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World War II Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

The war brought enjoyment and fairer distribution of income. People of colour and women were able to enter the workforce for the first time. The ending of the war brought union strength and changes in society that would have a lasting impacts for decades to come.

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Treaty of Versai­lles: 1919

Paris Peace Conference
Formally ended WWI
Purpose
Reflected wishes of: Britain, France, US, Allies
 
Weaken Germany: no threat to 'European Peace'
Germany forced to accept 'war guilt'
Outcome
League of Nations establ­ished
 
Made WWII possible
The treaty became a pioneer of the rise of Hitler and the World War II

Great Depres­sion: August 1929 – March 1933

US
Wall Street Crash
 
Financial Panic
 
Countries relied upon them
Intern­ational Trade collapsed
Australia
Greatly impacted
 
Unempl­oyment rose 30% [1932]
Public Work
Buildings, highways & dams
 
Australia
Sydney Opera House, Great Ocean Road
Germany
Impacted severely
First to recover
 
Unstable Politics
Nazi régime began
Economy
Poor suffered
Lost everything
 
Great Debt
 
Rich - owned landed + buildings
survived
 
Rich - stock market + finance
suffered, lost everything

German Expansion

Policy Aims
Destroy Treaty of Versailles
 
Gain 'Leben­sraum' in Eastern Europe
 
Bring all Germans into one Greater Germany
One Reich
 
Make Germany Strong Again
Austria - 1934
Failed July Putsch (uprising) of Austrian Nazis
 
Hitler's first attempt of expanding
Failure
Rhineland - 1936
Direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles
 
Remili­tar­izing a demili­tarize zone
Austria - 1938
Greeted by cheering crowds & warm welcome
 
Anschluss
Czecho­slo­vakia - 1938
Reclaim lost after WW1
 
Allies can't get involved
Policy of Appeas­ement
Poland
German­-Soviet Non-Ag­gre­ssion Pact
neutral against one another
 
USSR agreed to remain neutral while Germany invaded Poland

Roaring Twenties: 1920's

New Era
Age of Prosperity
Affordable
Opport­unities
Advances in mass production
Economy boomed
Creativity
Carefree living
freedom in Music, Cinema, Dance & Jazz
freedom to express themselves
Women
Indepe­ndent
Equality: marriage & political
Made the Villains by the church
Flappers
New Era of Feminists
short dresses, red lipstick, rebels of their time
 
"­rather naughty than nice"
 
"­Forward young Women"
 
Showed the necessity of change
Speake­asies
Prohibited
Unity of classes
Worst kept Secret
 
Changed Social Life
Gangsters, Wealthy, Lower Class
Together
 
Cotton Club
Celebr­ities joined
Popular Speakeasy

Australia at War

Rats of Tobruk: 5 Aug, 1940
April-25th October: 749 killed; 1,996 wounded; 604 prisoners
 
1st March -> end; 832 killed; 2,177 wounded; 941 prisoners
 
Austra­lian's were surrounded by German and Italian forces for 8 months.
 
Germans called them the 'Rats of Tobruk' - a name that the Austra­lians adopted with pride.
Kokoda: 21 Jul - 16 Nov 1942
Approx. 625 Australian Soldiers died
 
June 1942: 39th Battalion (mostly 18- and 19-year old Victorian conscr­ipts) ordered to advance with troops of the Papuan Infantry Brigade under-equipped, poorly supplied, outnum­bered
 
17 Sept: forced back to the Imita Ridge; 50km from Port Moresby (Japanese goal) ; Ordered to hold that position 24 Sept: tide of battle had turned 2 Nov: Austra­lians regained Kokoda
Darwin Bombed: 19 Feb, 1942
Hit by 22 Japanese Air Raids: 90 bombers with fighter escorts: 243 Austra­lians killed
Home Front
Australia focused on defending coastline & infras­tru­cture
 
Coastw­atc­her's stationed at key points along coastline
 
Volunteer War Effort: Preserve law & order; Protect public utilities; Prevent subversive activities
POWs
30,000 Austra­lians; 8591 captured by Germans; 97% survived war
 
21,467 captured by Japanese; 8,000 died to disease; suffered force labour
Women in AUS
Fundra­ising; charity work
 
Number of women working in War material: 1,000 to 145,000
Women at War
Could only work as nurses: 78,000 enlisted; 4000 overseas
 
AWAS: army; 31,000 transport, commun­ication + combat
 
WAAAF: airforce; +18,000 sighned
 
WRANS: navy; 3,000; not allowed at sea
 
65 nurses on ship Vyner Brooke sunk by Japanese; 24 survived

Holocaust

Denial of Civil Rights: 1933-1938
Mar 1933: Hitler ordered SA to stand outside Jewish­-owned shops & prevent customers form entering
 
