DiCintio+Edobor

__//The Great Depression//__
The Great Depression began in the United Sates in 1929. This event was the longest economic downfall in the Western industrial world. The Great Depression began soon after the stock market crash. The stock market crash happened in October of 1929. Many investors went broke as a result of this. By 1933 the depression had reached its lowest point. At this time, 15 million Americans were unemployed. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected into presidency in 1933. FDR helped America through this economic crisis. When WWII started in 1939, America's economy was kicked into high gear. (1)

__//Rise of Dictators in Europe//__
People were scared during the economic crisis. This resulted in them turning to fascist leaders like Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. During this time people looked to each other for answers. In the cases of Germany and Italy, people turned to Mussolini and Hitler because of the promises fascism gave. People were desperate for a leader. Germany was in debt from WWI. Since Germany was blamed for WWI, they looked for revenge under the reign of Hitler. Mussolini also made many promises to the Italians. (5) media type="youtube" key="AnpTWKKWQ1o" width="560" height="315"

//__The Beginning of WWII__//
On September 1, 1939 Hitler invaded Poland. This was the beginning of WWII. Germany entered the war with confidence. Germany invaded with 1.5 million soldiers and thousands of war vehicles. Poland's defenses consisted of less than 1 million soldiers and less than 500 military vehicles. Hitler moved forward with the German navy and seized Norway and Denmark. It began as Germany expanding its territory, but resulted to be much more. (1)

//__Major Battles of the U.S. & Japan__//
Japan attacked the U.S. in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. This was the event that led to the U.S. entering WWII. It was more than two years until the Allies had rose into greatness during the war. The event that did this was the victory at Guadalcanal in February of 1934. This put the U.S. on the offensive and forced Japan to wait and react. During the summer of 1944, Americans were nearing Japan's coast. This last year of war was catastrophic and brought bloodshed and destruction to both sides. The battles that cause this were the battles of Saipan, Leyte, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. (3)

__//Major Battles of Europe//__
Russia and Germany signed a non-aggression pact during August of 1939. Hitler and Stalin agreed not to surpass each other's borders. Both privately planned on dividing Poland the rest of Eastern Europe between the two. During September of 1939, Germany employed "lightning war" tactics while invading Poland. The Polish military was unequipped for the brutality of The German invasion. Britain and France declared war on Germany after the negotiation of a withdrawal failed.

In May of 1940, Germany invaded the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. Winston Churchill substituted Neville Chamberlain as the prime minister of Britain. Chamberlain was the person accountable for the appeasement of Adolf Hitler.

In June of 1940, Germany captured Paris, France. This result in France's surrender to the Nazis short after. Hitler demanded revenge for Germany's defeat in WWI. He forced the French authorities to sign papers surrendering to the Nazis in the same railroad car in which Germans signed the armistice of 1918. This railroad car now seems symbolic to German history.

The Battle of the Bulge begun on December 16th. Hitler sent 250,000 soldiers to the Allied front, spanning from southern Belgium into Luxembourg. During the winter, the Germans advanced about 50 miles into Allied territories. This was a large "bulge" into Allied lines. The Battle of the Bulge ended by the finish of December. More than 76,000 U.S. troops had been killed, wounded, or captured. The allies had regained the territory they had in early December. (2)

//__Japan's Role WWII__//
Japan was in a bad economic position throughout the 1930's. There were multiple things contributing to this. One was the Great Kanto Earthquake that hit Japan in the year of 1923. It had destroyed Yokohama, Tokyo, and the areas that surrounded them. Also the Great Depression occurred in the 1930's. This had worsened Japan's already poor economic conditions. Another issue with Japan's economy was its heavy reliance on silk exportation. Japan's silk industry made up nearly half of their exported goods. The price of silk dropped dramatically during the Great Depression. In the year of 1931 Japan invaded Manchuria for resources. This created turmoil between the countries and eventually led to the Sino-Japanese War. In 1937 Sino-Japanese War had begun. This war with China also took a heavy toll on Japan's economy.

In 1940 Japan also went into French Indochina, which today is known as Vietnam. In doing this, Japan joined the Axis powers of World War II, Germany and Italy. Japan's departure from the League of Nations and the reasons behind it, coupled with this invasion of French Indochina, intensified already bad relations with the United States and Great Britain. As a result, the United States and Great Britain began an oil embargo against Japan to limit its capabilities. In turn, Japan then invaded Indonesia in order to obtain necessary oil. By 1941 the Japanese had spread far and wide into the Pacific and Asia. (4)

=__//U.S. Involvement//__= When war erupted in Europe, President Franklin Roosevelt realized the massive conflict threatened US safety. He searched for ways that could help European democracies without having to fully participate in the war. In June 1940, France's decline left Britain as the only democracy that was between the Nazis and the US. In 1939, the Fourth Neutrality Act allowed America to trade weapons/ammunition with other nations. This ensured the countries paid in cash and collected the items. In March 1941, Roosevelt instituted the Lend-Lease Act. It allowed for the lending, leasing, selling, ammunition and other supplies to “any country whom the President felt was an important partner of the U.S.

The US was drawn closer to conflict when the navy and air force began to accompany British convoys that transported materials across the Atlantic. They did this in order to protect them from German submarines. The announcement of a "shoot on sight" policy by Roosevelt in September 1941 followed an assault on the USS Greer. The angered senators in favor of isolationism claimed that the president intentionally urged conflicts with the Germans. Meanwhile, Winston Churchill frequently tried to convince Roosevelt to enter the war. During the Atlantic Conference in August of 1941, the two devised a charter for the world after war. Roosevelt was in charge of Britain's issues. He promoting the idea that all people have the right to choose the government they want to live under.

