5-4.4

It Is Essential For Students To Know:

• The issues associated with World War II are contained in indicator 5-4.4, 5-4.5, 5-4.6, and 5-4.7. In most cases, the information contained in these indicators will overlap throughout the study of this time period.
• The principal events related to the United States’ involvement in World War II include the rise of European dictators such as Benito Mussolini in Italy and Adolf Hitler in Germany as a result of the Depression. Since students will be studying World War II again in the 7th grade and in Global Studies with a focus on world history, it is not necessary that they understand the circumstances that led to the rise of Hitler. However they should understand that he was a dictator and used military aggression against the rest of Europe to secure his goals.
• It is important that students understand that although Josef Stalin was also a dictator, he was opposed to Hitler. Indeed Hitler’s fascism is a right wing reaction to Stalin’s communism. Students do not need to know the difference between these two ideologies.
• Students should also know that the Japanese had a militaristic government that was seeking to expand their nation’s power however they do not need to know the details of the rise of the military dictatorship in Japan.
• Dictators in Germany, Italy and Japan formed an alliance called the Axis Powers.
• At first, the European leaders tried to avoid war and responded to the aggression of Hitler’s Germany with a policy of appeasement, giving in to his demands. However, when Germany invaded Poland, allies Britain and France declared war on Germany.
• Soon Germany had defeated France and was bombing Great Britain.
• Germany invaded the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.).
• The Congress of the United States passed laws that required President Roosevelt to maintain an official policy of neutrality.
• However President Roosevelt tried to help the British leader, Winston Churchill; the leader of the free French, Charles de Gaulle; and the leader of the Soviet Union, Josef Stalin, with supplies.
• After the Japanese bombing of the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii President Roosevelt asked the United States Congress to declare war on Japan.
• Germany and Italy then declared war on the United States in order to support their ally, Japan, becoming the Axis Powers.
• The United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union became known as the Allied Powers or the Allies.
• The Germans thought that the treaty that ended World War I was unfair. The goal of Germany was to avenge itself for this treaty by taking over Europe. The Germans believed that Germans were a superior people.
• The goal of the Japanese was to establish control of the Far East in order to assure the economic prosperity of the Japanese people.
• The goal of the Allies was to stop the Axis and defeat them unconditionally so that they could not invade other countries again.
• Students should also be able to explain the strategy used by the Allied powers in the European theater including the invasions of North Africa and Italy and finally the invasion of Normandy, France.
• Students should understand that the purpose of the island-hopping strategy in the Pacific theater was to get within range of the gasoline tank capacity of American bombers and ultimately to invade the Japanese home islands.
• The invasion of Normandy led to the eventual surrender of the Axis powers in Europe, but the Allied powers continued to struggle against a Japanese army that was determined to fight to the last man.
• Then President Roosevelt died and Vice-President Harry S Truman was sworn in as President.
• As the preparations for the invasion of Japan continued, scientists successfully tested the world’s first atomic bomb. The decision of whether to risk many more American lives with an invasion of Japan or to use the atomic bombs fell to Truman.
• The United States dropped two bombs, one on Hiroshima and a second on Nagasaki, which led to the surrender of the Japanese and brought about the end of World War II.

It Is Not Essential For Students To Know:

• Since Benito Mussolini and General Hideki Tojo are not specifically mentioned as dictators of the period, it is not necessary for students to remember their names. However it is very important for students to understand that the alliance of the Axis powers included Italy, Germany, and Japan.
• It is not essential that students know that the “destroyers for bases” deal or the “Lend-Lease” program were ways that the United States assisted Great Britain prior to officially entering the war.
• It is not essential that students recall the various battles not specifically included in this indicator, including the Battle of the Bulge, Guadalcanal, Midway, etc.
• Students will be required to summarize key developments in technology, aviation, and weaponry in indicator 5-4.6., including the development of the atomic bomb.