Introduction

This blog is a project for my Honors World History class. It covers Chapter 16 in our book, which reviews World War II. We've spent about two weeks covering this material, and this information spans from Germany's invasion of Poland to the US defeat of Japan. Through this blog, I will give brief biographies of several pivotal people from this time period, analyze some political cartoons and propaganda from the war, and give the history of a specific event that had a large effect on the outcome of the war.

Chapter 16 Summary

World War II began when Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939. Two days later, France and Great Britain declared war on Germany. The next six years that followed resulted in the most death and destruction of any war in history. Over 60 million people were killed and 50 million were left homeless. As more countries joined the war, it became a world affair and every nation was affected by it. The United States officially got into the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, when they declared war, striking back against the Japanese and Nazis. Also during this time was the infamous Holocaust, the terrible mass slaughter of civilians by the Nazis. After throughly discussing the atomic bomb droppings and the Allied victory, the chapter concludes with the destruction clean-up in Europe and the Nuremburg trials.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill was Great Britain's prime minister during World War II. He was determined and confident that the Nazis could be beaten, and in a speech to the public, said, “We shall never surrender.” Churchill was a strong public speaker, and used the talent to unify the country against the Nazis. Later on in the war, Churchill met with United States' President Roosevelt to make the Atlantic Charter, which declared free trade between countries and gave people the right to chose their own government. This charter was put in place when World War II ended in 1945.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Eisenhower was the commander of the D-Day Invasion force of 3.5 million troops that attacked the Germans in Normandy, in northwest France. This invasion was history's greatest attack by land and ocean. As commander of the Allied forces in Europe, Eisenhower used his gift for working well with people and joined together the American and British armies. Because of this unison, British, American, French, and Canadian troops fought the Germans at Normandy, defeated German defenses, and forced them to retreat. Dwight D. Eisenhower later became president of the United States.

Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur was an American general who was born in 1880 and died in 1964. During World War II he was the commander of the Allied land forces in the Pacific Ocean. MacArthur was also “one of the most brilliant military strategists of World War II.” When the Americans began to strike back at the Japanese early in 1942, MacArthur formed the plan to storm Japanese controlled islands in the Pacific. He decided to “island-hop” past the strongest guarded islands and seize the weaker islands close to Japan. From those islands, he could cut supply lines to starve the enemy. His first island battle was at Guadalcanal and resulted in the Japanese abandonment of the island.

Isoroku Yamamoto

Isoroku Yamamoto was the greatest naval strategist Japan had during the time of World War II. In 1941, the United States cut off oil shipments to Japan, so the nation became angry. They planned to attack the U.S. and Yamamoto was the person who suggested that Pearl Harbor be bombed. He knew that the American fleet stationed there in Hawaii was too close to Japan and could be a threat. Under his order, the Japanese attack the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This decision was successful for the Japanese, but cost the United States almost the whole Pacific fleet and thousands of American lives.

War Poster #1

This war poster shows the Allied hatred for the Nazis. The image is that of a swastika being hanged, and it is trying to rouse the support of U.S. citizens in the war against the Nazis. Some people at the time probably did not approve of the war, and this poster is an attempt to get them to realize that the Nazis need to be destroyed at any cost.

War Poster #2

This World War II cartoon is encouraging people that are fighting the Nazi powers to keep their mouths shut about Allied plans. Although “button your lip!” is not a literal command, and the image looks almost comical, the other words on the poster show how serious the matter is. They remind people that even a small comment on a future attack or plan could have the possibility of being overheard by spy ears and could “cost lives.”

War Poster #3

This piece of propaganda displays the very negative attitude of the United States against the Japanese after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The Japanese “Tokio Kid” is portrayed with hideous buck teeth and pointy ears to raise feelings of hatred toward the Japanese race. The sign the kid holds is shown as written in blood with a message that is encouraging Americans to conserve material so the Japanese will not be benefited from it.

An Important Event of WWII

The Battle of Stalingrad is considered by many historians to be the turning point of World War II in Europe. After the Germans had taken control of the city of Stalingrad, winter came and Soviet troops began a counterattack. They trapped the Germans inside, starving them until they were forced to surrender. There were only 90,000 German soldiers left out of the original army of 330,000. This pivotal battle put the Germans on the defensive side, changing the course of the war in favor of the Allies.

My reaction to learning about this event in history was amazement. First, I was surprised to discover that over one-third of the German army at Stalingrad was killed from starvation and the harsh cold. I also found out that this defeat of Germany did not come without a cost to the Soviets. I read that they lost one million soldiers in the defense of Stalingrad, but at least their losses were not in vain, as they ended up winning the battle. It made me wonder- what would the world be like today if the Soviets had not won and caused this turning point in the war?

Connection Across Time

Perhaps the most infamous event of World War II, the Holocaust, was a mass genocide of Jews and other "inferior" people (those with disabilities or homosexuals), by the Nazis. Hitler used mass extermination in an insane attempt to rid the world of all people but Aryans, the "pure-bloods." Millions of innocent people were killed during the 1930s and 40s. Although it is hard to believe, genocide is still seen in our "modern" world. Currently in Darfur, Sudan, Non-Arabs are being hunted down and killed by Jangaweed troops, proving that history repeats itself. Over 700,000 have been killed so far, with many more innocent people dying every day.