Were able to tie down half the Japanese army, 750,00 soldiers, but not their navy & air force Nationalists & communists clashed- made Chinese resistance less effective- fought own war Nationalists kept the Guomindang govt alive by moving inland to Chongqing Communists carried on guerrilla operations against the Japanese invaders- hit & run ops Communists got a lot of support and were poised to lead China- still didnt defeat Japanese Tripartite Pact- Japan became allies with Germany and Italy. Also had pact w/ Soviet Union Japan began to invade other European countries who struggled from the Great Depression Japan didnt face determined opposition to its expansion until 1941, conflict w/ the U.S.

B: Italian and German Aggression Italys expansionism helped spread WWII to the European continent They suffered greatly in WWI and expected recompense, got little- felt isolated from allies Mussolini said he would acquire territories that he was denied after the Great War Italy added Ethiopia to Libya, which created an overseas empire Also intervened in Spanish Civil War on the side of General Francisco Franco, whose army overthrew the govt and annexed Albania- Mussolini wanted it for expansion into Balkans Italy invaded Ethiopia- infuriated other nations, but League of Nations did little to help Angered b/c Mussolini sent in a huge army w/ tons of weapons, Ethiopians were unarmed Italys prospects for world glory never as bright as Japans b/c few Italians wanted to fight Germany undid the Treaty of Versailles and the fragile peace of the interwar years Many Germans were unhappy with the extremely harsh terms imposed on their nation Hitler referred to the signing of the 1918 armistice as November crime, blamed on many Hitlers aggressive foreign policy helped relieve the German publics feeling of war shame Withdrew from the League of Nations and reinstated universal military service in 1935 Joined Italy in Spanish Civil War, then in 1938 began expansion that led to WWII in Europe Germanys Anschluss (union) with Austria- Hitler took over Austria to unite Germans Hitler demanded the cession of Sudetenland to the German Reich- France & Britain allowed At the 1938 Munich Conference, came up with the police known as appeasement British & French govts made a promise that Hitler would cease further efforts to expand Britains primes minister Neville Chamberlain said the meeting achieved peace for time Hitler refused to obey and proceeded to occupy Czechoslovakia, then wanted Poland Britain & France guaranteed security of Poland, Stalin thought they were trying to deflect German aggression toward the Soviet Union Russia & Germany signed the Russian-German Treaty of Nonaggression- shocked the world Secret protocol divided eastern Europe into German and soviet spheres of influence

II: Total War: The World under Fire President Franklin Roosevelt delivered fireside chats- new kind of war War b/t Japan and China had already stretched over 8 years when other nations joined After the Soviet Union & the U.S. entered the war in 1941, it took on global proportions Almost every nation in the world had gone to war by 1945

A: Blitzkrieg: Germany Conquers Europe Aggressor nations avoided declaring war- instead, used surprise, stealthy, attacks German invaded Poland unannounced- relied on air force & on their mobility & speed Germany stunned the world with their Blitzkrieg (lightning war) and sudden victory In the Atlantic, the German Unterseeboote (U-boats) & British ship convoys battled British intelligence cracked Germanys secret code; couldnt always know location of Uboats U-boats began traveling in wolf packs to negate effectiveness of convoys protected by air Germany defeated Belgium & the Netherlands, then France signed an armistice This convinced Mussolini that the Germans were winning and it was time to enter the war Field Marshal Erwin Rommel- the war has become practically a lightning Tour De France!

Hitler had the French sign their armistice in the same railroad car the Germans signed theirs British tried to engineer a retreat at Dunkirk to get more Allied troops, but it failed The Germans launched the Battle of Britain, led by its air force, the Luftwaffe The Blitz rained bombs on heavily populated cities like London- killed more than 40k Britain prevented defeat, forcing Hitler to avoid plans to invade Britain By 1941, Hitler conquered many regions: Paris, Greece, north Africa, Balkans, and more

