1940

Political people of the 40’s Mike Miller

__Adolf Hitler__ Adolf Hitler was the dictator of Germany who killed Jews. He was the founder and leader of the Nazi party, Reich Chancellor and guiding spirit of the Third Reich from 1933 to 1945, Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, [|Adolf Hitler] was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, on 20 April 1889. Hitler was a resentful, discontented child. Moody, lazy, of unstable temperament, he was deeply hostile towards his strict, authoritarian father and strongly attached to his indulgent, hard-working mother, whose death from cancer in December 1908 was a shattering blow to the adolescent Hitler.



__Franklin D. Roosevelt__ Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves. He brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." He was born in 1882 at Hyde Park, New York. On St. Patrick's Day, 1905, he married Eleanor Roosevelt. Following the example of his fifth cousin, President Theodore Roosevelt, whom he greatly admired, Franklin D. Roosevelt entered public service through politics, but as a Democrat. He won election to the New York Senate in 1910. President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and he was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 1920. He was elected President in November 1932, to the first of four terms __Harry Truman__ During his few weeks as Vice President, Harry S Truman scarcely saw President Roosevelt, and received no briefing on the development of the atomic bomb or the unfolding difficulties with Soviet Russia. Suddenly these and a host of other wartime problems became Truman's to solve when, on April 12, 1945, he became President. Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, in 1884. He grew up in Independence, and for 12 years prospered as a Missouri farmer. He went to France during World War I as a captain in the Field Artillery. Returning, he married Elizabeth Virginia Wallace, and opened a haberdashery in Kansas City.

World War II
 * In 1933**, due to Germany’s economic status, Adolf Hitler was promoted to Chancellor by Germany’s president at the time, Paul von Hindenburg. Hitler, along with the Nazi party, assumed control of the government, banning all other political parties.


 * In 1934**, Paul von Hindenburg died. Hitler then became fuhrer, or president, of Germany.


 * In 1937**, full-scale war triggers between China and Japan, while Joseph Stalin begins the purge of the Red Army.


 * In 1938**, Kristallnacht, or night of broken glass, is when people all over Germany destroy Jewish-owned shops, houses, and supplies.

The Soviet-German nonaggression act is signed, which is basically a cease-fire between Hitler and Stalin. The Soviets assist in the invasion of Poland, in accordance of the act, and also begin to attack Finland. Warsaw, capital of Poland, soon falls to the Nazi’s.
 * In 1939**, Germany starts World War II with the invasion of Poland. Reacting to this, Great Britain and France declare war on Germany and allies.

The Nazi’s take Paris, and France soon falls. Winston Churchill is thus appointed Prime Minister of Britain. Germany then allies with Japan, and the full Axis powers are formed; Germany, Italy, and Japan. Military conscription is formed in the United States, as a pre-war act, and President Roosevelt is re-elected.
 * In 1940**, Germany begins an all-out offensive, and invades France, The Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Germany begins planning for the “Final Solution,” which is the systematic destruction of Jews, and Germany started the operation soon after. Germany captures the Soviet cities of Minsk, Kiev, Odessa, and Rostov (which is retaken later). After this offensive, the Red Army launches a major counter-offensive. The Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor, and then the United States declares war on the axis powers.
 * In 1941**, Hitler launches Operation Barbarossa, which is the Blitzkrieg of the Soviet Union, while Stalin launches his “scorched earth” policy, which is a policy that destroys anything of value that the enemy has.

Germany begins to attack Stalingrad and takes the city soon after. The Afrika Corps, which are axis powers in Africa, were defeated thoroughly at the battle of El Alamein. The Japanese navy is annihilated at The Battle of Midway, which shows the war in the Pacific is reaching its turning point. British and German ships also engage in the battle of the Barets Sea.
 * In 1942**, Germany begins the Siege of Sevastopol begins, and the city is soon taken. The allies begin “Operation Torch” which is the invasion of Northern Africa.

The Red Army begins to take back cities conquered, which include Kursk and Kharkov. The Afrika Corps withdraw from Tunisia, and the rest of the Corps surrenders soon after. The S.S. begins the “liquidation” of Warsaw ghettos, and move Jews to death camps. Mussolini, the Fascist leader of Italy, is overthrown and Italy surrenders to the allied powers. The German Army then begins to move into Italy, and Nazi Special Forces rescue Mussolini from prison. Soviets then begin an Offensive in the Ukraine.
 * In 1943**, the Red Army begins the siege to retake Stalingrad, and surround the German Sixth Army. The U.S. Air Force begins the daylight bombing campaign by an attack on Wilhelmshaven, Germany. Stalingrad is surrendered back to the Russians.

