1. History: World War 2

Question 1

How many people died in the world war 2? After Post-WW II how many troops died?

Answer 1

World War II: The Deadliest Conflict in Human History

• Over 230 million people died in wars in the 20th century.
• Post-WWII, nearly nine million troops died.
• Estimates range from over 50 million to over 70 million deaths.
• Civilian deaths were double military deaths.
• Over a third of civilian deaths were deliberate killings in war crimes.

Question 2

How many Australians died in active service due to the war? How many prisoners? What are the evidence for world war 2?

Answer 2

Understanding World War II and Australia’s Role

Understanding World War II
* Nearly 40,000 Australians died on active service, including nearly 8000 Australian prisoners of war.
* The human cost of World War II was even more horrific for many other nations.

Sources of Evidence
* A wide range of sources provide evidence about the history of World War II and Australia’s involvement in it.
* Rationing was introduced in 1942 for food and clothing, with coupons used to buy essential items.
* Artefacts, written and visual sources, military records, campaign maps, soldiers’ letters, diaries, memoirs, propaganda, and weapons are among the sources of evidence for World War II.

Examples of World War II
* Tom Uren, a former minister in the Whitlam Labor Government, recounts events before his unit became prisoners of war on 23 February 1942.
* Uren describes the brutal and inhumane actions committed by Japanese paratroopers during the intense fighting.

Answer 3

World War II: Use of Movie Cameras for Propaganda
* Leni Riefenstahl’s “Der Sieg des Glaubens” (Victory of Faith) portrayed Adolf Hitler as a statesman.
* American director John Ford filmed battles in the Pacific in 1944 and 1945.
* Art and still photography were used to record wartime events, providing stark evidence of the conflict.
* Sources include images of nurses searching through rubble after German bombers struck a London hospital in 1940 and Russian women risking their lives during the German siege of Stalingrad in 194

Answer 4

Historical Perspectives and Interpretations in Artwork

• Study Source 6: Aerial view of the Allied bombing of Montecassino monastery in 1944.
• The painting depicts a blind prisoner struggling through a concentration camp post-liberation.
• The artwork conveys horror of concentration camps through figures, colors, and other aspects.

Answer 5

World War II: The Deadliest Conflict in Human History

• Over 230 million people died in wars in the 20th century.
• Post-WWII, nearly nine million troops died.
• Estimates range from over 50 million to over 70 million deaths.
• Civilian deaths were double military deaths.
• Over a third of civilian deaths were deliberate killings in war crimes.

Answer 6

The Dolchstosslegende and Economic Woes

The Dolchstosslegende and World War II
* The Nazi regime, led by Adolf Hitler, led Germany into war in 1939.
* The rise of the Nazis was influenced by resentment of the Treaty of Versailles, the myth that Germany was betrayed, and the Great Depression.

The Dolchstosslegende
* The’stab in the back’ myth, which held that Germany was not defeated but betrayed by the ‘November criminals’, undermined the Weimar Republic.

The Impact of the 1930s Depression
* Germany suffered hyperinflation in the early 1920s, causing the value of its currency to erode.
* From 1924 to 1929, the government managed to improve Germany’s finances and international relations.

The Weimar Republic
* The democratic system of government from 1919 to early 1933, based in Weimar, managed to improve Germany’s finances and international relations.
* The 1924 Dawes Plan and the Locarno Treaty of 1925 helped rebuild Germany’s economy.

The Great Depression
* The Great Depression spread through industrialized countries from 1929, severely affecting Germany, leading to investment decline and unemployment.

Answer 7

Germany’s Fall of Democratic Government and Nazi Ideology

• General Ludendorff transferred power to a civilian government in 1918, shifting blame from military to democratic government.
• The Depression led to a coalition government split, with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) seeking to raise taxes on the rich to maintain payments to the unemployed.
• President Hindenburg appointed an authoritarian Centre Party government, which lacked support in the Reichstag.
• New elections were held in 1932, with the Nazi Party gaining 37.3 per cent of the vote.
• Hitler was invited to become Chancellor of a right-wing coalition government in January 1933, transforming Germany into a Nazi dictatorship.
• Nazi ideology included the survival of the strong, the defeat of racial enemies, the acquisition of Lebensraum for the expanding population, and the Führerprinzip.
• After a failed attempt to seize power in 1923, Hitler focused on building support through public spectacles, influential individuals, and propaganda. Joseph Goebbels was appointed to head the Nazi propaganda unit in 1929.

Answer 8

World War II: Key Events and Events

• 1938: German troops occupy Austria, weakening Czechoslovakia.
• 1939: Britain declares war on Germany, Australia forms the 2nd AIF.
• 1940: Germany overruns Western Europe, preventing a German invasion of Britain.
• 1941: AIF wins over Italian forces in Libya and Vichy French in Syria.
• 1942: Japanese conquer most of South-East Asia, with setbacks in the Battles of the Coral Sea and Midway.
• 1943: Australians defeat Japanese forces in New Guinea.
• 1944: ‘D Day’ landings in France, British and Indian forces drive Japanese back in Burma.
• 1945: Germany surrenders, atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan formally surrenders, and the United Nations is formed.

