CHAPTER 10

The horrors of World War I were a distant memory for

B-17s—the Flying Fortresses—were
many Americans, but in Germany the memory of war had like tanks in the skies, able to take
grown into a bitter hurt that some wanted to avenge. heavy enemy fire and still fly.
Japan, too, had plans for
regional domination, in
Asia and the Pacific.
Soon the entire world
was engulfed by war.

A machine gunner on duty

in New Guinea, an island
in the Pacific Ocean
W O R L D W A R I I “We shall fight on the beaches,
we shall fight on the landing
THE WORST grounds, we shall fight in
the fields and in the streets,
WORLD WAR 1 9 3 9 – 1 9 4 5
we shall fight in the hills;
we shall never surrender.”
–Winston Churchill, prime minister of
Great Britain, one of our allies in the war
Women went to work building
planes and ships, and kept the
home front humming.

American Indians, such as the

Navajo Code Talkers, played a
big role in the war effort. Their
ancient languages were used to
transmit vital military data.
146 147

Political and economic
conditions in Europe following
World War I led to the rise of
Fascism and to World War II.
Imagine this. You order a fruit smoothie and pay $2.50 for it. You drink it THE DEPRESSION HITS EUROPE Word to
inflation
and decide you are still thirsty, so you order another. This time it costs $5.00! By the mid-1920s things had settled down a bit. (in-flay-shun)
Tomorrow, that same fruit smoothie is $7.50, and by the weekend it is America loaned Germany money to repay some of Know An economic condition when money
$20.00. What is happening? How can you possibly afford anything if food its war debts, and international trade in German loses its value and prices keep rising
and clothing keep getting more expensive? How will you live? goods grew. But when the stock market crashed in
1929 and the Great Depression hit, America had to THE PRICE OF BREAD DURING ONE YEAR

Why War Again?

In the 1920s, as many Americans put the memory of World War I
call in its loans, creating a worldwide depression.
Germany could not repay the money it owed and,
therefore, could not repay its war debts. To
retaliate, France seized the part of Germany where
behind them, the people of Germany worried about how to survive. Oct. 1922 July 1923 Sept. 1923 Oct. 1923
Germany’s heavy industries were located. 163 Marks 3,465 1,512,000 201,000,000,000
World War I had left parts of Europe in a state of economic ruin. Marks Marks Marks
Unemployment grew along with hopelessness.
There were food shortages, and money became almost worthless.
LOOKING FOR A LEADER THE RISE OF ADOLF HITLER
PAYBACK TIME Hungry people, no jobs and high inflation— its
The Germans had been ordered to repay a huge sum of money to the AND THE NAZIS
money worthless. The German people were Who was Hitler? What drove him? In 1918, as a young
Allied countries most devastated by the war, especially France and
desperate. Desperate people are more likely to soldier lying in a hospital after a poison-gas attack, he
Belgium. But the Germans had no money of their own to repay the
listen to anyone who will promise to end their heard the news of Germany’s surrender ending World
high war debt they owed, so they simply began printing
suffering. The economic devastation, coupled War I. The news threw him into a deep depression, and
more and more cash. At first, their solution seemed to
with political instability, led to the perfect he vowed that Germany would rise once more, greater
work, but eventually the value of the money went down
opportunity for someone with radical political than ever. And he—Adolf Hitler—would lead.
and prices went crazy.
ideas to gain power. Hitler worked and planned. He
HIGH, HIGHER, HIGHEST For 10 years, a small group led by was a master speechmaker, and his
In the years after the war, the price of goods in Adolf Hitler—a charismatic, yet rallies grew larger and larger. He
Germany began rising—at first slowly, then faster hate-filled former artist—began built youth camps to “educate”
and faster. In 1920 a loaf of bread cost two marks plotting to take over the German young Germans and preyed on the
(a mark was the German version of our dollar). By government. Hitler began building suffering of the German people with
1923 that loaf of bread was selling for 200 BILLION a secret police force and schemed promises to bring Germany back to
to get himself into a position of its glory. Surrounded by huge
marks. Prices changed by the hour. The A Hitler rally
power. In 1933, his plan worked. banners, with his uniformed, armed
government simply printed money with
After years of turmoil in Germany, the National guards lined up in dramatically lit halls, he brought the
higher values. Someone having a drink in a
Socialist Party—the Nazi Party for short—won a crowds to their feet with his frenzied messages. No
cafe might find that their second drink
majority of seats in the government. Adolf Hitler more war repayments! Jobs for everyone! Germany
was twice the price of the first one! became chancellor (the German equivalent of a
How bad was it? By November 1923, German money became so would rise again!
president), and some of the darkest days in all of His Nazi Party kept winning seats in government until
worthless that it was best used to
one U.S. dollar was equal to one human history lay ahead.
start fires in home stoves. it had a majority. In 1933 Hitler became Germany’s
trillion marks. Workers were
leader. Right after that, the government
paid every day. EYEWITNESS TO HISTORY
headquarters burned to the ground. Hitler blamed
Stacks of bills Pearl Buck, an American writer, was in Germany in 1923:
his opponents, so he could attack them, but in fact
were loaded into “The cities were still there, the houses not yet bombed
the Nazis had set the blaze as an excuse to attack
wheelbarrows and tossed to and in ruins, but the victims were millions of people.
and beat any dissenters.
They had lost their fortunes, their savings; they were
the workers who rushed out to Nazis set up a special “camp”
dazed and inflation-shocked and did not understand
spend their wads as quickly as at Dachau—a model for
how it had happened to them and who the foe was
possible. After all, prices were who had defeated them. Yet they had lost their self- what would later be used
only going to go even higher! Payday assurance, their feeling that they themselves could be to kill countless Jews
People were angry and for a German the masters of their own lives if only they worked hard and other people.
worker in enough; and lost, too, were the old values of morals,
149
frustrated.
148
1923 of ethics, of decency.”
 The rise of Fascism threatened
peace in Europe and Asia.

