World War II: Crash Course World History #38
World War II: Crash Course World History #38
In which John Green teaches you about World War II, aka The Great Patriotic War, aka The Big One. So how did this war happen? And what does it mean? We’ve all learned the facts about World War II many times over, thanks to repeated classroom coverage, the History channel, and your grandfather (or maybe great-grandfather) showing you that Nazi bayonet he used to keep in his sock drawer and telling you a bunch of age-inappropriate stories about his harrowing war experiences. So, why did the Axis powers think forceful expansion was a good idea? (they were hungry). So why did this thing shake out in favor of the Allies? Hint: it has to do with the fact that it was a world war. Germany and Japan made some pretty serious strategic errors, such as invading Russia and attacking the United States, and those errors meant that pretty much the whole world was against them. So, find out how this worldwide alliance came together to stop the Axis expansion. All this, plus Canada finally gets the respectful treatment it deserves. Oh, and a warning: there are a few graphic images in this episode. Sensitive viewers may want to use caution, especially around the 9:15 mark.
Chapters:
Introduction: WWII 00:00
When did WWII start? 0:36
The European Theater of World War II 1:52
1941 Was Kind of a Bad Year 3:47
The Battle of Stalingrad 5:29
An Open Letter to Canada 6:41
The End of World War II 7:45
The Hunger Plan 8:16
The Casualties of WWII 10:48
Credits 12:21
Interested in learning more about WWII? Check out these other videos from Crash Course:
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World War II Part 2 - The Homefront: Crash Course US History 36 • World War II Part 2 - The Homefront: …
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World War II Civilians and Soldiers: Crash Course European History 39 • World War II Civilians and Soldiers: …
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World War II: Black American History 31 • World War II: Black American History #31
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Content
0.54 -> Hi, I’m John Green. This is Crash Course
World History and today we’re going to talk
3.75 -> about World War II. Finally, a war with some
color film! So, here at Crash Course we try to make
8.44 -> history reasonably entertaining, and fortunately,
World War II was hilarious...said no one ever.
14.37 -> Mr. Green, Mr. Green! Is this, like, gonna
be one of the unfunny ones where you build
17.83 -> to the big melodramatic conclusion about how
I have to imagine the world more complexly?
22.16 -> Me from the Past, as long as you have that
eighth rate soup-strainer, I’m not even
25.74 -> going to acknowledge your existence.
27.72 -> [theme music]
36.68 -> Right, so you’ve probably heard a lot about
World War II from movies and books, The History
40.66 -> Channel, before it decided that Swamp People
were History, the incessant droning of your
45.55 -> grandparents, etc. We’re not gonna try to
give you a detailed synopsis of the war today.
48.969 -> Instead, we’re going to try to give a bit
of perspective on how the most destructive
52.27 -> war in human history happened, and why it
still matters globally.
56.129 -> So one of the reasons history classes tend
to be really into wars is that they’re easy
59.76 -> to put on tests. They start on one day and
they end on another day. And they’re caused
64.5 -> by social, political, and economic conditions
that can be examined in a multiple choice
68.909 -> kind of manner. Except, not really.
70.909 -> Like, when did World War II start? In September
1939, when the Nazis invaded Poland? I’d
76 -> say no - it actually started when Japan invaded
Manchuria in 1931, or at the very latest when
82.18 -> the Japanese invaded China in 1937, because
they didn’t stop fighting until 1945. Then again,
87.54 -> you could also argue 1933, when Hitler took power, or
1941, when America started fighting. It’s complicated.
93.22 -> But anyway, in China the fighting was very
brutal, as exemplified by the infamous rape
97.45 -> of Nanking, which featured the slaughter of
hundreds of thousands of Chinese people and
101.77 -> is still so controversial today that:
1. It affects relations between Japan & China
106.689 -> and
2. Even though I have not described it in
108.67 -> detail, you can rest assured that there will be angry
comments about my use of the word “slaughter.”
112.58 -> But the World War II we know the most about
from movies and TV is primarily the war in
116.259 -> the European theater, the one that Adolf Hitler
started. Hitler is the rare individual who
120.36 -> really did make history - specifically he
made it worse - and if he hadn’t existed,
125.079 -> it’s very unlikely that World War II would’ve
ever happened. But he did exist, and after
129.559 -> coming to power in 1933, with the standard
revolutionary promises to return the homeland
134.059 -> to its former glory, infused with quite a
bit of paranoia and anti-Semitism, Germany
138.48 -> saw rapid re-militarization and eventually,
inevitably, war.
