•

WORLD WAR II: 1939­1945

As nations struggled to survive the ordeal of the Great Depression,they would soon be confronted with malevolence greater than thehorrors of World War I or the desperation associated with' thecollapse of the world's economy. For in Europe and Asia imperialism,militarism, and fascism were taking hold and would soon envelope theworld in a catastrophe that made other modern wars pale incomparison.

Germany's capitulation in World War I combined with devastatingwar reparations and the collapse of its economy in the 19305 providedfertile ground for various extremist organizations to flourish, mostinfamously the Nationalist Socialist party, the azis. But Germany'sdefeat in the war did not have only economic ramifications. Saddledwith "war guilt'" by the victors, its national psyche was damaged by theextremely punitive nature of the Treaty of Versailles. One member ofthe Nazis, Adolf Hitler, would rise to head that group, and in theprocess exploit Germany's shame and humiliation to elevate himselfand the Nazi party to the nation's political leadership. Using powerfuland passionate oratory, Hitler convinced the German people that theirdefeat in the war, the humiliating peace terms, and the collapse of theGerman economy had been the result of poor political leadership,defeatism on the home front and the economic machinations ofGermany's Jewish population. Hitler's Nazi party synthesizednationaHsm with populist rhetoric, while simultaneously rejectingliberal values, communism, and republicanism. Utilizing coercion andviolence, his regime promoted the "cult of personality, '" in which theleader-Hitler in this case-was portrayed as being larger than thenation itself. Tapping into the average German's nationalisticsentiments, in little more than a decade Hitler rose from being anobscure World War I veteran and third-rate artist to become

307

308 .:. Chapter 17

chancellor of Germany in 1933. Without pause, he began to rebuildGermany's military in order to restore its commanding presence inEurope. •The story was not profoundly different in Italy. There, anotherwould-be demagogue named Benito Mussolini took advantage of hisnation's postwar crises-labor strikes, the breakdown of law andorder, and ongoing battles between right- and left-wing groups-tocatapult himself and his Fascist party to the leadership of Italy. Like hisfascist comrade in Germany, Mussolini would assume dictatorialpowers. Likewise in Japan, there were those who believed that onlythrough extreme nationalism and militarism could Japan take its placein the sun.

Although these events increasingly concerned American politicalleaders, the developments in Europe and Asia could not shirt theAmerican public away from the belief that these were uniquelyEuropean and Asian problems, and that the United States should mostcertainly avoid involvement in yet another war that, like World War I,had dubious benefits for the United States. Thus, throughout theinterwar years, the United States maintained an increasingly fragilepolicy of neutrality.

KEY CONCEPTS

• The rise of fascism, militarism, and imperialism were significantdevelopments that ultimately led to World War II when Germany,Italy, and Japan embarked on policies of territorial expansion andconquest.

• The 19305 Neutrality Acts limited but did not enlirely prevent FDRfrom providing assistance to Great Britain.

• Deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States endedin war.

• The United States adopted a discriminatory policy towardsJapanese-Americans.

• The Holocaust brought unprecedented suffering to millions ofEuropean Jews and others the Nazis found objectionable.

• The dropping of the atomic bombs on Japan ended the war, butsome later questioned whether the attacks were necessary.

• The roots of the Cold War lay in the tensions that developedbetween the Soviet Union and the Western Allies.

World War II is discussed in depth in The American Pageant, 12th ed.,Chaplers 35 and 36/11th ed., Chapters 37 and 38.

GERMAN AND ITALIAN MILITARISM AND TERRITORIAL

EXPANSION

After assuming control of their respective nations, Hitler andMussolini embarked on a massive rearmament program that was aprerequisite for them to carry out their foreign- policy objective:territorial expansion through conquest. For Hitler the buildup ofGermany's military was in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles.No maUer, Hitler simply withdrew Germany from the League ofNations when that body forbade his request to rearm his nation. Hitler

WORLD WAR II: 1939-1945 .:. 309

Neutrality or Isolationism?

