The Atomic Bomb

After Pearl Harbor America focuses most of the WW2 campaign in Japan. Americans were getting frustrated with the length of the war and wanted vengeance for Pearl Harbor. Harry Truman who was Vice President for most of the war became president after FDR's sudden death. He was presented with the Manhattan Project which was the creation of atomic bombs. Little Boy and Fat Man were created and proposed to be dropped on Japan. President Truman decided to drop these bombs on Japan, but gave the country warnings to surrender which they did not. The first bomb was dropped "Little Boy" on Nagasaki Japan and when Japan still did not surrender after a day "Fat Man" was dropped on Hiroshima. Hours after the second bombing Japan surrendered and the war on the Pacific front was over. Here is a clip of just how devastating an atomic bomb is.

The Pacific Front

The European front was the most important front in World War 2, but what many people do not know is that the Pacific Front was a vital side for the United States. In almost any war in history no country that fought in two different fronts in a war has won (Nazi Germany, Napoleon's France, Alexander of Macedonia etc...). America was the first major country to win fighting on two different sides, which is a victory that will live on with us forever. Here is a pretty interesting clip from the Pacific from from the new show the Pacific on HBO which shows the hardships that the American soldiers fought through.

The Allied Forces Allign

What a lot of people do not know is that during World War 2 the Allied forces really didn't work together during the campaign until the end and because of that there was a lot controversy in each country about involvement (mostly on America's part) until 1944 (that's five years after the start of the war). Now with that in mind think of when the war was fully over which was almost a year later...makes you think of when the United States should have been fully involved in the war.

Blitkrieg

Blitzkrieg is a German word for "lighting force of mechanical infantry" which in modern terms means a quick artillery attack of tanks airplanes and anything that carries big explosives to level cities. This was used on both fronts of Germany's war and destroyed many cities towns and villages. Here is a youtube video of what the German's did in their war effort with Blitzkrieg.

Invasion of Poland

September 1, 1939 is a day that will live in infamy, not for America, but for Poland and the world. This was the day that German forces attacked Warsaw Poland to first establish the Third Reich. European countries like France and England became worried, but the world did not understand what truly was going on. In the eyes of the world Germany was a country that was still in ruins and was rebuilding. They did not think they were a threat and their presence in Poland only seemed welcome because of Poland's unstable government. At the time the Soviet Union was trying to expand its territory also and Poland one of their main objectives just like Nazi Germany wanted to. Nazi Germany used this to their advantage and created a campaign with the Soviets to attack Poland on two fronts. Here are some pictures of the aftermath of the invasion that only took one month to occupy a country to surrender.

Propaganda

It is suprising now to see why Hitler became so powerful, but in retrospect it happens all the time currently, but it is in subliminal messages in news and media. Hitler is doing what most news casters do now, but much more direct. Propaganda is a tool dictators use to get a following. Here is a clip showing the biggest propaganda of the time, Triumph of the Will. This clip only shows Hitler's speech but if you pay attention to the clip the film maker spotlights Hitler in a superfical way to the public.

Hitler's dream

Since explaining how Hitler rose to power, his dream which now seems crazy back than was not threatened until he tried to attack two fronts. When he first attacked Poland there was instant attack by the allies because no one felt threatened by Germany taking western Europe. Not until Hitler attacked the Eastern front did the allies start a war again the Nazi nation. Here is a link to a Youtube video of Hitler's ideas to the thousand year Third Reich.
http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9GylB2Pufs">

Mein Kampf

To understand the rise of Hitler and the Third Reich you have to understand what Hitler did for his country during their time of need. The government that was in place after World War 2 was an unstable democracy with no control. Hitler was a powerful public speaker who rallied his cause to his nation. Even before his rise to power he tried overthrowing the new democracy, which ultimatly failed and he was sentenced to jail. The government was so weak that jail was literally a vacation for Hitler he was able to in and out of his prison whenever he wanted. He was even able to write a book named Mein Kampf (My Struggle), which was a national bestseller and even a New York Times best seller in America. Once he was released from prison he went back to what he did best, public speaking, which you can see in this clip.. This though there are no subtitles you can feel his emotions in the speech, which is what the German nation feel for.

The Treaty Of Versailles and The Rise of the Third Reich

It's hard to imagine how a whole nation could follow Hitler's ideas for a supreme nation, but when looking back after the first World War it is not improbable to see why the nation followed him blindly. After the first World War The Treaty of Versailles was agreed upon by all the victorious nations. It stated the Germany was solely responsible for the start of the war and needed to repay the Allies for damages. Also the allies feared the Kaiser and replaced him with a democratic nation, which on paper was extremely weak and constitutionally could easily be replaced. This made Germany extremely poor and dove the nation into a great depression, even worse than America ever went through. In the country's desperation Hitler started rallying his country and reminding them of the old glory. It can be said that anger and hostility are the causes of starting another World War. I have posed a link for a clip explaining the points of the Treaty of Versailles and the reparations needed.

Introduction

My name is Andrew Sigal and I am a senior at Stockton College graduating with a History degree. In this blog I will discus the most important topic that I know of, which is World War 2. I will start off with an introduction of the war and how the Third Reich started and the formation of the Axis and Allied powers. By the end of my blogging there will be a full summary of all countries that were involved in the war and what part they each played, major battles, military leaders, the war itself, and the aftermath. This blog will help with all WW2 facts and information in an easy point by point basis.