Introduction

        This blog will enrich your knowledge about World War II. It will show who caused the war, what effects each country felt during the war and how they dealt with the situation presented. From Hitler to Winston Churchill, I will cover what steps each leader had to take to try and lead their country through this devastating war. With propaganda to try and raise the morale of the citizens to the development of the Atomic Bomb.

          Chapter 16 covers Hitler's beginning, when Hitler and Stalin signed a 10-year nonaggression pact on August 23rd. Hitler promised him territory. Hitler first tried the strategy of blitzkrieg to take over Poland. It was a huge success. Later Hitler would launch a surprise invasion on Denmark and Norway. He planned to build large bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Germany would later attack Great Britain, but they held off the attacks long enough for Germany to back off. 2 years after signing the pact with Stalin he would break it and invade the Soviets in 1941. Japan would join with Germany, and at the end of 1941 Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, severely hurting the United States navy. The battle of Midway was a turning point in the fight against Japan. Finally the Chapter goes over the worst of World War II. It covers the Holocaust, how it started and who Germany targeted in it's killings.

People

Adolf Hitler

        Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and leader of the Nazi party. He gained popularity in Germany by showing resentment towards the Treaty of Versailles, by promoting antisemitism and anti-communism. He was a very charismatic leader, and used propaganda to gain even more support. When appointed Chancellor in 1933 he turned the Weimar Republic into a single-party dictatorship based on totalitarianism. Hitler wanted to create an Aryan race, and killed those he found inferior. This included Jews, homosexuals, disabled, mentally handicapped, gypsies and much more. This resulted in the death of 5.5 million Jews and millions of others he deemed inferior.

Isoroku Yamamoto 

        Isoroku Yamamoto was one of Japan's greatest naval strategists and said that Hawaii was "a dagger pointed at our throat" and must be destroyed. Later that year, on December 7th 1941 Japan launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. 2,400 Americans were killed, over 1,000 wounded and 18 ships were sunk or damaged. This crippled the United States Pacific fleet. The next day, congress declared war on Japan. This attack was all organized by Yamamoto. He would also lead his fleet in the Battle of Midway, where he would also die. He was shot down on the ambush attack by the United States, diminishing the morale of the Japanese military. 

Joseph Stalin

        Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union during World War II. He agreed to the nonaggression pact with Adolf Hitler. This promised the USSR parts of Poland once Germany took it over. This pact was short lived as Hitler invaded Russia two years after. Stalin refused to surrender Stalingrad when 99% of it was destroyed. He protected this city at all costs, and eventually won the battle when the Russian winter set in. This cost Russia millions of lives, but Stalin wasn't worried about it. He would ultimately lose approximately 8.7 million lives.

Winston Churchill

        Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Great Britain during World War II. He declared that his nation would never give in. In a speech he said "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets...We shall never surrender" This is in fact what Great Britain would do. They never gave in and never surrendered to Germany and it's constant bombings in the Battle of Britain. It was the first successful block to Hitler's attacks. Churchill was a great speaker and was able to get Britain to fully support him. 

Political Cartoons

       
This cartoon shows Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin making the nonaggression pact. Each of them has a gun behind their back, basically showing how much of a fluke the pact really was. Stalin didn't really know how long the pact would last, but he was prepared for it to end.

        This also shows how Stalin and Hitler had previously agreed to split up Poland after Germany had successfully used the blitzkrieg method to control it. They were both congratulating each other for a job well done.

        The three main Allied powers, Great Britian, United States and the soviet Union, have Hitler strangled before he could shoot himself. This shows he had no other option other than suicide, as the Allied powers were closing in on him.

Pearl Harbor

       The attack on Pearl Harbor occured on the morning of December 7th 1941, the attack was orchestrated by Japan. The attack was picked up on radar, but was determined by a general to simply be jets returning from a basic test. Soon they would find out this was not the case, when a swarm of Japanese fighter jets bombed Pearl Harbor. This sunk or damaged 18 ships, killing over 2,400 people and wounding over 1,000 more. The United States knew an attack was coming, they just didn't know when, or where the attack would take place.

My reaction to this event is that you can never be too careful. It sort of shows that the United States thought they would be prepared for any attack on American soil. You can never be over prepared, especially when the rest of the world is involved in some sort of war. This shows the lack of readiness by the United States. I think maybe most of the people felt they couldn't, and wouldn't be attacked by any foreign country. Clearly this thought proved to be wrong, and very devastating. Had Japan gotten all of the United States fleet, this attack could have completely changed the war, more than it already did.

Connection Across Time

        The events that took place during World War II shows the isolationism is not an effect way to keep or create peace. Eventually you will get dragged into the war. We also saw the effects and use of a nuclear weapon. This showed how dangerous and catastrophic these weapons really are, and that they should not be used. The United States also emerged from World War II as a leading player in international affairs. They were now seen as a superpower, and to this day have a large role in the shaping of the world.