Chapter 14-18 Flashcards
What caused WW1?
caused by intense rivalry which developed between European powers in the early 1900s: countries were competing with each other for trade and influence over seas
What sparked WW1?
On the 28th of June 1914 the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot dead at Sarajevo in Bosania
In WW1 what were the two warring parties?
The Allies and the Central Powers
Which countries made up the Allies?
- Britain
- France
- Russia
- (Italy from 1915)
- (US from 1917)
The central powers countries
- Germany
- Austria-Hungary
- Bulgaria
- Turkey
What were the main places where WW1 was fought
- western front (Belgian coast to Swiss border)
- eastern front (Baltic sea the Black Sea)
What was the major turning point of WW1?
The arrival of over a million American troops on the western front
When did Germany sign as armistice in WW1?
11am 11th November 2018
Who were the big three?
- president Woodrow Wilson
- David Lloyd George
- Georges Clemenceau
Who put together the 14-point peace plan and when?
President Woodrow Wilson in a speech to the American congress in 1918
What did the 14-point peace plan suggest?
- nations should keep a small army for defence only
- countries should avoid making secret treaties together
- people of one race and language should be free to set up their own governments (self-determination)
- a League of Nations should be established which would aim to keep the world at peace
What was self-determination?
The policy that people of one race and language should feel free to set up their own government
What were Georges Clemenceau’s views?
He was determined to make sure Germany would never be strong enough to attack France again
What were Lloyd George’s views?
He was under pressure by the British public to deliver a harsh treaty, so even though he didn’t come,Evelyn agree with it he knew his government would fall if the treaty was not considered tough enough
When was the treaty of Versailles signed and where?
28th June 1919 (exactly five years after the Sarajevo assassination) in the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles
What terms of the treaty of Versailles?
- germanys leaders has to sign a war guilt clause admitting responsibility for starting the war
- Germany had to pay massive reparations (£6600 million)
- the provinces of Alsace-Lorraine were returned to France (they lost them to Germany in 1871)
- lost land to Poland, Denmark and Belgium so 1/10th of Germany’s pop was living in foreign territories
- the German army was reduced to 100,000 soldiers and the border between Germany, France and Belgium (the Rhineland) became a demilitarised zone
What were the treaty of Versaille’s faults?
- the defeated countries were not allowed to attend the talks which meant Hitler could later claim it was not a treaty but a dictated peace so Germany didn’t have to accept the terms
- Russia was not invited to the talks even though it fought in the war for 3 years
- Germany felt that they were not solely responsible for the war
- Germany was not able to pay the reparations
- many new countries contained people of different races and languages which led to tensions
- Italy had joined when it agreed to the Treaty of London but it felt it had received few gains compared to what was promised
Why did the League of Nations fail?
- defeated countries were not allowed in so those countries felt under no obligation to follow its rules
- the congress refused to join the League of Nations
Which large empires collapsed after WW1?
- Russian
- German
- Austro-Hungarian
- Turkish
What were the two main political systems in Europe after WW1?
- democracy
- dictatorship
What is the democratic political system like?
People are free to choose their own government by voting in an election, they are allowed to express opinions and are free to form political parties
What is dictatorship like?
- The country is led by a single ruler or party
- A dictator can pass laws without seeking the permission of parliament
- opposition parties are banned and strict censorship is imposed
- elections may not take place but if they do are usually not fair
What happened in Russia in 1917?
A revolution occurred and the royal family was overthrown, Vladimir Lenin came into power and a communist gov was established
What happened in Russia in 1924?
A more extreme communist gov came into power under Josef Stalin
What was the Russian secret police?
NKVD (later KGB)
What were Russian prison camps?
Gulags
What was communism/socialism?
A system of government that believes the wealth of a country should be in the hands of the gov for the good of the people
What was fascism?
A system of gov that believed in a strong gov headed by a dictator.
- they hated communism
- believed in private business and ownership of land
- believe in national pride and encouraged ordinary people to put the int rest of the state before their own personal freedom
What caused fascism to become so popular?
- some countries were dissatisfied with the treaty of Versailles
- there was much unemployment and inflation
- many land and factory owners were scared of communism
When was Benito Mussolini born?
In northern Italy in 1883
Who was Mussolini’s father?
A socialist blacksmith
What did Benito do in 1912?
He became the editor of a socialist newspaper Avanti
Why did Mussolini turn his back on socialism?
