Country They Are From

Axis, Allied, Neutral

Things To Know About Them

Adolf HitlerGermany

Axis - Ran for president of Germany in 1932, lost to Hindenburg.

- Was appointed as chancellor (2nd in command)- July 1933 Nazi Party takes total control- Used public speaking skills to rally people- March 9, 1935 started implementing air force- 1st violation of Treaty at Versailles- March 1936 sent troops to demilitarized zone of the

Rhineland- 1936 Allied with Italy (Mussolini)- 1939 Signed Non-Aggression Pact with Soviet Union- September 1, 1939 Invades Poland

Benito MussoliniItaly

Axis - Took power in 1922- Developed Fascism: Government controls all financial

decisions of people as well as regulates people’s social class standing

- Took power by force- Sided with Hitler in hopes that France would

surrender quickly and Italy could claim some land

Country They Are From

Axis, Allied, Neutral

Things To Know About Them

Chiang Kai-shekChina

Neutral, Allied - Tried to stay out of issues with Japan, more concerned about Communist Soviets

- Gave Japan land to try and appease them- “Rape of Nanjing” 1937 when 100,000 Chinese

were brutally killed by the Japanese = war

Franklin D. RooseveltUnited States

Neutral, Allied - U.S. reluctant to get involved after WWI and Depression

- Several acts passed in the 1930’s to prevent the U.S. from choosing sides and getting directly involved

- Difficult to sell to the American public- December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor bombing unified

the public on entering the war. “A day that will live in infamy”

- Japanese underestimated the power of the Americans

- United States declared war on Japan Dec 9, 1941- In turn, Germany declares war on U.S.

Country They Are From

Axis, Allied, Neutral

Things To Know About Them

Joseph Stalin Axis, Allied - Stalin means “man of steel”- Was originally going to become a priest- Took power after Lenin died in 1924- Signed Non-Aggression Pact with Hitler to allow

Nazi Germany to weaken Western Europe and themselves, ultimately so Stalin could break the pact and take over all of Europe

- Used intimidation and fear to lead the people of U.S.S.R

Winston Churchill Allied - Leader of Great Britain- Served as the Minister of War and Air 1919-1922- Initially didn’t see Hitler as a threat, until the air

raids on Great Britain.

Harry TrumanUnited States

Allied - President who made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima

Country They Are From

Axis, Allied, Neutral

Things To Know About Them

Heinrich Himmler Axis - Leader of the SS (Security Service)- In charge of the resettlement policy: starts with

removing the Polish and replacing them with Germans

Reinhard Heydrich

Axis - Head of the SS- In charge of implementing the “Final Solution”

extermination of the Jews

General Hideki TojoJapan

Axis - Prime Minister of Japan- Against females in the workforce- Military leader of the aggressive Japanese

military

European Front EndsV-E Day May 7/8, 1945

Europe Front Ends…- V-E Day May 7/8 1945

- Now need to decide what to do with war torn Europe and Nazi Germany- Yalta Conference: Stalin, FDR, Churchill

- Surrender of Nazi Germany (unconditional)- Germany demilitarize- Poland gets land back- Staling aid in fight against Japan

- Potsdam Conference: Stalin, Truman, Churchill - Outlined terms of surrender for Japan- Truman wanted open elections for all

nations in Europe, Stalin did not - Tensions grew between Truman and

Stalin = Cold War

War in the Pacific…V-J Day August 14, 1945

- Escalated tension caused by:- December 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor military base bombed by Japan- Potsdam Declaration, issued by Allied leaders on July 26, 1945,

called on Japan to surrender. Japan denied- August 6 the American B-29 plane Enola Gay dropped an atomic

bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people and destroying a 5-square-mile expanse of the city.

- Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000.

Country They Are From

Position They Held

Things To Know About Them

John F. KennedyUnited State

President - 1st President under the scrutiny of televised presidency

- President during the Bay of Pigs invasion: attempt to remove Castro which failed

- President during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviets placed nuclear missiles in Cuba. Chose the blockade as the first response to the missiles

- Cold War policy he held summed up by, "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate“

Nikita KhrushchevU.S.S.R.

Premier - Led U.S.S.R. from 1958-1964- Supported building of Berlin Wall- Very colorful speaker, spoke out against the U.N.- Was loosing totalitarian rule in U.S.S.R however

it was very slow process- Initiated Cuban Missile Crisis

Robert KennedyUnited States

Attorney General

- Right hand man to President Kennedy- Organized most of the meetings during Cuban

Missile Crisis. Head of ORTSAC, operation to determine what to do in Cuba…ya catch how creative the Pentagon was with the name!!