Answer 9

Hitler’s Consolidation of Power and Naziization of Germany

• Hitler’s Chancellorship and the fire damage to the Reichstag sparked fears of a communist uprising.
• Hitler issued a Decree for the Protection of People and State, allowing for imprisonment without trial and abolition of press, speech, and assembly freedoms.
• Despite intimidation, the Nazis won only 43.9% of the vote, forming a coalition with the Nationalist Party.
• The Enabling Act of 23 March 1933 granted Hitler dictatorial powers and the power to make laws and change the Constitution.
• Nazis controlled German social, political, economic, and cultural life by 1934.
• Nazi courts were established, anti-Nazis and Jews were forced out of civil service jobs, trade unions were abolished, and ‘Un-German’ books were publicly burned.
• The SPD was banned, and other parties dissolved.
• German communists, socialists, and other anti-Nazis were sent to concentration camps.
• Education was used as a tool of Nazi propaganda.
• The Nazis organized attacks against Jews and Jewish property, boycotted Jewish businesses, and banned marriage and sexual relations between Jews and Aryans.

Answer 10

Hitler’s Political Appeal and Influence
* Appealed to all societal members, promising to care for workers and farmers and restore the middle class to childhood prosperity.
* Viewed himself as a symbol of Germany, practicing perfecting movements and signals before speaking.
* By mid-1930s, six out of ten young Germans joined the Hitler Youth, brainwashed with Nazi Party ideology, particularly anti-Semitism.
* By 1936, there were about four million members.
* Hitler was the first world leader to use filmmakers for political purposes, ensuring the preservation of his films for future generations.

Answer 11

Hitler’s War Preparation and Execution
* Eliminated SA leaders to gain army support.
* Used SS to murder 180 leading SA members and over 200 political opponents.
* Claimed SA planned an uprising.
* Created close relationship between Nazi regime and army.
* SS dominance in Nazi state.

Hitler’s Assertion of Power
* Hitler assumed total power as Führer after Hindenburg’s death.
* Required soldiers to take a personal oath of loyalty.

Answer 12

Japanese Imperialism and its Impact on World Peace

• Japan’s militarism and extreme nationalism threatened world peace, leading to World War II in 1939.
• Japan’s attempt to create an Asia-Pacific empire began in the late 19th century, with invasions in Korea, Manchuria, and Korea.
• Japan sided with the Allies during World War I to gain Germany’s territorial rights in China and German colonies in the north Pacific.
• The Great Depression contributed to the rise of Japanese militarism, with economic hardship leading to growing support for the military and nationalists.
• The Japanese military soon had more power than its civilian government, leading to an invasion of Manchuria in 1932.
• China protested to the League of Nations, but withdrew from the League of Nations after censure in 1933.
• Western powers and the League took no effective action due to their focus on threats to peace in Europe.

Answer 13

Aggression and Appeasement in World War II

Germany, Italy, and Japan’s Threat to World Peace
* Germany, Italy, and Japan threatened world peace in 1936-37.
* The League of Nations was ineffective in preserving peace.
* By 1939, the world was on the brink of war.

Key Events:
* Japanese invasion of China, including Manchuria, from 1932.
* Italian invasion of Abyssinia from 1935.
* German intervention in the Spanish Civil War, 1936–39.
* Germans in Austria and Czechoslovakia, 1938–39.

Hitler’s Foreign Policy Aims:
* Overturn the Treaty of Versailles and reclaim lost territory.
* Take territory from the Slavic ‘racial inferiors’ of the Soviet Union.
* Destroy world communism.
* Control raw materials for Germany’s economy and rearmament.

Italy’s Invasion of Abyssinia:
* Mussolini ordered Italian military attacks on Abyssinia in October 1935.
* Abyssinia demanded action against Italy.
* League sanctions were ineffective due to lack of support from Germany, Japan, and the United States.

Appeasement Policy:
* Western democracies had little support for standing up to fascist aggression.
* The United States adopted an isolationist foreign policy to avoid involvement in Europe’s conflicts.
* France feared to take a stand without British support, leading to a policy of appeasement.

Answer 14

“Australia’s Independence in World War II”
* Australia was a British Empire dominion in 1939.
* Despite being a British colony, Australia had the right to have its own foreign policies since 1923.
* British law recognized this in 1931 under the Statute of Westminster.
* Canada, Ireland, and South Africa adopted this independence, Australia did not.

Answer 15

Appeasement and Uniting Fascists in World War II

• Western democracies failed to take action against German breaches of the Treaty of Versailles.
• Britain and France protested but did nothing more.
• The Anglo-German Naval Agreement allowed Germany a navy 35% the size of Britain’s Royal Navy.
• Britain and France failed to act when Hitler marched 20,000 troops into the demilitarised Rhineland in March 1936.

Uniting Fascists

• The Spanish Civil War brought Germany and Italy together as allies.
• Britain and France failed to aid the elected Spanish Republic and denied it the right to buy arms to defend itself.
• The Soviet Union abandoned Spain and the aim of building an alliance with the democracies by the end of 1938.

Answer 16

Final Steps to War: Hitler’s Preparation and Response

• Hitler’s Hossbach Conference in 1937 prompted preparation for a major war in the mid 1940s.
• Germany and Italy committed more aggression between 1938 and 1939.
• The Treaty of Versailles banned any Anschluss of Germany and Austria.
• Germany invaded Austria in March 1938, annexed Austria, and Britain recognized the enlarged Germany.
• Hitler used false claims of German persecution in Czechoslovakia to destroy the country.
• British prime minister Neville Chamberlain agreed to Hitler’s demand for immediate control of the Sudetenland.
• In March 1939, Hitler invaded and broke up Czechoslovakia, breaching the Munich Agreement.
• Britain and France resisted further Nazi aggression, providing aid to Poland.
• Italy annexed Albania in April, and Germany and Italy signed the Pact of Steel in May.

