World War II

World War II was the most devastating war in history. It involved an unprecedented number of nations and caused the deaths of an estimated 55 million people, more than half of which were civilians. That number includes nearly 6 million victims of the Holocaust. The primary combatants were the Axis, led by Germany, Italy, and Japan, and the Allies, which included Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States.

War began in 1939 after Germany's fascist dictator Adolf Hitler invaded Poland. The United States did not enter the war until December 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The war was fought on land and sea and in the air at sites around the world. Primary war fronts were in western Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Pacific.

On the home front, Ohio's farmers increased production thirty percent during the war. Nonetheless, the nation still faced food shortages, and more than one million Victory Gardens were planted throughout the state to supplement the food supply. Ohio's industries also supported the war effort. Cleveland businesses held over $5 million in contracts, and the city was the nation's largest producer of war-related products. In Akron, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company produced 4,000 Corsair aircraft for use in the war. In Portage County, 15,000 workers were employed at the Ravenna Arsenal, a manufacturing complex that produced, packed, and shipped weapons. Toledo's Willys-Overland company produced the Jeep for use by the military. Ohio's unemployment rate fell to nearly zero, and many women, African Americans, and Appalachian whites took advantage of job opportunities. In Dayton, WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) were part of a NCR (National Cash Register) project to make "Bombe" machines that were used to decipher the German Enigma code.

Ohioans also dealt with rationing of sugar, fuel, and other supplies, and bought Victory bonds to support the war effort. Many communities organized scrap metal drives and blood drives. Enrollment in schools and colleges decreased, as many young people were either fighting the war or working in the factories.

Germany's strategy of blitzkrieg (lightning war) met with early success, but the German army was eventually overwhelmed. As Allied forces neared Berlin, Hitler killed himself. His designated successor, Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, surrendered. European fighting concluded in 1945. May 8 was declared V-E (Victory in Europe) Day. War continued in the Pacific until the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945. Paul Tibbets, who moved to Columbus after the war, piloted the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first bomb. On August 14, 1945, Japan surrendered, bringing the conflict to an end.

The United States, which mobilized 16 million soldiers (including 760,000 Ohioans), lost approximately 400,000 in the war. As a result of peace negotiations, Germany, Italy, and Japan were disarmed. The division between East and West Germany was established. In the post-World War II era, only two military powers remained, the United States and the Soviet Union.