141.319 -> In the beginning, it was characterized by
a new style of combat made possible by the
146.349 -> mechanized technology of tanks, airplanes,
and especially, trucks. This was the Blitzkrieg,
151.689 -> a devastating tactic combining quick movement
of troops, tanks, and massive use of air power
157.76 -> to support infantry movements. And in the
very early years of the war, it was extremely
162.269 -> effective. The Nazis were able to roll over
Poland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands,
166.96 -> and then all of France, all within about 9 months
between the fall of 1939 and the summer of 1940.
172.68 -> So after knocking out most of central Europe,
the Nazis set their sights on Great Britain,
176.559 -> but they didn’t invade the island, choosing
instead to attack it with massive air strikes.
181.18 -> I mean, you look at this poster and think,
“Man, the Queen wants me to finish my term
184.659 -> paper, so I can do it,” but when this poster
was first produced in 1939, it was to quell
190.449 -> terror in the face of bombardment.
192.749 -> The Battle of Britain was a duel between the
Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe, and while
196.589 -> the RAF denied the Nazis total control of
British airspace, the Nazis were still able
201.279 -> to bomb Great Britain over and over again
in what’s known as the Blitz. STAN, NO.
205.549 -> NO JOKES this time. Yes, the Blitz.
208.359 -> Meanwhile, Europeans were also fighting each
other in North Africa. The Desert campaigns
211.879 -> started in 1940 and lasted through 1942 - this
is where British general “Monty” Montgomery
216.549 -> outfoxed German general Irwin “the Desert
Fox” Rommel. It’s also the place where
220.049 -> Americans first fought Nazis in large numbers.
But most importantly, it’s where Indiana
223.959 -> Jones discovered the Ark of the Covenant.
Okay, let’s go to the Thought Bubble.
226.93 -> 1941 was a big year for World War II. First,
the Nazis invaded Russia, breaking a non-aggression
232.829 -> pact that the two powers had signed in 1939.
This hugely escalated the war, and also made
237.949 -> allies of the most powerful capitalist countries
and the most powerful communist one, an alliance
242.849 -> that would stand the test of time and never end... until
like three seconds after the defeat of the Nazis.
248.239 -> The Nazi invasion of Russia opened the war
up on the so-called Eastern Front, although
252.169 -> if you were Russian, it was the Western Front,
and it led to millions of deaths, mostly Russian.
256.979 -> Also, 1941 saw a day that would "live in infamy"
when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, hoping
261.59 -> that such an audacious attack would frighten
the United States into staying neutral, which
266.52 -> was a pretty stupid gamble because:
1. The U.S. was already giving massive aid
271.159 -> to the Allies and was hardly neutral and
2. The United States is not exactly famed
276.229 -> for its pacifism or political neutrality.
278.639 -> 1941 also saw Japan invading much of Southeast
Asia, which made Australia and New Zealand
283.5 -> understandably nervous. As part of the British
commonwealth, they were already involved in
287.4 -> the war, but now they could fight the Japanese
closer to home. And shut up about how I never
291.509 -> talk about you Australians. I just gave you
1.5 sentences.
294.02 -> But by the time the Americans and Australians
started fighting the Japanese, it was already
298.81 -> a World War. Sometimes this meant fighting
or starving or being bombed; other times,
303.949 -> it meant production for the war - you don’t
think of Argentina as being a World War II
308.49 -> powerhouse, for instance, but they were vital
to the Allies, supplying 40% of British meat
314 -> during World War II. Thanks, Thought Bubble.
316.12 -> So, not to sound jingoistic, but the entry
of the U.S. into the war really did change
319.99 -> everything, although I doubt the Nazis could’ve
taken Russia regardless. No one conquers Russia
324.34 -> in the wintertime, unless you are - wait for
it - the Mongols.