Answer 17

World War II: The Munich Agreement and the Soviet Union’s Policy

• The Munich Agreement was signed by Hitler, Edouard Daladier, Neville Chamberlain, and Mussolini.
• The agreement provided for a secret carve-up of Poland and the Baltic states, allowing Germany to invade western Poland without risking Soviet opposition.
• The Soviet Union’s non-aggression pact with Hitler, signed on 23 August 1939, marked the beginning of World War II.
• Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September, leading to Hitler’s surprise that the invasion provoked a war with western European powers.

Answer 18

World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk and the British Empire

World War II: A War of Ideologies
* The war began in Europe but spread to North Africa, Asia, and the Pacific.
* Combatants included partisans and regular forces.
* The war was a war of ideologies, fought to stop the expansion of fascist rule.

Blitzkrieg Tactics
* Germany invaded Poland in 1939 using blitzkrieg tactics.
* Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and France declared war on 3 September.
* Despite resistance, western Poland fell to the Nazis and eastern Poland was occupied by the Soviet Union.

British Empire Stands Alone
* The British Empire stood alone, facing German-occupied Europe.
* The United States and the USSR remained neutral, with Britain’s only allies being defeated European nations’ governments-in-exile.

The Battle of Britain
* Hitler planned Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of Britain, with devastating air attacks and landings of German troops.
* The Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter aircraft fought the Luftwaffe, preventing the invasion.

New Battlefields After 1940
* By the end of 1940, the war had reached a stalemate.
* Direct battles could occur in North Africa and the Balkans.
* Italy entered the war as Germany’s ally in June 1940, capturing British Somaliland and parts of Egypt.
* Germany came to Italy’s aid, pushing the British back into Egypt in February 1941.
* Germany then attacked Yugoslavia and Greece, conquering them in April and May 1941.

Answer 19

Germany’s Invasion of Russia and the Pacific War

Germany’s Operation Barbarossa
* Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa in June 1941 to conquer the Soviet Union.
* The invasion force included Germany’s armed forces, Hungarian, Romanian, Finnish, Italian troops, and volunteers from neutral Spain.
* The invasion was initially successful due to the destruction of Soviet planes and the slowing of the German advance.
* By December, the invasion was halted by the harsh Russian winter and fresh Soviet divisions from Siberia.

The Pacific War
* Japan, Germany’s Axis partner, sought an Asian and Pacific empire, or the ‘Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere’.
* Japan’s occupation of French Indochina in July 1941 was the first step towards this goal.
* On December 7, 1941, waves of Japanese planes struck the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, destroying half the US fleet.
* The attack secured public support for the war, leading to Britain’s declaration of war the next day.
* By April 1942, Japan had taken Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, and much of Burma.
* The Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942 prevented the Japanese from taking Port Moresby by sea.

Answer 20

Turning Points and Counter-offensives in WWII

• The Battle of Midway in June 1942 marked a turning point in the European and Pacific wars.
• The British Empire defeated German forces at El Alamein in Egypt, leading to their retreat in North Africa and forced surrender in May 1943.
• Soviet Red Army troops fought back at Stalingrad from November 1942, leading to the German 6th Army’s surrender in February 1943.
• The Battle of Kursk in July 1943 saw Germany’s tank force almost completely destroyed.
• The Axis powers were clearly losing the war by 1943, with bombing raids destroying German cities and industry.
• The Allies fought a bloody campaign against German forces in Italy’s north after the invasion of Italy in July 1943.
• On ‘D-Day’, 6 June 1944, British, US, and Canadian troops drove the Germans out of western Europe.
• By the end of 1943, the Germans were retreating along the Eastern Front.
• Australian troops defeated the Japanese in Papua and New Guinea, and by March 1944, British and Indian troops were turning the Japanese back in Burma.

Answer 21

Lesson 2.7: Australia’s Response to World War II

Learning Intent:
* Discusses Australia’s response to the outbreak of war and the locations where Australians fought against Axis forces up to 1942.

Tune In:
* Discusses the impact of World War I on Australians’ perception of World War II and recruitment for World War II.
* Highlights the disappointment of recruiting in 1939, compared to the excitement of 1914.

Enlisting for the War:
* Discusses the different feelings Australians might have had after losing their father in World War I or being unemployed since leaving school.
* Encourages dialogue on different perspectives on whether or not to enlist.

Enlisting for the War:
* Discusses the Australian government’s initial reluctance to send troops to Europe due to fear of Japan’s potential threat.
* Discusses the formation of two separate land forces: the militia and the Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF).

Answer 22

Recruiting the Second AIF
* Recruiting for the 2nd AIF began in October 1940, but was slow due to the ‘phoney war’ and the lack of action during the war.
* Australia discriminated against First Nations Australian volunteers, requiring recruits to be’substantially of European origin’.
* The Great War shattered the myth of war as a glorious adventure, leading to a rush to enlist in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The Second AIF Goes to War
* Four divisions were raised for the Second AIF, the 6th to the 9th, sent to the Middle East and Malaya.
* The 6th Division achieved significant victories in Libya between January and March 1941, leading to the destruction of ten Italian divisions and the first victory of British Empire forces.

Greece and Crete, March–May 1941
* The Australian 6th Division fought alongside Greek, British, and New Zealand troops to halt the German invasion in Greece.
* The under-equipped Allied defenders were forced to retreat to Crete, where they fought a rearguard action.
* Over 3000 Australians were taken prisoner.