B: The German Invasion of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was the ultimate German target- could expel Jews, Slavs, and Bolsheviks Wanted the Soviet for more Lebensraum (living space)- Hitler said just kick in the door Operation Barbarossa was the code name for the June invasion of the Soviet Union Germany sent the most powerful invasion force in history to Soviet Union in 1941 Aided by Hungary, Finland, & Romania- Stalin & Red Army caught off guard- got Moscow With Moscow, Germany seemed assured of victory, but Blitzkrieg tactics failed Hitler underestimated Soviets- 150 German divisions faced 360 divisions of the Red Army 80% of Soviet factories manufacturing war material moved to the Ural Mountains for safety The Soviets received crucial equipment from their allies, especially trucks from the U.S. German soldiers unprepared for winter, while the Red Army was- many Germans died In the spring, German armies raced toward the Caucasus and the city of Stalingrad Stalin ordered his troops to fight a patriotic war for Russia, attempted to stall the Germans

C: Battles in Asia and the Pacific In 1939, U.S. instituted a cash-and-carry policy of supplying the British needed supplies In 1941, the lend-lease program lent destroyers and other war goods to the British in exchange for naval bases- the program later included aid to the Soviets, Chinese, and others 1940, backed by the German Vichy govt of France, Japan began to occupy French Indochina The U.S. responded by freezing Japanese assets in the U.S. & by a complete embargo on oil U.S. demanded the renunciation of the Tripartite Pact & withdrawal of Japanese from China 1941, defense minister general Tojo Hideki set in motion plans for war against U.S. & Britain On December 7, 1941, Japanese used aerial force to attack Pearl Harbor- hurt U.S. ships On December 11th, Hitler & Mussolini declared war on the U.S.- U.S. declared war on them U.S., Soviet, & Great Britain created two theaters of war, the European & Asian-Pacific After Pearl Harbor, Japanese attacked many other islands in the Pacific almost unopposed The surrender of British-held Singapore shattered any myths of European invincibility Japan used slogan Asia for Asians, saying they would free Asians from European countries Japan sought to build a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere to get more resources Asians soon realized that the real agenda was Asia for the Japanese

D: Defeat of the Axis Powers The entry of the Soviet Union and the United States was decisive and necessary Neither German nor Japanese war production matched that of the Allies The U.S. automotive industry produced more than 4 million armored supply vehicles Not until the U.S. join did the tide in the battle in the Atlantic turn in favor of the Allies

Although the German sank thousands of U.S. ships, U.S. built even more Liberty Ships By 1943, sonar, aircraft patrols, & escort aircraft finished the U-boat as a strategic threat The Germans lost momentum in Russia- Moscow never fell, battle for Stalingrad = 1st major Soviet victory. The Soviets pushed Germany out of Russia and advanced into Berlin By then, the Soviets had killed more than 6 million Germans British & the U.S. attacked Germans and forced Italy to withdraw from the Axis & join Allies On D-Day, June 6, 1944, British & U.S. troops landed on the French coast of Normandy Both sides suffered losses, but German resistance failed- they were constantly bombed British focused on bombing cities during the night, U.S. bombed industrial targets in the day The British firebombing raid on Dresden in 1945 literally cooked the Germans- 135k died Hitler committed suicide in 1945, then a week later the Germans surrendered He never lived to see the Soviet red flag flying over the Berlin Reichstag, the parliament bldg. Turning point in the Pacific war came in a naval engagement near the Midway Islands U.S. had a code-breaking operation known as Magic, which enabled a cryptographer monitoring Japanese radio frequencies to discover the plan to attack Midway U.S. attacked three Japanese carriers in a 5 minute strike- victory changed the war in Pacific Allies adopted an island-hopping strategy, capturing islands from which they could make direct air assaults on Japan- U.S. retook Marianas & Philippines, & then Iwo Jima & Okinawa On Okinawa the Japanese introduced the kamikaze- flew planes into ships Japanese flew 1,900 kamikaze missions- convinced many that Japan would never surrender The fall of Saipan & the conquest of Iwo Jima & Okinawa brought Japan homeland close The release of napalm firebombs during low-altitude strikes at night were very successful The firebombing of Tokyo in March destroyed 25% of the city & killed 100k people The final blows came on August 6 & 9 w/ the atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki The bombs killed upwards of 200,000 people Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August 8- persuaded Emperor Hirohito to surrender Japan surrendered on August 15th, war was officially over on September 2, 1945 These attacks many Japanese civilians- war was brought close to home

III: Life during Wartime The widespread bombing of civilian populations meant that tire was no safe home front So too did often brutal occupation forces in the wake of Japanese & German conquests In the war, civilian death tolls far exceeded military casualties- war = lots of human spirit