Word to Know

Fascism
Villains and Heroes
Adolf Hitler had been elected in a democratic election, but he had no intention
WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?
At first, the Soviet Union—also known as the U.S.S.R.—led by the tyrant
Joseph Stalin, sided with Hitler. Stalin wanted to expand the Soviet Empire. But
when the Germans turned on the Soviets and began going after Soviet
“Heil, Hitler!” A weeping
of playing by the rules of a democracy. Instead, he declared a “state of woman in Czechoslovakia
(fah-shiz-um) territories in 1941, Stalin switched his allegiance and joined the Allies. salutes the invading
emergency” and replaced all who disagreed with his ideas with his own hand-
A political philosophy in which Germans.
total power is given to a dictator, picked Nazi cohorts. Anyone who fought back was imprisoned or killed. THE AXIS POWERS: A TRIO OF EVIL
individual freedoms are denied, THE RISE OF FASCISM, THE START OF WAR In Italy, Benito Mussolini, another Fascist dictator, had been ruling for years.
and racism and nationalism are Hitler began rebuilding the German army, then began a takeover of lands lost Like Hitler, he had a secret police force and banned all criticism of the
emphasized in World War I. In 1938 he grabbed Austria and soon after, the Sudetenland, a government. He decided to support Hitler, convinced of the military strength of
part of Czechoslovakia. After England and France protested, Hitler swore there the Germans. Why not choose the winning side?
The Invasion
would be no more aggression. Hitler was worried about the Soviet Union, but There was a third Axis Power—Japan. How did an island nation in Asia
of Poland
after signing a treaty that promised that the Soviets would not interfere with become involved with two European nations? The link was the Soviet Union,
1939
Soviet Germany’s plans, Hitler began his campaign to build a new German empire. He whose borders extended to the Pacific Ocean. In the early 1900s, Japan and
Great Union
Britain
called it the “Third Reich.” On September, 1, 1939, Hitler’s tanks began rolling Russia had fought over a part of China, called Manchuria, which has several big
Germany Poland
across Poland, in a style of war called blitzkrieg, which means “lightning war.’ port cities. Japan still wanted to invade China. The Soviet Union stood in its way.
France
Austria Nearly 200,000 Polish people died, many of them women and children. After a WHAT ABOUT AMERICA?
short, but heroic fight, the Poles surrendered. At first, the United States tried to remain neutral, sticking with its policy of
Italy
TWO ALLIES REUNITE ONCE MORE isolationism—a political legacy of the First World War. America was still in the
The world’s democratic nations were horrified by the aggression of the grip of the Great Depression. But Hitler’s aggression could not be ignored, so the
Poland was attacked Germans. Great Britain and France demanded that Germany withdraw from U.S. government began giving economic aid to the Allies. And then, on December
Allies Axis 7, 1941, a shocking event took place that led to America’s direct involvement
in in by both Germany Poland, but Hitler refused. Seeing no other choice, Britain, Canada (a British
1939 1939 and Russia. Commonwealth nation), and France declared war. in the war.

FASCIST DICTATORS OF THE AXIS POWERS LEADERS OF THE ALLIED POWERS AFTER 1941

ADOLF HITLER BENITO MUSSOLINI HIDEKI TOJO WINSTON CHURCHILL FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT JOSEPH STALIN
GERMANY ITALY JAPAN GREAT BRITAIN & HARRY TRUMAN THE SOVIET UNION
• Used unrest in Germany in • Used unrest in Italy in the • Prime minister of Japan from • Urged Britain to re-arm after THE U.S.A. (U.S.S.R.)
the 1920s to grab power. 1920s to grab power. 1941–1944. Hitler’s election in 1933. • Pushed for economic and • A tyrannical dictator who first
• Wanted an all-powerful • Opposed democracy because it • Needed support to invade • In 1939 said Britain and France military assistance to Britain with supported the Axis Powers.
German Empire. “divided” the nation. China in pursuit of new should form a military alliance the Lend-Lease program while • Joined the Allies in 1941
• Believed in Aryan supremacy— • Allowed no criticism of his territories and their natural with the Soviet Union. keeping the U.S. out of the war. after Germany broke a non-
the superiority of a pure white government and controlled the resources. • Was appointed prime minister • After Japan bombed Pearl aggression treaty by invading
race—and blamed Jewish people army and the schools. • An enemy of the Soviet Union in 1940 and led Britain with Harbor, FDR led the U.S. into war. the U.S.S.R.
for the world’s problems. and a supporter of fascist great courage. • After FDR’s death, Truman
ideals. became president.

150 151
 Planes arrive
As conflict grew in Europe and
in Britain. LEND-LEASE: AMERICA BEFORE PEARL HARBOR
Asia, American foreign policy
Germany invades Poland! Japan invades Beginning in the late 1930s, the U.S. began to sell war materials to the British. By 1940,
evolved from neutrality to direct
involvement.
China! The Soviet Union invades Finland!
our government was trading military equipment to Britain in exchange for our use of
Germany invades Denmark! France has
military bases in Bermuda, the Caribbean, and Canada. In 1941, the U.S. began to simply
fallen! Britain under attack!
give economic and military aid to the Allies. The last, and biggest, of these aid programs
Americans read the daily news
with growing horror, grateful that was called Lend-Lease. Billions of dollars worth of planes, tanks, and other equipment
two oceans protected us from were sent to the British, with the hope that they would be able to hold off the Germans
invasion. But all that changed on a without the need for American soldiers. Lend-Lease helped greatly, but it was not enough.
quiet Sunday morning on a small THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
island in Hawaii. By the autumn of 1940, Great Britain found itself virtually alone—one small London erupts in flames after
a bombing attack.
island nation trying valiantly to fight off a German invasion. Paris, the capital of
France, had fallen to the Germans. Bombs hammered London daily. British
citizens survived by sleeping in subway tunnels, enduring blackouts, terrible
deprivation, and fiery explosions through long, sleepless nights. They sent
their children to safety in faraway places, and yet they kept their spirits up and
their pluck and pride remained strong. Winston Churchill called it their “finest
hour.” With America’s entry into the war in 1941, they could breathe a small
sigh of relief, but the fight would be long, hard, and often deadly.