Answer 23

Tobruk and El Alamein Campaigns
* Australian 7th Division defeated Vichy French forces in Syria in June 1941.
* The defeat of Italians in Libya led to Hitler sending in German forces in February 1941.
* The Allies were pushed back to Tobruk, Libya, for an epic siege to delay German advance.
* The siege lasted from April to December 1941, with a garrison of 24,000 including 14,000 Australians.
* The defenders suffered from disease, flies, fleas, intense heat, and insufficient water.
* The defenders were dubbed the ‘Rats of Tobruk’ by the Germans.
* Japan’s entry in December 1941 led to the 9th Division’s victory in the Battle of El Alamein in October 1942.

Answer 24

Australia’s Response to Japan’s Invasion

• Australia’s defense forces are deployed globally, supporting Britain, leading to a perceived threat of invasion.
• Australia views the Pacific struggle as a shared responsibility between the US and Australia, with the US as the key to shaping a plan.
• Australia’s fear of invasion escalated when Japan entered the war in December 1941, with British forces fighting alongside Japanese forces.
• Labor Prime Minister John Curtin declared Australia would look beyond Britain to shape its own foreign policy.
• Malaya and Singapore, defended by over 130,000 British Empire troops, fell in January 1942, threatening Singapore.
• Singapore’s defense was poorly organized, leading to the surrender of the British commander to a smaller Japanese force.
• The fall of Singapore exposed Australia, with Darwin hit in two Japanese air raids, leading to widespread panic.
• Despite Australia’s concerns, Winston Churchill and the US government wanted the Australian 7th Division to be sent to Burma, but Curtin insisted on their return to Australia.

Answer 25

Japanese Invasion of Malaya and Singapore’s Fall
* Japanese troops invaded Malaya on 14 January 1942.
* British and Australian POWs in Korea were captured at the fall of Singapore on 24 October 1942.
* Two Japanese midget submarines were sunk in Sydney Harbour on 1 June 1942, escalating the war threat.

The Cruel Fate of Singaporeans
* The Japanese occupation of Singapore led to the death of many Singaporeans.
* The Japanese Imperial Army terrorized ethnic Chinese civilians, aiming to destroy resistance.
* Estimates of the number killed ranged between 25,000 and 50,000.
* The Kempeitai maintained control through a network of informers.
* Singaporean schoolchildren were forced to learn Japanese and sing the Japanese national anthem.

Australia’s Foreign Policy Post-Paris Peace Conferences
* Australia showed little independence from Britain after the Paris Peace Conferences of 1919.
* John Curtin’s ‘Australia looks to America’ speech of 27 December 1941 is considered a turning point in Australian foreign policy.
* Labor politicians and anti-Labor politicians debated whether Australia should shift its foreign policy towards the United States due to the threat from Japan.
* Their perspectives included security, shared kinship, duty to support Britain, Darwin’s air raids, and a British Empire foreign policy.

Answer 26

Lesson 2.7: Australia’s Response to World War II

Learning Intent:
* Discusses Australia’s response to the outbreak of war and the locations where Australians fought against Axis forces up to 1942.

Tune In:
* Discusses the impact of World War I on Australians’ perception of World War II and recruitment for World War II.
* Highlights the disappointment of recruiting in 1939, compared to the excitement of 1914.

Enlisting for the War:
* Discusses the different feelings Australians might have had after losing their father in World War I or being unemployed since leaving school.
* Encourages dialogue on different perspectives on whether or not to enlist.

Enlisting for the War:
* Discusses the Australian government’s initial reluctance to send troops to Europe due to fear of Japan’s potential threat.
* Discusses the formation of two separate land forces: the militia and the Australian Imperial Force (2nd AIF).

Answer 27

Kokoda Battles: A Historical Overview

• The 39th Battalion, primarily Victorian conscripts, faced significant challenges during the Kokoda battles.
• The Australians and Papuans were forced to retreat to Kokoda village and Deniki, leading to a fighting retreat.
• Despite reinforcements from the 53rd Battalion and the 7th Division AIF, the Australians were forced back to Imita Ridge on 17 September.
• On 24 September, lack of supplies led to the Japanese withdrawal in a retreat.
• On 2 November, the Australians regained Kokoda, resulting in 607 Australian deaths and 1015 wounds.
• Japanese tactics included rapid mobile spearhead advances, machine-gun sites, feint attacks, and surprise attacks.
• The 39th Battalion’s war diary from 29 July 1942 revealed the enemy’s advance on their positions, leading to a hasty withdrawal and a return to defensive positions.

Answer 28

Papua and New Guinea Campaigns and ‘Unnecessary Campaigns’

• Australian soldiers fought the Japanese in the south-west Pacific during WWII.
• The Royal Australian Navy and RAAF played a wider role in both war theatres.
• The Kokoda campaign saw 9000 Australian and US troops stop the Japanese force at Milne Bay.
• Australian and US troops defeated the Japanese at Gona, Buna, and Sanananda.
• The Papuan campaign ended on 22 January 1943 with the surrender of those Japanese who had not fought to the death.
• Australia’s biggest campaigns were in New Guinea, where the Japanese lost eight troop transports and four destroyers in the Battle of the Bismarck Sea.
• Australia captured Lae and Salamaua by September 1943, and defeated most of the Japanese in New Guinea by April 1944.
• After 1944, Australia’s troops were used in campaigns against isolated Japanese garrisons in New Guinea, New Britain, Bougainville, and Borneo.

Answer 29

World War II: RAAF and RAN

RAAF’s Growth and Role
* RAAF grew from 3500 to 184,000 personnel during the war, including 18,000 women.
* RAAF trained Australians to serve in Britain’s RAF, with 100 Australian airmen fighting in the Battle of Britain.
* RAAF supported US landings in the Solomon Islands and helped the Royal Navy against Germans, Italians, and Japanese in Burma and Japan’s home islands.

