WWII & The Cold War

5th Grade Social Studies

The Rise to War

• The Great Depression of the 1930s – Americans were still having a hard time finding jobs

• The economic depression was affecting the whole WORLD

• Strong leaders in many countries promised to solve their countries problems – by force

• This led to the start of another war, even worse than the one before it

Dictatorships

• A “dictator” is a person who has total power and control in a country

• Dictators ruled in these countries:– Germany– Italy– Japan– The Soviet Union– Spain

The Rise of Hitler

• Germany was angry at the end of WWI because of the harsh conditions of the Treaty of Versailles

• During the 20s, a young leader named Adolf Hitler promised Germany that he could bring them back to being a world power

• He also had many dangerous ideas. He believed that only people with fair hair and blue eyes were “true Germans.” He also believed they were better than everyone else.

The Hate of Hitler

• Hitler blamed Jews for many of Germany’s economic problems

• He made life very hard for Jewish people in Germany

• Hitler became the leader of the political party, the National Socialists, or Nazis

• Nazi soldiers grew in power, and they attacked Jewish people and those who disagreed with Hitler

German Aggression

• In the 1930s, Japan, Italy, and Germany began taking over other countries

• In 1938, Germany took over Czechoslovakia and Austria (used to be in an alliance!)

• Other countries, including the US, remained neutral

• In September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Frustrated, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. WWII officially began.

The War in Europe

• The French and British could not stop Germany from taking over most of Europe.

• By 1940, Germany had taken over these countries:– Netherlands– Luxembourg– Belgium– Denmark– Norway– Most of France

The Holocaust

• Nazi soldiers, under Hitler’s leadership, put many Jews in terrible prisons called “concentration camps”

• The Nazis made camp conditions terrible• In most camps, prisoners were beat for no reason• In some, such as Auschwitz, Nazi doctors used

prisoners for cruel medical experiments• Some camps were work camps, and others were

death camps (gas chambers)

Concentration Camps

Concentration Camps

• In 1941, Hitler began a campaign of mass murder against European Jews and other people he called “undesirable.”

• This murder of Jews and others was known as the Holocaust

• More than 12 million men, women, and children were killed

• At least 6 million were Jews• This was kept a secret until the war was over

The Neutral US

• The United States wanted to stay out of the war in Europe; they wanted to stay neutral

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt – FDR – promised the US that we’d stay out of the war

• BUT FDR wanted the US to be prepared in case of an attack, so we had our first peace time draft

• The US started making tanks, bombers, and war supplies. We sent them to Great Britain.

Japanese Aggression

• Japan, like Germany, began taking over other countries, including Manchuria, part of China

• At 7:55 on Sunday, December 7, 1941, Japanese planes dropped bombs on American ships docked at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

• In less than 2 hours, the attack was over, but most of our ships were sunk or burning in the harbor

• Almost 4,000 people were killed or wounded

Japanese Aggression

Attack on Pearl Harbor

The US Enters the War

• Congress declared war on Japan the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked, September 8

• Three days later, Japan’s two allies, Germany and Italy, declared war on the US

• The US joined with Great Britain and the Soviet Union

• This had truly become another world war

Leaders of WWII

Axis Powers• Germany – Adolf Hitler

• Japan – Emperor Hirohito

• Italy – Benito Mussolini

Allied Powers• United States – FDR (then

Harry Truman)

• Great Britain – Winston Churchill

• Soviet Union – Joseph Stalin

American Involvement

• Once we entered the war, the US began to produce airplanes, tanks, and other war supplies

• This gave many Americans jobs and ended the Great Depression

• Just like during WWI, women took over many jobs when the men left for the armed forces

Rosie the Riveter

• Rosie the Riveter is an American symbol for women & power

• She represents the women who worked in factories during WWII

• She is modeled after 2 women – Rosalind P. Walter and Rose Will Monroe

American Involvement

• Americans at home did many things to help support the war

• Families grew freedom gardens to raise vegetables for themselves so farms could send food to soldiers

• New government rules called for rationing – limiting what families could buy. This made more supplies available to be sent to our troops.

Rationing

• These items were rationed:– Butter– Sugar– Meat– Heating oil– Gasoline– Clothing Rationing was also common all over Europe.

Tuskegee Airmen• Known as the 332nd Fighter Group• 1st African-American pilots in US

armed forces• Was an “experiment” to see if

African-Americans could fly bombers in war

• Had 2 missions: to stop Hitler in Europe, and to stop racism in America

• Painted the tails of their planes red so everyone would know who they were

• http://www.knowitall.org/tuskegeeairmen/story/hcarter.html

Japanese Internment Camps

• After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, some Americans believed that Japanese Americans living in the US would try to help Japan invade the US

• In 1942, FDR ordered the Army to put about 110,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps.

