World War II and the U.

S´
Role in it
by Yamil Hanna
Setting the Context
• Germany had to pay reparations for the damage done in WW1. They had borrowed
money from the US to keep the country going.
• The American markets collapsed and the US has to force Germany to pay off their debts.
Hyperinflation hit the country hard.
• Germans began to lose their Jobs. Therefore, desperation made people turn to extreme
solutions. The Nazi party´s ideas began to become more appealing to Germans.
• Hitler was portrayed as the savior of Germany. There was a cult of personality around
him.
• The scapegoating began: The Jews were to be blamed for the dreadful state of Germany.
• Hitler rises to power. By doing so, he bans other political parties , trade unions and Nazi
officials were put in charge of the whole country.
Try to Recall What You Might Have Heard
About the Man.
Facts about Adolf Hitler
• Responsible for starting WWII.
• He blamed the Jews for Germany´s defeat in WWI and its economic problems. He
used anti-Semitic ideas. He considered the Aryan race superior and the Jews not a
race.
• It is said he was greatly influenced by anti-Semitism as a child.
• He was a soldier during WWI and he could not overcome the fact Germany had
been defeated. He felt he had to do something to turn things around.
• He gave terrific speeches. He persuaded most Germans through them.
• When he joined the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NAZI), he felt
supported. Other members of the party agreed on hating Jews.
On Hatred Against the Jews and Other
Minorities
• Nazi Germany passed the Nuremberg Laws in 1935. In short :
• Jews were required to wear a yellow badge ( the Star of David.) and there were posters on
how to identify them on the streets and public places.
• Jews could not attend many public places such as schools, certain streets and movie theaters.
• Their properties were confiscated and given to Nazi officials.
• They were put in ghettos and the moved to concentration camps where they were made to
work , in some cases, to death.
• Some were killed in gas chambers. They were tricked into thinking they were going to take
showers.
• Black people , homosexuals and gypsies were also the target of the Nazi . Many of these
were sterilized.
• Around six million Jews were killed.
Get Them While They are Young!
Boom! Questions!
• Why did the Germans trust a man with such pernicious ideas?
• What seems to be one successful way to indoctrinate people?
More Nazi Propaganda
Causes of WWII
• Treaty of Versailles.
• Hitler and Nazism.
• Japan was expanding and conquering China and Korea( They called
the Chinese people the sick men of Asia.)
• Fascism.
• Neglect.
 First year of WWII (1939)
• Germany Invaded Poland on 1 September , in 1939
• Great Britain and France declared war on Germany two days after the invasion of Poland.

Second Year (1940)

• Germany invaded Denmark, Finland, Belgium ,Holland and France.
• Germany attacked Britain, but did not manage to invade it.

Third Year (1941)

• Germany began to invade Russia.
• Auschwitz gas chambers were used to gas the Jews.
• U.S. decided not to trade with Japan because they were allies with Germany. This resulted in the attack
on Pearl Harbor, Hawai. President Theodore Roosevelt states that The United States have entered the
war.
 Fourth Year (1942)
• War in Britain continued. British cities were bombed and Cathedrals destroyed.
• The Japanese invaded Singapore. However, they were losing against the U.S. U.S. Planes bombed many
Japanese aircraft carriers.
• More Jews were killed in Auschwitz.
Fifth Year (1943)
• Germany starts losing against U.S.S.R. The Harsh Winter was killing the Nazis. The Nazis surrender in Stalingrad.
• Benito Mussolini ,the Italian dictator, was captured by the allied forces. He was later rescued by the Germans.
• At Bletchley Park , the English people managed to break German codes and predict some of their attacks.
Alan Turing created a huge machine that could break German codes.
• The red army was moving towards Germany.
Sixth Year (1944)
• D- Day: The Allies try to invade France , but they are met with heavy German resistance. France was
liberated in the end. This marks the beginning of the end of the War in Europe.
• The red army continued their attack making German troops retreat.
 Final Year (1945)

• The Russians ( Red Army) reached Berlin on 21 April.

• On April 25, the Allied troops liberated Italy from the Nazi occupation and Benito Mussolini’s
rule. Benito Mussolini lynched and hanged by Italian resistance.
• Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide in the Führer´s bunker on the 30th of April. He
swallowed a cyanide capsule and then shot himself.
• Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki made Japan surrender. Never had the world seen
such tremendous destructive power. Little boy and Fatman erased most of the cities from the
face of the Earth.
Technology Developed During WWII
• Pressurized cabins.
• Radars.
• Computers.
• Microwave oven.
• Synthetic rubber.
• Penicillin. ( discovered long before the war ,but its use was improved during it)
• Nuclear power.
Boom! One More Question!
• Mention 3 causes of WW2.
Jews Extermination
Map of German Attacks
Nations Occupied by Nazi Germany
Benito Mussolini
Ghosts of Hiroshima
Consequences
• The end of Nazism and Fascism.
• Japan was forced to surrender their colonized territories.
• The United Nations was created.
• Most European world powers were economically devastated.
• The U.S. and Russia became the most powerful nations in the world.
• The Cold War.
What Happened to the Japanese Living in
the U.S. During WWII?
• Mike Shinoda has a story to tell…
THANKS!
 References
• Robinson, B. (2011). World War Two: Summary Outline of Key Events.
Retrieved 9 September, 2016, from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/ww2_summary_01
.shtml

• The impact of the Depression on Germany - Hitler into power, 1929-

1934 - Eduqas - GCSE History Revision - Eduqas - BBC Bitesize. BBC
Bitesize. Retrieved 18 November 2021, from
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zpvhk7h/revision/1.