Backdoor to War Conspiracy
- Roosevelt wanted to go through the back door to Germany, through Japan-forcing them into a corner to attack us
- Roosevelt let Pearl Harbor happen-he knew about it
- Never been any proof of this-all conspiracy
Douglas MaCarthur
- Forced WWI soldiers out of DC
Eisenhower
Bataan Death March
- A march of 100s of miles
- Extreme heat
- 10,000 Filipinos and 250 US POWs died
- Going to a slave labor/POW camp
Doolittle’s Raid
- Roosevelt’s idea
- US bombs Tokyo
- Thought it was a suicide mission and it served no purpose
- Do it to damage their morale and belief of invincibility
- Wanted to give hope and raise spirits of Americans
Tuesday: notes
Battle of Coral Sea
- First turning point in Pacific
- Battle ended in a Stalemate
- Considered to be more of a US victory as it was the first time Japan’s advance had been stopped
- US on left, Japan on right
Battle of Midway
- We broke Japanese code and knew the attack was coming
- We prepared and took out a lot of their navy
Kamikazes
- Japanese suicide bombers that would fly into ships
Battle of Leyte Gulf-Philippines
- US took the Philippines over again
- We demolished Japan’s navy
MacArthur’s Return to the Philippines
Iwo Jima
- 90% of Japanese soldiers died
- They fought to the death-generals would torture them, they the committed suicide
- A bitter battle-6,821 US deaths at Iwo Jima
Okinawa
Summer 1945-Preparing for the Invasion of Japan
- Operation Downfall
- Planned for October 1945
- Estimated over 1 million casualties
- Estimated 267,000 deaths
- Why did this never take place?
- Atomic bombs
- Turned into the Manhattan Project
Trinity Test
- Code name for testing of atomic bomb
- New Mexico
- Told the press it was an ammunition dump exploding
Enola Gay
- B29-superfortress
- Named after pilot's mother
- Target was the T shape bridge in hiroshima--it stayed up
- 12 POWs-all died
Wednesday: notes
Young People’s Involvement
- Japanese Army mobilized 1,780 boys aged 14-17 years into front line service
- The ordinances mobilized students as a volunteer soldiers
- In reality, the military authorities ordered schools to force almost all students to “volunteer” as soldiers
- About half of these soldiers were killed
Atomic Bomb
- Hiroshima
- Shadows
Nagasaki Bomb
- “Fat Man”
- Bockscar
- Most people died
- Were told not to drop bomb unless you can see the target (Nagasaki wasn’t a target)
- The first 2 targets were covered by clouds
- They were concerned about running out of gas
- Doesn’t hit the target-slowed the blast radius
- Bomb landed in a hilly area
- The pilots were court martialed, but were saved because Japan surrendered a few days later
VJ Day
- August 14/15, 1945 (official UK)
- September 2, 1945 (official for US)
- When Japan officially signed on USS Missouri
Potsdam Conference July 1945
- The US, Great Britain, and China issued the Potsdam Declaration
- Announced the terms for Japan’s surrender
- “We will not deviate from them. There are no alternatives”
- Dismantle the current government of Japan (excluding Emperor Hirohito)
- The Allies (US) will occupy Japan
- Japan will consist only of the major islands (Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku). It will lose all territory gained in WWII and years leading up to it
- Japanese military forces will be disarmed and allowed to return home
- There will be a war crimes trials for the atrocities committed by Japan throughout WWII
Thursday: notes
Potsdam continued
- Democracy will be promoted as well as Freedom of speech religion, and of thought, as well as respect for fundamental human rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948)
- Japan will be allowed to have industry so they can make money to pay war reparations. World trade will also be enabled at some point
- Allied (US) occupation of Japan will end once Japan accomplishes all the above points
Italy:
Italy’s WWII Story-Benito Mussolini-Il Duce
Italy after WWI
- Italy was displeased with the Treaty of Versailles
- Wanted to get more land than they got
- Italy joined the League of Nations and was a member from 1919 until they withdrew in 1937
Washington Naval Conference
- 5 power pact
- 9 power pact
March on Rome
- A march by Benito Mussolini’s National Fascist Party
- Mussolini and the Fascists won and took over Italy
King Victor Emmanuel
- Did not fight Mussolini’s take over in Italy
- Wanted to avoid a civil war and also wanted to keep Communists out of Italy
- Mussolini was the “real” leader
Mussolini and the Catholic church
- In 1929, the Lateran Accords were signed
- Gave the Vatican specific territories in Rome
- Catholicism became the state religion-
- Separation of church and state was stopped
- Recognition of religious marriages for the first time since 1870
- Catholic church was given a lot of money
- What did Mussolini get?