Apr 1933: Jews forced to give up jobs in civil service
 
Sep 1933: not allowed to inherit land
 
1935: Jews excluded from parks, swimming pools, restau­rants + public buildings; Marriage between Jews & Non-Jews banned
Persec­ution Increases: 1938-1941
All tights possessed by Jews were taken away; Jewish doctors had qualif­ica­tions taken away; could no longer choose child's name
violence
Krista­llnacht: 7,000 Jewish shops vandal­ized; 40,000 Jews sent to concen­tration camps; retali­ation of shooting of German official in Paris by Jew
The Final Solution: 1941-1945
final solution of the Jewish Problem
Genocide
6 million Jews exterm­inated through mass summary execut­ions, pogroms + death camps
 
Death camps: Auschwitz, Treblinka + Sobibor

War in the Pacific

Pearl Harbour
Strike from Japanese included 353 aircrafts that launched four heavy carriers: consisted of 40 torpedo planes, 103 level bombers, 131 dive-b­ombers, and 79 fighters.
 
This surprise attack that brought America out of its isolation and officially into World War II, fighting for themse­lves.
Manhattan Project
U.S. government research project for the sole purpose of developing nuclear weapons
Robert Oppenh­eimer
Father of the atomic bomb; leader of projet
Trinity
First successful test of nuclear device
Total War
A war which hostility completely mobilisers its popula­tions & resources to support war effort
Case FOR dropping Bomb
Problems with ally Russia; preserve American values; fight to preserve freedom + punish unjust aggression
Case AGAINST dropping Bomb
Not just think of present situation (future ramifi­cations - change of warfare); armaments (weapo­nized) race likely to occur; first strike more likely for countries w/out atomic weapons; mutual trust between nations limited; indisc­rim­inate form of warfare
Immediate Effects of Nuclear Attack: Hiroshima
One weapon was able to wipe out lives of tens of thousands in an instant; People died from flash + Flame burns, falling debris + other causes; over 3/4 of buildings demolished
Why Second Bomb: Nagasaki
Due to what me be a mistake of interp­ret­ation lead US to believe Japan would continue to fight
Civilian View
All they could witness was the destru­ction of city.
 
Loud noise that came from nowhere; bright yellow rays that destroyed everything in sight - dominoes effect; cries of those around all could be heard

League of Nations: 1920 -1946

Aim
Prevent future wars
Failure
 
Encourage great hope that there would never be a world war again
Structure
No Military power
Viewed as 'tooth­less'
 
Warn countries of possible wars
 
Decisions were anonymous
1 vote against prevented league to take action
 
Outcome
Formed 10 January 1920
 
Effect­ively resolved some Intern­ational conflict
 
Failed to prevent outbreak of Second World War
Political failure of its time

Key Battles

Battle of Britain: 5 Aug, 1940
Germany planning full invasion on UK
 
RAF lost 1250 aircraft: 544 piolets dead, 1017 fighters
 
520 men killed serving with Fighter Command; Over 700 fatali­ties; Some 43,000 civilians killed
 
Air Battle: Bombing of major cities in UK - Nazi planes
 
German airforce suffers:165 planes shot down losses they would never recover from
Battle of the Atlantic: 23 Oct - 11 Nov, 1942
Water Battle
 
1,315 ships lost by U-boat; 2,177 ships lost all enemy causes; 22,898 No. of Crew lost by U-boat; 30,132 No. of Crew lost all enemy causes
 
Legacy: Allied victory not possible without the battles at sea
Battle of El Alamein: Jul 1942
Tanks destroyed: 40 guns taken: hundreds of Prisoners
 
Allies became successful in this desert battle
 
"­Before Alamein, we never had a victory. After Alamein, we never had a defeat­" - Winston Churchill
Battle of Stalin­grad: 23 Aug, 1942 - 2 Feb, 1943
Germany occupied 90% of the city: Soviets refused to give up
 
Food began to run - resolved through eating animals: Supplies to Germany cut off
 
18,000 soldiers wounded, without supplies or dressings or drugs: USSR lost 8-10 million
 
Germany were defeated due to circum­sta­nces: Russian Winter
 
Resilient warfare: Continuous Russian attacks
Battle of Normandy: 6 Jun - 30 Aug 1944
Allied Troops = 10k causal­ities
 
Axis Troops = 4-9k causal­ities
 
156,000 Allied Troops: 5,000 ships + landing crafts; 50,000 vehicles; 11,000 planes
Battle of Okinawa: 1 Apr - 22 Jun, 1945
Went for 82 days
 
