CORNELL NOTES: WORLD WAR II-Kirby-CHS

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill, Roosevelt,
Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the price of
victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Thoughts

Lecture Notes
THE ROAD TO WAR: 1919-1939
Aftermath of WW1
Nearly every major country in Europe was bankrupt
Many countries had unstable democracies: multiple political parties, little
experience with democracy, many changes in leadership
Versailles Treaty
League of Nations: Weak and ineffective, no control of major conflicts, no
progress in disarmament, no effective military force.
The Great Depression
o After the Crash, Americans quit buying European goods due to
tariffs.
o World trade down 65%
o Britain was hurt but recovered due to high tariffs, increased taxes,
regulated currency, and lowered interest rates
o France wasnt hurt as badly because it wasnt as dependent on foreign
trade.
o Socialist countries like Denmark, Norway, and Sweden did massive
work programs to keep people employed and producing
o Italy government unable to deal with problems people were
VERY frustrated
o Germany Crash hits Germans particularly hard because they owed
so much to the U.S.
o Fascism becomes more popular in both Germany and Italy
HITLERS RISE TO POWER
Fascism:
Extremely conservative abortion and divorce are not tolerated
Totalitarianism total control of all aspects of life, including mass media
Anti-democratic - The individual has no significance except as a member of
the state.
Glorification of military and fitness
Intolerance toward non-whites and homosexuals. Male-dominated.
Identification of scapegoats to take the blame
Very corrupt.
Fascism in Italy
Benito Mussolini founded Fascist Party in Italy
He promised to rescue Italys economy and give strong leadership
He and his followers seized power in 1922
Once in charge, Mussolini made the following changes:
o Democracy was abolished, along with independent political parties &

trade unions
o Freedom of the press abolished
o Secret police used to jail opponents
o Never had total control like Joseph Stalin or Adolf Hitler
Mussolini was Hitlers role model

Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill, Roosevelt,
Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the price of
victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Thoughts

Lecture Notes
Hitlers Rise to Power
Earned two medals of bravery during the Great War
Joined the National Socialist German Workers Party in 1919 Nazi for
short
Adopted swastika as symbol
Chosen as der Fhrer or the leader of the Nazi Party in 1921
Inspired by Mussolini, he attempted to seize power of Germany in 1923 but
was arrested and tried for treason
While in jail, he wrote Mein Kampt (My Struggle). This book discussed:
o His goals for Germany
o His belief in German superiority over all other races
o His belief in the inferiority of Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, and Blacks
o His goal to reclaim lands and increase the size of Germany and create
the Third Reich (Germany Empire)
Released from jail after just 9 months
Was ignored by German public until Great Depression hit this became
Hitlers chance to gain power
o Was elected Chancellor of Germany in 1932, Just 43% of Germans
voted for him
Fascism under Hitler
Controlled all forms of media
Destroyed anything that went against him (ex. Burned the Parliamentary
Building to scare Germans into voting for more Nazis)
Boys were forced to join the Hitler Youth and girls were forced to join the
League of German Girls
Jews become the scapegoat as early as 1933
PRE-WW2 AGGRESSION AND APPEASEMENT
Italian and German Aggression

Italy attacks Ethiopia, 1935

Rome-Berlin Axis, 1936 Mussolini and Hitler team up
Germany invades the Rhineland (in France), 1937
o French do not fight back (do not want to risk war)
o Britain encourages appeasement or giving in to Germany
Spanish Civil War, 1936-39
o Two sides: Nationalists (Fascism) and Republicans (Democracy)
o Hitler and Mussolini send armed troops to Francisco Franco, a
fascist, and leader of the Nationalist side
o The Republican side receives very little help; only USSR sends
equipment and help
o Becomes a dress rehearsal for WWII
Meanwhile, the United States remains neutral
o U.S. Neutrality Acts signed by Congress in 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939
o America First Committee headed by Charles Lindbergh

Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill, Roosevelt,
Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the price of
victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Lecture Notes
Thoughts
Creation of 3rd Reich
Hitler announced he would create the Third Reich or a German Empire by
creating a union between Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Germany
o This was prohibited by the Versailles Treaty
Hitler sent his army anyway and took over Austria in 1936. Austria did not
fight back.
Now that he had Austria, Hitler announced he would enter Czechoslovakia
next
o The Czechs refused and asked France for help
o France and Britain decide to appease Hitler again by giving him the
Sudetenland in 1938, hoping this would be enough
Six months later, Hitler takes Czechoslovakia anyway.
o Hitler is now convinced that Europe wont risk war
Mussolini takes Albania soon after
Hitler now had his eyes on Poland
o Signs the Nonaggression Pact with USSR promises to not take over
USSR (and secretly promises to give Stalin part of Poland)
THE WAR OFFICIALLY BEGINS!
Alliances and Basic Timeline