- Official support from the Catholic church
Established Fascism in Italy
- A government led by a strong dictator
- Stressed strong nationalism, militarism, and imperialism
- Wanted to dominate the Mediterranean sea area and Africa
- Re establish the Roman Empire
- Used intimidation to get what they want
Ethiopia invaded by Mussolini
- Italy lost its Ethiopia colony in Africa at the 1896 battle of Adwa
- One of the worst colonial disasters of modern history
- In 1935, Italy sends large forces into Ethiopia
-League of nations condemns the action.
-Arms embargo, financial embargo, non-importation of Italian goods.
-To try to punish Italy.
-In response to this situation, FDR signed the 1936 Neutrality Act
- Mandatory arms embargo with warring nations
- Mandatory can on loans to warring nations
-Italy 1936 occupied Addis Ababa- annexed all Ethiopia on May 9
Mustard Gas:
-Mustard gas had been used in World War one.
-It had been outlawed after that.
-He used mustard gas against the ethiopians.
Generalissimo Francisco Franco and the spanish civil war:
-Hitler and Mussolini send troops and weapons to help Franco win the civil war against the communists.
-This war served as an important training ground for Hitler’s and Mussolini’s troops.
Rome-Berlin Axis:
-In 1936, Germany officially signed it.
-Tripartite pact is signed forming the axis powers in 1940.
Italy’s Goals in WWII:
-They wanted to make a new Roman Empire
-Mussolini said that he wanted to Make the Mediterranean an “Italian Lake”
-Take over North African colonies of Britain and France-especially Egypt.
-Take over southeastern Europe-Greece and Albania
-Take over parts of the Middle East
-
-Operation Torch- the invasion of North Africa
-Operation Avalanche- we invade Sicily first and then the people of Italy got sick and tired and they decided to kick Mussolini out and they then became a part of the Allies.
-After he tried to flee, Mussolini and his Mistress, Claretta Petacci and hanged in Milan, 1945.
Italy and the Holocaust:
-In 1938, Mussolini instituted laws discriminating the Jews
-There were 46,000 Jews in Italy at the time
-After the fascist government fell when the US invaded (1943), the Germans moved in and tok control and started shipping Jews to camps outside of Italy.
Why did Italy Lose?
-Italy wasn’t prepared militarily to fight a prolonged war
-Germany had to constantly bail Italy out.
-Italian troops were spread too thin-Afric, Mediterranean, Albania, Greece, Soviet Union, France, Battle of Britain.
-The people of Italy were not prepared to fight or motivated to fight. They were forced to fight.
-Overall, Italy was just a weak country.
Impact WWII had on Italy:
-410,000 dead- 330,000 Military deaths
-Spent $94 billion
-Italy had joined the Allies by 1943 so the big concern for the US was making sure Italy became a democracy after the war and not fall to communism.
-US gave millions of dollars to Italy(Marshall Plan) to help rebuild after the war.
-Became a member of NATO in 1949
-Became a member of the United Nations in 1955.
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Germany:
-One People, One Empire, One Leader
-Fuhrer- Leader
-The swastika was not invented by the Nazis. It had been around for centuries in different cultures around the world.
Treaty of Versailles:
-Woodrow Wilson was there and he took his 14 points with him.
-They were about making the world better.
-France were not fans of the 14 points.
-Each country had their own agenda and that agenda was punishing Germany
-Germany lost a lot of land to countries that surround it.
-Territorial
-The following land was taken away from Germany:
-Alsace-Lorraine (given to france)
-Eupen and Malmedy (given to Belgium)
-Northern Schleswig (given to Denmark)
-Hultschin (given to Czechoslovakia)
-West Prussia, Posen, and Upper SIlesia (given to poland)
-The league of nations also took control of germany's overseas colonies
-Germany had to return to Russia land taken in the treaty og Brest-litovsk
-Military
-Germany’s army was reduced to 100,000 men;
-Germany’s army was not allowed tanks
-Germany was not allowed to have an air force
-Germany was allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines
-The Rhineland was made into a demilitarized zone (DMZ) -No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone.
-The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years.
--3.23.18
-Financial
-The loss of territory was a severe blow to Germany’s economy
-Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular
-Germany had to pay 3 Billion to the Allies (GB/France)
-General
-1. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war.
-This was clause 231- the infamous “War Guilt Clause”
-2. Germany was forbidden to unite with austria.
