World War II: The Events and Their Impact on Real People Book

Foreword     6
The Road to War
The Great War and the Peace Treaty     10
Fascism and Nazism     12
Nazis in Power     14
Weakness of the Democracies     18
The Spanish Civil War     20
War Begins in the East     22
Hitler Wins Without War     24
Countdown to War in Europe     26
Germany Triumphant
The Defeat of Poland     30
The Phoney War     32
Wars in the North     34
Attack in the West     36
Britain Stands Alone     40
Battle of Britain and The Blitz     42
Voices: The Blitz     44
America Backs Britain     46
Italy Goes to War     48
Germans Enter the Mediterranean     50
Barbarossa     52
Massacre and Starvation     56
War in the Pacific
The United States Confronts Japan     60
Pearl Harbor     62
The United States Goes to War     66
Japan's Lightening Victories     68
Prisoners of the Japanese     70
Voices: Japanese PoWs     72
Carrier Battles     74
The Fight Back Begins     76
Suffering Asia     78
Turning of the Tide
America Geared up for War     82
Life in Britain at War     86
Women at War     88
Allied Victory in North Africa     90
Fall of Mussolini     92
Stalingrad     94
Soviets Roll Back the German Tide     96
Victory in the Atlantic     98
Code Breakers and Spies     100
Strategic Bombing     102
Life Inside Nazi Europe     106
The Holocaust     108
Voices: The Holocaust     110
Resistance Movements     114
PoWs in Europe     116
Holding the Alliance Together     118
Preparing to Invade France     120
The D-Day Landings     122
Voices: D-Day     124
The Burma Campaign     128
Island-hopping Across the Pacific     130
US Naval Triumph in the Pacific     132
End Game
The Liberation of France and Belgium     136
Germany Prepares to Fight to the Death     138
Search for the Miracle Weapon     140
Propaganda and Morale     142
The Soviets Advance on Germany     144
Germany Holds on in the West     146
Invading Germany     148
Fall of the Dictators     150
The War Draws Near to Japan     154
In Search of Final Victory     158
Japan Surrenders     160
Voices: Hiroshima     162
The Aftermath
The Cost of War     168
Dealing with the Defeated     170
Wartime Allies Fall Out     174
World in Turmoil     176
Postwar Prosperity     178
The Cold War     180
Remembering World War II     182
Glossary     186
Index     188
Credits and Acknowledgments     191