Some textbooks refer to American foreign policy in the interwar years as one based onisolationism. True. following World War I many Americans believed that the United Stalesshould curtail or, in extreme cases, end its involvement in international affairs, especially inEurope. This sentiment was given added weight in 1934 when a Senate investigation headedby Senator Gerald P. Nyc concluded that political pressure exerted on Americanpolicymakers by U.$. bankers, financiers. and munitions corporations had been adetermining factor in the U.S. government's decision to enter World War I. In order tomaintain a neutral stance. a bill authored by Senator Hiram Johnson and passed into law in1934 (the Johnson Act) forbade foreign nations that had defaulted on their debt payments tothe United States from receiving further loans. In 1935, 1936, and 1937 the U.S. Congresspassed neutrality acts designed to keep the United States out of foreign conmcts. The actsran the gamut from preventing exports to nations at war, to warning Americans that theytraveled on ships of warring nations at their own risk, to preventing loans to belligerents.The president was even authorized to deny the ships of belligerent nations access toAmerican ports. After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the American isolationistmovement found its voice in the America First Committee. which maintained thatisolationism was in the nation's best interest. However, given the U.$. intervention in LatinAmerica in the postwar decades, the presence of its military in Asia, the strong economicrelationship between the United States and many European and Asian nations, and themilitary assistance given to Britain once war broke out, some historians question whetherthe United States was even neutral by 1940. let alone isolationist. A close investigation ofU.S. policies and objectives in the interwar years is therefore necessary in order for you todevelop your own interpretation of the nature of American foreign affairs in this period.

continued to defy the League by occupying the demilitarized RhineValley in 1936. He next set his sights on repatriating the over 1.5million German·speaking citizens who were then living outside ofGermany and Austria because of the collapse of Austria·Hungary andthe creation of new states following World War I. To this end, hisforces occupied the Rhineland and annexed Austria. In the MunichConference of 1938. Hitler secured an agreement from the French andBritish that gave him the German-speaking area of Czechoslovakiaknown as the Rhineland. Hitler promised that his thirst for territorialexpansion had been quenched. British Prime Minister NevilleChamberlain, and his French counterpart, Edouard Daladier, believedhim, mistakenly.thinking they had prevented another European war.NPeace in our time," Chamberlain naively declared upon his return toBritain.

But this was wishful thinking, given what we now know of Hitler'sambitions. ot long after the Munich Agreement, Germany occupiedall of Czechoslovakia. Paralyzed by the thought of another world war.Britain and France assumed that a policy of appeasement wouldsatisfy the German dictator. The occupation of Czechoslovakiaconvinced them of the folly of such a policy. On September 1, 1939,Germany invaded Poland. Negotiations, appeasement, and agreementshaving run their course, France and Britain declared war on Germany.A few years before the German expansion into Czechoslovakia, theirally Italy invaded Ethiopia. The League of Nations imposed an

310 .:. Chapter 17

embargo on war·related items but did little else to assist theovermatched Ethiopians. despite a personal appeal to the delegates byEmperor Haile Selassie. The Soviet Union would not engage Germantroops until 1940. for, to the shock and surprise of the world, the twoideological antagonists-one communist, the other fascist-had signeda nonaggression pact in 1939.

APTip

In order to comprehend the conflict in ideologies that shaped theeconomic and political structures of the combatants, the followingdefinitions may be helpful:

• Fascism An authoritarian, antidemocratic economic andpolitical system that subordinates the individual to the needs ofthe state and party. For example, trade unions are outlawedbecause they promote the interests of laborers, not of thenation. Obedience to the nation's leader is required. Italy andGermany in the 19305 are examples of fascist countries.

• Totalitarianism Similar in several respects to a fascist society,a totalitarian system requires obedience to the leader and theneeds of the state. Consequently, the government controls mostaspects of society, such as education and the legal system.Germany and the Soviet Union in the 1930s were totalitarian.

• Democratic·Republicanism A political system in which certainbasic rights and privileges are guaranleed to all citizens, who inturn have the right to elect representatives to serve theirinterests and those of the nation at various levels ofgovernment. Great Britain and the United States are examplesof democratic·republics.