“A Date Which Will A WAR THAT SPANNED an

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nl

Live in Infamy” THE GLOBE

rw
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F

No

Swe
Estonia

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Russia
THE

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Latvia

European
Ireland Lithuania
AXIS-CONTROLLED

Den
United Kingdom nd
That was how President Roosevelt described the sleepy Sunday morning olla Poland AREAS
H Germany
of December 7, 1941. On that day the serene beauty of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Atlantic
Ocean
Belgium
OF EUROPE
was shattered by the wail of air-raid sirens. Planes buzzed overhead, bombs THEATER France
Czechoslovakia
Austria- Hungary
whirred downwards and struck with blasts of fire. When the smoke cleared, Yu Romania

l
go

ga
• A vast area of heavy fighting that took sla Black Sea
over 2,400 Americans were dead, and 1,000 more lay wounded. Hundreds of

rtu
vi
a Bulgaria

It
place across Europe and parts of Africa. Spain Axis-

al
Po
Switzerland
aircraft burned on the ground, and in the harbors the shattered hulls of

y
• Allied forces, including the United States, Turkey
controlled
the U.S. Pacific Fleet belched clouds of black smoke into the sky. A chain of areas
Great Britain, and the Soviet Union, Greece
destruction stretched from the Philippines to America’s island outposts. We co
fought the Axis powers in three sub- oc
or Mediterranean
could remain uninvolved no longer. America was finally at war. M
theaters: the Eastern Front, the Western Algeria Sea

Front, and the Mediterranean Theater. A F R I C A Libya Egypt

AMERICA GOES TO WAR
EYEWITN ESS TO HISTORY Tensions had been building between the North Pacific Ocean
United States and Japan because of THE

Pacific
George D. Phraner, aviation machinist’s mate first class, China Japan
aboard the U.S.S. Arizona on December 7, 1941: Japanese aggression in East Asia and the cHiroshima c
cOkinawa Midway

“Seconds after the explosion the lights went out and it was pitch Pacific region. When the Japanese attacked Iwo Jima c MAJOR BATTLE SITES Hawaii
black…a thick acrid smoke filled the magazine locker and the Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt knew he IN THE PACIFIC c
South
China Pearl Harbor THEATER
metal walls began to get hot. In the dark and not being able to had no choice but to finally fight back. The Sea Philippines
breathe, we made our way to the door hatch, only to find it shut cLeyte c Marianas cMarshall Islands
day after the Pearl Harbor attack, Roosevelt • Fighting against Japanese forces took
and locked. Somehow we were able to open the hatch and start stood before Congress and asked for a Borneo c Gilbert Islands place in the Far East and on many
to make our way up the ladder. I was nauseated by the smell of New Guinea
Declaration of War against Japan. Three cJava Solomons
islands in the Pacific Ocean.
burning flesh, which turned out to be my own as I climbed up the
hot ladder. A quick glance around revealed nothing in the
days later, Germany and Italy declared war c cGuadalcanal
Coral
• Much of the heaviest fighting fell to the
Indian
on the United States. The fight for the Ocean Sea Fiji U.S. Navy and Marine Corps.

