The Great Wars (WWI WWII) Pt.

II
1914-1945

Above (Left): Thousands wait in line for a free

meal during the Great Depression in Germany.
Above (Right): Hyperinflation hits Germany due
to the printing of money to pay for the costs of
the Treaty of Versailles

Following the war at the Paris Peace Conference

(1919), the winning countries wrote the Treaty of
Versailles. It was hoped that this treaty would create a lasting peace in Europe, so that future wars
could be avoided. In the long run, the treaty basically had the opposite effect. The Treaty of Versailles
transformed Europe in many ways. One of the major changes is that old empires were destroyed, and
new countries were formed. Chunks of Germany and Russia were taken away to create the nation of
Poland. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was broken up into the new countries of Czechoslovakia,
Austria, Hungary, and parts were joined with Serbia to form Yugoslavia. The once powerful Islamic
Ottoman Empire was also dissolved and new countries such as Turkey, Palestine, Syria, Iraq and
Lebanon were created in the Middle East. The treaty also created the League of Nations, which was
similar to the modern United Nations which tries to keep the peace. Finally, and most importantly, the
treaty put full blame for the war on Germany. Germany was forced to pay reparations, or war
damages, to the victorious countries. Basically anything that had been lost in war from livestock, to
coal, to houses, to ships, Germany had to pay for. This totally destroyed Germanys economy. By the
time the Great Depression hit in 1929, Germanys economy was ruined and the people of Germany
were poor, miserable and angry.

In the early 1930s a charismatic

leader known for his strong speaking
skills gained a following in Germany.
His message was simple: the Treaty of
Versailles, the Great Depression and
Hitlers popularity grew quickly in Germany.

the Jews were the cause of Germanys

problems, and he was determined to fix

them. His name was Adolf Hitler, and although his anti-Jewish feelings were well known from his
book Mein Kampf, he came to power in 1933 on the promise that he would restore Germany to
greatness (remember at the time of WWI, Germany was perhaps the most powerful country in the
world). Hitler came through on his promises, restoring the German economy, and rebuilding and
rearming the military. Although the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations had prohibited
Germany from rearming, Hitler did so anyways, and his former enemies stood by and watched. This
policy, where European governments allowed Hitler to break his treaty obligations in order to avoid a
future war, is known as appeasement. By 1939, Hitlers army was sufficiently strong, and he began
conquering his neighbors. One by one, countries such as Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Austria,
Poland and France fell under Nazi rule. Meanwhile at home, Hitler began to strip Jewish people of
their rights, first forcing them from their homes and into crowded ghettos, then to concentration camps,
where they would eventually be exterminated. Jews in the countries conquered by the Nazis faced a
similar fate, as Hitler massacred anyone he saw as interfering with his perfect race. It was not only
Jews that suffered under this form of strict rule, known as fascism, but anyone who opposed Hitlers
rule, as well as ethnic minorities, homosexuals, the physically and mentally disabled, and anyone who
didnt fit Hitlers picture of the perfect German. Hitler aligned with Benito Mussolini, the leader of
fascist Italy, as well as Japan.
By 1941 it looked as if Nazi
Germany might fulfill the
dream of Napoleon by
conquering the whole of
Europe.
At this point the United
States had yet to enter the
war and join the Allies.

Meanwhile, as Germany was

expanding throughout Europe,
Japan had begun to expand into
Asia. When United States
Naval Commodore Matthew
Perry had arrived in Japan in
the 1860s demanding Japan to
open up to trade, Japanese
leaders began to realize Japans
industrial and technological
disadvantages. The Tokugawa
Shogun was overthrown and
the Japanese Emperor Meiji
Above: A map of Japanese Expansion by 1942. Below: the Japanese
execute prisoners. While atrocities (war crimes) were committed by all
countries in Asia during WWII, Japanese crimes, particularly against the
Chinese in the city of Nanjing, were especially horrific.

was brought in to replace him.

This event is known as the
Meiji Restoration, and placed
Japan on a path to
industrialization and military
modernization. Being a small
archipelago (island chain)
with few natural resources,
however, Japan began to
conquer its neighbors, much
like Europe and America had
done. Beginning with Korea,
Manchuria, China, as well as

many Pacific islands, Japan began a policy of imperialism in Asia. The Japanese soldiers were
extremely brutal to the people they conquered, especially the Chinese. In the city of Nanjing, the
Japanese committed genocide against a large civilian population which included massive rape, murder,
and even the practice of using babies for bayonette practice. This event is known as the Rape of
Nanjing, though to this day the Japanese insist that it was not genocide. Meanwhile, the United States,
who also had brutally conquered many Pacific islands and nations, felt threatened by Japanese
expansion. This led the US to place a blockade on Japan, and Japan responded by bombing US naval
bases on Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. World War II had already been happening for two years
in Europe, but the United States had chosen not to be involved. The bombing of Pearl Harbor changed
their minds, and led the United States into war against Japan and their fascist allies Germany and Italy.