• Communism A social, political, and economic system in whichprivate ownership of the means of production is controlled bythe state. A key objective of communism is to rid society ofclass-based interests and the exploitation of the working classby those who own the means of production. The Soviet Unionfrom 1917 to 1989 was a communist nation.

THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR

The Spanish Civil War is considered a prelude to World War II in thatit pitted forces representing divergent ideologies-fascism andrepublicanism-against each other in a war to determine Spain'spolitical future. Both sides in the conflict were assisted by outsideforces. Supplementing the Republican government (the Loyalists) were52,000 volunteers from around the world, including the most famousAmerican unit, the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. Soviet dictator Stalinsent war materiel and military personnel to assist the government'sforces as well. Hitler and Mussolini, on the other hand, sent air andground units to assist fascist general Francisco Franco overthrow theSpanish government. Although President Roosevelt supported theLoyalists, his hands were tied by the eutrality Act of 1937, whichforbade arms shipments to the belligerents in the Spanish Civil War.

WORLD WAR II: 1939-1945 .:. 311

He recommended that the United States join with the other powers to"quarantine" aggressor nations. BUI by 1939, the same year WorldWar II broke out, Franco's fascist forces prevailed .

•JAPANESE IMPERIALISM

Once Japan entered the modern age in the late nineteenth century, ithad embarked on an intensive program of industrialization,westernization, militarism. and territorial expansion. In the latenineteenth century Japan had defeated China, and to the surprise andchagrin of westerners, it had decisively defeated Russia in 1905. Itssuccess continued. In World War I it had fortuitously joined the AJliedside. Although its troops saw limited combat in the war, Japanreceived China's Shandong Peninsula and Germany's colonies in thePacific. Yet Japan still believed that it was not given the respect itdeserved as a major world power by the other victorious nations. Itwould therefore create its own Asian empire (the Co-ProsperitySphere), a decision that would culminate in a war with the UnitedStates over which nation would be the hegemonic power in the Pacific.

The first step in its imperialist objective was to occupy the Chineseprovince of Manchuria in 1931, in complete defiance of the League ofNations. establishing a puppet government called Manchukuo. Despiterefusing to take steps to join other nations in economically punishingJapan, the United States did take umbrage with its invasion of China,seeing it as a violation of the Open Door, and a host of other interwaragreements. But the Hoover administration's response was tepid andsanctimonious at best: Secretary of War Henry Stimson declared inthe Stimson Doctrine that the United States would not recognize thepseudogovernment established in China by the Japanese and wouldadhere lo the Nine-Power Treaty by condemning the acquisition ofterritory taken by force. The League of Nations endorsed the doctrinebut did little else. In 1937 a full-scale war erupted between theJapanese and Chinese. In the course of events a U.S. gunboat, thePanay, was sunk by Japanese planes. Not wanting the incident toescalate any further, a Japanese apology was quickly accepted by lheU.S. government. Four years later, however, Japan would intentionallyattack U.S. warShips at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, a decision that couldonly be met by a declaration of war by the United States.

ROOSEVELT AND THE ALLIES

By the late 1930s, despite the continued puolic support for theNeutrality Acts, the militarist actions of Japan, Germany, and Italy(who eventually formed the Rome-Berlin~Tokyo alliance and wereknown thereafter as the Axis Powers) made Congress more amenableto President Roosevelt's request for increased military expenditures.After the German conquest of Denmark and Norway, and the fall ofFrance in 1940, Great Britain stood alone against azi domination ofEurope. Still, the American public was wary of U.S. militaryinvolvement despite growing concerns that the Nazis might soonconquer all of Europe.