153
darkness, but the moaning and sounds of falling bodies told me
that some of my shipmates had succumbed to defeat and had freedom of the world had begun! Australia
South Pacific Ocean
died in their attempt to survive.”
 Through America’s darkest hours, through Depression and world war, one man made
Americans believe that they had nothing to fear but fear itself.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Roosevelt was the fifth
cousin of President Teddy Roosevelt.
Young “FDR” greatly admired his older
cousin. Inspired by his
accomplishments, Franklin
set out to follow in his
footsteps in the service
of the nation.
January 30, 1882:
Born in New York.
1900–1907: Attends
Harvard and then
Columbia Law School.
1905: Marries Eleanor
Roosevelt, a very
distant cousin.
1910: Elected to the
New York State Senate.
1913–1920: Serves as
assistant secretary of
the navy during World War I.
. Woodrow Wilson and
1920: Loses an election as
Democratic candidate for U.S.
vice president.
1921: Stricken
with polio, a crippling
disease. Will never
again walk without help.
1928: Elected governor
of New York.
1932–1945: Elected
president in the depths
of the Depression;
subsequently elected to
three more terms.
1945: Devotes much time to
planning a United Nations to
work for world peace.
April 12, 1945:
Dies at Warm Springs,
Georgia, from a cerebral
154
hemorrhage.
Franklin was an only child born into a wealthy family. He grew
up with many advantages, but his mother constantly reminded
him to always be a gentleman and to help those less fortunate.
FINDING HIS FUTURE
Schoolwork never held much interest for Roosevelt. At
Harvard University he preferred extracurricular activities and
partying. At one such event, he met a very distant cousin with
the same last name. Her first name was Eleanor, and FDR
fell in love with her. Eleanor—brilliant and involved in the
world around her—became a major influence in his life.
Law school followed for FDR but that, too, did not spark
his interests. At his cousin Teddy’s urging, FDR entered
politics and, at age 28, won a seat in the
New York State Senate. Tall,
handsome, and well-spoken—his
political future seemed bright.
IN WORLD WAR I
An avid sailor, FDR was
named assistant
secretary of the Navy by
served through World
War I. He was inspired
by Wilson’s ideas for a
world organization
devoted to keeping
the peace. He vowed
to one day make such
a plan work.
In Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin found
someone who would push him, support
him, challenge him, and stand by his
side. She was a woman who
became a symbol of goodness,
Eleanor and Franklin
kindness, and hope—a great
hero and American legend. at a friend’s wedding
elts
THE WILL TO TRIUMPH
oosev
The R Things were looking promising for the Roosevelts. Their family now
included six children, and FDR was gaining a national reputation. But
tragedy struck when he was 39. Polio, a muscle-wasting disease, left
FDR paralyzed from the waist down. It was a terrible blow, but he
refused to accept his fate. He learned of a place called Warm Springs,
Georgia. There, swimming in the warm spring waters, he was able to
recover some strength in his legs, allowing him to stand. Though he
would never again walk without heavy metal leg braces and the
help of others, he would not let his disability stop him.
NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF
In 1932, with America in the grip of the Great Depression, voters
looked for a candidate who would inspire hope. That man was FDR,
whose carefree, optimistic smile, and can-do
energy made the American people feel
FDR became such a master at hiding
that—as the Depression-era song
his disability that many people were
unaware that he could barely walk. He promised—“Happy Days Are Here Again.”
became an advocate for the disabled. In the years that followed, FDR found
solutions to America’s problems. His “New
FOUR Deal” put America back to work and, in the
FREEDOMS grim days following Pearl Harbor, his
From President Roosevelt’s 1941 presence calmed a worried nation.
State of the Union message: A rare photo
of FDR in a THE FIRESIDE CHATS
“In the future days…we look wheelchair FDR reached out to the American public
forward to a world founded with a series of radio broadcasts delivered
upon four essential human calmly and in plainspoken words. There was something reassuring to
freedoms. his listeners—a sense that America would prevail in a world gone mad.
The first is freedom of speech and
expression—everywhere in the world. A VERY SPECIAL PRESIDENCY
The second is freedom of every Extraordinary times called for an extraordinary leader. FDR became
person to worship God in his own the only American ever elected to four terms as president. He never
way—everywhere in the world. lived to see the world’s nations united in a search for peace. His sudden
The third is freedom from want— death early in his fourth term saddened our nation and the world.
which, translated into world terms, Harry Truman became the new president. He would face many difficult
means economic understandings which decisions as the war dragged on, but Roosevelt’s important message of
will secure to every nation a healthy living without fear was a great inspiration.
peacetime life for its inhabitants—
everywhere in the world.
The fourth is freedom from fear—
which, translated into world terms,
means a worldwide reduction of
armaments to such a point and in such
a thorough fashion that no nation will
be in a position to commit an act of A weary FDR traveled to Yalta, a
physical aggression against any
seaport in Russia, in February 1945, to
neighbor—anywhere in the world.”
155
talk with Winston Churchill and Joseph
Stalin about plans for peace in Europe.
 World War II affected every
SAVING EVERY SCRAP A Japanese American store owner hung
aspect of American life.

Americans were asked to

make sacrifices in support of
On the War meant shortages of many
things, such as coffee, sugar, gas,
Word to Know

internment
(in-tern-mint)
this banner soon after Pearl Harbor.

Home Front
meat, and butter. Such items were
the war effort and the ideas The confinement of a
“rationed,” which means they
for which we fought. large group of people
could only be bought in small
America had brilliant generals to mobilize our who are held without
amounts. Folks used ration books
World War II was a troops and inspire our fighting forces. We had having had a trial
filled with stamps to get their
“total war.” That heroic soldiers, ready to give their lives to allotment. They also grew veggies
meant that everyone— defend freedom. We also had home front in tiny backyard “victory gardens”
not just the armed heroes—the 12-year-old tending a victory and held scrap drives to collect
forces—was involved garden, the mother of three on an aircraft used tin cans, bottles, and even
in the struggle. assembly line, the slightly stooped grandfather THE JAPANESE