When the United States joined the

war effort in 1942 its allied were falling
quickly. Chinese resistance was failing to
stop Japanese aggression in China. In
Europe, France had already been
conquered by Hitler and Russia was
quickly losing ground to superior German
forces. In the Pacific, the United States
began a slow and bloody strategy of
island hopping, where the US would
slowly fight on each island the Japanese
controlled, moving toward the Japanese
mainland. This fighting was often

The Allies storm the beaches in Normandy, France running

full speed into German machine gun fire. D-Day was the
largest amphibious (sea to land) assault in world history.

complicated by the Japanese soldiers

dedication to bushido or the way of the warrior. On most islands, the Japanese would fight to the
very last death rather than surrender, which they considered dishonorable. This fight to the death
mentality convinced many people in America that an invasion of Japan would be too dangerous, which
ultimately led to the decision to drop the atomic-bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.
As the United States slowly won control of the Pacific from Japan, the Allies were also winning
victories in Europe. At the Battle of Stalingrad (Russias capital city, now known as St. Petersburg),
more than one million Russian soldiers were killed, but the combination of Cold Weather, few supplies
and the massive Russian army eventually wore the Germans down. Thus, Stalingrad is a major
turning point, because it marked the end of Germanys expansion East and the beginning of the Soviet
advance toward Germany. Meanwhile, the allies launched a massive invasion known as D-Day on the
beaches of Normandy France. With heavy casualties, the allies eventually landed and began to attack
Germany from the West. The Soviet advance from the East, Allied invasion from the West, and
constant bombing was too much for Germany. In 1945 Hitler committed suicide and soon after
Germany surrendered. When the US dropped the *atomic bomb on Japan, they surrendered as well,
and the most costly and destructive war in human history was over.
*It is an ironic fact of history that the United States and Germany were in a race to develop a nuclear
weapon. Many of the US scientists including Albert Einstein, Leo Szilard and Niels Bohr fled Europe to
escape the Nazis and then helped the United States develop the first nuclear weapon. Without
Germanys racist policies, these scientists might have developed the nuclear bomb for Germany instead
of the United States.

Following the war, the

Japanese Emperor was forced to
admit to his people that he was not
a god, but he was allowed to stay
in power. This was a major step
because believing the Emperor to
be a living god is a major part of
the Japanese peoples Shinto
religion. Fearing the spread of
communism to Japan, the United
States even helped rebuild Japan,
becoming a close ally. Japan used
the aid to invest into technology,

The city of Hiroshima following the atomic bomb attack by the

United States.

which is why so many electronics companies are based in Japan, and also why it is today one of the
richest countries in the world. As for Germany, their leaders were placed on trial at the Nuremburg
Trials for crimes against humanity. This was the first time any leaders were placed on trial for war
crimes, and became a major victory for the human rights movement. The now defeated Germany had
been invaded by the United States from the west, and the Soviet Union from the east. While the US
and Soviet Union had been allies, their alliance ended after the war and soon they were enemies. The
new enemies split Germany in half, with the United States controlling West Germany and the Soviet
Union controlling the Eastern half.

Review Questions Read the following questions before you read the paragraph. When you finish
reading the paragraph, try to answer the questions. If you cant you should read the paragraph a second
time.
Paragraph #1
1. What was the League of Nations? What was its goal? Did it succeed?

2. Who was blamed for the war? What did they have to pay?

3. What event further weakened Germany?

Paragraph #2
1. How did the German people feel about the Treaty of Versailles?

2. What did Hitler promise to do?

3. What is appeasement? What were the consequences of this policy?

4. What is the Nazi form of rule known as? Who was Hitlers ally that also used this form of rule?

Paragraph #3
1. How did the Meiji Restoration transform Japan?

2. How did the United States feel about Japanese expansion? What did they do to Japan?

3. How did Japan respond to the US blockade? How did the US respond to this attack?

Paragraph #4
1. How was the war going in Europe when the US joined in 1942?

2. What was the United States strategy to defeat Japan?

3. Describe bushido
Paragraph #5
1. What were the two major turning points in the war against Nazi Germany?

2. How did the United States finally force Japan to surrender?

Paragraph #6
1. What was the Japanese Emperor forced to admit to his people?

2. What happened to German leaders following the war? Where did the trials take place?