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The Great Depression

Even though the United States was successful and wealthy, the economy caused many problems. If the economy weakened, it would collapse. Problems with the U.S. economy include uneven distribution of wealth, overproduction by business and agriculture, and Americans were buying less. By 1929, large profits were made from American factories producing nearly half of all of the worlds industrial world. The money was not being split up fairly, the richest 5% of people took 33% of personal income in 1929 and 60% of American families earned less than $2000.00 a year. Since the families weren't making any money, the factories overstocked on items because the families couldn't pay for anything. The stores then stopped ordering from the factories which caused the factories to stop producing so much and they had to cut workers. This caused a chain reaction, when more workers were cut, less families were buying products. Producing too many products also caused prices and products to go down for food. The farmers owed debts because they couldn't sell their food, the debts weakened banks and closed many. These signs of a bad economy coming should have made people stop gambling on the market, but nobody stopped.

Wall Street was a huge financial place where banks and investment companies flooded the streets. People were optimistic about the high prices for stocks and a good economy. Because of this, middle class people began buying stocks. They paid a little bit of money down, and borrowed the rest from a stockbroker. This system worked until the prices went down he investors had to pay the loan off. In September 1929, investors sold their stocks because they thought the prices were really high. On October 24, the lowering of stock prices caused a panic. Nobody wanted to buy stocks until October 29 when 16 million stocks were sold and the market crashed.

All the stocks they bought for high prices were worth nothing because the people couldn't pay the money they owed on margin purchases. After months of the crash, unemployment rates got a lot higher and industrial production, prices, and wages were lowered. This was the exact opposite of what they wanted to happen. This was now the Great Depression. The cause wasn't the stock market crashing, but it did make it happen quicker and harder on the people. By 1932, businesses failed, banks closed, and factory production was cut in half. Because the banks lost their money, they couldn't give the money back to the people who had money in savings accounts. Farmers lost their land because they couldn't pay their mortgage and by 1933, 25% of all Americans didn't have jobs. These people that didn't work had to get all their essentials and supplies from other people. People made homes with makeshift shacks, and soup kitchens were made to feed the starving people. Places that were hiring had many people applying even though they paid very little(1).

Rise of Dictators in Europe

In Europe there was a time of economic crisis, people didn't know what to do because there was no stable leader. Since there was no stable leader people decided to look up to leaders like Hitler. Hitler made many false promises and spoke very inspirationally toward the German people who were very poor and needed a strong leader. The Germans were poor because they had to pay reparations for WWI. Hitler took power in Germany by ways of propaganda and violence. He would offer something good for the people but not be able to come through with his promises. He attempted to gain as much territory as possible. He mainly just wanted to create a perfect nation for himself by eliminating anyone that was different from himself. Stalin gained power by tricking people, whenever another politician arose he would make them look bad and eliminate them from power. Stalin forced peasant farmers to become collective farmers and wanted to improve the economy. He created policies for industrial expansion. Altogether he fought to get back the land lost in WWI. Mussolini fought to take power by using blitzkrieg. He attacked countries and made promises to them he couldn't keep similar to Hitler. Mussolini tried to improve the economics in Italy because they were so poor. Mussolini was a fascist leader and fought to make Italy fascist and reduce the power of the League of Nations.(2)



Beginning of World War II

The war began on September 1, 1939, when Germany invaded Poland. Before invading Poland, Germany annexed Czechoslovakia and Austria into the Third Reich without having France and Britain against them. After the invasion of Poland France and Britain had enough so they went to war. The French thought that Poland would hold out till spring, allowing France time to build up their army. But Germany used infantry, armor, artillery and aircraft and worked in coordination with the help of radios. This new style of warfare became known as blitzkrieg. Two weeks after the Russia invaded from the east. Earlier on Joseph Stalin a had signed a non-aggression pact, but they secretly said they would divide Poland amongst themselves. Before the end of the month, Poland had been taken. Later on Denmark, Norway, and the Baltic States also fell to Germany. Italy’s leader, Benito Mussolini, also wanted something out of the war to so he declared war on France on June 10. Many more battles were to come and also many atrocities.(3)