Internment
used cooking fat to be recycled
scanning the night skies for possible war planes. into war supplies. All these small
Sixteen million American men and women were efforts helped our armed forces.
in uniform, but millions more were also doing CAMPS
everything in their power to help win the war. Posters everywhere reminded
WAR ENDS THE DEPRESSION Americans to conserve. Do MANZANAR: THE
you think this type of DARK SIDE OF THE WAR
America’s involvement in World War II helped end the Depression years. With
propaganda was effective?
war came the demand for factory workers to produce all the goods needed to After Pearl Harbor, life for thousands of Japanese
Why or why not?
win a war—aircraft engines, parachutes, ammunition, Americans became difficult, especially in the three
uniforms. Every worker was vital. For African BREAKING Pacific Coast states. Posters went up warning “all
Americans, who often faced discrimination at work, the DOWN RACIAL BARRIERS persons of Japanese ancestry” that they were
war meant meaningful jobs. For women of all colors The war effort brought some welcome changes to the going to be moved. The order affected more than
across America, work was a way to support their African American community. Racial barriers fell a bit as 110,000 people, two-thirds of whom were native-
fathers, brothers, sons, or husbands fighting overseas. defense plants began hiring black workers and born U.S. citizens. Within weeks, they were
Women workers became draftsmen. With everyone united against a common foe, ordered from their homes and workplaces and
known as Rosie the Three real-life “Rosies” assemble an new friendships were formed. sent to permanent relocation centers, such as
Riveters: strong, scarf- aircraft engine. The change came after black labor leader A. Philip Manzanar, in California. There, behind barbed
clad women who could Randolph threatened a massive March on Washington wire, in drab internment camps, they did their
weld as well as men. best to carry on.
in the summer of 1941. FDR compromised with
Randolph’s demands by setting up a Fair Employment It was difficult to understand. While Japanese
Practices Committee. Unfortunately, discrimination American soldiers were fighting and dying for
continued, especially in the armed forces themselves. their country, their families were being treated
WOMEN AND THE WAR with distrust and prejudice because of their
Once more, African Americans were often assigned to
With millions of men off to war, who
the most menial jobs—as cooks, truck drivers, and heritage. Some German Americans and Italian
would produce all the things needed Americans were also sent to special camps, but
laundry workers. What they wanted was a chance to
to defeat the Axis forces? Women! most were not U.S. citizens.
fight. When given the
With tied-back hair and clad in In 1988 the U.S. government
chance, they fought with
comfortable pants, off they went apologized to the Japanese American
great bravery and skill.
to America’s defense plants. community for its
The first black Marines
There were soon thousands of actions and repaid
stormed the beaches in
women on the job, welding many families for some
the Pacific. Fearless
torches and rivet guns in hand, of their financial losses.
African American pilots
building America’s war
showed daring in raids
equipment. These Rosie the
over Europe. Black nurses
Riveters would help
tended to the wounded of
win the war.
all colors. It was a start.
156 157
An all-American pastime at
Manzanar: comic books
The Holocaust is an example of
prejudice, discrimination, and
genocide taken to the extreme.
The Holocaust
In 1933 there were about nine million Jews living in the countries of Europe that
THE CONCENTRATION CAMPS
By September of 1939, the two million Jewish
people in occupied Poland had been moved to
ghettos in preparation for the Nazis’ “final
would soon be occupied by Hitler’s Nazis. By 1945 almost six million Jewish men, Broken windows on a
solution.” Jews from other Nazi-occupied lands
women, and children had been murdered in Germany’s death camps. Berlin street greeted
shoppers on the were also herded into ghettos, then packed into
THE START OF THE “FINAL SOLUTION” morning after filthy railcars, and taken to forced labor camps. A sign was erected at the entrance to
Hitler and his followers believed in Aryan supremacy—the superiority of a pure Kristallnacht. Soon In June of 1940 a new chapter in the Nazi plan Auschwitz: “Arbeit macht frei.” It means
white race. The Nazis were also anti-Semites, so they began to persecute people of after, Jews were began. A small town in Poland called Auschwitz “Work makes one free.” What it really meant
the Jewish faith. They began by boycotting Jewish stores, and then it got worse. forced to wear a became the site of a new work camp. A chilling was that death awaited most who entered.
yellow Star of David
New discriminatory laws were issued. Jews could no longer work for the headline in a Nazi newspaper warned: “…the
pinned to their clothes
government. Jewish children could not attend public schools. Jewish doctors and or face certain death. time is near when a machine will go into motion
dentists could only treat Jewish patients. Attending concerts, the theater, or the which is going to prepare a grave for the world's FIGHTING BACK
movies was forbidden. Jews had to wear a yellow Star of David criminal—Judah.”* The Nazi concentration camps As Axis forces continued occupying many countries,
wherever they went. were now death camps as Hitler began a systematic resisting the Nazis meant instant death. Still,
Germany’s Jews were a vibrant and highly educated group— attempt to rid Europe of all Jews. thousands of brave people fought back. Most were
some of the nation’s best scientists, teachers, and artists. Many killed trying to resist Nazi terror, but some managed
fled, including a young physicist named Albert Einstein. But most THE LEGACY OF ANNE FRANK to escape to freedom and survive.
loved their country and could not believe that the civilized world “Not being able to go outside upsets me more than Some families hid in secret closets, beneath
would let this continue. They believed that somehow, everything I can say, and I’m terrified our hiding place will be floorboards, and even sewers, forced to remain quiet
would return to how it had once been. They were wrong. discovered and that we’ll be and still for days at a time. Non-Jews risked their lives
shot.” So wrote Anne Frank, a to hide Jewish families or smuggle food to them.
THE NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS young Jewish girl. Forced to hide
However, Nazi threats to kill anyone who harbored a
On November 9, 1938, Nazi storm troopers went on a for two years in a few secret
Jewish family frightened most people from helping.
rampage. On Kristallnacht, in Germany, Austria, and other rooms with her entire family and
Nazi-controlled areas, Jewish families were beaten and several friends and relatives, she WITH AN END IN SIGHT
their homes vandalized. Jewish stores had their windows was unable to ever leave. For three brutal years, the mass executions
smashed and contents looted. Synagogues—Jewish houses Instead she poured her continued, but by 1945 Germany began to realize that
heart into a small, it was losing the war, so they began trying to hide the
of worship—were burned. Three days later, the Jewish families
plaid-covered
that survived were told they had to pay the state for damages death camps. Their gruesome gas chambers had
diary. Tragically,
and were fined one billion marks. Soon after, stripped of any killed six million Jews, a half million Gypsies (a
the Frank family
ability to earn a living, they were was discovered.
wandering people with no homeland), and 250,000
segregated into all-Jewish Anne died in a disabled men and women. Three million Soviet
neighborhoods called death camp, but prisoners of war had also been killed, along with two
ghettos. her spirit lives on in the pages million Poles and other Slavic peoples. More than 11
of her wonderful diary. million noncombatants, all gone at Nazi hands.
KINDERTRANSPORT The numbers are staggering, but we must
The free world was horrified by the news of A chilling memorial to those who remember that these were more than just numbers.
Kristallnacht. Five days later, spurred by action in Great perished—mounds of shoes taken These were mothers, grandfathers, sisters, dear
from concentration camp victims aunts, and beloved friends. These were great artists
Britain, thousands of young children began being
were found in a Nazi warehouse.
transported to England—a program called and brilliant scientists. When Allied forces finally
“Kindertransport.” Thousands of people in Great Britain arrived at the camps, soldiers wept at the inhumanity
Two young children board paid the Germans $250 per child, and as a result about they saw—truly one of history’s greatest tragedies.
a Kindertransport ship to 10,000 youngsters between the ages of 3 and 17 were Hitler did not succeed in destroying the Jewish
England for safety. people. Many who survived what they call Shoah—
able to leave Germany. They left without their
parents, and only one in five of these children “the Calamity”—have devoted their lives to making
would ever see their families again. sure it can never happen again.