A: Occupation, Collaboration, and Resistance Axis forces imposed varying administration on conquered territories In Manchuoko, China, Burma, & the Philippines, Japanese installed puppet govts, which served as agents of Japanese rule Thailand remained an independent state after it aligned itself with Japan- rewarded land Other territories were considered too unstable for self rule of too important to be left aloneIndochina, Malaya, D.E.I., Hong Kong, Singapore, Borneo, New Guinea under direct control In Europe, Hitlers racist ideology played a large role in determining how territories were administered- intended that most areas of western & northern Europe- populated by racially valuable people, according to him- would become a part of a Great Germanic Empire

The Vichy govt provided a prominent place for French willing to collaborate w/ Germans Most conquered territories came under direct military rule Japanese & German authorities administered their empires for economic gain They exploited the resources of the lands under their control for their own benefit Availed themselves of prisoners of war & local populations to be used as slaves These slave laborers worked under horrific conditions & received little in return The majority of people resented occupation forces but usually went on with normal life Some locals joined the govts imposed by their conquerors- collaboration allowed the locals some means to gain power- businesspeople became collaborates b/c they benefited Some locals became collaborators and turned in friends to get revenge for past grievances In western Europe, anticommunism motivated some to join units of Hitlers elite military formations, the Waffen SS- created a multinational army tens of thousands strong Local landowners & merchants in China set up trade networks b/t occupiers & the occupied Some people resisted in the form of sabotage, armed assaults, and assassinations Other resisters gathered intelligence, protected refugees, or passed stealthy newspapers In Netherlands, people associated the royal House of Orange w/ national independence They defiantly saluted traffic lights when they turned orange Resistance in Japan & Germany constituted an act of treason that might assist the enemy Many organizations that might have formed the core of resistance in Japan were weak Act of resistance against the Nazi regime was when some ppl tried to bomb Hitler, but failed When members of the Czech resistance assassinated Reinhard Heydrich, the deputy leader of the SS (Nazi security agency that carried out most criminal tasks), the Nazis eliminated the entire village of Lidice as punishment- killed all men & women, not children After Chinese laborers escaped from their camp in Hanaoka, Japanese killed many of them Attempts to eradicate resistance movements in many instances increased rebellions Life in resistance movements entailed great hardship- risking death, etc. to fight for liberty

B: The Holocaust The Holocaust annihilated millions of Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, communists, etc. For centuries Jewish communities had been singled out by Christian society as a problem When the Nazi regime took over, there was widespread tolerance for anti-Jewish measures Jews were considered outsiders and were rarely defended by anyone Initially, the regime encouraged Jewish emigration- many emigrated, many were unable to Nazi racial experts thought about deporting Jews to Nisko (Poland) or Madagascar The concentration of Jews in one area led to the possibility of a new Jewish state When the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union, Hitler dispatched 3k troops in mobile detachments known as SS Einsatzgruppen (action squads) to kill Jews and Roma (Gypsies) Nazi regime committed to the final solution- attempted murder of every Jew in Europe At the Wannsee Conference of 1942, Nazi leaders gathered to discuss the final solution They agreed to evacuate all Jews from Europe to camps in eastern Poland, then killed Jews transported to the camps via train cars- many died b/c they were overcrowded In many extermination camps, Jews were killed by gassing- 1m died in Auschwitz (largest) Nazi personnel subjected victims to industrial work, experiments, & outright extermination Used the fast-acting crystallized prussic acid Zyklon B as a gassing agent

The Germans constructed large crematories to hide the evidence of their crimes War crime tribunals later termed this a crime against humanity Many Jews couldnt resist because they were starved, had diseases, or were mistreated Still, thousands of Jews joined anti-Nazi partisan groups while others led rebellions in camps Ghetto uprisings also took place, like the one in the Warsaw ghetto in 1943 Approximately 5.7 million Jews perished in the Holocaust