-3. A league of nations was set up to keep world peace
The German Reaction to the Treaty of Versailles:
-There was anger throughout Germany when the terms were made public.
-The treaty was seen by many Germans as being forced on them and the Germans had no choice but to sign it
-German representatives in Paris knew that they had no choice as Germany was incapable of restarting the war again
-Many right wing groups such as the nazis believed in the Dolchstoss theory (Stab in the Back Theory)
-Blamed the “November Criminals” (the Weimar Republic) for accepting treaty.
Weimar Republic:
-President elected every 7 years
-Article 48 allows him to make laws without Parliament in an emergency
Adolf Hitler:
-Born in AUstria in 1889
-Fmaily moved from Austria to Germany when he was 3
-He had 5 siblings, but 3 died in infancy
-Mom- Klara
-Dad- Alois
-His brother, EDmund, died in 1900
-After his brother’s death, Hitler changed and became more moody and withdrawn
-Had more issues at school and with his dad
-His dad died in 1903 and hus om died in 1907
-All 3 deaths had a huge impact on the young Hitler
-In Mein Kampf, Hitler said he first became anti-semitic during his time in Vienna, Austria.
Vienna, Austria 1905-1913:
-Hitler failed to get into the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna two different times
-Started selling paintings in the streets of Vienna
-Failed his examination to get into the Austro-HUngarian army in 1914
-Moved to MUnich, Germany and joined the German army when WWI broke out in 1914.
After WWI:
-Hitler starts spying on the new Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi) for the German military
-Hitler quickly realized that this group discussed topics that he believed in
-Hitler dropped out of the military and joined the Nazi party and quickly rose to become the leader
-Hitler found out that he had the power of speech and persuasion during this time.
Beer Hall Putsch:
-He goes into Munich and assumes that he is going to go in and take over the government but it does not go down that way and he is thrown in prison for treason.
-sentenced for 5 years and served 9 months for good behavior
Hitler's Rise to power:
-Hitler is appointed to chancellor in 1933
-President Paul von Hindenburg dies shortly after and HItler dissolves the Weimar Republic
-He drops out of the league of nations
-Starts rearming Germany and rebuilding their military, going against the treaty of Versailles.
-Rearms the German Rhineland area.
Anschluss with Austria: (1938)
-He annexed Austria
-They had very close history with Germany.
-They were kind of forced into it
Munich Conference:
-Neville Chamberlain- Great Britain
-”Peace for our time”
-Hitler was given the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia
-Hitler promised that he was done taking over territories
-Hitler wanted to reunite all German speaking people
-Became known as the “Policy of Appeasement”
-Winston Churchill opposed agreement
Hitler takes over all of Czechoslovakia
-After the conference, he plans to take over the rest of Czech
-In March of 1939, he takes it.
-Czech President Hacha’s meeting with Hitler- March 1939
-Hitler asks to meet in Munich
-Czech president goes to Munich and begs Hitler to not take over his country
-Hitler yells at him and verbally attacks him
-Hacha gets so nervous that he faints
-Hacha signs on the dotted line and turns his country over to the Germans.
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact:
-Russia gave raw materials to Germany in exchange for money and weapons
-Both agreed to stay neutral if the other entered the war
-Secretly agreed to invade and split poland. Germany would get the western half and USSR, the eastern half’
-Russia would get finland, Estonia, and Latvia, and Germany would get Lithuania.
How did the world react to the pact?:
-They were shocked
-Poland was stuck “between a rock and a hard place”
-Hitler thought it would force Great Britain and France to back out of their promise to help Poland if attacked
Blitzkrieg-Lightning War:
-Air bombers would drop down and try to take out as many soldiers and other things as possible.
-They were trying to make them as weak as possible and make it hard for them to communicate and to fight.
-Air force attacks enemy front-line and rear positions, main roads, airfields, and communication centers. At the same time, infantry attacks on the entire frontline and engages enemy
-Tank(panzer) units breakthrough main lines of defense and advance deeper into enemy territory
-Infantry attacks enemy flanks in order to link up with other groups to complete the attack and eventually encircle the enemy
-Mechanized groups to go deeper into the enemy territory outflanking the enemy positions and preventing withdrawing troops and defenders from establishing effective defensive positions
-Main force links up with other units encircling and cutting off the enemy
-Goal was to achieve victory as quickly as possible
-everyone declared war, but nothing was happening.
The invasion of Norway:
-They had to go across the north sea to invade norway
-The British were in control of the north sea, so they had to go under the sea, but their above sea warfare was not as good, so that hurt them.