• They were fenced in and had soldiers with guns to prevent people from leaving.

Japanese Internment Camps

• These Japanese Americans were citizens.

• They had to sell their homes, businesses, and belongings.

• They were moved to camps all across the western US and had to wear an ID tag.

Internment Camps VS Concentration Camps: Signs

Japanese Internment Camps Nazi Concentration Camps

“He who wears this symbol is an enemy of our people.”

Internment Camps VS Concentration Camps: Identification

Japanese Internment Camps Nazi Concentration Camps

Internment Camps VS Concentration Camps: Housing

Japanese Internment Camps Nazi Concentration Camps

WWII Warfare

• This war was fought differently:– No trenches– Tanks, ships, airplanes– Bombs dropped by air raids destroyed factories,

hospitals, and homes, killing innocent civilians– Two major fronts: Europe and Pacific

D-Day

• The 1st step in the Allies battle plan in Europe was to invade Italy

• In September of 1943, Italy surrendered• As they were fighting in Italy, the Allies were

planning something even bigger• June 6, 1944 is known as D-Day, the largest

water-to-land invasion in history

D-Day

• The D in D-Day stands for “Day” (yes, Day-Day)• On D-Day, American, Canadian, and British

troops crossed the English Channel. They landed on the beaches of Normandy, France, where the German forces met them with heavy gunfire.

• Many soldiers landed on the beaches. The rest came in by airplanes.

D-Day

Details of D-Day

• In the months prior to D-Day, the Allies heavily bombed the Germans to keep them from securing that area.

• The weather was terrible that day. The Allies almost called off the attack, but it would have taken months to wait and do it again. Officials decided to go for it even though the weather was bad.

• They landed in heavy fog and winds blew many who were flying in from airplanes off track and into enemy fire.

• D-Day was very bloody, but it was a success; the Allies were able to push Germany back, and it led to the end of the war.

D-Day

A Change in Presidents

• US President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not live to see the end of the war.

• President FDR died in April 1945.• Upon his death, Vice President Harry S.

Truman became the United States President.

V-E Day

• The US and Great Britain won the D-Day battles.

• The Soviets (also our allies) began to push Germany from the other side.

• In May 1945, Allied troops entered Germany and learned that Hitler had killed himself.

• On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered. This was called V-E Day, or Victory in Europe.

Island-Hopping

• In 1943, the US and Allies began to force Japan to leave the lands they had taken over.

• The Allies decided on a plan they called “island-hopping.”

• This meant they were going to take back only the most important islands on the way to Japan. To do this, the Allies would bomb Japan from the air.

Iwo Jima

• Two of the island-hopping battles cost many American soldiers their lives.

• At Iwo Jima, more than 4,000 American soldiers died.

• More than 11,000 American soldiers died at Okinawa.

• The closer the Allies got to Japan, the deadlier the battles became.

• Because of the high death rate of our soldiers, President Harry Truman had a decision to make.

The Atomic Bomb

• Germany was rumored to have been creating one• It was difficult to figure out the science and actually

build it in time to use it in this war• The war in Europe was over • Tested in July of 1945• Harry Truman was the president who decided to use it:

it’s war, you have a bomb, you use the bomb. He didn’t think it was a difficult decision.

• http://www.history.com/topics/atomic-bomb/videos#bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

• President Harry Truman warned Japan to surrender. They did not.

• The first atomic bomb, name the Enola Gay, was dropped on Hiroshima.

• The second was dropped on Nagasaki 3 days later.

• September 2, 1945 – Japan formally surrendered

Effects of The Atomic Bomb

• The most devastating weapon mankind has ever invented

• Strength of that bomb: released the same amount of energy as being dropped into the center of the sun

• Almost 100,000 people died immediately

• People on the edges suffered the most

V-J Day

• As terrible as the atomic bomb was, it forced Japan to surrender.

• On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to the US.

• This was known as V-J Day, or Victory Over Japan Day.

• World War II was finally over. The US lost about 300,000 soldiers. Worldwide, over 15 million soldiers died fighting in WWII.