158 159
* Another name for the Jewish people.
 Despite initial Axis success in
both Europe and the Pacific, the
Critical battles and
Allies persevered and ultimately
defeated Germany and Japan.
Major Turning
crucial milestones
that led to victory
THE
1930s 1940 1942
APRIL 9
• Germany invades Denmark
and Norway.
June 14
• Paris, France, falls
to the Germans.
SEPTEMBER 15
• Germany bombs London.
The Battle of Britain begins.
OCTOBER 25, 1936
• German-Italian Axis pact
SEPTEMBER 27
• Japan joins the Axis Powers.
MARCH 12, 1938
• Germany invades Austria.
1941
MARCH 15, 1939
• Germany invades
Czechoslovakia.
MARCH 11
AUGUST 23, 1939 • U.S. Lend-Lease becomes
• The Soviet Union signs a non- law. The U.S. sends Britain
aggression pact with Germany. supplies and warships.
SEPTEMBER 1, 1939 JUNE 22
• Germany invades Poland, • Germany invades the Soviet
from the west. War begins. Union.
SEPTEMBER 17,1939 DECEMBER 7–8
• Japan bombs
• The Soviet Union invades
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Poland, from the east.
The U.S. declares
war on Japan.
DECEMBER 11
• Germany and Italy declare
war on the U.S., and the
U.S. declares war in return.
160
JANUARY 1
• The “Declaration of the
United Nations” is signed.
JANUARY 21
• Germany is on the attack in
North Africa.
APRIL 9
• The U.S. suffers a loss at
Bataan, in the Philippines.
APRIL 18
• The U.S. bombs Tokyo, Japan.
MAY 6
• Philippines falls to Japan.
JUNE 3–6
• U.S. wins a major victory
at the Battle of Midway—a
turning point of the war in
the Pacific.
JUNE 24
• General Eisenhower takes
over the command of U.S.
troops in Europe.
Points of World War II Blue = European Theater
Red = Pacific Theater
1943 1944 1945
FEBRUARY 4
FEBRUARY 2
• At Stalingrad, the Soviet • Roosevelt, Churchill, and
army defeats the Germans— Stalin meet in
a turning point of the war Yalta to talk
about ending
in Eastern Europe.
the war.
FEBRUARY 9 FEBRUARY 13–14
• Marines take Guadalcanal.
• The U.S. lands at Iwo Jima.
JULY 25 APRIL 1
• Mussolini is overthrown. JUNE 6 • The U.S. takes Okinawa, a
• D-Day. American and other Japanese island.
SEPTEMBER 8 Allied troops storm beaches
in Normandy, France, to
• Italy makes peace with the APRIL 12
Allies. begin the liberation of • Roosevelt dies. Harry S.
Western Europe. Truman becomes U.S. president.
SEPTEMBER 10
• Hitler invades Rome. JULY 19 APRIL 29
• The first Nazi concentration
• Tojo’s cabinet resigns.
camps are liberated.
OCTOBER 13
• Italy declares war on JULY 20 APRIL 30
Germany. • An attempt to assassinate • Hitler commits suicide.
Hitler fails.
NOVEMBER 21 MAY 8
• U.S. troops land in the AUGUST 10 • Victory in Europe is declared.
Gilbert Islands in the Pacific. • The U.S. re-occupies Guam. War still continues in the Pacific.
AUGUST 25 AUGUST 6–9
• Paris is liberated.
• The U.S. drops
two atomic bombs,
SEPTEMBER 4
on the Japanese
• Belgium is liberated.
cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
DECEMBER 16
• Battle of the Bulge—the last
major Nazi offensive against AUGUST 14
the Allies—ends with a Nazi • Japan surrenders to end
defeat. World War II.
161
 Despite initial Axis success in both Europe and the Pacific, the Allies
persevered and ultimately defeated Germany and Japan.
D-DAY: JUNE 6, 1944

ASIA

NORTH
AMERICA
From Midway to D-Day...
Every single battle of World War II was important,
After nearly five years of war, Germany
still had a stranglehold on much of
Europe, with a chain of heavily fortified
bunkers along the Atlantic coastlines. If
Midway
Pacif
but these four events brought America closer to victory. Allied forces could somehow storm
ic Ocean
those bunkers, they might be able to
THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY: retake France. For months, plans were
JUNE 4–6, 1942 made to land on the beaches of
It had been six months since the Pearl Harbor Normandy using over 5,000 ships,
attack, and things were not going well for the 13,000 aircraft, and 160,000 Allied
A painting of the
Allies in the Pacific Theater. The Battle of troops. Under the cover of darkness in
Midway battle
Midway changed that. Midway Island, a speck in the pre-dawn hours, paratroopers
the ocean, was an important strategic spot. From jumped into enemy territory. On June 6,