312 .:. Chapter 17

From Roosevelt's perspective the defeat of Great Britain wouldpose dire consequences for U.S. national security. Thus FDR workedaround the Neutrality Acts. finding ways to aid Britain and. in theprocess, U.S. self-interest. In a series of poliCies designed to aid Britainthe president methodically eroded the Neutrality Acts:

• "Cash and Carry" A belligerent could purchase arms from theUnited States if it paid in cash and transported the supplies in itsown vessels. FDR reasoned that this policy was in line with the

eutrality Acts because it allowed access to U.S. materiel for anynation at war. But inasmuch as the British Royal Navy dominatedthe seas, it obviously benefited the British.

• lend-lease In order to help a financially strapped Britain.Roosevelt ended cash and carry and instead provided credit to theBritish so that they could continue to purchase much-neededmilitary supplies. Roosevelt justified this action by telling theAmerican people that "we must be an arsenal of democracy" andthat the policy was designed to defend the "'four freedoms" thatAmericans valued: freedom of religion. freedom of speech, freedomfrom want. freedom from fear. Despite the strong opposition toassisting Britain in this manner from isolationists and thoseadvocating a policy of neutrality. the lend·lease Act became law inearly 1941 and was further expanded when Roosevelt ordered thatU.S. warships escort British ships carrying lend·lease items for partof their journey. When a German submarine attacked one of thewarships. Roosevelt ordered that all German ships should beattacked on sight. For all intents and purposes. the United Stateswas fighting an undeclared war with Germany. Little did theAmerican public know that before the year was out the U.S. wouldformally be at war with the Axis Powers.

• Destroyers for bases Even though Britain's surface ships "ruledthe seas," German submarines were wreaking havoc on Britishshipping. Although resolute in their defiance of Hitler's attempt topummel them into submission, by late 1940 Britain's ability tosustain itself was in dire straits. Roosevelt desperately wanted toprovide direct military assistance to Britain, but he could not openlyviolate the Neutrality Acts. Instead, he came up with a creative wayto circumvent the acts and in the process augment the British RoyalNavy. In return for fifty dated U.S. Navy destroyers, the Britishallowed the United States to construct military bases on Britain'sCaribbean islands.

• The draft In order to prepare the nation in the event it was drawninto the war, Roosevelt took the momentous step of convincingCongress to institute a peacetime draft, the Selective Training andService Act of 1940. Predictably, those who wanted to keep theUnited States out of the war at all costs interpreted the act as aprerequisite to U.S. military involvement. The legal bulwark thatkept the United States from participating in the war-the eutralityActs-by now seemed like a guiding principle in name only. In thesummer of 1941 Roosevelt met with British Prime MinisterChurchill in a secret meeting held on a warship ofT the coast ofNewfoundland and declared in the Atlantic Charter that bothnations sLood for the four basic freedoms, self-determination for allnations, opposition to territorial expansion, freedom of the seas, a

WORLD WAR II: 1939-1945 .:. 313

repudiation of any territorial gains made as a result of the war, andarms control. In other words, their declaration avowed all thebeliefs that were inconsistent with the behavior of the militaristAxis Powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan.

DETERIORATING RELATIONS WITH JAPAN

The antecedents of the war between Japan and the United States canbe found in the escalating tensions between the two nations in the19305. which culminated in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in1941. As the Japanese sought to extend their hegemony in Asia, theUnited States became increasingly concerned with Japan's aggressiveforeign policy. The invasion of China confirmed American fears thatthe Japanese would not be satisfied until they dominated Eastern Asiaand the Pacific. The creation of the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo militaryalliance only confirmed Japan's bellicose intentions, which wererealized when the Japanese military occupied French Indochina in thesummer of 1941. The British and Americans responded by imposing atrade embargo on Japan, cutting off resources it needed to sustain itsindustries and military, such as rubber and oil. It was made clear to theJapanese government that further expansionist acts would provoke amilitary response. In the months leading up to Japan's attack on theUnited States, both nations engaged in what were fruitless attempts toforestall war, as neither country was prepared to do battie with theother. From the Japanese perspective, however, war with the UnitedStates seemed inevitable if Japan was to successfully carry out itsforeign-policy objectives.