He disagreed with the socialists objections to joining the war
What did Benito do in 1915
He enlisted in the army
What was Mussolini’s record in the army like?
Largely unimpressive even though he boasted of throwing enemy grenades back
What did Benito do in 1919?
Formed the Italian fascist party’s
What caused rise of fascism in ITALY faced by Italy after WW1?
- bitterness over the failure of the treaty of Versailles to match what was promised in the treaty of London
- a lot of unemployment and economic difficulties
- a fear of communism
What caused the fear of communism in ITALY?
A wave of strikes in 1920
- farm labourers in Po valley refused to save the harvest
- in Milan over a million workers took over factories and raised a red flag symbolising communism
What were fascists also known as?
- blackshirts
- squadristi
What did Mussolini do in 1922 October?
He issued a threat to the Italian gov ordering them to solve Italy’s problems or to step aside and let the fascists do it
What happened when the Italian gov failed to respond to Mussolini’s threat?
30,000 fascists began to march on Rome
- King Emmanuel III panicked an refused a request from prime minister Luigi Facta to use the army
- following talks at the royal palace between the King and Mussolini Facta was forced to resign
In summary give steps taken by Mussolini to become a dictator
- OVRA established
- 1923 the Acerbo established
- 1924 election won through campaign of intimidation
- 1925 Mussolini removed kings right to appoint and remove government ministers, he banned all opposition parties and he could pass any law without the parliament
- simply called Il Duce
What was the OVRA?
A secret police force established to seek out and silence people who opposed the fascists
Where did political opponents go?
A prison camp on the Lipari Islands
What happened to Giacomo Matteotti, a leading socialist politician?
He complained that the 1924 election was unfair and he was kidnapped by the blackshirts in broad daylight and brutally murdered
What was the Acerbo law set up in 1923?
It said the party that got the highest percentage of votes in an election got 2/3 of the seats in parliament
For what reason did Mussolini claim to make the Acerbo law?
He said it would bring an end to political instability
What did Mussolini do to try and improve the economy?
He set a system called the Corporate State whereby different corporations were set up to run each section of the economy
How did Mussolini tackle unemployment?
- autostrada (motorways) were built throughout Italy
- the Pontine Marshes were drained and turned into agricultural land
- hydro-electrical stations were built and the train system was electrified
What happened to the economy?
At first it improved but after the Wall Street Crash in 1929 Italy suffered a depression (a major slowdown in a the economy
How did Mussolini try to distract the public from the economic failures?
He tried to build an Italian empire abroad
How was propaganda in Italy used?
- Mussolini’s photograph was put in newspaper showing him participating in sporting events, helping farmers during harvest and helping in factories
- his light was kept on throughout the night to give the impression that he was working tirelessly
- school textbooks were rewritten, exaggerating the role of Mussolini and Italy in WW1
What were the Italian youth movements?
- sons of the shewolf 4-8
- Balilla 8-14
- Avanguardisti 8-18
What was the dispute between the Italian state and the pope?
Ever since the unification of Italy in 1870 (which resulted in the Pope losing control of a large amount of lands) the pope refused to recognise the Italian state
What were the terms of the Lateran Agreement (1929)
- Mussolini would recognise the Vatican City as an independent state
- compensation would be paid to the church for its loss of land in 1870
- Catholicism became the official religion of the Italian state
- The Pope agreed to recognise the Italian state
What was Mussolini’s foreign policy?
- increasing influence over the Mediterranean
- wanted to rebuild a Roman Empire by taking over foreign land
Mussolini stated he would fulfil these aims by peaceful means if possible but a war if necessary
What were relations like at first between Mussolini and Hitler?
Relations were strained at first because Mussolini feared he might attempt to include the 200,000 German speaking people in northern Italy in his new empire
What caused better relations between Italy and Germany?
In 1935 Italy invaded Abyssinia in Africa, England and France condemned the invasion which caused poor relations between the countries which led to Mussolini growing closer relations with Hitler
List of agreements between Italy and Germany
- Nov 1936: Germany and Italy signed a friendly agreement called the Rome-Berlin Axis
- Sep 1937: Germany, Italy and Japan signed an Anti-communist pact
- May 1939: Italy and Germany signed the Pact of Steel whereby they promised to help each other is any future war
Why did Mussolini stay out of WW2 at first despite the pact of steel?