Major Battles in World War II

Pearl Harbor was a major battle that basically led us into the war. On the morning of December 7, Pearl Harbor, an American naval base was attacked by hundreds of Japanese fighter planes. The battle lasted two hours, but it was horrible. The planes were able to destroy almost 20 American vessels, 8 were battleships. They were also able to destroy 200 airplanes. Over 2000 Americans died in this battle and 1000 were wounded. The next day, FDF asked congress to declare war on Japan. Every member voted yes but one, they had to go to war after being randomly attacked by Japan. Three days later Germany and Italy also declared war on the United States. Congress again easily let the U.S. into these wars and the United States was finally in World War II. D-Day was another important battle that lasted about two months. The battle began on June 6, 1944. 156,000 American, British, and Canadian soldiers landed on beaches of the coast of France's Normandy region. More than 9000 allied soldiers were killed or wounded, but they were still able to slowly move across Europe to defeat the Nazi troops. The battle of the bulge is another very important battle of World War II. Germany attempted an offensive attack to try and split the allies in Northwest Europe using surprise blitzkrieg attack. As the German soldiers advanced, the allies looked like a bulge which gives the battle its name. General Patton moved the army to Bagstone which was important for neutralizing the offensive attacks plotted by Germany. On December 16, three German armies launched the deadliest and toughest battle in the awards to try and regain power. The Germans were facing a shortage of fuels was fatal for the Germans. In the end, the allied forces got at least a draw if not a win. This battle was the deadliest one for the U.S., 100,000 lives were taken. (1)

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Japans Role in World War II

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">During World War 2 Japan was under the rule of emperor Hirohito. When Hirohito took power Japan's views changed from Democratic to Ultra-Nationalism and Militarism. During the Second World War Japan attacked many of their neighboring countries and launched a surprise attack on the U.S. that ultimately drove them into the war. Japan signed the Tripartite Pact with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, where they agreed to defend each other if one of them were to be attacked by a country not in the war. After Japan attacked the U.S. on December 7, 1941 the U.S. declared war the next day. For the next few months Japan occupied many territories but the tides of the war started turning in 1942 after the Battle of Midway. However the Japanese never stopped fighting until 1945 when the United States dropped the atomic bombs (Little boy and Fat man) on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. A few days after the dropping of the atomic bombs the Japanese surrendered. (4)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> U.S. Involvement

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> In the beginning of World War II the U.S. didn't want to be involved. The U.S. at the time was isolated, they'd don't want to be in any foreign affairs. Many Americans were mad at the fact that the U.S. joined World War I. When war started in Europe President Roosevelt wanted to help but not directly to provoke the axis powers. But after the fall of France to Nazi Germany Roosevelt decided to sell arms to Britain. He came up with the Fourth Neutrality Act that stated the U.S. could trade arms to other countries only if they paid in cash and that they picked them up. In March 1941 Roosevelt started the Lend-Lease Act to help out even more. It permitted the lending, leasing, and selling of arms, ammunition and food to any country the president thought to be vital for the U.S.'s defense.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The U.S. Helped even more by escorting British convoys that transported ammunition and weapons. In September 1941 Roosevelt announced that Germans would be shot on sight, this made politicians who were isolationists mad. Along side this Churchill repeatedly tried to convince Roosevelt to join the war. It didn't take long for that to happen. After Pearl Harbor was bombed congress voted unanimously to go to war. Four days later Germany declared war on the U.S. In November of 1942 the U.S. Made their first military offense. Operation torch was in North Africa to drive the German forces out of it. The Germans surrendered in May 1943 in Tunisia.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> As the U.S. fought in Europe they also fought Japan in the pacific. Island Hopping was the name given to the strategy used by the U.S. to gain military bases and secure the small islands in the Pacific around Japan. The attacks were led byGeneral Douglas MacArthur. They attacked islands that were we also that they could make landing strips and bases. In February 1945 U.S. invaded Iwo Jima. It lasted 36 days and the U.S. lost 6, 381 men. Around 20,000 Japanese soldiers also. In April they invaded Okinawa, which was the bloodiest battle of the war in the Pacific. After their hard fought and costly victory the U.S. made plans to end the war quickly with the use of the atomic bomb. On August 6 and 9 1945 the first atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Then on September 2, 1945 Japan surrenders with on,y one condition, that the emperor retains his throne.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">okinawa video