RAN’s Role
* By 1942, the RAN had 68 ships and nearly 20,000 men.
* It supported US landings in the Solomon Islands and helped the Royal Navy against the Germans and Italians.
* HMAS Sydney, a crippled Italian cruiser, sank in the Mediterranean on 19 July 1940.

Answer 30

Australian POWs’ Experiences in World War II

• Australian troops, including many children, were held captive by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
• They were kept in prisoner of war (POW) camps with scarce food and almost non-existent medicines.
• Hundreds of Australians, including some women, were massacred upon capture.
• Thousands endured forced labour, brutality, and near starvation.
• They had inadequate medical facilities to treat their diseases.
• The Japanese denied mailing rights and refused to distribute supplies from Allied Red Cross societies.
• German and Italian informed the Allies of their prisoners of war, but families in Australia had no knowledge of their fate or whereabouts.
• Contrasting motives for treatment of POWs included brutal treatment, with over 30000 Australians becoming POWs.
• Almost 8000 of these prisoners died in captivity due to disease, malnutrition, and mistreatment.
• The treatment of Australian POWs was influenced by differing ideas about race, conquered peoples, and soldiers who surrendered.
• The main victims of Japanese racism were the Chinese, who were slaughtered in their millions.
• The Imperial Japanese Army had little respect for the rights of conquered peoples.

Answer 31

Australian POWs’ Struggles in Japan

• At least 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen were captured by the Japanese.
• Nurses were denied rights, including Red Cross packages and supplies.
• Women were subjected to brutal treatment.
• Food was scarce, with only water, corn, soy meal, or rice daily.
• Rations were halved towards the end of the war.
• Punishment was used to deter disobedience, including withdrawing food, forcing work, and beatings.
• Escape was difficult but not impossible, with recaptured escapees usually executed.
• Forced labour tasks included land clearing and railroad construction.
• Mateship was maintained, with soldiers sharing workload, food, and money.

Answer 32

Australian POWs’ Experiences in World War II

• Australian troops, including many children, were held captive by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.
• They were kept in prisoner of war (POW) camps with scarce food and almost non-existent medicines.
• Hundreds of Australians, including some women, were massacred upon capture.
• Thousands endured forced labour, brutality, and near starvation.
• They had inadequate medical facilities to treat their diseases.
• The Japanese denied mailing rights and refused to distribute supplies from Allied Red Cross societies.
• German and Italian informed the Allies of their prisoners of war, but families in Australia had no knowledge of their fate or whereabouts.
• Contrasting motives for treatment of POWs included brutal treatment, with over 30000 Australians becoming POWs.
• Almost 8000 of these prisoners died in captivity due to disease, malnutrition, and mistreatment.
• The treatment of Australian POWs was influenced by differing ideas about race, conquered peoples, and soldiers who surrendered.
• The main victims of Japanese racism were the Chinese, who were slaughtered in their millions.
• The Imperial Japanese Army had little respect for the rights of conquered peoples.

Answer 33

Experiences of Australian Prisoners of the Japanese

• Australian prisoners of the Japanese spent the rest of the war as slave labourers in various camps.
• The Japanese executed around 600 Australian POWs, and another 1500 died when US Navy sank ships transporting them to Japan.
• Many POWs were used to build the Burma–Thailand railway, causing severe suffering from tropical diseases, ulcers, and malnutrition.
• POWs tried to escape, but were often brutally beaten in Japanese prisons.
• The worst atrocity against Australian POWs occurred in North Borneo, where they were beaten, starved, and overworked.
• In January 1945, a group of 470 of the Sandakan POWs were marched 260 kilometers west to Ranau, but only 350 survived.
• A second death march was ordered for the remaining POWs at Sandakan, with those who collapsed with exhaustion shot.
• Only six of the original Sandakan POWs survived, with two escaping into the jungle and five hiding in the jungle.
• Japanese military discipline was particularly vicious and brutal when administered to prisoners.

Answer 34

Homeland Defence in the Pacific War

• The war led to political, financial, and social changes in Australia, affecting the country’s infrastructure and infrastructure.
• Coastwatchers were stationed along the coast to monitor Japanese invasions and report back to the army.
• Precautionary measures included bomb removal, installation of air-raid sirens, and distribution of tin helmets and respirators.
• The Volunteer Defence Corps was established to protect public utilities and prevent sabotage.
• Citizens began digging air-raid trenches, building shelters, filling sandbags, and removing public signs or street names.
• By April 1944, most of the Japanese had been defeated in New Guinea.
• Australia’s troops were used in unnecessary campaigns against isolated Japanese garrisons in New Guinea, New Britain, Bougainville, and Borneo, costing over 1000 Australian lives but having no influence on the war outcome.

Answer 35

Experiences of Australian Prisoners of the Japanese

• Australian prisoners of the Japanese spent the rest of the war as slave labourers in various camps.
• The Japanese executed around 600 Australian POWs, and another 1500 died when US Navy sank ships transporting them to Japan.
• Many POWs were used to build the Burma–Thailand railway, causing severe suffering from tropical diseases, ulcers, and malnutrition.
• POWs tried to escape, but were often brutally beaten in Japanese prisons.
• The worst atrocity against Australian POWs occurred in North Borneo, where they were beaten, starved, and overworked.
• In January 1945, a group of 470 of the Sandakan POWs were marched 260 kilometers west to Ranau, but only 350 survived.
• A second death march was ordered for the remaining POWs at Sandakan, with those who collapsed with exhaustion shot.
• Only six of the original Sandakan POWs survived, with two escaping into the jungle and five hiding in the jungle.
• Japanese military discipline was particularly vicious and brutal when administered to prisoners.

