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Conducting World War II

Driving Question: How did governments use various strategies to conduct World War II, and what similarities and differences emerged in their approaches?

Just over twenty years after the curtains closed on the First World War, the world was yet again embroiled in a global conflict. As a historian, you may already have noticed that this could be described as a disastrous and deadly continuation of a conflict that started in 1914. With new military tactics and technology, the Second World War proved to be even more destructive and devastating than the first.

Learning Objectives

  1. Explain similarities and differences in how governments used a variety of methods to conduct war.
  2. Assess how new weapons led to mass atrocities and increased global tensions.
  3. Use the historical reasoning process of causation to understand the causes and consequences of World War II.
  4. Analyze primary source documents to evaluate how governments conducted war and how people responded to these methods after 1900.
  5. Analyze primary source documents to evaluate the advancement of science and technology in the era of global conflict.

Vocab Terms:

  • anti-semitism
  • atrocity
  • casualty
  • concentration camp
  • genocide
  • nuclear
  • rationing
STEP 2

Economics in the Second World War

War and money go hand-in-hand. World War II was a total war, which required the full economic effort of the societies it involved.

STEP 3

Source Collection: World War II

The more things change, the more they stay the same…, or do they? Find out using these World War II era primary sources! As you read the source excerpts in this collection, use the accompanying Quick-Sourcing Tool and activity to guide your analysis.

STEP 4

Thirty Years of Continuous War

The traditional story of the two world wars goes like this: The First World War begins and ends in about four years, there’s a gap of about twenty years, and then the Second World War begins, and ends six years later. But what if it makes more sense to study the two world wars and the period in between as a single, connected, 30-year conflict?

STEP 5

CCOT: Consequences of Industrialization to Global Conflict

Examine the continuities and changes between Unit 6: Consequences of Industrialization and Unit 7: Global Conflict to craft thesis statements and compose a multi-paragraph response to a CCOT prompt.

STEP 6

The Fallen of World War II

War is destructive, leaving countless victims in its path. World War II was especially destructive. What factors led to the increased intensity of the conflict’s devastation?

The Fallen of World War II External link

World War II was incredibly destructive. This video uses interactive data to examine the cost of the war in lives, comparing its casualties to other conflicts in history.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 7

Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear weapons changed the face of war—and, in fact, the world. This article will help explain how we entered the nuclear age and examine the historical debates surrounding President Truman’s decision to drop the bomb.

STEP 8

Source Collection: Science and Technology in the World Wars

Technology can often make our lives easier and more comfortable. It can also massively affect the way we fight wars. As you read the source excerpts in this collection, use the accompanying Quick-Sourcing Tool and activity to guide your analysis