Mussolini did not expect Germany’s invasion of Poland and despite much propaganda about the strength of the Italian army Mussolini knew his forces were not prepared for war
Why did Mussolini enter the war in May 1940?
He believed the war was almost over and that he could benefit from a peace treaty
What happened to Mussolini at the end of WW2?
- his popularity dropped because the public blamed him for the unfolding disaster
- following a successful American invasion he was dismissed by the King and placed under house arrest
- he escaped and established a state called the Salo Republic in the north of Italy
- when the war started to come to an end he tried to escape to neutral Switzerland
- he was recognised by Italian partisans (resistance fighters) the arrested, given an informal trial and shot dead
Background info Hitler
- born in the Austrian village of Braunau in 188o
- parents died when he was young
- left school at 16 without any qualifications
- in 1907 he moved to Vienna where he made a small living by selling pieces of art
What happened during his stay in Vienna
His hatred for Jews became to grow because there was a tradition of anti-semitism in Vienna.
Hitler considered the Jews to be living in great luxury while he suffered in poverty
Why did Hitler enlist in the German army?
He failed to pass a medical test for the Austrian army
What was hitlers wartime record like?
He spent most the war on the front line, running between trenches with messages, for which he was awarded two iron crosses for bravery.
At the end of the war he was injured in a gas attack and when he was recovering in hospital he heard the news of Germany’s surrender and he was disgusted
What did Hitler do after WW1?
He joined a small, badly organised party known as the German Worker’s party
What did he change the German Workers party name to?
Nationalist
Socialist
Workers
Party
Nazi for short
What was the nationalist socialist workers party’s symbol?
A swastika
What were the two paramilitary groups set up at the start of the Nazi’s rise to power?
- The SS (acted as Hitlers bodyguards;led by Heinrich Himmler)
- The SA (attacked enemies of the Nazi party; led by Ernst Röhm)
When did Germany become a republic?
After the Kaiser (German King) fled the country in 1918
What was the new republic called?
The Weimar Republic
What did the Weimar Republic think was the solution to the reparations bill?
To print more money which led to massive inflation
What were the results of the inflation?
Money became worthless and many Germans lost their entire life savings
How did hitler try to overthrow the Weimar Republic?
On the 8th of November 1923 he attempted to seize power by staging a putsch
What was the problem with the putsch?
It was badly organised which led to hurlers arrest
What did Hitler do in jail?
He wrote his autobiography “Mein Kampf”
What political beliefs did Hitler outline in “Mein Kampf”?
- Northern European people belonged to a superior race (The Aryan race) but the Germans were the Herrenvolk (the master race)
- The Herrenvolk were entitled to rule the ‘lesser people’ of the world
- all German speaking people in Europe should be united into one large empire
- communism was evil and must be destroyed
- the Jews were plotting to destroy Germany and were responsible for WW1
Why did the German people temporarily place their trust in the Weimar Republic during the years 1923-1928?
America loaned huge sums of money to Germany to help with its economic recovery and as a result the economy improved and employment fell
Why did Nazi support begin to rise again after 1929?
Germany was too dependent on American loans and after the Wall Street Crash the economy went down and employment went up.
Desperate Germans turned towards the Nazi party
Who led the SS paramilitary group?
Heinrich Himmler
Who led the SA paramilitary group?
Ernst Röhm
On what date did president Hidenburg appoint hitter as chancellor?
30th Jan 1933
What happened on the 30th Jan 1933?
Hitler was appointed as chancellor by president Hidenburg
What was the Reichstag?
The German Parliament
What were the steps Hitler took to increase his power of Germany?
- The Nazis took over the police force
- Febuary 1933 banned the communist party
- Mach 1933 passed the enabling law
- 30th June 1933 “the night of long knives”
- August 1934 joined the postion of chancellor and president into one
- simply known as “der Führer”
Why did Hitler ban the communist party?
In Feb 1933 a Dutch communist set fire to the Reichstag and Hitler used this as an excuse to ban the communist party
What was the enabling law?
It allowed Hitler to rule by decree (without parliament) for four years
What was the night of long knives?
In June 1934 Hitler arrested and executed the leadership of the SA. He disliked the fact that the SA seemed to show more loyalty to Ernst Röhm than to Adolf Hitler
When did Hitler join the positions of President and Chancellor into one?
August 1934; after the death of President Hidenburg
What was the Nazi regime called?
The Third Reich
Who did hitler appoint as minister for propaganda?
Josef Goebbels
How was propaganda abused?