“Mariana Turkey Shoot,” was a battle where over 300 Japanese aircraft were shot down, and only 20 American aircraft were lost. The Soviets begin the liberations of the death camps, beginning with Majdanek. The Polish Home Army rebels against the Nazi’s in Warsaw and the Allies invade southern France. Paris, Brussels, and Antwerp were liberated, and France was then liberated. The Nazis crush the Warsaw rebellion, and Rommel, the ex-leader of the Afrika Corps, is forced to commit suicide, due to accusations of conspiring to assassinate Hitler. The U.S. naval forces destroy the rest of the Japanese navy in The Battle of Leyte Gulf, which is the largest naval engagement in history. Roosevelt is elected to his fourth term in office.
 * In 1944**, the Soviets advance into Poland, and then break the two and a half year siege of Leningrad. Soviets also begin an offensive in the Crimea, and recapture it soon after. D-day is triggered, and allies, consisting of American troops, land at Normandy.

The Eastern fortifications of Germany collapse, and German armies fall into a fill retreat. The “Big Three” meet at the conference of Yalta. The Allied forces start the incendiary raids on axis cities, including Tokyo and Dresden. Allied forces land on Iwo Jima, and soon after, the allied take the island of Iwo Jima, which provides an airfield within striking distance of Japan. Franklin Delano Roosevelt dies of a stroke, and Harry Truman becomes the president, and allied forces liberate the death camps of Buchenwald and Belsin. Allied forces also begin the Berlin offensive. Mussolini is hanged by Italian Partisans, and Adolf Hitler and wife Eva Brawn commit suicide in Chancellery Bunker. Italy falls back to the Allies. All German forces unconditionally surrender, and Heinrich Himmler commits suicide. On 8/6/45, the first Atomic Bomb is dropped on Hiroshima. On 8/9/45, the second Atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki. This causes the unconditional surrender of all Japanese forces, and the allies ban them from ever having an army again. The allies then hang over 11 war criminals. -Adam Claussen [] [] [] []
 * In 1945,** The Red Army liberates Warsaw from Germany, and soon the Army liberates the death camp of Auschwitz.


 * __1940s Music__**

Music in the 1940s  was mainly built around the ** jazz and big band ** styles that  were popular during the day. Artists like ** Rosemary Clooney, Count Basie, and Artie Shaw ** helped to define the musical era with their special brand of entertaining crowds with their music. This was also the era of ** World ** ** War II ****,** and many musical acts strived to reflect the pain that the country was going through while still remaining upbeat and positive about the future. The **1940's ** were a time for many breakthrough artists who made their mark in the history of music and several of them are still recognized pilgrims of their day.

Bing Crosby  helped to define the music of the 1940s as well as much of the music today. Most famous for his rendition of “White Christmas,” Crosby was a great musical talent during his day and musicians continued to be influenced for several decades, including ** Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin ****.** He was also a popular entertainer in improving troop morale during the war as he appeared several times to perform for them. Crosby instilled the idea into popular music that a performer could be a genuine artist rather than becoming a novelty act.

To make music, acoustic instruments were used the most. The only electrical instruments were Theremins (mostly used in movie scores) and the electric guitar.

To record music, the vast majority of recordings were made using microphones, tube (valve) amplifiers, and cutting lathes that cut 78-rpm discs. These held 3 to 5 minutes of music on each side and were manufactured like cookies, pressing molten globs of plastic between stampers that held "negatives" of the original disk, with ridges matching the grooves that would be stamped into the plastic. The plastic was very stiff and did not take detailed impressions, so the sound quality was only somewhat better than a modern telephone.

In the early 1940s German scientists created the first tape recorders. U.S. scientists and entertainers like Bing Crosby were one of the first to bring home captured machines so they were able to make early tapes after the war.



[|**http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/40smusic.html**]

In the 1940’s the center of the western art world shifted from Paris to New York. The Abstract Expressionism Movement began and to lead the charge was Jackson Pollock, Williem de Kooning. Franz Kline and Hans Hofmann. Artists in the 1940’s __** **Jackson Pollock** began painting in the late 1920’s but by the mid 1940’s he was painting in a completely abstract manner. He was best know for his drip and splash technique when he used it in the late 1940’s
 * __1940's Art__**
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 * Williem de Kooning**- He was a Dutch-born American painter he was most famous for his action painting styles. The series //Woman I–VI// caused a sensation with its violent imagery and impulsive, energetic technique.


 * Franz Kline**- His warm and likeable personality made him popular during the 1940’s but some thought he was a hard drunk. He attended Gerrard College. He started painting in 1935. This is one of his works of art. ↓

[|www.**hanshofman**n.net] [] [] http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade40.html