Answer 36

Homeland Defence in the Pacific War

• The war led to political, financial, and social changes in Australia, affecting the country’s infrastructure and infrastructure.
• Coastwatchers were stationed along the coast to monitor Japanese invasions and report back to the army.
• Precautionary measures included bomb removal, installation of air-raid sirens, and distribution of tin helmets and respirators.
• The Volunteer Defence Corps was established to protect public utilities and prevent sabotage.
• Citizens began digging air-raid trenches, building shelters, filling sandbags, and removing public signs or street names.
• By April 1944, most of the Japanese had been defeated in New Guinea.
• Australia’s troops were used in unnecessary campaigns against isolated Japanese garrisons in New Guinea, New Britain, Bougainville, and Borneo, costing over 1000 Australian lives but having no influence on the war outcome.

Answer 37

Homeland Defence in Australia during WWII

• The war led to significant political, financial, and social changes in Australia.
• During Pacific battles, Australians focused on defending their homeland, including its vulnerable coastline.
• Coastwatchers were stationed at key points along the coast to monitor Japanese invasions.
• Precautionary measures included installing air-raid sirens, distributing tin helmets and respirators, and installing bomb removal equipment.
• Coastwatchers faced loneliness, with some even firing rifles in case of an invasion.
• The Volunteer Defence Corps was established to protect public utilities and prevent sabotage.
• The Volunteer Defence Corps aimed to preserve law and order, protect public utilities, and prevent subversive activities.
• Many volunteers became air-raid wardens, teaching others how to handle bombings.
• The fall of Singapore and the attack on Pearl Harbor led to increased air-raid efforts, including building shelters, bracing buildings, and removing public signs or street names.

Answer 38

Government Powers for the War Era in Australia

Rationing and Internment
* In 1942, rationing was introduced to maintain supplies for both domestic and military use.
* Ration tickets were issued to households, but were useless without money.
* People had to list their names for common household goods and petrol.
* People learned to go without or use their imaginations.

Internment
* Slogans like ‘loose lips sink ships’ and ‘even the walls have ears’ were used to make people cautious.
* For the second time in 25 years, recent immigrants and some Australian citizens of foreign origin were locked up in internment camps.
* Targeted individuals were of German, Italian, Japanese descent, and those with particular political or religious beliefs.
* The Australian Communist Party was banned, and many of its members were locked up.

Widening Powers
* The Curtin government aimed to ensure equality of aliens, a concept largely borne by workers during World War I.
* The government introduced controls over wages, profits, rents, and prices.
* Wide powers were assumed to declare goods essential for the war effort, require factories to manufactur

Answer 39

John Curtin’s Life and Conscription Decisions
* Curtin led Australia during its greatest danger, but his health declined due to work strain.
* He died on 5 July 1945, two months before the final Allied victory.
* Curtin’s decision to introduce limited conscription for overseas service was challenging due to his previous opposition to it.
* The Militia Bill of 1943 allowed the government to send conscripts to any area within the South-West Pacific Zone.

Answer 40

War Effects on Children

• Children faced confusion and worry due to distant family members fighting the war.
• Pets were put down to prevent starvation due to severe rationing.
• Advertising for Christmas 1942 prohibited non-essential items like toys, dolls, sporting goods, and musical instruments.
• Children carried a small calico bag with ear-plugs, clothes peg, bandages, and dehydrated food.
• Regular drills required evacuation of buildings, with each class moving to air-raid trenches.
• The lack of a drainage system led to trenches being three feet deep in water, requiring waiting until rain drained before air-raid drills resumed.

Answer 41

Australian POWs’ Struggles in Japan

• At least 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander servicemen were captured by the Japanese.
• Nurses were denied rights, including Red Cross packages and supplies.
• Women were subjected to brutal treatment.
• Food was scarce, with only water, corn, soy meal, or rice daily.
• Rations were halved towards the end of the war.
• Punishment was used to deter disobedience, including withdrawing food, forcing work, and beatings.
• Escape was difficult but not impossible, with recaptured escapees usually executed.
• Forced labour tasks included land clearing and railroad construction.
• Mateship was maintained, with soldiers sharing workload, food, and money.

Answer 42

Australian Women’s Service Enlistment and Pay

• Around 78,000 Australian women enlisted in various services, including the AWLA.
• Almost 4000 of these women served overseas.
• Women were often admitted grudgingly, denied interesting jobs, and rewarded with half to two-thirds the pay of servicemen.

AWAS, WAAAF, and WRANS
* AWAS was the largest of the women’s services, fully incorporated into the Army.
* WAAAF was the first of the Australian services to enlist women, with over 18,000 women by 1944.
* WRANS, despite having up to 3000 women, was not allowed to go to sea.
* WRANS carried out essential work in dozens of areas including education, interpreting, signalling, and code work.
* Ruby Boye, an honorary WRAN, was one of the most outstanding women to wear the WRANS uniform.

Answer 43

Women in Medical and Nursing Services during WWII

• 10,000 women served in the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (AAMWS) and the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS).
• AAMWS members had previously served in the Voluntary Aid Detachments of the Red Cross (VADs).
• AANS members carried out various jobs in Army hospitals.
• Nurses served in all theatres of war in the Australian Army.
• Nursing services were smaller than those formed by the Navy and Air Force.
• Nurses serving overseas faced similar dangerous conditions as many servicemen.
• Only 24 survived the war.

