Most historians believe that the causes of World War II can be traced to World War I (1914-1918). Americans had fought in that earlier war to "make the world safe for democracy." Those were the words and goals of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. But the peace treaties that ended World War I did not make the world safe for democracy. Instead, they caused bitterness and anger that led to World War II.
Germany and its allies had been the losers in World War I. Germany was stripped of one sixth of its territory and forced to pay huge reparations (payments by a defeated country for the destruction it caused in a war). After World War I, Germany suffered from high unemployment and runaway inflation. German money became almost worthless. Many Germans seethed in anger at the peace treaty.
A League of Nations was set up after World War I to keep the peace. But the U.S. did not join, and other countries were too busy with their own problems to worry about Germany and other trouble spots.
Then, in the early 1930s, the world was hit by an economic depression. Workers lost their jobs, trade fell off, and times were hard. People looked for leaders who could bring about change.
Germany, Italy, and Japan all came under the rule of dictators or military leaders. A dictator named Mussolini took power in Italy in 1922. Military leaders took control of Japan in the early 1930s. In Germany, Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, gained power in 1933. These leaders promised to restore their countries to greatness. But they set up totalitarian governments. (A totalitarian government is controlled by a single political party that allows no opposition and tightly controls people's lives.)
Hitler began to arm Germany for war. Japan invaded China. Mussolini sent Italian troops to conquer Ethiopia, in Africa. None of the world's democracies did anything to stop them.
Hitler had a plan to conquer Europe. He began by taking Austria, then Czechoslovakia. Again, no one tried to stop him. As Winston Churchill, who became Britain's wartime leader, said, "Britain and France had to choose between war and dishonor. They chose dishonor. They will have war."
Churchill's words came true. In 1939, German troops invaded Poland. World War II in Europe had begun. The U.S. did not enter the war until December 1941, but once it did, it took a leadership role. U.S. troops fought in North Africa, Europe, and the Pacific. At home, Americans rolled up their sleeves to outproduce the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan) in the weapons of warplanes, battleships, and guns. Everyone did their part.
Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, ending the war in Europe. The war in the Pacific did not end until after the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan — the only time such bombs were ever used in war. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had led the U.S. in wartime, did not live to see peace. But in a speech written but never delivered, he spoke of the need to preserve peace: "Today we are faced with the preeminent [above all other] fact that, if civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships — the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together and work together in the same world, at peace."
Check out this video on V-E Day when Germany surrenders on May 7, 1945.
Watch this video on V-J Day when Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945.
This super short video shows the Top Ten Heroic Battles of WWII.
Last video on the end of the war.
Comment on the blog:
Tell us three things you learned that you did not know before.
Mrs. Tvedt did you know that a reporter about a year ago found the people that are kissing in the photo above.
ReplyDeleteReally?? I didn't know that!! I wonder how they found them?
DeleteI don't know how they found them, but I do know that the man in the photo recently passed away. Also the woman in the photo is a random nurse but he kissed her because he was so happy that the war was over!
DeleteI think it is really sad how he said this time reminds me of the time before war... I thought that it was sad before the war
ReplyDeleteI always thought that FDR was alive for the entire war, the thought of 55 million soldiers die is so scary and I hope that that won't ever happen again.
ReplyDeleteUgh I know right?
Delete3 new things i learned.
ReplyDeleteNumber one would be the fact that once the US finally entered the war they became the lead role. I new that they didn't enter until later, but I didn't realize how high up they became. Number 2: Germany was stripped of 1/6 of its territory from WWI. That's a lot! And finally, number three. When Hitler was arming Germany for war, and China was being invaded by Japan, and there were troops being sent to conquer Ethiopia, I did not know that not one of the democracies tried to stop any of them.
There is a lot of stuff I did not know because I did not do a lot of history before this class. Three things I learned were that 55 million people died in WWII, I also learned that they dropped two bombs not one, and that Hitler committed suicide I had heard that before but it did not really sink in.
ReplyDeleteWhat's crazy is that we also had two more atomic bombs in waiting. They were scheduled for August 9 and August 13. Also, Hitler got married the day before he killed himself to a woman named Eva Braun. She killed herself alongside him but she wanted her body to look pretty so she bit into a cyanide pill rather than shooting herself. Hitler, though, wanted the best of both worlds, so he bit into a pill while shooting himself.
DeleteI learned this from Hitler's last days. It's an awesome book.
Three things i learned were that 55 million people died during WWII, the battle to Kursk was the largest tank battle in history, and that 2 bombs were dropped to end the war not just 1.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that (1) Mussolini was captured and then killed, (2) Mussolini death caused Italian Fascists surrender, (3) That the Soviets helped ending the war by invading Asia.
ReplyDeleteThe 3 things I learned:
ReplyDelete1) Hundreds of thousands of people poured into American churches to give thanks to God after the war.
2) FDR passed away before the end of the war.
3) 55 million people perished.
The three things learned were:
ReplyDelete1.) Everyone celebrated and praised God that the war was over.
2.) There were 55 million deaths.
3.) Almost a year passed before hostilities ended between The United States and Germany.
Three things I learned from these videos:
ReplyDelete1. The Battle of Kursk was the biggest tank battle in history.
2. The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. army.
3. I didn't know Benito Mussolini was killed the day after he was captured.
Three things that I learned was that there were 1. 55 million lives taken in WWII. 2. 30 million refugees after WWII 3. That they blew up the Nazi sign in Germany (which is good) after the war.
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ReplyDeleteThree things I learned from these videos:
ReplyDelete1. United States General Reinhart met the Red Army General.
2. Representatives of the German Army signed the surrender documents.
3. The Battle of Okinawa was the biggest Pacific Island Battle of the War.
three things I learned are
ReplyDelete1. that Italy invaded Ethiopia
2. that president Truman referrers to FDR when giving the speech after V-E Day
3. Germany surrendered on may 7
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ReplyDeleteThe three things I learned from the blog are:
ReplyDelete1.) That they bombed Japan on the date August 14th, 1945
2.)That there was so many individual battles in between the really big and popular ones.
3.) The Allies took advantage of Stalingrad.