-one small negative thing that happened to Germany
-They invaded france through Belgium
France’s “Impenetrable” Maginot line:
-It was an impressive defensive fortification line
-But they made it through by offense, so Germany made it through.
Miracle of Dunkirk:
-Anyone with a boat was going to go to Dunkirk and getting as many soldiers as they can on their little boats to take them to their bigger military ships.
France surrenders:
-June 1940
A Divided France: The Vichy Government
-Led by Henri Petain
-In southern France- pro nazi part of france
-An Ally of Adolf Hitler
The French Resistance:
-The Free French Underground
-The maquis
-General Charles De Gaulle
Nazi goals for the battle of britain:
-Destroy the royal air force (before invasion was possible)
-Attack and destroy the British Navy
-Attack british troops
-Once air control was gained, the invasion of Great Britain would begin
-Germany never succeeded in one
-German bombers did so poorly against the RAF that they started bombing at night only
-Great Britain was aided heavily by the radar and ultra
Royal Air Force:
-They ultimately saved great britain and potentially the world
Luftwaffe:
-He eventually committed suicide after the war was over
-He was a famous Nazi
Air Raid Shelters During the Blitz:
-Most of the kids were sent out to the countryside to get away from the bombing.
Results:
-In May 1941, Germany decided to focus on attacking British ships and ports and thus stopped attacking cities
-British losses around 40,000 civilians dead
-46,000-139,000 injured
-Britain won by the fact that Germany did not achieve their goals
German invasion of USSR- June, 1941:
-Final Plan for operation Barbarossa
Scorched Earth Policy:
-Stalin demanded this of the Soviet troops as they retreated
Battle for Moscow:
-The Soviet Winter COunteroffensive December 6, 1941- April 30, 1942.
-The Russian winter sets in and makes a huge turning point in the war.
-The Germans were not prepared for it.
-The Russians had better equipment for the weather.
-Germany never gets to Moscow
Battle of Stalingrad:
-They needed to save the city for name's sake.
-It had Stalin's name on it, they could not lose it.
-He ordered not to retreat or they would be shot
-More than 1,830,000 killed or wounded
-More than 11400 casualties each day
-The biggest defeat in the history of the German army
-The turning point not only on the Eastern front, but also the turning point of the whole of WWII.
Siege of Leningrad:
-On AUgust 30th, 1941, the Germans took over Leningrad’s railroads cutting them off from the rest of Russia and the world.
-Unlike the Battle of Stalingrad, the Germans surrounded the city to starve the city into submission
-Between November 1941 and October 1942, 641,000 people died of starvation.
-People resorted to eating rats, wallpaper paste and some resorted to cannibalism
-Ultimately Stalingrad saved Leningrad.
-A successful Russian counter-offensive at Stalingrad forced the Germans to move troops there and eventually, the siege failed.
-The Germans never took Leningrad, but it was one of the most costly conflicts Russia had ever faced- over one million died.
Operation Torch- November 1942:
-US and British forces invade North Africa
-By May 1943, Axis forces surrendered in North Africa
-The campaign would now shift to the islands in the Mediterranean Sea and Italy
The Allies liberate Rome:
-June 5th 1944
Atlantic Wall:
-To guard against an Allied invasion of Europe, Adolf Hitler ordered the laying of millions of mines and miles of barbed wire and poured tons of concrete to create a defensive barrier along the western coast of Europe.
-It made D day difficult
D-Day:
-Operation overlord was the military code name
-General Eisenhower was the commander of all allied forces in Europe
-June 6, 1944
-Utah beach, Omaha beach, Golf beach, Juno beach, Sword beach- some of the beaches
-We sent out fake information to make it look like the attack was going somewhere else.
-There was a fake crew, which were a bunch of balloons.