Alliances at the beginning of the war:

o Allies = Great Britain
o Axis = Germany, Italy, and Japan
European Front Timeline:
o 1933 Hitler in power
o 1936 Austria falls
o 1938 Sudetenland and Czechoslovakia
o 1939 War officially begins when Germany invades Poland
o 1940 - France invaded; Battle of Britain
o 1941 - Germany invades the Balkans and Russia
o Dec. 1941 Pearl Harbor; America joins war
o 1943 - Germans surrender in Russia
o June 1944 Normandy invasion (D-Day)
o May 1945 Germany surrenders
Invasion of Poland
Sept. 1st, 1939 right after signing the Nonaggression Pact
First test of Blitzkrieg strategy or lightning war. This included:
o Fast moving planes and tanks
o Heavy infantry
o Take by surprise and overwhelm enemy
On Sept. 17th, 1939, Soviet troops occupy Eastern Poland.
o Soon Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are taken over by the Soviets.
o Next, Soviets try to take Finland. After much fighting, Finland
surrenders
Meanwhile, Britain and France declare war on Germany but only wait for
Germany to make next move
o Germans call this the sitzkrieg or the sitting war. British call it a
phony war.
Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill,
Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the
price of victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Lecture Notes
Thoughts
GERMAN OCCUPATION OF FRANCE
The Phony War Ends: German occupation of France
May 1940 Hitler takes Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxemburg. Why?
o Needs to take these to get to France.
o Hitlers troops then pushed through the Maginot Line, Frances only
defense
o The troops reach the French coast in just 10 days, then went north to

Belgium and trapped Allied soldiers at Dunkirk

o Great Britain did a massive rescue mission and was able to rescue
338,000 troops
o Germany controlled France in June, less than two months after they
started
Germany occupies the north
Germany sets up a puppet government in the south
French Resistance
General Charles De Gaulle sets up a government-in-exile in London
De Gaulle organizes the Free French military to fight back
The French form their own resistance group - the Maquis A group of
guerilla fighters in France
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
With France gone, Britain is only major power left in Europe
Hitler decides to invade Britain. His plan:
o Take out Royal Air Force (RAF) and land 250,000 soldiers on
Englands shores
o How? By bombing Britain.
Battle of Britain
First Germany targets airfields and factories but then shift to major cities
The RAF use radar and a smuggled German code-making machine to fight
back
o Able to uncover upcoming bombings and stop Germans
o Germans have to switch to night raids
The Battle of Britain lasted for almost a year until May 1941
o This taught Europeans that Hitler could be blocked
o Hitler decides to focus energy on Eastern Europe and the
Mediterranean
THE ROAD TO WAR IN THE PACIFIC
Japanese Aggression
Japanese blame government for Depression, allow military leaders to take
control
Goals of military leaders:
o Create economic stability through expansion
o Create a Pacific empire that includes China
Invades Manchuria (China) in 1931 1st direct challenge to League of
Nations
o The League of Nations protested but had no power to stop Japan
o Manchurian crisis and the Rape of Nanking
o Then invades China even further
Rape of Nanking: 20,000 Chinese women were raped. 200,000+ civilians
killed.
Next step: to create a Japanese Empire in the Pacific Ocean (where many
U.S. colonies exist)
Japan goes into alliance with Hitler and Mussolini
This benefits Japan doesnt have to worry about Hitler invading
Benefits Hitler because Hitler knows that Japan will keep the U.S. occupied

Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill,
Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the
price of victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Lecture Notes
Thoughts
AMERICA JOINS THE WAR
Pre Pearl Harbor
Lend-Lease Act 1941
o This allows the U.S. to lend equipment to Allies without joining the
war.
o The amount totaled: $48,601,365,000
Atlantic Charter:
o Roosevelt and Churchill sign treaty of alliance in August 1941.
o Future peace plan.
o Fashioned after Wilsons 14 Points.
o Calls for League of Nations type organization.
Day of Infamy: Pearl Harbor
U.S. knew that Japan planned to attack but didnt know when
Dec. 7, 1941 Japan attacks Pearl Harbor. Within two hours:
o 19 ships sink or damaged
o 2,300 American soldiers killed, 2887 Americans die in total
Roosevelt called it a date which will live in infamy and asked Congress to
declare war. They did.
Japanese Admiral in charge: Isoroku Yamamoto
THE AMERICAN HOME FRONT
Mobilizing the troops
Men ages 21-36 are required to sign up for the draft
16 million Americans serve in the war
Much diversity:
o 300,000 Mexican Americans
o 25,000 Native Americans
o 1,000,000 African Americans (segregated)
o 350,000 women (no combat duty)
Paying for the war
Converted factories from civilian production to military production
The war effort essentially ends unemployment (and the Depression!)
Federal spending jumped from $8.9 billion to $95.2 billion a year. This
money came from:
o Increased taxes
o Private investors

o Borrowed money (national debt)