- newspapers that failed to toe the Nazi line were shut down
- films that didn’t support Nazi beliefs were banned
What happened at Nuremburg?
A large rally was held there each year to celebrate the achievements of the Nazi regime and to announce forthcoming plans
Who were the Gestapo?
The secret police
Who led the Gestapo?
Heinrich Himmler
What did the gestapo do?
They arrested and tortured anyone they considered to be an energy of the Nazis
What was the special unit of the SS that supervised the concentration camps called?
The Order of the Death’s Head
What was the “people’s receiver”
Josef Goebbels instructed a cheap radio to be sold in every shop.
People could listen to Hitlers speeches but it had a very short wavelength so people could only listen to Nazi stations
What were the Nazi boy youth movements?
- Jungvolk 10-14
* Hitler Youth 14-18
What were the girl youth movements?
- Jungmädelbund 10-14
* League of German Maidens (BDM) 14-18
What was the significance of joining hitler youth?
Acceptance into Hitler Youth was a major source of pride in a boy’s life, they were presented a dagger inscribed with the motto “blood and honour”
What did boys do in Hitler youth?
- they went on regular hikes where stones would be placed in the backpacks so they resembled the weight of a pack carried by a German soldier
- instructed in army drills
What were the benefits of joining Hitler Youth?
It made it easier for members to get into a university or to get a job in civil service
What did the league of German maidens (BDM) teach girls?
They were trained to be good wives and were taught how to cook and sew
What was the school system like in Germany?
- there were separate schools for boys and girls
- there were three core subjects (history, biology, sport)
- there was a portrait of Hitler in every classroom
- most teachers were members of the Nazi party
- children were taught about the Aryan race and were instructed not to mix with weaker races
- textbooks often contained false info and insulting pic of Jews
- boys were encouraged to study science and technology but these were not usually taught in girl schools were they were taught cooking and sewing
- many girls ended up with a useless leaving certain which made it hard for them to go to university
How did Hitler reduce employment?
- public work schemes: such as the building of the autobahnen
- the size of the German army was increased
- big factories that made war materials were set up
- special allowances were paid to married women with children to encourage them to stay at home
What were Italian motorways?
Autostrada
What were German motorways called?
Autobahnen
What happened to make the Jew’s lives miserable after Hitler came to power?
•1935: Nuremberg Laws + Jews banned from voting + forced to wear the Star of David
————–
•1937: Jews not allowed enter public parks, sit on public benches, go to the cinema, theatre or own pets
————–
•1938 Nov 9: Kristallnacht(night of broken glass)
————–
•1939 many Jews had already fled the country an those who remained lost all human right; banned from: leaving their homes after dark + using public transport + owning a radio & bike
————–
•1942: Final solution
What were the Nuremberg Laws?
It became illegal for Germans to marry Jewish people
What caused the Kristallnacht?
A young Jew shot a German diplomat
What date was the Kristallnacht?
9th November 1938
What happened on Kristallnacht?
- The SS and Hitler Youth smashed the windows of Jewish shops and homes and then burnt a number of synagogues
- over 90 Jews were killed and many were arrested and sent to concentration camps
Who ordered the SS to round up all the Jews and send them to concentration camps?
Adolf Eichmann
What was the final solution?
The plan to rid Europe of its Jewish population
What were the three main concentration camps?
- Sobibor
- Treblinka
- Auschwitz-Birkenau
What happened to Jews when they arrived at the concentration camps?
They were separated into those who could work and those who couldn’t; the people who were too weak were immediately sent to the gas chambers. The others were worked until they were too weak as well and then they were sent to the gas chambers
What was Hitlers foreign policy?
- the treaty of Versailles was to be destroyed
- all German-speaking people in Europe were to be united in one large German empire
- Germans needed ‘lebensraum’ (living space)
What were the lesser breed known as in Germany?
The Slav race
How did Hitler disobey the treaty of Versailles?
- 1935: he increased his army from 100,000 as allowed to 550,000
- he sent German troops into the Rhineland but ordered them to withdraw if the French took action
How was the sending of his troops into the Rhineland a gamble?
Their military resources were wholly inadequate
Why did France not react to the troops in the Rhineland?
They had lost an entire generation of men in WW1 and were anxious to avoid further conflict
What was the maginot line?
A large defensive fortification built along the French/German
What was appeasement?
The practice of allowing Hitler to revise some terms of the treaty of Versailles in the hope it would avoid further conflict
What was the Anschluss?