Heroic George Gay, a U.S.
Navy ensign, flew with
Torpedo Squadron 8, based
in Norfolk, Virginia. He was
the sole survivor of the 30
planes from his squadron that
flew the first day at Midway.
Atl
an
tic
there the Japanese could re-fuel and attack
Hawaii. After intercepting a coded Japanese
message, the U.S. Navy dispatched three aircraft
carriers—the U.S.S. Enterprise, U.S.S. Hornet, and
U.S.S. Yorktown—all newly built at Virginia’s
Newport News shipyards. On June 4, 1942,
squadrons of U.S. aircraft took off and, with great
daring, attacked and sank four huge Japanese
aircraft carriers, along with 228 Japanese planes
and their best pilots. It was a huge blow to Japan,
and a turning point of the war in the Pacific.
Oc
ea
n Normandy, France
On D-Day, 21 men from Bedford,
Virginia, were killed. More soldiers
were lost per capita than in any other
community in the nation that day. To
honor the “Bedford Boys,” the U.S.
D-Day Memorial was built there.
IWO JIMA: FEBRUARY 19–MARCH 26,1945
1944, starting at dawn, thousands upon
thousands of soldiers began wading ashore. The number of
casualties was staggering, but by sundown the Allies had gained a
foothold in France. More than 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or
injured in the battle, but a great wave of more than 100,000 soldiers
had captured the Nazi bunkers. They could now begin the liberation
of Western Europe and defeat the Nazis. D-Day was the last major
turning point on the Western Front in World War II. Hitler’s days were
numbered, and he and his supporters knew it.
ASIA

Iwo Jima did not look like much—just an eight-square-mile

STALINGRAD: JULY 17, 1942–FEBRUARY 2, 1943 chunk of volcanic rock. But by 1945 it had become a “must-have” Iwo Jima
Pacific Ocean
As the German army discovered when it invaded the Soviet Union, Russian for the Allied forces in the Pacific. Iwo Jima would give the Allies a
winters can be deadly. Stalingrad was a major manufacturing city, which had refueling stop so America’s heavy bombers could reach Japan’s cities.
been named in honor of Joseph Stalin, the Soviet leader. The seven-month-long The Allies desperately wanted the island, but the battle came at an enormous cost.
battle was a major turning point of the war in Eastern Europe. It took more than a month of grueling battle with flame-throwers, grenades, and
Perhaps it was because the city constant attacks by fighter bombers to dislodge the Japanese soldiers who had built
was named for their leader, but EUROPE Russia concrete bunkers and an 11-mile-long network of tunnels on the island. As a Marine
Russian soldiers refused to let the Stalingrad ASIA
general said, “The Japanese were not on Iwo Jima. They were in it!”
city fall, even when they were AFRICA
Of the more than 22,000 Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima, only 216 survived to
literally starving and freezing to surrender. Iwo Jima was the only Marine battle where American
death. Stalin’s orders were simple: casualties—26,000 killed or wounded—outnumbered the Japanese.
“Not a step backward.”
The toll of battle was horrific. An EYEWITNESS TO HISTORY
estimated 1.7 to 2 million Axis and
Ray Jacobs, 28th Marine Regiment:
Soviet soldiers, and untold numbers
“You could hear, all of a sudden, this spontaneous roar from
of civilians, lost their lives. the Marines on the ground down at sea level fighting. They
The Battle of Stalingrad was had spotted the flag and they were just so excited by what
another major turning point for the they saw, they started screaming and cheering and yelling
Allies on the Eastern Front, but there An image that inspired our nation—five and hollering. It did so much for the Marines on the island
The Russian winter—bitter cold, bleak, and long— Marines and a Navy corpsman struggle to
were still many more battles to fight. to see their flag on top of this monstrous Suribachi.”
162
sapped the strength from the German army.
163
raise the American flag at Iwo Jima.
(Mt. Suribachi is the highest point on Iwo Jima.)