328.759 -> Okay, we’re going to skip most of the big
battles of 1942 - like the Battle of Midway,
334.31 -> which effectively ended Japan’s chance of
winning the war - and focus on the Battle
337.93 -> of Stalingrad. The German attack on Stalingrad,
now known as Volgograd because Stalin sucks,
343.08 -> was one of the bloodiest battles in the history
of war, with more than two million dead. The
347.93 -> Germans began by dropping more than 1,000
tons of bombs on Stalingrad, and then the
351.74 -> Russians responded by “hugging” the Germans,
staying as close to their front lines as possible
356.15 -> so that German air support would kill Germans
and Russians alike.
359.68 -> This kind of worked, although the Germans
still took most of the city. But then, a Soviet
363.289 -> counterattack left the sixth army of the Nazis
completely cut off. And after that, due partly
368.189 -> to Hitler’s overreaching megalomania and
partly to lots of people being scared of him,
372.919 -> the sixth army slowly froze and starved to
death before finally surrendering. And of
378.02 -> the 91,000 Axis POWs from Stalingrad, only
about 6,000 ever returned home.
384.55 -> Stalingrad turned the war in Europe and by
1944, the American strategy of “island hopping”
389.33 -> in the Pacific was taking GIs closer and closer
to Japan. Rome was liberated in June by Americans
394.71 -> and Canadians; and the successful British,
Canadian, and American D-Day invasion of Normandy
399.499 -> was the beginning of the end for the Nazis.
Oh, it’s time for the Open Letter?
404.509 -> An Open Letter to Canada. But first, let’s
see what’s in the secret compartment today.
410.4 -> Oh, it’s Canadian mittens. I wanna thank
the Canadian Crash Course fans, who sent us
415.12 -> these mittens. Canadians are just so nice,
Stan. Like, all we ever do on this show is
418.569 -> make fun of them, and they’re just like, “It’s so
kind of you to mention us. Here’s some mittens!”
422.729 -> Dear Canada, We’re not always nice to you here on
Crash Course, but you are awesome. I’m pointing,
427.34 -> but you can’t tell because I’m wearing
mittens. 45,000 Canadians died fighting for
430.82 -> the Allies in World War II, which means that, per capita,
Canada lost more people than the United States.
436.319 -> You fought with the Royal Air Force to defend
Great Britain from the beginning of the war
439.629 -> and you were there on D-Day, successfully
invading Juno Beach. And, as many of you have
444.11 -> pointed out in comments, you defeated the
United States in the War of 1812, meaning
447.699 -> that, arguably, Canada, you are the greater
military power.
451.61 -> Plus, you have lumberjacks, and excellent
beer, and hockey, and universal healthcare,
457.439 -> and Justin Bieber. I’m jealous! That's what
it is - I'm jealous!
463.52 -> Best Wishes, John Green.
465.249 -> So, by the end of 1944, the Allies were advancing
from the West and the Russian Red Army was
469.879 -> advancing from the East and then, the last-ditch
German offensive at the battle of the Bulge
474.439 -> in the winter of 1944-1945 failed. Mussolini
was executed in April of 1945. Hitler committed
480.979 -> suicide at the end of that month. And, on
May 8, 1945 the Allies declared victory in
486.43 -> Europe after Germany surrendered unconditionally.
489.37 -> Three months later, the United States dropped
the only two nuclear weapons ever deployed
493.129 -> in war, Japan surrendered, and World War II
was over.
496.539 -> The war had a definite cause: unbridled military
expansion by Germany, Japan, and, to a small
502.379 -> extent, Italy. Now, it’s easy to claim that
Hitler was crazy or evil, and, in fact, he
506.18 -> was certainly both, but that doesn’t explain
the Nazis decision to invade Russia, and it
510.49 -> sure doesn’t explain Japan’s decision
to bomb Pearl Harbor.
513.99 -> And there are many possible explanations beyond
mere evil; but the most interesting one, to
517.62 -> me, involves food. Hitler had a number of
reasons for wanting to expand Germany’s
521.419 -> territory, but he often talked about Lebensraum
or living space for the German people. German
526 -> agriculture was really inefficiently organized
into lots of small farms, and that meant that
530.06 -> Germany needed a lot of land in order to be
self-sufficient in food production.
534.43 -> The plan was to take Poland, the Ukraine,
and Eastern Russia, and then resettle that
538.43 -> land with lots of Germans, so that it could
feed German people. This was called the Hunger
542.85 -> Plan because the plan called for 20 million
people to starve to death. Many would be the
547.38 -> Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians who’d previously
lived on the land. The rest would be Europe’s
552.22 -> Jews, who would be worked to death.