The union between Germany and Austria
Why did Hitler want the union between Germany and Austria
He wanted to extend his borders and he was encouraged by the weak response of democratic powers to his actions
When was the Anschluss?
March 1938
What was the Sudetenland?
The border region between Germany and Czechoslovakia
Why was a meeting held in Munich in September 1938?
To resolve the Sudetenland situation peacefully
Why did Hitler want to extend Germany’s borders into the Sudetenland?
Over three million Germans were living there and he wanted more lebensraum
What were the terms of the Munich agreement?
The Sudetenland was given to Germany on the condition that this was Hitlers last demand
What happened in March 1939?
German troops marched into Prague and took over the rest of Prague
What did the invasion of Czechoslovakia mean?
Hitler could no longer claim to be uniting the German speaking people in Europe
Why did Britain and France promise to declare war on Germany if they invaded Poland?
They expected Germany to attack Poland next
Why did Britain and France expect Germany to invade Poland?
An area of land called the Polish Corridor was given to Poland in 1919 to give it a coastline but one of the cities, Danzig contained a lot of Germans
What move did Hitler make that Britain and France did not expect in August 1939?
In August 1939 he signed a ten year non aggression pact with the Soviet Union
Why was the Nazi-Soviet Pact of 1939 so surprising?
Hitler made no secret of his hatred of communism
What was a secret clause of the ten-year non-aggression pact?
The Soviet Union and Germany agreed to split Poland between them
What date did Germany invade Poland?
1 September 1939
What happened after the invasion of Poland?
Britain and France give Germany 48 hours to remove their troops and after Germany didn’t respond they declared war
What was Blitzkrieg?
A new type of warfare used by Hitler during WW2
Explain Blitzkrieg
Step 2. Tanks roll in and crush any remaining resistance
———————-
Step 3. Infantry soldiers advance to occupy and control captured area
Why did people cal, the beginning of WW2 a “phoney war”?
Since the fall of Poland no fighting had occurred
What had Britain really been doing at the start of WW2?
They used this time to move the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) to France preparing for a German invasion there. Children were also evacuated to the country side in case of German air raids
Why do Neville Chamberlain forced to resign?
Britains failure to invasion of Denmark and Norway in April 1940
Who replaced Neville Chamberlain?
Winston Churchill
How did Germany attack France?
They bypassed the Maginot Line and attacked France through the hilly Ardennes region in Belgium which took the Allies by surprise and forced them back to the English Channel
How did the British deal with the BEF trapped on the coastline of France by advancing troops?
Operation Dynamo
What was Operation Dynamo?
The evacuation of the BEF from the French port of Dunkirk. A flotilla of boats saved over 338,000 soldiers from the beaches around Dunkirk
When did France surrender?
Eight days after the invasion, the 21st of June
How was France divided during WW2?
The north east of the country was occupied by the Germans
The south was a pro-German puppet state called Vichy France under control of former WW1 hero Marshal Pétain
What did French people react to German control?
Some started a French resistance which specialised in hit and run attacks
Others called collaborators worked alongside the Germans out of fear, love of fascism or for personal gain
What was operation sea lion?
A German plan for the invasion of Britain after the fall of France
What was Luftwaffe?
The German airforce
What was the Royal Air Force (RAF)?
The British Air Force
What would the Germans need to do before they could invade Britain?
Command the skies over the English Channel by beating RAF
What did RAF have the advantage in the Battle of Britain?
The positioning of radar stations along the British coast meant RAF could detect and track Luftwaffe before the plans reached the main land
What did Hitler do after he failed to beat RAF?
He started bombing British cities
How did Britain get new weapons even after they were alone in WW2?
They got weapons from America under a system known as Lend-Lease
What was the Blitz?
A period of heavy bombing on British cities
How many bombs were dropped on London between 1940-1941?
50,000 high explosive bombs
Hundreds of thousands of incendiary bombs (fire bombs)
What was life like during the blitz in London?
- strict blackouts were imposed (German pilots even dropped flares in an effort to light up the ground
- gas masks were distributed and civilians were encouraged to carry them at all times
- “air-raid precaution” wardens patrolled the streets during raids directing firefighters and ambulance crews to badly hit areas
- it became routine for civilians to head to air-raid shelters every night
- all clear siren sounded at dawn and Londoners emerged to see if their houses and work places were destroyed
- demolition squads knocked down unsafe buildings
What were the different types of shelters?