The Home Front
Rationing of goods examples:
o Nylon stockings vanish because nylon is needed to make parachutes
o Metal used to produce guns instead of zippers or typewriters
o Point values assigned to scarce items like coffee, sugar, meat, butter,
fruit, shoes, gas. If you used up your points, you couldnt buy
anything else.
Bracero Program The U.S. actively recruited Mexicans to work on farms
New jobs for women:
o High paying manufacturing jobs suddenly available
o Women made up over 30% of the total workforce
o Rosie the Riveter a way to recruit female welders and steelworkers
Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill,
Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the
price of victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Thoughts

Lecture Notes
Japanese Internment
Only 127,000 Japanese Americans, mostly on the West Coast
110,000 Japanese Americans were forced to move to internment camps in
1942:
o Were seen as a threat to national security
o They had little time to secure belongings many lost everything
o The Supreme Court decided that it was legal and was not racial
discrimination
o Were released in early 1945
It wasnt until 1988 that the U.S. government admitted it was wrong
survivors were awarded $20,000 each
Regardless, 17,000 Japanese immigrants fought for the United States starting
in 1943
Foreign-born Italians and Germans were told to move away from the West
Coast but this was not enforced
THE PACIFIC THEATRE
Pacific Front timeline:
1931 Japan invades Manchuria, China and later Korea
Dec. 1941 Pearl Harbor, America joins the war
Early 1942 US loses Philippines to Japan; Japan takes much of the Pacific
June 1942 Battle of Midway (tide turns in US favor).
Feb -March 1945 Iwo Jima
Aug. 6, Aug. 9 1945 Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombed
Sept. 2 1945 Japan surrenders

Japanese Victories
Japan had many victories in 1942
Easily took Hong Kong, Guam and Wake Island
Japanese fought American and Filipino forces on the Bataan Peninsula of the
Philippines
The U.S. surrenders the Philippines in May 1942
Bataan Death March: 76,000 prisoners [12,000 Americans], Marched 60
miles in the blazing heat to POW camps in the Philippines. 20,000 died.
Within a few months, Japan was able to invade Singapore, Malaya
(Malaysia), The Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), New Guinea, and Burma
Japan planned to take India next. Japan seemed unstoppable
Tide Turns at Midway
The tide turns with the Battle of Midway in June, 1942: U.S. code breakers
had advanced warning. Americans were able to cripple Japanese fleet
Island Hopping with Douglas MacArthur
General Douglas MacArthurs plan:
o Island hop by seizing only islands close to Japan instead of every
island
o First target: Guadalcanal because Japan is building a huge air base
here
o The Battle of Guadalcanal lasts 6 months before Japan surrenders
From here on out, U.S. is able to slowly pick off strategic islands
U.S. also begins regularly bombing Tokyo
Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill,
Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the
price of victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Lecture Notes
Thoughts
THE WAR ENDS IN EUROPE
Operation Barbarossa
A.K.A. Hitlers biggest mistake
Hitlers campaign to invade the Soviet Union
o Begins June 1941
o 3,000,000 German soldiers and 3,400 tanks
o The Soviet Union isnt prepared
o Germans are able to push 500 miles into the Soviet Union
As the Soviets retreat, they burn and destroy everything to starve the Germans.
Hitlers troops then surround the city of Leningrad and cut off all supplies
o 1,000,000 Russians die during the winter but the city refuses to surrender

Hitler grows impatient and sends troops toward Moscow in Oct. 1941
o Refuses to retreat even though troops do not have enough warm clothing
o 500,000 German troops die
Germany finally surrenders Leningrad and Russia in 1943
Invasion of Italy
Allied forces decide to take Italy before taking France (Italy was Europes soft
underbelly)
First capture Sicily in 1943, Mussolini is arrested
Germany sends troops, seize back control of northern Italy, and place Mussolini
back in power
Fighting continues until Germany falls in May of 1945. This keeps Italy too busy
to help Germany with the rest of Europe.
D-Day Invasion
Allies secretly begin building invasion force in Great Britain
The plan: Send thousands of ships, planes, tanks, and 3 million troops to the
beaches of Normandy, France. Set up fake army headquarters to trick Hitler.
Code-named Operation Overlord.
D-Day begins June 6, 1944; 2,700 Americans die in the first day
Within one month, 1,000,000 Allied troops have landed in France
By September, Allies are able to liberate France, Belgium, and Luxembourg
Liberation of France: August 25, 1944
After a botched assassination plot, it was obvious that the Allies would have to
invade Germany
General Dwight D. Eisenhower leads the attack
Assassination Attempts on Hitler
Over 40 different plans to assassinate Hitler, all are unsuccessful.
Closest attempt:
o Briefcase bomb exploded July 20, 1944
o Allies fail, now they MUST invade Germany to get Hitler
Germany Surrenders
Allies begin to surround Berlin 3 million soldiers in west and 6 million in the
east
Allies begin fire-bombing Berlin destroying much of the city
April 12, 1945 FDR dies and Harry Truman becomes President. Hitler hides
out in underground headquarters
April 28 Mussolini and mistress are executed
April 29 - Marries long time companion Eva Braun
April 30 Hitler and wife commit suicide
May 8, 1945 Ger. unconditionally surrenders. Called V-E Day or Victory in
Europe Day
Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill,
Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the
price of victory? And could another world war ever happen again?