554.269 -> Six million Jews were killed by the Nazis,
many by starvation, but many through a chillingly
558.88 -> planned effort of extermination in death camps.
These death camps can be distinguished from
563.32 -> concentration camps or labor camps in that
their primary purpose was extermination of
568.279 -> Jews, Roma people, communists, homosexuals,
disabled people, and others that the Nazis
573.44 -> deemed unfit. Some historians believe that
the Nazis opened the death camps because the
577.66 -> Jews weren’t dying as fast as The Hunger
Plan had intended.
581.07 -> This was a sickening plan, but it made a kind
of demented sense. Rather than becoming more
585.76 -> involved in global trade, as the British had,
the Germans would feed themselves by taking
590.91 -> land and killing the people who’d previously
lived there.
594.089 -> Similarly, Japan, at the beginning of the
war, was suffering from an acute fear of food
597.99 -> shortage because its agricultural sector was
having trouble keeping up with population
602.13 -> growth. And the Japanese too, sought to expand
their agricultural holdings by, for instance,
606.05 -> resettling farmers in Korea.
607.509 -> So while it’s tempting to say that World
War II was about the Allies fighting for democratic
611.69 -> ideals against the totalitarian militaristic
imperialism of the fascist Axis powers, it
617.509 -> just doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. For instance,
a hugely important Allied power, Stalin’s
622.509 -> Soviet Union, was, like, the least democratic
place, ever. Stan just said that was hyperbole,
627.339 -> but it’s not. Stalin’s Soviet Union is
tied with all of the other completely undemocratic
632.209 -> countries for last place on the democracy
scale. It’s a big community there, at last
637.29 -> place, but they’re definitely in there somewhere.
639.07 -> And, by far, the biggest imperialists of the
war were the British. They couldn’t have
643.399 -> fed or clothed themselves - or resisted the
Nazis - without their colonies and commonwealth.
648.47 -> So, why is World War II so important? Well
first, it proved the old Roman adage homo homini
653.98 -> lupus: Man is a wolf to man. This is seen most clearly
in the Holocaust, but all the statistics are staggering.
660.92 -> More than a million Indian British subjects
died, mainly due to famine that could have
664.449 -> been avoided if the British had redistributed
food. And their failure to do so helped convince
668.82 -> Indians that the so-called superior civilization
of the British was a sham. More than a million
673.589 -> Vietnamese died, mainly due to famine. 418,000
Americans. More than a million noncombatants
679.87 -> in both Germany and Japan. And 20 million
people in the Soviet Union, most of them civilians.
686.25 -> These civilians were targeted because they
helped sustain the war, mostly through industrial
690.519 -> and agricultural production. In a total war,
when a nation is at war, not just its army,
695.5 -> there is no such thing as a non-military target.
From the firebombing of Dresden to Tokyo to
700.47 -> Hiroshima, the line between soldier and civilian
blurred.
704.43 -> And then, of course, there is the Holocaust,
which horrifies us because the elements of
708.17 -> Western progress - record-keeping, industrial
production, technology - were used to slaughter
715.029 -> millions. World War II saw modern industrial
nations, which represented the best of the
720.199 -> Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution,
descend into once unimaginable cruelty.
725.889 -> And what makes World War II such a historical
watershed is that in its wake, all of us - in
730.759 -> the West or otherwise - were forced to question
whether Western dominance of this planet could,
736.399 -> or should, be considered progress.
738.94 -> Thanks for watching. I’ll see you next week.
741.36 -> Crash Course is produced and directed by Stan
Muller. Our script supervisor is Meredith
745.449 -> Danko. Our associate producer is Danica Johnson.
The show is written by my high school history
749.389 -> teacher, Raoul Meyer, and myself. And our
graphics team is Thought Bubble.
752.85 -> Last week’s phrase of the week was “an
end to history.” If you want to guess at
755.81 -> this week’s phrase of the week or suggest
future ones, you can do so in comments, where
758.92 -> you can also ask questions about today’s
video that will be answered by our team of historians.
762.74 -> If you enjoy Crash Course, make sure you’re
subscribed. Thanks for watching, and as we
766.3 -> say in my hometown, Don’t Forget To Be Awesome.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q78COTwT7nE