Jake Glass

6/12/14
I.

Home Front and Aftermath of War

A. The Mobilization of Four Nations
1. Economic mobilization, was more extensive; so, too, was the mobilization of
women
2. Number of civilians killed almost 20 million was far higher, many were
children
3. WWII had an enormous impact on civilian life in Soviet Union, U.S., Germany,
and Japan
B. Soviet Union
1. Known to Soviets as the Great Patriotic War, the German-Soviet war
witnessed the greatest land battles in history
i.
Initial military defeats suffered by Soviet Union led to drastic emergency
measures that affected the lives of the civilian population
2. Stalin called widespread military and industrial mobilization of the nation a
battle of machines
i.
78,000 tanks, 98,000 artillery pieces
a. In 1943, 55% of the Soviet national income went for war
materials, compared with 15% in 1940
C. The United States
1. U.S. became the arsenal of the Allied Powers; it produced much of the military
equipment the Allies needed
i.
The height of war production came in November 1943
a. At this point, the country was building six ships a day and
96,000 planes per year
2. Mobilization of American economy and workforce resulted in some social
turmoil
i.
Construction of new factories created boomtowns
a. Thousands came there to work but then faced a shortage of
houses and schools
b. 16 million men and women were enrolled in the military and
moved frequently. Another 16 million, mostly wives and
girlfriends of servicemen or workers looking for jobs, also
moved around the country
D. Germany
1. August 1914, Germans had enthusiastically cheered their soldiers marching to
war, but in Sept. 1939, the streets were quiet. Many feared disaster
i.
To maintain morale in Germany, Hitler refused to cut consumer goods
production or to increase the production of armaments

ii.
iii.

a. Blitzkrieg gave Germans quick victories and enabled them to

plunder the food and raw materials of conquered countries
Early 1942, Hitler finally ordered a massive increase in armaments
production and in the size of the army
Hitlers architect, Albert Speer, was made minister for armaments and
munitions in 1942
a. Speer was able to triple the production of armaments between
1942 and 1943, in spite of allied air raids

E. Japan
1. When entered into the war against U.S., Japan already had an economy in high
gear after four years of war with China
i.
Calls for sacrifice reached a high point of the final years of war
ii.
Young Japanese were encouraged to volunteer to serve as pilots in
suicide missions against U.S. fighting ships at sea
a. Pilots known as kamikaze, or divine wind
iii.
Tojo, prime minister from 1941-1944, opposed female employment
a. Said the weakening of the family system would be the
weakening of the nation. We are able to do our duties only
because we have wives and mothers at home.