World War II Study Summary

After the Treaty of Versailles, the German people became desperate, so when Adolf Hitler promised to fix their problems, they bought into his promises. He blamed the Jews and other minorities for Germany's weakness, and this resulted in the Holocaust. Through racial laws, concentration camps, secret police, and other methods, Hitler systematically eliminated all of the "crippling" races. 6 million Jews, 4 million Soviets, and 2 million others were all killed. Despite these atrocities, Hitler brought up the German nation and showcased its power in the Olympics. He broke the Treaty of Versailles and set his sights on other countries in order to reclaim his German empire. First was Austria, and then the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. Hitler was greeted with cheers, with the two areas glad to be part of his great nation. When Hitler went to Poland, he encountered resistance, and attacked Poland with force. On September 1, 1939, World War II began. Hitler used his blitzkrieg strategy to quickly conquer Poland. Next came the French, and despite their strong Maginot line along the French-German border, the Germans went right around it and blitzed through France.

Hitler's blitzkrieg took over Norway, Denmark, Holland, as well as France and Poland. When he got to Britain, however, the formidable English Channel blocked his path. Hitler, not willing to face the strong British navy, started bombing London and other British cities. Unlike the other countries, though, Britain never surrendered. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, was a tough nut to crack, and he said that Britain needed to hold out against the Germans despite the constant bombings. Months went by, and Hitler grew impatient. He split his army into two: the army near the British, and a new army, headed towards the Soviet Union. He packed his soldiers for the summer weather, for only a few months. Hitler was successful at the beginning, but when the winter rolled around, things changed. It became extremely cold, and snow was everywhere. The German soldiers were not used to the cold, and extremely unprepared. The Soviets had the advantage, they were used to the cold. They destroyed the German supply lines and further crippled Hitler's army. Once again, Hitler's enemies just wouldn't give up.

Meanwhile in the Pacific, trouble was brewing in Japan. The Japanese were relying on the Americans for oil, but the Americans had put sanctions on that oil, causing the Japanese to become sour. They also wanted to expand further, outside of the mainland. The Japanese were fearless and extremely cocky. When the Mongols threatened them in the 1200s, a typhoon blew the Mongol ships away both times they attempted an invasion. The Japanese had also defeated both China and Russia, two nations much larger than them. Both the "divine wind" that blew the Mongols away and the victories against China and Russia made Japan think they were invincible. Japan set its sights on Pearl Harbor, an American naval base in Hawaii. The US was warned about this attack numerous times, but they did not heed the warnings. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor, destroying a lot of the American navy and their aircraft carriers. America had an immediate response, declaring war on Japan. The war in the Pacific had begun.

With the American navy crippled, the Japanese had freedom to do whatever they wanted in the Pacific. Unfortunately for Japan, they did not destroy the American aircraft carriers, they just crippled them. Japan had a time limit to do their business before the Americans could retaliate. Japan set its sights on the Philippines, where a lot of Americans were stationed. When Japan came around, the American and Filipino soldiers surrendered. The Japanese had a very negative stance on surrender. To them, surrendering was surrendering one's humanity. The prisoners were taken to Bataan, a peninsula in the south of the Philippines. They were marched in the hot, humid climate to a prison camp. Two thirds of them survived the march, called the Bataan Death March. The American general there, Douglas MacArthur, was sent to Australia to hide from Japan. He vowed to return someday and exact revenge on Japan.

The next target for Japan was the American base of Midway, in the middle of the Pacific. America had successfully cracked the Japanese code, so they let their own code get broken. They read the Japanese messages and hinted to them that Midway's water was dirty. The Japanese said to bring water filters, confirming that they were attacking Midway. The Japanese were surprised by the American navy there, and four of their aircraft carriers were destroyed. The Japanese could no longer support their invasion, so they were forced to defend their homeland. The Battle of Midway was the turning point for the war in the Pacific.