American Losses: 34 Allied ships & craft lost; 368 Allied ships & craft lost; Fleet lost 763 aircraft; 5,000 navy dead
 
Japanese Losses: Over 100,000 soldiers dead; over 23,000 sealed in caves or buried; 7800 aircraft down; 16 combat ships out
 
Bloodbath at Okinawa was a major factor why US President Harry Truman's decision to NOT invade Japan

Children Nazi Germany

Early Views
Great emphasis on children; did not disregard young people or undere­stimate political beliefs
 
Gave them sense of purpose, achiev­ement & community
 
Filled minds with racial purity, Aryan supremacy, German expansions & future military conquests*
Education
Dissem­inate Nazi ideology, enhance loyalty to Hitler, prepare millions of German boys for military service
 
Non-Jewish teachers pressured to join Nation­als­ozi­ali­sti­scher Lehrerbund (Nazi Teachers' League)
 
curriculum shaped to convey Nazi beliefs and values: racial education, 'enlig­hte­ning' children about Aryan supremacy & despicable traits of unterm­ensch (sub-human people + races)
'Nazified' Subjects
Most important subject in this process was history; convey + reinforce Nazi values & assump­tions. Filled with tales of Germanic heroes + warriors, political leaders & military conquests
 
Mathem­atics & Sciences neglected in contrast
Nazi Youth Groups,
Hitler Jugend (Hitler Youth); inspired by British scouting movement
 
1930: contained more than 25,000 boys ages 14-18
 
Adopted same symbols, culture, psychology & appeals to nation­alism employed in SA + SS
 
Eend of 1937: 5 million members or 64% of all German adolescent boys
Life in Hitler Youth
Dominated by physical training & ideolo­gical indoct­rin­ation
 
Prepared them for entry into armed forces - de facto parami­litary group
 
Range of physical activities + skills training: sports + games, hiking, orient­eering, map reading, knot-tying & bushcraft
Military Indoct­rin­ation`
Became more milita­ristic, more emphasis on marching + drills, weapon training, obstacle + assault courses, camouflage & combat tactics
 
Attended lectures & instru­ctional sessions about Hitler's life, Nazi ideas & racial theory; required to take Oath of Loyalty to Hitler
Girls Group
Junmad­elbund (German Girls' League) age 10-14; Bund Deutscher Madel (League of German Maidens') age 14-18
 
Prepared them for lives as wives, mothers & homemakers
 
Completed activities such as sports + calist­henics: intended to enhance fitness, strength & beauty; Classes on grooming, hair + makeup, needle­work, German traditions - Nazi ideology & values

Nazifi­cation of Germany

January 1933
National Socialist (Nazi) leader Adolph Hitler had been appointed Chancellor
'Coord­ina­tion'
Laws and policy guidelines to ensure that all areas of public life were in alignment with Nazism
 
Affected every aspect of society, including sports.
Gleich­sch­altung
Complete Nazi domination of all aspects of German life

Vocab

Repara­tions
compen­­sation for war damage paid for by the defeated countries
Krista­llnacht
the night in Germany when gangs attacked Jewish synagogues and thousands of Jews were arrested and placed in concen­­tr­ation camps
Genocide
the mass exterm­­in­ation of a group of people based on race, religion, or culture
Holocaust
the systemic murder of 11 million people (6 million Jews) by Nazi Germany during WW2
Auschwitz
the largest of Nazi death and concen­­tr­ation camps in Poland
Propaganda
the spread of inform­­ation through films, writings, images, etc. to support a cause
Axis Powers
alliance formed by Japan, Germany, Italy, led by Emperor Hirohito, Adolf Hitler, and Benito Mussolini
Allies
alliance formed by US, Great Britain, Soviet Union, led by Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Josef Stalin
D-Day
June 1944, Allied forces land on the beach of Normandy, France and advanced on Germany
Fascism
A political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nation­alism and racism and no tolerance of opposition
Militarism
The idea that a country's problems can always be solved with aggression
Appeas­ement
The French and British policy of giving in to Germany's demands in order to prevent war
Isolat­ionism
The US foreign policy of avoiding involv­ement in world affairs after WWI
Blitz
Sustained bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 1940 and 1941
Conscr­iption
compulsory enlistment for state service, typically into the armed forces.
Nuremberg Laws (1935)
Laws defining the status of Jews and withdr­awing citize­nship from persons of non-German blood.
Star of David
A symbol of the Jewish religion. Nazis forced Jews to wear it on the outside of all of their clothing.
Bushido
belief that it was better to die in battle or commit suicide rather than be captured
Kamikaze
a fighter plane used for suicide missions by Japanese pilots in World War II