-They were designed to fake out Hitler and it worked
-He moved a lot of troops down there
July 20, 1944- Assassination Plot:
-A lot of Germans were not in love with Hitler and his beliefs
-Major Claus von Stauffenberg
-A group of German men attempted and failed an assassination
-They were later put to death for it
The Liberation of PAris:
-August 25, 1944
-It was a huge celebration
The Battle of the Bulge:
-Hitler’s last offensive
-Hitler decides to launch a massive offensive
-His goal was to try to force allied forces to the sea, so that he could come back around and take paris again
US and Russian SOldiers meet at the Elbe River in Germany:
-April 25, 1945
-We knew that we were days/ weeks away from the end of the war
-It was a celebration
Hitler commits suicide:
-April 30, 1945
-Him and his wife took cyanide and hitler also shot himself
-Germany is days away from surrender
V-E Day:
-May 8, 1945
-Big celebration
The Holocaust:
-It wasn’t just Jews it was a lot of groups of people
-The genocide of approximately 6 million European Jews during World War II
-A program of systematic state-sponsored extermination by Nazi Germany throughout Nazi-occupied territory
-Approximately ⅔ of nine million Jews who had lived in Europe before the Holocaust died
-His plan was to exterminate all 9 million
-The definition of the holocaust can also include the Nazis killing of millions of people in other groups from germany and other occupied territory
-By this definition, the total number of holocaust victims would be between 11 million and 17 million people
What is Genocide?:
-Genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group, as such:
- Killing members of the group
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
- Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
- Forceful transferring children of the group to another group
What is the Aryan Race?:
-Nazis used term to refer to a so-called master race that originated around Germany
-Perfect Aryan was blonde, blue-eyed, tall and muscular
-The original term refers to a people speaking an Indo-European dialect
Who was Inferior According to Hitler?:
-Jew (6 million dead)
-Gypsies (500,000 t0 1.5 million)
-Mentally/physically handicapped people (75,000 to 250,000)
-Soviet Slavs/POWs/Troops- (16.5 million) Poles (2.5 million dead)
-Homosexuals (5-15 thousand dead)
-Communists/socialists/ (many but number not confirmed)
-Dark skinned people (death and forced sterilization)
-Mixed races
-Jehovah’s witnesses (2,500-5,000)
Lebensborn-Fount of Life:
-This program aimed to promote the growth of “superior” aryan populations by providing excellent health care and living conditions to women who were of the Aryan race
-Houses were set up throughout Germany and many occupied territories
-Many Lebensborn children were born to unwed mothers which helped lead to many rumors of rape
-Contrary to widespread rumors, women were not forced to have relations with Aryan Germans
Hitler's Jewish Question:
-What are we going to do with the Jews?
-His final solution was genocide
-Nazis “temporarily” suspended civil liberties for all citizens in 1933- never restored
-The Nazis set up the first concentration camp at Dachau in 1933. The first inmates are 200 Communists
-Jews are prohibited from working as civil servants, doctors in the National Health service, and teachers in public high schools. (Government jobs, doctors, teachers)
-Most Jewish students are banned from public high schools and colleges
Nuremberg Laws:
-1. Took away German citizenship from Jews thus making Jews second class citizens by removing their basic civil rights
-2. Defined the Jewish race as being anyone who either considered themselves Jewish or four Jewish grandparent.
-People with one or two Jewish grandparents were considered to be mixed race.
-Eventually anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent was at risk in Germany.
1936:
-Nazis boycott Jewish-owned businesses
Kristallnacht “Night of the Broken Glass”:
-The nazis went through the streets through jewish neighborhoods in Germany breaking windows and destroying things, burning synagogues, and stealing things.
-It was not about killing them but it was more about bringing them into concentration
1938:
-All Jewish children are expelled from public schools in Germany and AUstria
-Nazis take control of Jewish-owned businesses.
1939:
-Hitler orders the systematic murder of the mentally and physically disabled in Germany and Austria
-Jews are required to wear armbands or yellow stars
1940:
-Nazis begin deporting German Jews to Poland
-Jews are forced into ghettos
-Nazis begin the first mass murder of Jews in Poland
1941:
-Jews throughout Eastern Europe are forced into ghettos
-In two days, German units shoot 33,771 Ukrainian Jews at BabiYar- the largest single massacre of the Holocaust
-The death camp at Chelmno in Poland begins murdering Jews’
1942:
-Nazi officials announce "Final Solution"- their plan to kill all European Jews
-Five death camps begin operation in Poland: Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka, Belzec, and Auschwitz-Birkenau
-Ghettos of Eastern Europe are being emptied as thousands of Jews are shipped to death camps
-The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union acknowledge that Germans are exterminating the Jews of Europe
1943:
-Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto resist as the Nazis begin new rounds of deportations. These Jews hold out for nearly a month before the Nazis put down the uprising.
1944:
-Hitler takes over Hungary and begins deporting 12,000 Hungarian Jews each day to Auschwitz where they are murdered
1945:
-Hitler is defeated and World War II ends in Europe
-The holocaust is over and the death camps are emptied
-What happened to the Jews that survived?
-Many survivors are placed in displaced persons camps until they find a country willing to accept them
1947:
-The united nations establishes a Jewish homeland in British controlled Palestine, which becomes the state of Israel in 1948.
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