Effects of the Atomic Bomb

• Close enough to see it but far enough not to kill you – it would have blinded you (melted your eyes)

• Being on the edge gives you as much radiation as thousands of chest X-Rays

• Looks like burn injuries, forcing you to lose layers of skin

• For those who were farther away, it often caused several types of cancer, even as far as 20-30 years away

The United Nations

• UN brings nations of world together to discuss rights and peace

• Replaced League of Nations• UN nations have to agree to provide military to

enforce peace-keeping decisions• Today, 193 member countries• Countries have to be voted in• The UN can help new countries in many ways• Located in NY and Netherlands

The Cold War

• A “cold war” means there are no bullets fired• It has nothing to do with temperature• 40 year disagreements between the US and

Soviet Union (Russia + other countries)• The US was afraid the Soviet Union would

spread communism throughout the world• Communism is a system in which all property

is owned by government (dictators)

Communism

• As communism began to spread, Germany was split in two: communist East Germany and democratic West Germany.

• The City of Berlin was also divided – Soviets built the Berlin Wall to keep others from invading communist East Berlin

• Communism didn’t only affect Europe and Asia

Communism in the US

• Many Americans were afraid of communism. • Communism was referred to as “red,” so the strong US

fear of communism was called the Red Scare• In the 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused many

innocent Americans of communist activity• Many were writers, actors, and other “intellectuals”• He held hearings to prove that they were communist

“sympathizers”• Many people lost their jobs because of this and

struggled to earn a living

The Berlin Airlift

• In 1948, the Soviets cut off all access to West Berlin (democratic) – built a wall, the Berlin Wall

• They were going to have no food, no water, and no supplies. What would happen?

• The US and its allies tried to talk to the Soviets, but they wouldn’t listen

• US and British airplanes flew over W Berlin, giving them the supplies they needed

• The wall began to began to be demolished in 1989• See photos and videos: http://www.spiritoffreedom.org/

airlift.html

The Berlin Wall

The Wall Dividing Berlin As The Wall Was Demolished

The Cold War

• British Prime Minister Winston Churchill declared that an “Iron Curtain” had fallen

• An “iron curtain” is not an actual curtain of iron; it just means that there is a big divide separating communism from democracy

• Marshall Plan – US gave $ to help European countries rebuild

• NATO – US established it; a military alliance between US, Canada, and other democratic nations

• The Soviet Union didn’t trust the US, and they had some good reasons

The Arms Race

• The US had several atomic bombs stored• The Soviets developed their own atomic weapons• The US built more, so the Soviets built more• This created an “arms race” – a race to build up

more weapons than the other• People all over the world feared a nuclear war

between both countries• If 8 atomic bombs were dropped, the whole earth

could be wiped out

The Korean War

• As part of the Cold War, another war was fought in the 1950s in Korea due to the spread of communism

• S Korea was invaded by communist N Korea• The US sent troops and support to S Korea• Several other UN countries offered aid to S Korea• N Korea had help from other countries as well• A cease fire was signed in 1953 and restored a border

between the two countries• Technically, this war has NOT ended – minor fighting

still occurs today

The Korean War

The Cuban Missile Crisis

• JFK was sworn in as president in 1961• In October 1962, he learned that the Soviet Union had built

several missile launch sites in Cuba, just 90 miles south of Florida

• Cuba had become a communist country• Cuba’s Leader: Fidel Castro; Soviet Union’s Leader: Nikita

Krushchev (cut regular army but built missiles)• The US was worried that the Soviets would attack the US

from Cuba• Eventually, the Soviets removed all missiles in Cuba and

agreed to stop sending missiles to Cuba

The Cuban Missile Crisis

The End of the Cold War

• The Cold War began to end in the 1980s• The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, forming

several smaller countries (ie, Russia)• People say the US won the Cold War, but the

end was good for everyone• The Cold War may be over, but here is a video

with some things that may surprise you!• http://www.history.com/topics/atomic-bomb/vi

deos#cold-war

A New Race: The Space Race

• All of our competition with the Soviet Union also led to space exploration

• The Soviets surprised the US in 1957 by sending the 1st satellite into space, Sputnik

• The US wanted to catch up, so we sent our own, the Explorer I, in 1958

• We continued to race the Soviets to have “space firsts”

• http://www.history.com/topics/space-race/videos#the-space-race

The Space Race

Cover of Time Magazine First to Land on the Moon

The Space Race: Firsts

SOVIET UNION• 1st satellite, Sputnik• 1st living being, a dog• 1st human in orbit• 1st woman in space• 1st 2-man flight• 1st 3-man flight

THE UNITED STATES• 1st man to fully orbit the

earth (John Glenn)• 1st men to land on the

moon (Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin)

• Being the 1st on the moon gave the US the “victory”