C: Women and the War U.S. ambassador to London said, This war, more than any other, is a womans war A poster encouraged U.S. women to join the WAVES (Women Appointed for Volunteer Emergency Service in the navy) said the same thing: Its A Womans War Too! Great Britain and the U.S. barred women from engaging in combat Women excelled at resistance work b/c they were less suspect in eyes of occupying forces Nazi forces didnt discriminate, though- Jewish women & girls died alongside Jewish men Women who joined the war effort gained an independence & confidence previously denied So too did women who were forced to act as heads of household in absence of their husband Womens roles changed dramatically during the war- after war, expected to return mother In Britain, women were noncombatant pilots, ambulance drivers, labored in the fields, etc. Approximately 500k women joined the British military, and 350k joined the U.S. military Japanese forcibly recruited 200k women age 14-20 to serve in military brothels called comfort houses or consolation centers- majority came from Korea and China Once forced into this prostitution service, the comfort women did 20-30 men each day They war often stationed in war zones ad faced the same risks as soldiers The comfort houses were inspired by the Rape of Nanjing Comfort women who survived were often shunned by their families & found little peace

IV: Neither Peace nor War The end of WWII produced moving images of peace, like Victor Tolley w/ Japanese family A sense of common humanity refused to die in this deadliest of wars The 2 strongest powers after WWII, the Soviet Union and the U.S., played a large role in shaping, influencing, and rebuilding the postwar world Each sought to create a world sympathetic to Soviet communist or U.S. capitalism

A: Postwar Settlements and Cold War Victory in Europe (V-E) and Victor in Japan (V-J) day- people danced in the streets At least 60 million people perished in WWII- world was in great need of reconstruction At the end of the war in Europe, 8 million Germans fled across the Elbe River to surrender or to seek refuge in the territories soon to be occupied by Great Britain & the U.S. Many were afraid of torture or capture by the Red Army and Soviet occupiers Many prisoners of war were making their way home- massive population shift At the same time, the cold war b/t the Soviet Union and the U.S. began Defined the postwar era as one of political, ideological, and economic hostility b/t the 2 Hitler predicted that communist Soviets, imperial Brits, and democratic U.S. wouldnt ally

Even after anticommunist Harry S. Truman became president, Alliance held Winston Churchill said that if Hitler invaded Hell, he would favor the Devil Differences of opinion over postwar settlements arose at conferences of Yalta & Potsdam At Yalta, Roosevelt convinced Stalin to enter the war shortly after Germany surrendered Also agreed that major war criminals would be tried before an international court However, main issue centered on how to deal w/ liberated countries of eastern Europe They agreed to the earliest possible establishment through free elections of govts The Potsdam Conference focused on the immediate Allied control of Germany & Austria Stalin controlled so much territory that Churchill & Roosevelt couldnt alter his plans The Soviets suppressed noncommunist political parties & prevented democracy in Poland Soviets took over parts of Germany, their allies took over other parts B/c of the hostility b/t the Soviets & their allies, no peace treaty was signed w/ Germany These haphazard postwar territorial arrangements had solidified into a divided Germany Churchill said an iron curtain fell on Europe- communist nations controlled by the Soviet Union on one side, and the capitalist nations of western Europe on the other The Truman doctrine drew the battle lines of the cold war U.S. then committed itself to an interventionist foreign policy to containment of communism This basically meant stopping any further expansion of Soviet influence U.S. sent money to Greece & Turkey to help avoid communism U.S. & Soviets provided economic & military aid to nations within its sphere of influence

B: Global Reconstruction and the United States The European Recovery Program, AKA the Marshall Plan (after George C. Marshall), proposed to rebuild European economies through cooperation & capitalism Marshall plan provided more than $13 billion to reconstruct western Europe The Soviet Union established the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) It offered increased trade within the Soviet Union & eastern Europe- response to Marshall The U.S.-sponsored North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Soviet-controlled Warsaw Pact signaled the militarization of the cold war The intent of NATO was to maintain peace in postwar Europe through collective defense When NATO admitted West Germany, Soviets formed the Warsaw Pact as a countermeasure U.S. & Soviet Union wanted to create alliances that would help support their way of life The territorial rearrangements of postwar world allowed a vast field in which to compete Both the U.S. & the Soviet Union agreed to the creation of the United Nations (UN) The commitment to establish a new international organization came from Allied cooperation during the war In 1944, China, Great Britain, Soviet Union, & U.S. finalized the organization at Dumbarton Oaks in Washington, D.C. Final version was created by delegates from 50 nations at UN Conference in San Francisco However, the cold war dominated postwar reconstruction efforts Cold war remained cold for the most part- mostly ideological & propaganda campaigns War came close to warming up when Chinese communists gained victory over nationalists, thereby joining the Soviets as a major communist power. Tensions also heated in Korea Soviet Union developed an atomic bomb in 1949, & world held its breath to prevent war