- people in the suburbs went to a shelter called the Anderson hut
- Morrison shelters were placed in the city centre
- tube
What was the Anderson Hut?
A shelter built from corrugated iron usually sunk in the ground with earth over the top
What were Morrison shelters?
Type of a steel frame in the shape of a large table
Why did people go to the tube?
They were about 70 feet underground
What did Hitlers do after failing to get Britain to yield during the blitz?
Hitler abandoned his plans to invade Britain and declared war on the SU
What did hitter have to do when the Italians failed to impact Africa?
He had to send General Rommel
Who defeated general Rommel and his troops?
General Montgomery at the Battle of El Alamein
What was operation Barbarossa?
The invasion of the SU
Why did hitter invade the SU?
- needed oil supplies to keep Germany’s war machines going
- Hitler wished to extend his borders to create more lebensraum
- Hitler hated communism
What tactics did the soviet troops do during operation Barbarossa?
Marshal Zhukov ordered his troops to retreat in an orderly fashion and not counter-attack until winter. They adopted a scorched earth tactic.
What was the scorched earth tactic?
They destroyed everything that could be useful to the enemy. They burned houses, blew up bridges and lifted railway lines
What did Hitlers do after the SU massive counter attack?
He told his troops to concentrate on capturing Stalingrad which stood between the German army and the rich oilfields of Caucasus
What did the Germans to to capture the city of Stalin grad?
They bombed the city to a pulp but when they entered the Red Army emerged from the buildings
What was the battle of Stalingrad like?
German tanks found it difficult to manoeuvre the rubble filled streets so many tanks were destroyed by the use of ‘Molotov Cocktails’ which were petrol bombs that were thrown down the hatch.
German troops were trapped in the city when 1mil Soviet troops surrounded the city
What did General Von Paulus do that disobeyed Hitlers orders?
He surrendered despite Hitlers orders saying they should fight to the last bullet
What had relations between Japan and American went bad during the 1930s?
Japan sought to increase its influence over the Pacific Ocean
What did Japan do in December 1941?
Without warning it bombed an American naval base in pearl harbour in Hawaii so President Franklin D Roosevelt declared war
What was operation torch?
America’s successful attack on Italy from North Africa
What was operation Overlord?
The invasion of continental Europe from the west
What was the preparation for d-day invasion (operation overlord)?
- special amphibious tanks called ‘funnies’ were designed for the landing beaches
- a pipeline under the ocean (PLUTO) was laid so that vital oil supplies needed for tanks, lorries and jeeps could be pumped under the english channel
- artificial harbours called mulberry piers were towed across the channel so tanks and other military vehicles could easily be brought ashore
What was the landing area for d-day invasion?
The long sandy beaches at Normandy in France
Where did the Germans think the British would invade France?
Calais, the closest point from England to France
Who was the commander of troops during the d-day invasion?
General Eisenhower
What were the five code names for the beaches?
Utah Omaha Gold Juno Sword
Where was the most death during d-day invasion?
Omaha beach, 3000 people died
What was the battle of the bulge?
After France was liberated the Germans tried to halt the allied advance by breaking through their lines in the Ardennes region in Belgium but they only briefly managed to make a bulge in the lines before being forced back.
This was the last major battle as the Germans had lost too many troops and tanks
What was the Yalta conference?
Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt met at Yalta in Crimea to discuss the future of Europe after the war
What was agreed at the Yalta conference?
The disarming and partition of Germany and the establishment of the United Nations
How many troops were left defending Berlin at the very end of the war?
45000 including members of Hitlers Youth
What were Hitlers order when Berlin was under siege?
They were to fight to the death and any man in a house showing the white flag should be shot
When did Hitler kill himself
30th of April
Who did hitler give all his power to?
Admiral Dönitz
What was the main turning point in the war in Asia?
The Battle of Midway
Who became US president after Roosevelt died?
Harry S Truman
Why did Harry S Truman choose to drop an atomic bomb on Japan?
He estimated that almost a million allied soldiers would die if they invaded Japan
Where was the first atomic bomb dropped and how many people died?
Hiroshima
More than 70,000 people died
Where was the second atomic bomb dropped?
At Nagasaki
What were the texts of world war 2?
- over 55 million people died and many more became refugees
- the Nazi leaders that had not committed suicide were tried for war crimes at Nuremberg
- the United Nations was established