Answer 44

World War II and Australia’s Alliance

• The war led to an alliance between Australia and the United States.
• A violent clash in Brisbane on 26 November 1942 resulted in one Australian killed and eight wounded.
• The event occurred less than a year after John Curtin’s ‘call to America’ speech, causing hostility between allies.
• The alliance was not as smooth as often portrayed, with Australia working closely with the United States throughout the war.
• The US forces needed a base to direct operations against the Japanese in the south-west Pacific.
• Australia retained the right to decide where Australian troops could serve and refuse to have them used in operations deemed unwise.
• MacArthur and Curtin respected each other, but underlying tensions arose due to racism in the United States and the segregated army.
• Tensions between Australian and US troops led to several riots due to the boastfulness, wealth, and attractiveness of US soldiers.

Growing Tensions in the Alliance
* Australian government had limited influence on MacArthur’s decisions.
* MacArthur used censorship powers to glorify his achievements and deny credit to Australian soldiers.
* Australian troops excluded from the campaign to free the Philippines.
* AIF and militia spent war’s closing stages fighting unnecessary battles in Borneo, New Guinea, New Britain, and Bougainville.
* Curtin called for closer relations between British Commonwealth countries from 1944 to maintain US dominance in the Pacific.

Answer 45

Victory in Europe in World War II

• The final year of the war saw Germany and Japan fighting in their homelands, marking a significant turning point in the conflict.
• The Axis powers had been retreating since mid-1943, with Italy surrendering and the German army turned back at Stalingrad.
• The Allies recognized the need to open a second front in western Europe, aiming to invade Hitler’s ‘Fortress Europa’.
• On 6 June 1944, the largest invasion fleet of all time, Operation Overlord, launched an invasion force on the coast of Normandy.
• Despite heavy American losses at Omaha, troops from Britain, Canada, and the United States established a foothold in Europe and drove the Germans back.
• Paris was liberated on 25 August, and the Allied commanders were eager to maintain momentum.
• Operation Market Garden, launched over the Netherlands, was unsuccessful due to fierce German resistance, particularly in the Dutch town of Arnhem.
• The Battle of the Bulge, a surprise attack on American soldiers, occurred in December 1944.
• In 1945, the Allies regained initiative and began the advance on Berlin, which fell on 30 April 1945.
• Germany signed an unconditional surrender on 7 May 1945, marking the end of the war in Europe.

Answer 46

Victory in the Pacific in WWII

• The US adopted a two-pronged strategy in the Pacific from late 1943, focusing on an ‘island-hopping’ campaign towards Japan.
• Isolated Japanese garrisons were bypassed, while islands like Saipan, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa were captured.
• The island-hopping campaigns provided US island bases for bombing Japan.
• From October 1944, the Japanese adopted a desperate tactic, with kamikaze pilots sacrificing their lives to crash their planes into US warships.
• Between November 1944 and August 1945, the Allies flew over 30,000 bombing raids on Japan, causing over 660,000 civilian deaths.
• Japan’s government opposed the Allies’ demand for Japan’s unconditional surrender.
• The US government decided to use its two remaining nuclear bombs, dropping the first on Hiroshima and the second on Nagasaki.
• Japan accepted unconditional surrender on 14 August and signed the formal surrender on 2 September.
• The use of nuclear bombs was seen as unnecessary as the Japanese were already seeking peace negotiation methods.
• The bombing also served to demonstrate US power to the Soviet Union, who had acquired nuclear weapons.

Answer 47

Japanese War Crimes Overview

• Historical atrocities in armed conflicts have always involved killing enemy troops and executing civilians.
• The Geneva Conventions of 1864, 1906, and 1929 aimed to protect civilians and prisoners of war.
• Despite these efforts, World War II saw numerous atrocities committed by the Japanese military and German Nazis.
• The Japanese military killed millions of civilians and forced millions more to starve due to exhausting slave labor or confiscated food.
• Most victims were Chinese, many of whom were executed, tortured, or infected with diseases.
• The Allies decided to punish those responsible for Japanese war crimes, leading to trials overseen by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.
• Of 25 Japanese wartime leaders tried, seven were condemned to death and executed.
• Approximately 5700 Japanese were tried for atrocities against civilians and POWs, with nine hundred convicted and many executed.

Answer 48

Nazi and Fascist War Crimes

• The Allied leaders replaced the failed League of Nations with the United Nations (UN) to settle disputes and prevent future wars.
• The UN Charter in 1945 aimed to save future generations from war.
• Leading Nazis and others were put on trial for war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, and conspiracy to commit these crimes.
• Nazi ideas about race influenced how Germans and European fascist allies treated conquered peoples and POWs.
• In western Europe, acts of resistance led to savage reprisals, with if one German soldier was killed by partisans, ten or more civilians would be executed.
• German forces were ruthless towards the peoples of eastern Europe, described as ‘racial inferiors’ in Nazi ideology.
• Hitler demanded total brutality towards the Slavic’sub-humans’ and their ‘Jewish-Bolshevik’ leaders.
• Around nine million Soviet soldiers and twice as many Soviet civilians died during the war, many of which were deliberately killed.

Answer 49

The Holocaust: A Systematic Nazi War Crime

• The Holocaust was a systematic genocide aimed at wiping out European Jews.
• Mass murder of Jews began in 1941 in Poland and the Soviet Union.
• Jews were forced into enclosed ghettoes in Poland and mass shootings of communists and Jews in the Soviet Union.
• The SS conducted experimental gassings of Jews and Soviet POWs in specially converted vans.
• Hitler decided mass extermination in SS-run concentration camps, with Auschwitz ordered to prepare for mass gassings.
• Healthy Jews were exterminated through slave labour, with sick, young children, and elderly people forced into gas chambers disguised as showers.
• Around six million Jews were murdered in concentration camps, with many selected for slave labour.
• The Nuremberg war crimes trials put leading Nazis and concentration camp commandants on trial.
• Many Nazi war criminals and collaborators who committed war crimes in occupied countries and Axis satellite states managed to avoid arrest or adopt new identities.