Churchill's wait wasn't long. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, only one congressman refused to declare war. The Senate unanimously voted for war. Hitler declared war on the US four days later. This turned out to be a blessing for Roosevelt. It allowed him him to reasonably make Germany his main priority. In November 1942, Operation Torch was put in action. This was the invasion of North Africa, and was the first time the US went on the offensive in the West. Allied forces methodically trapped the Germans in North Africa. They eventually surrendered in Tunisia in May 1943. The British/US victory, despite being expensive and difficult, was very important. It allowed the US to encourage public opinion behind the war effort.

By the beginning of 1943, opening a second front was a very disputed issue. Despite the great need to take pressure off of Russia on the Eastern Front, Churchill wanted to go through Italy. Roosevelt urged for an attack on France. In January 1943, the Casablanca Conference was held, where Churchill won the argument decisively. They decided then that plans in the Mediterranean would continue after they were victorious in North Africa. In July, 1943, they launched Operation Husky, which was an attack on Sicily. This enabled the Allied Powers to attack the mainland Italy. This led to the capture of Rome on June 4, 1944. (3) media type="youtube" key="Gmka2mydsD0" width="560" height="315"

=//__The Holocaust__//= The Holocaust was the deliberate, governmental, officially approved genocide of around 6 million Jews by the Nazis during WWII. This was caused because of the idea of German racial superiority. During this time period, the Nazi's also persecuted other races/groups that they felt were inferior to them. This included gypsies, the disabled, and certain Slavic ethnicities.

In 1933, there was approximately 9 million Jews living in Europe in 1933. By 1945, 2/3 of the Jews that had lived in Europe had been slaughtered by the Nazis, being part of the Final Solution. Early in the control of the Nazis, the government set up concentration camps, which were made to house anyone who opposed their political or any other ideas. When the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941, groups of highly armed German officials carried out mass-murders against Jews, Gypsies, and Soviets.

During the conclusion of the war, SS guards transported inmates of the camp by train from camp to camp. The SS also forced many to go on death marches to prevent the rescue of prisoners by the Allied powers. Many Holocaust survivors were sent to DP (displaced person) camps by the Allied Powers where they received proper shelter. Between the years 1948-1951, around 700,000 Jews migrated to Israel, which included 136,000 from the DP camps (3) = = =//__Allied Victory in Europe__//= The aerial warfare during the war had greatly turned in favor of the Allied powers by 1944, which allowed the to inflict major damage on multiple German cities and industries. They landed in Northern France on June 6, 1944, and in Southern France on August 15 of that same year. Germans used V-1 and V-2 rockets to try and counter the attacks of the Allies, but to no avail.

While this was happening, the Soviets swept through the Eastern Front of the Baltic states. The Germans ended up evacuating the Balkan Peninsula to Hungary where they fought back until February of 1945. The Russians invaded East Prussia and Czechoslovakia where they took control.

The Western Allies crossed the Rhine river on March 7 after barreling through the Siegfried Line, and West Germany. Germany's collapse came on April 25 after meeting the Russian armies at Torgau. The Germans were forced to surrender after the Russian armies destroyed Berlin, and the death of Hitler. They signed a surrender treaty in Reims, France on May 7, which was ratified in Berlin on May 8 (7)

=//__Europe and Japan in Ruins__//= The war left 40 million Europeans dead. Hundreds of cities were destroyed and left to nothing rubble. This caused for many people from many areas to become homeless. The countrysides were reduced to nothing farming became virtually impossible. Transportation systems were demolished, which limited access to food for many civilians. This led to the starvation of many, which caused even more death.

The Italians, French, and Germans, opposed a possible return to fascism. At first, communism saw a massive increase in members. Eventually, the violence encouraged by communists caused a rebellion and the voting of anti-communist governments. Many Nazi leaders were put on trial for their roles in the war during the Nuremberg Trials. Tons were sentenced to execution of life imprisonment.

Former Japanese armies were reduced to small police forces. Douglas MacArthur occupied Japan to ensure peace. In 1946, MacArthur aided in forming Japan's constitution. This led to them becoming a Constitutional Monarchy, very similar to the British style of government. (5)

=//__Jesse Owens__//= Jesse Owens made history in 1935 by breaking 5 world records in a span of 45 minutes. His long jump record of 8.13m lasted for 25 years. In the 1936 Olympics, held in Berlin, he won four gold medals. They were in the 100m dash, 200m dash, 4x100m relay, and long jump. At these games, Owens was able to reach and/or break 9 Olympic records. He was also able to break 3 more world records. During these games, he became the first American to win gold in 4 different track and field events. This is a record that would go unbroken for 48 years.His team's record for the 4x100m relay wouldn't have their record broken for 20 years. During the 1936 Olympics, Hitler hoped that this would prove that Aryan's (blonde hair blue eyes) were the superior race. Jesse Owens' performance led to the people of Berlin, and across Germany, to see him as a hero, despite being African-American.

After an illustrious track and field career, Jesse Owens died of lung cancer in 1980. Since his death, Berlin has named a street and a school both in his honor. The US has made two postage stamps in remembrance of him. In his home state of Alabama, they have opened a memorial park to commemorate his achievements. (6)

(1): http://www.history.com (2): http://www.pbs.org (3): http://www.ushmm.org (4): http://www.history.co.uk (5): World History: Patterns of Interaction (6): http://www.biography.com (7): http://infoplease.com