Questions, Prompts,
Thoughts

Lecture Notes
THE HOLOCAUST
The Holocaust Begins
Hitler and the Nazis pass the Nuremburg Laws in 1935:
o Forbade Jews / non-Jews from marrying, deprived Jews of rights
More laws passed later that limited what Jews could do
Kristallnacht
A 17-year-old Jew shoots a German soldier after learning his father has been
deported to Poland. Nazis are outraged and storm Jewish homes,
synagogues, and businesses.
So many windows are smashed that the night is now referred to as
kristallnacht or Night of Broken Glass
Isolating the Jews
After kristallnacht, millions of Jews flee Germany to countries that would
later be controlled by Germany
These Jews are forced to live in ghettos segregated Jewish areas. These
were sealed with barbed wire and stone walls
Hitler grows impatient and decides to move on to a more permanent solution
The Final Solution
Hitler decides to systematically kill all Jews, Gypsies, Poles, Russians, the
disabled, and homosexuals. Some are rounded up and shot. Others are sent to
elimination camps to work or be killed.
Largest elimination camp: Auschwitz
Overall, an estimated 11 million people die including 6 million Jews
THE WAR ENDS IN THE PACIFIC
Japanese in Retreat
After Guadalcanal, Japanese forces in retreat
U.S. is bombing Tokyo heavily
Japan gets desperate, devises plan to take out entire Allied fleet with use of
suicide-bombers called kamikazes
Iwo Jima
March 1945 Marines fight to take Iwo Jima, an island close to Tokyo
Battle lasts for a month
After Allies win, they can now bomb Tokyo even more heavily
Still no sign of surrender from the Japanese
Manhattan Project and the A Bomb
Truman is advised that taking Japan could cost million American lives;
despite the fact that Japan is almost completely exhausted
The atomic bomb is created to end the war quickly
This top-secret bomb was developed in 1945 by the Manhattan Project under
General Leslie Groves and scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer
August 6, 1945 Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
o 70,000 killed instantly
o 200,000 eventually die
August 9, 1945 Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan
o 50,000 killed instantly

o 180,000 eventually die

Japan officially surrenders Sept 2nd, 1945 (V-J Day)

Summary

Guiding Questions: Was the road to World War II inevitable? What role did leaders (i.e. Churchill,
Roosevelt, Stalin, Hitler, Hideki Toyo and Mussolini) play in the outcome of WWII? What cost is worth the
price of victory? And could another world war ever happen again?
Questions, Prompts,
Thoughts

Lecture Notes
RESULTS OF WORLD WAR II
Complete Devastation
Europe:
o 40 million Europeans dead; 2/3 of them civilians
o London, Warsaw, Berlin nearly destroyed
o Many people without homes or displaced in wrong country
Soviet Union:
o Nearly 6 million soldiers died
o of all Russians dead; most major cities destroyed
Japan:
o 2 million dead
o All major cities destroyed
Massive Human Dislocations
Nuremburg Trials
22 Nazi war criminals faced trial
o 23 nations present
o Charged with waging a war of aggression and crimes against
humanity
o Those sentenced to death had their bodies burned at Dachau, a
concentration camp
Post War Japan
Japan is now occupied by U.S. forces under General Douglas MacArthur
All military forces are disbanded except for small police force
War criminals are brought to trial and hung
Japan adopts a democratic constitution in 1946
U.S. forces still present in Okinawa
Japanese war crimes trials
Other consequences
The U.S. & the U.S.S.R. Emerge as the Two Superpowers of the later 20th
Century
o Division of Germany into West and East Germany
o Beginning of the Cold War
o The race for space
The Division of Germany: 1945 - 1990

Summary

The Bi-Polarization of Europe: The Beginning of the Cold War

The Race for Space
The Creation of the U. N.
7 Future American Presidents Served in World War II
The De-Colonization of European Empires
Early Computer Technology Came Out of WW II
The world we live in today was formed by the events of world war ii & its
immediate aftermath