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> During July 1943 allied troops invade Sicily. 250,000 Americans and British land on the island with amphibious boats. After 38 days of fighting, the U.S. and Great Britain successfully drove German and Italian troops from Sicily and prepared to assault the Italian mainland. After fierce fighting it!y finally surrenders in September 1943. Although Italy had surrendered, Germany was still fighting. On June 6, 1944, more than 160,000 Allied troops landed on heavily-fortified French coastline, to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy. More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft were used in the D-Day invasion, and when it ended the Allies gained some power back in Continental Europe. There were more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers tHt were killed or wounded. But their deaths allowed for other soldiers to defeat Hitler and Nazi Germany. And finally a month after the capture of Berlin and the suicide of Hitler, Germany surrenders on May 7, 1945. In total the U.S. lost around 407,000 soldiers during World War II who will be remembered for their bravery.(5)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> The Holocaust

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">During World War II the Nazis, and the German people, thought of themselves to be an Aryan race or master race. Anyone non-aryan were claimed to be inferior, especially the Jews. This racist idea would eventually lead to the holocaust, the mass slaughter of millions of Jews and other people who were thought of to be inferior.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">To gain support for Arianism, Hitler used Germany's hatred against the Jews. Many Germans believed that Jews were the ones to blame for their lose in World War I and their economic problems after it. Soon after the Nazis made targeting the Jews a government policy. They passed the Nuremburg Laws in 1935 that stated Jews could not attain German citizenship, Jews could not marry non-Jews, and it also limited the places where Jews could work. In November 1935 a Jewish boy named Herschel Grynszpan was in Paris to visit his uncle. Then he received a post card saying his father had been deported back to Poland even though he had been living in Germany for 27 years. Fueled by anger Herschel went to avenge his father so he shot a German diplomat who was living in Paris. Once Nazi leaders heard the news, they used it to attack the Jews. On November 9 Nazi soldiers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues all over Germany and Austria, murdering around 100 Jews. The Nazis sent 30,000 Jews to concentration camps. The night of November 9 became known as Kristallnacht, Night of Broken Glass in English.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">After Kristallnacht Jews realized that violence was only going to get worse. By the end of 1939 many Jews had fled to different countries. Some however, stayed in Germany. At first, Hitler liked the idea of emigration as a solution of getting the Jews out. But after most countries stopped taking the Jews, the Germans had no where to put them. So they came up with the idea of putting them into ghettos. Ghettos were towns that had concrete walls and barbed wire where the Jews were put into. The Germans thought that it would kill the Jews do to harsh conditions and starvation but it didn't, the Jews persevered. Some, especially the Jews in Warsaw, formed resistance groups within the walls of the ghettos. They also had trouble keeping their traditions so the ghetto theaters produced plays and concerts. Teachers taught kids in secret and scholars kept records so that once they got out the world would know the truth. Since the ghettos weren't working Hitler devised a new plan which he called "The Final Solution." The plan was genocide, the act of killing an entire people.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">As Germany moved across Europe the mass killings began. Units from the SS went town to town to kill Jews. The SS got the men, women, and children lined them up in front of pots then shot them. They then would cover the pits, becoming the people's graves. Jews not killed by the SS were taken to concentration camps. These camps were in Germany and Poland mainly. Hitler thought that the harsh conditions of the camps would kill off the Jews swiftly.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">The Jews worked seven days a week as slaves in the camps. Guards severely beat or killed their prisoners for not working fast enough. They were fed soup, a scraps of bread, and potato peelings. They then built extermination camps with huge gas chambers that killed as many as 6,000 people a day.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Auschwitz was the largest extermination camp. When prisoners arrived to the camp by train they were herded out and were presented to doctors. The doctors separated the strong from the weak. The ones who were labeled weak were sent to die in gas chambers. The Nazis told them to undress for a shower but once they got into it they were locked inside. Out of the fake shower heads and the roof of the gas chamber poured our cyanid gas, which killed the Jews wishing minutes. Later the bodies were either buried or sent to crematoriums for the bodies to be burnt.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">In 1944, the Soviets overran the concentration camps in Belzec, Sobibor, and Treblinka. The Soviets then liberated Auschwitz, the largest concentration camp, in January 1945. Around six million Jews died in the death camps. Fewer than four million survived. Some Jews escaped the death camps with help from non-Jewish people. (1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[|The Holocaust Video]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Allied Victory