In order to neutralize the most potent U.S. obstacle to Japanesecontrol of the Pacific-the U.S. Seventh Fleet stalioned at PearlHarbor, Hawaii-a surprise attack was launched on December 7,1941.Although the attack killed thousands of U.S. servicemen and destroyedapproximately twenty U.S. ships and hundreds of airplanes, the UnitedStates was fortunate that its aircraft carriers were out to sea at thetime of the attack. Simultaneously, Japanese forces conquered thePhilippines, Guam, and Hong Kong. December 7, "a day which wilt livein infamy," according to Roosevelt, propelled the United States into awar against Japan as well as Germany and Italy. Though someAmericans still hoped for a peaceful solution, whatever doubts mosthad about their nation's involvement in the war were now put to restas the U.S. government and the American people mobilized theirresources for the war effort.

Unfortunately the U.S. government and the military remainedsegregated. Although black Americans served the nation at home andin the armed forces. they continued to sufTer discrimination in theworkplace even after the nation's economy expanded as a result of thedemands of the war. To be sure, some gains were made, such as thecreation of the Fair Employment Practices Committee, a federalagency that attempted to address discrimination in the economy. Dueto the federal government's less discriminatory hiring practices, thenumber of blacks employed by the government increased profoundly.But it was not until 1948 (as a result of an executive order by PresidentTruman) that the military was desegregated.

WORLD WAR II: 193~1945 .:. 315

WARTIME CONFERENCES AND THE COLD WAR

•In the last two years of the war the Allied leaders met with oneanother in a series of conferences designed to discuss strategies andobjectives, as well as to discuss the post-war world. Often the Alliedleaders seemed unified in their thinking; at other times there appearedto be tensions and suspicions between the Americans and British onone hand and the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on the other.

• Casablanca Conference (January 1943) President Roosevelt andPrime Minister Churchill agreed that Allied forces would invadeSicily and end Italy's participation in the war. A strategy wasdiscussed to defeat the Japanese as well. Most important, the twoleaders announced that they would accept nothing less than theunconditional surrender of Japan and Germany.

• Teheran Conference (November-December 1943) This was thefirst conference of the "Big Three'" (Stalin, Roosevelt, andChurchill), and though it ended amicably, it was not without itstense moments. The leaders discussed strategies for ending thewar, including an invasion of Nazi 4 held France. Stalin agreed toenter the war against Japan upon the defeat of Germany. Rooseveltand Stalin supported the idea of a postwar international body thatwould settle disputes between nations. though Churchill had somemisgivings about the effectiveness of such an organization. For thetime being, the leaders decided that Germany would be severelypunished for its role in causing the war.

• Yalta Conference (February 1945) By the time the Big Three metat Yalta, it was obvious that the defeat of Germany was imminent.Once again Stalin agreed to enter the war against Japan in returnfor the restoration of its pre-190S status in East Asia. The leadersalso began working out the details of the organization that wouldsoon become the United Nations. The most controversial issue, thestatus of postwar East European countries, especialJy Poland, wasvaguely defined. Some historians believe the origins of the ColdWar can be found in this meeting, when a gravely ill Roosevelt wasoutmaneuvered by a wily and deceitful Stalin, who promised freeelections in Soviet-controlled Eastern Europe. To these historians,Yalta laid the groundwork for Soviet domination of Eastern Europein the postwar period. Others argue that Russia. which had beeninvaded twice in less than twenty-five years, required a buffer zonebetween it and its potential future enemies to the west.

• Potsdam Conference (July-August 1945) By the time thisconference was convened, Roosevelt had died and Churchill hadbeen succeeded by Clement Attlce as Britain's prime minister. Thefissures that appeared in the Allied relationship at Yalla hadwidened by the time the leaders met at Potsdam (Berlin). All agreedthat Germany must be demilitarized and the Nazi influence purgedfrom German culture. But reparations and the occupation ofGermany were left unresolved, thereby intensifying the uneasinessthat now seemed to define the relationship between the WesternAllies and the Soviet Union.