Despite initial Axis success in both Europe and the Pacific, the
Allies persevered and ultimately defeated Germany and Japan.
Last Stop:
Hiroshima
The war in Europe was over. Hitler had committed
suicide, and Germany surrendered on May 8, 1945.
But war still raged in the Pacific, so a terrible
and difficult decision was made,
and a new weapon was unleashed.
THE MANHATTAN PROJECT:
THE ATOMIC BOMB
When the Nazi war machine geared up in the 1930s,
American scientists were afraid that Germany might
develop a nuclear weapon, so research began at
universities and labs across the U.S., Canada, and Great
Britain. Its code name was the Manhattan Project,
because the early research began in New York City.
Scientists tried to figure out how to unleash the
enormous power locked in the nucleus of an atom. When
the nucleus—the “heart”—of an atom is split apart or
shoved together, tremendous heat and energy are
released. Special kinds of uranium or plutonium are the
fuels needed to split an atom. The result is as scorching
as standing on the sun.
It took over 130,000 people at a cost of billions of
dollars to build the bombs. Everything was top secret,
from the site where it was built to the place where a
prototype was tested. With the dropping of the atomic
bomb, a new and often
chilling era in the story
of mankind had begun.
164
Prototypes of the two bombs
An artist imagines the Enola
Gay flying away from
Hiroshima as an atomic
“mushroom cloud” forms.
A BLAST
HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
Their code names were “Little Boy” and “Fat Man”—
two atomic bombs that finally ended the long and
terrible war. The first bomb, carried aboard a B-29
Superfortress named the Enola Gay, was dropped on
the busy Japanese city of Hiroshima. The second
bomb was dropped three days later on Nagasaki. The
death toll was staggering—more than 100,000 people
were killed—thousands of people dead in seconds.
The Japanese knew they had lost the war. On
August 14, 1945, Japan accepted the U.S. terms of
surrender. World War II was finally over, but the
power unleashed over Hiroshima and Nagasaki
would haunt the civilized world and lead to unease
for decades to come.
EY EWITNESS TO HISTORY
Thirteen-year-old Yoshitaka Kawamoto was in school when the bomb
exploded over Hiroshima:
“All I can remember was a pale lightning flash for two or three
seconds. Then, I collapsed. I don’t know how much time passed
before I came to. It was awful, awful. The smoke was coming in
from somewhere above the debris. Sandy dust was flying around.
I was trapped under the debris and I was in terrible pain… .
I couldn’t move, not even an inch. Then, I heard about ten of my
surviving classmates singing our school song. I remember that.
I could hear sobs. Someone was calling his mother. But those who
were still alive were singing the school song for as long as they
could. I think I joined the chorus. We thought that someone would
come and help us out. That’s why we were singing a school song so Months after the blast, a mother
and child struggle to survive.
loud. But nobody came to help, and we stopped singing one by
one. In the end, I was singing alone.”
SURRENDER!
It has been more than 70 years since the atomic strikes against
Japan, and many questions have been raised. Many believe that a
continued war would have cost many more lives than those lost in
the bombings. Others have asked if there were any alternatives to
using such destructive weapons. Some think that President Truman
realized that the Soviets were going to be a constant threat to U.S.
security, so he wanted to end the war quickly and send them a
powerful warning. Still, the victory in Japan brought joy to many in
the world. The long nightmare of war was over.
WAR’S TERRIBLE TOLL
In the years after the war ended, an uneasy peace settled over
the world. In Europe an important decision had to be made as to
what to do with Germany. Much of the continent was in ruins, and
rebuilding would take many years. Nazi leaders had to
be punished for their war crimes. More than 50 million
people had died, and thousands of displaced and
ravaged families had to be resettled.
A NEW ENEMY
Peace brought another big problem. The Soviets had
been our allies in the war and had suffered more
casualties than any other nation. As peace treaties
were signed, a new plan was hatched. Germany would
be divided into sectors. As for the rest of Europe,
Joseph Stalin said this: “Whoever occupies a territory
also imposes his own social system.” Every country
Allied prisoners of war at the
that Russia had marched across would now be a part
Omori POW camp in Japan
hear the news of the war’s end. of the Soviet system.
After months of captivity, they A new map of Europe was drawn up, and as the
were finally free! rebuilding of a ravaged world began, a new and
different type war was about to begin—the Cold War.
165
 1919–1945 Timeline Explore and Review
Use pages 148–149 to answer question 1.
1. Post–World War I Europe was experiencing economic devastation. Copy and complete the
Worthless
money
chart to explain how each cause eventually led Europe to World War II.
made a
good toy.
Effect:
Cause: Worldwide Depression

Effect:
Cause: Germany’s high war debt

1919 The Treaty of Versailles ends
World War I and punishes Germany
with war reparations.
1920s Hyperinflation in postwar
Germany weakens the German
government.
Effect:
Cause: High inflation in Germany
1933 Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party
seizes control of the German Cause: Massive unemployment Effect:
government.
Use pages 150–151 to answer questions 2–3.
2. What is Fascism? How did Fascism affect world events following World War I?
3. Copy and complete the chart below with the countries and leaders of the Axis Powers and the Allies.
AXIS POWERS ALLIED POWERS

Country: Leader: Country: Leader:

Country: Leader: Country: Leader:

1933 First concentration camp
imprisons political opponents. Later,
many millions die in death camps.
1941 Pearl Harbor is bombed by
Japan. America enters the war in both
the Pacific and in Europe.
1939 Nazis invade Poland.
Great Britain and France declare war
on Germany.
1942 The U.S. is victorious at the
Battle of Midway—a turning point in
the Pacific for Allied forces.
1941 Lend-Lease—FDR lends war
materials to Britain after London is
devastated by weeks of bombings.
1943 The Soviet army defeats
German forces at Stalingrad—a turning
point in Eastern Europe.
Country: Leader: Country: Leader:
Use pages 152-–153 to answer question 4.
4. Using the words and phrases listed below, write a paragraph explaining how American
policy toward events in Europe and Asia changed from neutrality to direct involvement.
• Isolationism • Economic and military aid • Pearl Harbor
Use pages 156–157 to answer questions 5–6 in complete sentences.
5. List two examples of how average Americans at home supported the war effort.
6. What effects did the war have on race relations in America?
Use pages 158–159 to answer questions 7–8 in complete sentences.
7. What was the Holocaust?
8. Name and describe three tactics used by the Nazi regime during the Holocaust.
Use pages 162–163 to answer question 9.
9. The Battle of Midway, the Battle of Stalingrad, and D-Day were three major events of World
War II. In a paragraph, explain why each was a turning point in the war.
Use pages 164–165 to answer question 10 in complete sentences.
10. Describe America’s role in forcing Japan to surrender and ending World War II.

Apply Your Learning

1944 D–Day! Allied forces storm
the beaches of Normandy and
regain France.
166
1945 FDR dies. Harry S. Truman
becomes president. May 8—
V–E Day! Victory in Europe.
1945 The U.S. drops atomic bombs
on two Japanese cities. Japan
surrenders—V–J Day!
• Imagine you are President Truman deciding
whether or not to drop at least one atomic bomb
on Japan. Create a two-column chart to record the
costs and benefits of this decision. This will help
you better understand the varied perspectives
Truman considered. Analyze the chart to
determine if the costs or the benefits had the
greatest impact on Truman’s final decision.
• Select one of the following groups of
Americans whose lives were affected on the
home front during WWII: white women,
African Americans, or Japanese Americans.
Create a flow chart or storyboard to
determine how the selected group impacted
U.S. history.
167