In Europe, Hitler declared war on America due to Japan, Germany's ally, already declaring war. The Americans decide to go to Europe to hit the German homeland. Italy, lying south of Germany, was the shield for the nation. America went to Africa to attack Italy so they could get to Germany. The American general, George Patton, was very eccentric, but clever. The Italians just fled and didn't bother fighting the Americans. Hitler sent his best general, Erwin Rommel, to fight of Patton's army. Rommel was very clever and calculated, but was not a Nazi. Patton stole Rommel's tactics and drove him off. However, Patton attacked an American soldier later and was put on the bench.

Germany had pressure on them from all sides. They were pressured by Britain in the west, the Soviet Union in the east, and the Americans in the south. Their army was split into four: soldiers near Britain, in the Soviet Union, defending Italy from the Americans, and running the concentration camps. The Allies wanted to break through these weakened defenses and create a front against Germany. They prepared to take Normandy, which was one of the least fortified beaches in France, so they tricked the Germany into thinking they would attack Calais instead. This diversion left the Germans unprepared for the attack on Normandy. The Allies started by gliding in with paratroopers and followed up with an assault on the German "pill boxes" along the shore. Fortunately for the Allies, Rommel was not at Normandy, leaving the inexperienced German general, Gerd von Runstedt, all by himself. The Allies captured all the beaches and liberated France. This battle occured on June 6, 1944, and was called D-Day, or Operation Overlord. This battle shifted the momentum in Europe in favor of the Allies.

In 1943, MacArthur was sent back to the Philippines. He spent 2 years hopping between islands towards Japan. He liberated the Philippines. The Americans had to find a closer plot of land to Japan so they could fire their bombers on Japanese cities. They set their sights on Iwo Jima, an island close to Japan. The Japanese knew of this attack, so they send one of their generals, Kuribayashi, to defend this island. He had the soldiers dig tunnels into the island to conceal 21,000 soldiers. When the Americans arrived, the Japanese popped out of the tunnels and attacked them. The Americans went into the tunnels and cleared out the Japanese. The Japanese had hoped to bring the war to a standstill and force America to sue for peace, but they failed.

Germany was invaded by the Allies after the capture of France. The Soviets were allowed to go into Berlin due to the massive losses they suffered to the Nazis. Hitler heard of this, so he hid in his secret bunker with his girlfriend, Eva Braun, Joseph Goebbels, a judge, a few chefs, and some other high-up Nazi commanders. On April 30, 1945, Hitler and Eva shot themselves. Hitler's officers were told to bury his body, but the Soviets found Hitler and burned his body. The war was over in Europe. The Soviet Union mysteriously kept Hitler's body secret, so they gave a false picture to the Allies to comfort them.

Japan now had the battle taken to their mainland. Japanese citizens were trained to fight back the "savage" Americans when they would attack their cities. The Americans started bombing Japanese cities, destroying the mostly wooden buildings. Japan still didn't surrender, though. However, America had a secret weapon under their sleeve. In 1939, Albert Einstein told America that the Germans were planning to harvest the energy from splitting atoms. The US, not wanting Germany to nuke everyone, started their own nuclear program, known as the Manhattan Project. Over the course of the war, the nation secretly developed nuclear power to use in weapons. After President Roosevelt's death, Harry Truman became president. Truman was given a document that talked about the nuclear bombs. He had 3 options to deal with Japan: continue firebombing Japan, nuke Japan, or invade Japan. He chose the nuclear option. After testing the first A-bomb in New Mexico, Truman realized the true power of the weapon. He dropped Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. However, the Japanese prime minister, Hideki Tojo, did not surrender, and neither did the Japanese war council. America then bombed Nagasaki with Fat Man not long after. This time, the Japanese council was tied. The emperor, Hirohito, had to cast the tiebreaker vote. He did not want any more Japanese lives to end, so he chose to surrender. On August 15, 1945, World War II ended with the surrender of Japan.