314 .:. Chapter 17

JAPANESE-AMERICAN INTERNMENT

One tragic consequence of the Pearl Harbor attack was a virulent anti­Japanese sentiment that culminated in the persecution of Japanese­Americans. President Roosevelt exacerbated this racism by issuingExecutive Order 9066, which resulted in the resettlement of over125,000 Japanese-Americans to miserable internment camps in thewestern United States for fear that they would undermine theAmerican war effort against Japan. While this travesty of justice wastaking place, Japanese-American servicemen were serving honorablyin the U.S. military. What is more, the U.S. government did not expandthis program to include Italian-Americans or German-Americans. Themessage was clear: Asians could not be trusted. Though the U.S. waragainst Germany, Italy, and Japan was noble. the legacy of the unjusttreatment of U.s. citizens of Japanese descent is an unfortunate legacyof a war that was fought to stop racism and fascism.

THE HOLOCAUST

One nefarious aspect of the azi regime was its treatment of politicalopponents, dissidents, homosexuals, and most especially Jews. Hitlerhad a long-standing hatred of Europe's Jews, whom he blamed for avariety of German and European problems. Tragically, they becamescapegoats for all that the dictator claimed was wrong in the world.During his twelve-year reign his government systematically destroyedapproximately 6 million German Jews and those who lived in nationsoverrun by the German army. Initially Jews were lerrorized, as in theinfamous 1938 "Night of Broken Glass"-Kristallnacht-in whichsynagogues and Jewish homes and businesses were destroyed. Next,Jews were rounded up and sent to concentration camps or restrictedto ghettos, where they starved to death or fell victims to diseases.Finally, in what the Nazis referred to as the Final Solution, millions ofJews, as well as millions of Russians, homosexuals, and politicalopponents, were killed in death camps designed to eliminate thevictims in large numbers.

Il was not until the middle of the war that the Allies became awareof the extent of the atrocities. Some critics argue the United Statesshould have taken steps to stop the attempted genocide, whereasothers claim that the best way the Allies could have ended theHolocaust was to defeat the German military. Only when the deathcamps were liberated by U.s. soldiers was the full extent of the horrormade known. Entire families had been destroyed, millions had beengassed, and others worked and starved to death. Horrifically, theGermans had conducted "scientific experiments" on live subjects. Itwas later revealed that the Japanese had also committed atrocities.After the war, at the Nuremberg War Crimes Trial and similar legalproceedings against Japanese military and political leaders, thedefendants were charged with crimes against humanity. ImportantGerman and Japanese leaders were executed and others given prisonsentences as punishment for their actions.

316 .:. Chapter 17

THE WAR

In the earl stages of the ar the Po r e periencedon id rable success, The Japane e 0 rran mu h of Ea t Asia and

i land in lh Pacific. Germany conquered i n ighbor , until Britain1 d al ne, The Battle of Berlin, in hich the R al Air For e

d ~ at d the German Luftwaffe air for e, put an end to Hitler' aim ofin ading Britain. Stymied, he turned ea t and in aded the So ietUnion, hi troop reacbing Stalingrad in 1941; the then laid iege toth i. B 1942, hO\i e er, the Germans er cu ff, hausted, anddem ralized.O er 300,000 of German's b t troop urrendered. TheRu ian then launched a massi e count rotti n i , \ hi h ultimatelo them to the outs irts of Berlin.

In the meantime the nited States had nlered lh ar and, withtheir British allies, \ as successful in establi hing a oolhold in Europea a r ult of lhe successful, though cosU , D-Da landjng (June 6,1944 . er the ne ten months the German " re dri en from raneeand Ital. ussolini as killed and Ital sued for peace. Finall Berlini If a under siege. B earl 19 5 the merican and British ereal 0 on the outs irts of Berlin, here Hit! r had La en refuge in hisunderground bunker, Rather than b aptured ali e, h chose toommit suicide. On a 8, 1945, the German ' urr nder d -E Da ).