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Although the allies won the war they didn't have much military success until the second half of the world war. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">British and American forces band together to defeat the Italians and Germans in North Africa. Later the ally forces invaded Italy and Mussolini's government soon fell in 1943. Although Mussolini's government fell the ally's kept fighting Germans in Italy for another 2 years. Later in 1944 allied troops began invading Europe and landed more than 150,000 troops in Europe. Hitler then sent the rest of his military out of the east and into the west to fight the allies opposed to Russia. Hitlers forces met the Americans and British in the battle of the bulge which was Germany's last major offensive attack of the war. By the time Germany surrendered Russia occupied much of Europe and hitler had already committed suicide .(6)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Europe and Japan in Ruins

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">After World II, over 40,000,000 Europeans had died and over 66 percent were civilians. Bombing and gunning down destroyed cities. Many people from all over were left homeless. A few great cities were left without much damage, but many areas of London were bombed to dust. Warsaw was almost completely destroyed, the population went from 1.3 million to 153,000. Bombs destroyed 95% of Central Berlin. People in Europe tried to live wherever they could, some stayed in their torn apart buildings while others stayed in cellars without water, food, or electricity. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Two million lives were lost in Japan and the war left the country in ruins. Many major cities such as Tokyo. Hiroshima and Nagaski were turned into wastelands after the atomic bomb. The allies also took control of the colonial empire. Demilitarization was started on Japan so their armed forces wouldn't be a threat. This happened quickly and they only had a small police group. Seven war criminals were also hanged. Democratization was also put in place. A peace treaty was finally signed between Japan and 48 countries including the U.S. The U.S. was finally out of Japan but they agreed to a military presence to protect them. (1)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Women's Role in World War II (optional area)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">American women played important roles during World War II, both at home and in uniform. When the war began marriages became the norm, and teenagers married their sweethearts before their men went overseas. As the men fought abroad, women on the Home Front worked in defense plants and volunteered for war-related organizations. When men left, women became cooks and housekeepers, managed the finances, learned to fix the car, worked in a defense plant, and wrote letters to their soldier husbands. Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Women in uniform took office and clerical jobs in the armed forces in order to free men to fight. They also drove trucks, repaired airplanes, worked as laboratory technicians, rigged parachutes, served as radio operators, analyzed photographs, flew military aircraft across the country, test flew newly repaired planes, and even trained anti-aircraft artillery gunners by acting as flying targets. Some women served near the front lines in the Army Nurse Corps. Many of them died and also were POWs. Without the help of these women the U.S. homefront would have been broken. (7)

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Works Cited <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">Worled History Pattern of Interaction (1) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">http://briannahildreth.edu.glogster.com/the-rise-of-dictatorship-in-europe/ (2) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii (3) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/hirohito (4) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> http://www.history.co.uk/study-topics/history-of-ww2/us-entry-and-alliance (5) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/dday-and-victory-in-europe-for-allied-forces-in-wo.html (6) <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii (7)