Answer 50

Historical Perspectives on World War II

• Bergen-Belsen concentration camp was liberated by British troops in 1945, resulting in the burial of 10,000 dead inmates, mainly Jews.
• Former SS guards were forced to bury the inmates to prevent disease spread.
• The accused were tried in absentia, even if the accused was not present in court.
• Historical perspectives and interpretations of war crimes during WWII are often viewed as inadequate.
• Research is needed to understand the steps taken since World War II to punish war crimes and their success.
• The photograph of SS guards burying dead, Belsen, painted by Australian war artist Alan Moore, was taken in 1947.

Answer 51

Australia’s International Relations with the United Nations

• The end of World War II marked the start of the Cold War, a period of tension and confrontation between USSR and US-led blocs.
• Australia’s Labor government strongly supported the United Nations (UN) in 1945.
• Dr H.V. Evatt, known as ‘Doc Evatt’, played a key role in shaping the Charter of the United Nations.
• The UN has three main organizations: the Secretariat, the Security Council, and the General Assembly.
• Evatt was elected President of the General Assembly in 1948 and presided over the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• The Declaration emphasizes the recognition of equal and inalienable human rights as the foundation of freedom, justice, and peace.

Answer 52

Australia’s Relations with Asia and Indonesia
* Australia’s relations with Asia were shaped by Asian independence movements post-World War II.
* European colonial attempts to rule Asian colonies clashed with the hopes of these movements.
* In Singapore, British rule was assumed after the humiliating surrender of the Japanese.
* In Vietnam, communist guerrillas fought the Japanese, leading to the Indochina War.

Australia and Indonesia
* Australian labour movement supported Asian independence and the Australian Labor government’s independent foreign policy.
* Indonesia declared independence in 1945, and Australia recognized the newly proclaimed Republic of Indonesia in 1947.
* Despite clashes, Indonesian independence was granted in 1949.
* Australia appointed its first ambassador to Indonesia and sponsored Indonesian membership in the UN in 1950.

Answer 53

Australia’s Relations with Britain and the United States

• Australia’s loyalty to Britain and World War I led to a belief in the United States’ protection from any invasion from Asia.
• The Japanese invasion in 1942 marked a turning point in Australia’s foreign relations, with many Australians believing the United States had saved Australia from invasion.
• The war left a lasting legacy of trust in the United States, along with a short-term hatred towards Japan.
• Cold War tensions increased after China’s communists won power in 1949, leading Australia to retain ties with the US.
• Australia retained the White Australia policy, excluding Asians from migrating to Australia, leading to fears of Asia and communism merging.
• Fear of Asia led to the ANZUS pact in 1951 and the South-East Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) in 1954, both anti-communist.
• Fear of America’s wars led to the Vietnam War in the 1960s.

Answer 54

Commemorating World War II in Australia

• On 14 August 1945, Japan accepted US terms for unconditional surrender, marking the start of VP Day (Victory in the Pacific).
• On 15 August, Australians celebrated the victory, aiming to remember the sacrifices of nearly 40,000 Australians.
• Anzac Day, adopted after World War I, became the national day for remembrance of those who served and died in the Great War.
• Veterans marched with their World War II units on Anzac Day, with speeches paying tribute to them along with Great War veterans.
• Post-WWII, new memorials were added to existing ones, with new sections dedicated to local people who lost their lives in World War II.
• The Australian War Memorial in Canberra developed a new section dedicated to World War II, paying special tribute to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

Answer 55

Contested Debates on World War II

Historical Debates on the European Theatre of the War
* Controversy surrounds the reasons for early Axis successes, the collapse of the French Republic in 1940, the significance of various battles, and the decision-making that shaped the war course.
* Some historians argue that the conflict did not become a world war until Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 and Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
* Debates also exist about the responsibility of different factors in the European war — the Treaty of Versailles, fascism, appeasement, and the extent to which the war was caused by Nazi plans for conquest or miscalculation.

Controversy over the Holocaust
* The Holocaust has created controversy over the extent of German support for Nazi policies and the knowledge of concentration camps and death camps.
* Historians distinguish between Nazis who supported the crimes committed during the Holocaust and the majority of Germans who took no part in such atrocities or were not aware of them.

Debates about the Pacific Theatre of the War
* Controversial topics include the quality of military leaders, the decisions of political leaders, and the conduct of specific campaigns and battles.

Debates over the Use of Atom Bombs to Force Japan’s Surrender
* Historians argue that the use of atomic bombs to force Japan’s surrender was not necessary to end the war.

Answer 56

“A History of Modern Japan” by Richard Storry
* Argues US’s bombing could have persuaded Japanese leaders to surrender.
* Suggests US’s knowledge of Japanese peace efforts and Soviet Union’s entry into Asia-Pacific War significantly influenced Japanese surrender.
* Other historians argue alternative methods would have caused more suffering.

Answer 57

Recognizing and Honouring First Nations Australians’ WWII Service

• Estimates from the Australian War Memorial suggest between 3000 and 4000 First Nations Australians served as enlisted service members during WWII.
• Despite lack of citizenship rights and official discrimination, many rose through ranks.
• Notable Airmen include Flight Sergeant Arnold Lockyer, who was shot down and killed by Japanese captors.