Th ar against Japan continued on for thr m r month. In ari of blood battles Japan e military uni holding strategicall

imp rtant islands such as I 0 Jima and 0 ina a er entuallde~ ated, until lh Japanese mainland i If a open to anac . Beforean in a ion could take place, Pre ident Truman, ho had a end d toth pr id nc upon FDR's death in pril, rd red that at mic bombb dr pp d on Hiroshima and aga aki. U.. ienti had for e eral

ar b n working on an atomic eapon in art pr gram knowna th Manhattan Project. Fi e da s after th cond bomb wasdr pp d n aga aki, the Japanese unconditionally urrendered.

When the atomic bombs were first dropp d on Japan, Fequesti ned the military necessity of such a d ci ion. fier all, the

ruman administration's convincing argum nt that the bombs, thoughd a tating, would save the Ii es of 1 million IIi d servicemen ifJapan it If wa invaded was proof enough lhal th dropping of theat mi weap ns was necessary. The blood battle on Iwo Jima and

kinawa, in hieh the Japanese fought almo to tbe last man,nine d man that an invasion of the Japan mainland ould ben more bitterly contested, Thus Presid nl Truman as fore d to

a riti e the Ii es of thousands of Japane e ci ilian in order tonvince the emperor and the Imperial ar Cabin t that capitulation

\ a Japan's onl option.In the past Fe decades historians ha qu 'on d wh ther

Truman' decision \ as intended to end th ar \ ilh Japan or to enda clear me sage to the Soviet Union that the nit d tat had themilila capabili to challenge the So 'et if n c a in lh post arp riod. urthermore, the United State rna ha b n cone rned thatlh 0 'el nion's imminent entry into th "ar again t Japan ouldpro ·de it an opportuni to, along 'th th niled tal ,0 up thatna ·on after the ar, possibl leading to th of t rritorial di ' ionthal had occurred in Korea. In fact, it eems that b 1945 the on e-

WORLD WAR II: 1935-1945 .:. 317

formidable Japanese military was but a shell of its past power. Forexample, the Japanese Navy had essentially been neutralized, Japan'smerchant fleet was nearly destroyed, millions of Japanc§c soldierswere isolated in China and elsewhere and could not be returned toJapan to defend the homeland, and the Japanese Air Force wasreduced to using kamikaze pilots. Moreover, every major militarytarget in Japan had already been bombed at least once. Even theprojected estimate of 1 million casualties is also questioned. To thisday, the decision whether the United States should have used atomicweapons on Japan triggers passions on both sides of the issue. It isimportant for you to understand that every controversial issue ordecision has its supporters and detractors.

World War II cost approximately 50 million lives, hundreds ofbillions of dollars, and untold suffering and despair for millions ofothers. Although the international price was massive, the defeat ofGermany, Japan, and lLaly ended the horrors perpetrated by thosenations against humanity. Importanlly, the year the war ended, theUnited Nations was established in the hopes of preventing suchbarbarity from ever happening again. As for the United States. it hadendured over 1 million casualties, killed and wounded. but hademerged from the war a superpower. For the time being it had anuclear-weapons monopoly that gave it an advantage over the Sovietsin the first few years of the Cold War. Yet. as the nation entered into apostwar period of consumerism and economic reconversion, foreignand domestic concerns would profoundly shape the quality of life forthe American people.

Multiple-Choice Questions1. Which of the following is OT associated with the Axis Powers?

(A) Hitler(8) Mussolini(Cl Japan(D) Franco(E) Italy

ANswER: D. While Germany and Italy assisted Franco's fascists, Spainremained neutral in the war (The American Pageant 12th ed., p.855/11 th ed., p. 876).

2. In the Munich Conference(A) Hitler agreed to form an alliance with Italy and Japan(B) the Big Three agreed to demand unconditional surrender from

the Germans and Japanese(C) Britain and France gave in to Hitler's territorial demands(D) the United States promised Germany that it would remain

neutral in the war(E) the Nazis worked out the details of the Final Solution

ANswER: C. Hitler promised an end to his territorial ambitions ifCzechoslovakia was compelled to relinquish control of theSudetenland to Germany (The American Pageant 12th ed., p. 813/11lhed.• pp. 831-832).