World War II Regents Review

Welcome to Global History
Regents Review
Today we will be reviewing:

World War II
and the
Cold War
Causes of World War II
Dictators Mussolini, Hitler, and Tojo became
totalitarian dictators. They took
many aggressive imperialistic actions

to restore their nations to the
prominence they once held.
Rearming of Germany In 1935 Hitler
violated the military clauses of the Treaty of
Versailles. In 1936 Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland.
Appeasement The British and French
policy of appeasement led
dictators to believe
Europeans were
unwilling and too weak to
prevent expansion.
Failure of the League of Nations The
League of Nations was weak and ineffective due to
the absence of the US and a military.
Treaty of Versailles Treaty angered many
Germans who felt

betrayed by their govt.
Many Germans
supported the Nazi party
which promised to
reverse the Treaty and
restore German honor.
Invasion of Poland Germany invaded
Poland on September 1st 1939. Two days later Britain
and France declared war on Germany.
•Immediate cause of WWII.
Neutrality The United States officially
remained neutral until 1941.
Great Depression People looked to
extremist governments to solve nation’s problems.
AXIS POWERS ALLIED POWERS
Germany Britain
Italy France
Japan China
Soviet Union (1941)
United States (1941)
Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7 1941) US enters war!
Battle of Stalingrad (1942-43)
Germans put on the defensive!
D-Day (June 6 1944)
th
Germans forced to fight a two-front war!

On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American
B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb
over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion wiped out
90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people;
tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.
Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on
Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor
Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in
World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the
devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.”
Nuremberg Trials
After the war, some of those responsible for crimes
committed during the Holocaust were brought to
trial. Nuremberg, Germany, was chosen as a site for
trials that took place in 1945 and 1946. Judges from
the Allied powers—Great Britain, France, the Soviet
Union, and the United States—presided over the
hearings of twenty-two major Nazi criminals.
Twelve prominent Nazis were sentenced to death.
YALTA CONFERENCE POTSDAM CONFERENCE
(Feb. 1945) (July-August 1945)
Winston Churchill, Joseph Joseph Stalin, Winston
Stalin and Franklin Roosevelt Churchill (replaced by
agreed to demand Germany’s Clement Attlee), and Harry
unconditional surrender and Truman confirmed the status
began plans for a post-war of a demilitarized and
world. Stalin also agreed to disarmed Germany under four
permit free elections in zones of Allied occupation.
Eastern Europe and to enter
the Asian war against Japan.
Creation of the UN (United Nations)
A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations,

the organization was established in 1945 in order to
prevent conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51
member states; there are now 193.
* Japan was occupied by the United States.
* Japan’s armed forces were disbanded.
* Trials held to punish those responsible for
wartime atrocities.
* A Constitution was written and a democratic
government was set up.
Superpower Aims in Europe
United States Soviet Union
•Encourage •Encourage communism

democracy/capitalism
•Use Eastern Europe’s
•Gain access to raw industrial equipment and
materials & markets to raw materials to rebuild
fuel booming industries
•Control Eastern Europe
•Rebuilt European govt.
•Keep Germany divided
•Reunite Germany
Crisis in Germany
In 1948, Stalin hoped to force the Allied

Powers out of Berlin by closing all land
routes to West Berlin. In response the
Allies mounted a successful airlift that
Crisis in Germany
In 1961, the German Democratic Republic

(East Germany) built a wall that separated East Berlin
from West Berlin to stem the flow of people moving
from:
East Berlin West Berlin “Window to the West”
The Berlin Wall would not come down until 1989!
Opposing Military Alliances during the Cold War
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) –
composed of Western European nations, the United
States and Canada.
Warsaw Pact – composed of the Soviet Union and its

satellite states.
Arms Race
Competition for military supremacy

between the U.S. and U.S.S.R.
Brinksmanship
Both countries practiced brinksmanship,

the willingness to go to the brink, or
edge of war.
Space Race
On October 4, 1957 the Soviets launched

Sputnik the first satellite into space.
On July 24, 1969 America’s Apollo 11
landed on the moon.
COLD WAR HOT SPOTS
HUNGARY (1956) – Imre Nagy led the Hungarian Revolt. Nagy

ended one-party rule, got rid of Soviet troops, and withdrew
Hungary from the Warsaw Pact. SOVIET UNION SENT IN
TANKS AND TROOPS AND CRUSHED THE HUNGARIAN
REVOLT!
CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1968) – Alexander Dubchek called for

democratic reforms. SOVIET UNION SENT TROOPS TO
RESTORE COMMUNISM!
COLD WAR HOT SPOTS
Korea (1950-1953) – Korea was divided into two
parts. North Korea was occupied by Soviet
forces and South Korea was occupied by
American forces. North Korea invaded South
Korea in 1950. With the help of UN forces and
American troops, South Korea drove North Korea
back north. In 1953 an armistice was signed and
Korea remains divided at the 38th parallel.
COLD WAR HOT SPOTS
Vietnam – In 1954, Vietnam was divided into a
northern half ruled by communist Ho Chi Minh,
and a southern half ruled by non-communist Ngo
Dinh Diem. American forces were sent to help
South Vietnam contain communism. President
Nixon withdrew American troops and Vietnam fell
to communism.
COLD WAR HOT SPOTS
Cuba (1962) – Fidel Castro took over Cuba in
1959 and established a communist dictatorship.
The Soviets placed missiles in Cuba.
President Kennedy demanded the Soviets take
the missiles out.
The US blockaded Cuba to ensure no materials
could enter Cuba.
Khrushchev agreed to take the missiles out of
Cuba and Kennedy promised not to invade Cuba.
Destalinization: policy of purging the
Soviet Union of Stalin’s memory.
Leonid Brezhnev (1964-1982)
Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet Union had

the right to prevent its satellite countries
from rejecting communism.
Détente: policy of
easing tensions
between U.S. and
U.S.S.R.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
• Nixon and Brezhnev signed
SALT I Treaty in 1972.
• SALT I Treaty limited number of

missiles each country could have.
• Rebels in Afghanistan
tried to overthrow
Communist govt.
• Détente ended when
the U.S.S.R. invaded
Afghanistan in 1979.
• U.S. aided Afghan rebels

Mikhail Gorbachev ruled the Soviet Union from
1985 until its demise in 1991.

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Welcome to Global History

Today we will be reviewing:

many aggressive imperialistic actions

Germans who felt

Germans forced to fight a two-front war!

A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations,

•Encourage •Encourage communism

In 1948, Stalin hoped to force the Allied

In 1961, the German Democratic Republic

Warsaw Pact – composed of the Soviet Union and its

Competition for military supremacy

Both countries practiced brinksmanship,

On October 4, 1957 the Soviets launched

HUNGARY (1956) – Imre Nagy led the Hungarian Revolt. Nagy

CZECHOSLOVAKIA (1968) – Alexander Dubchek called for

Brezhnev Doctrine: Soviet Union had

• SALT I Treaty limited number of

• U.S. aided Afghan rebels

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