World War II: Global Conflict and Atrocities

📋 Course Outline

1. Total war and global conflict
2. Origins of the Second World War
3. Axis conquests in Europe
4. Pearl Harbor and Pacific war
5. Allied turning point in 1943
6. Home front in Britain and the United States
7. Mass crimes in Eastern Europe
8. The Holocaust and extermination camps
9. The genocide of European Roma
10. War casualties and racial discrimination

📖 1. Total war and global conflict

🔑 Key Concepts & Definitions

• Total war : Total war is a form of large-scale conflict where a nation mobilizes nearly all resources, blurring the line between front line fighting and home-front life.
• War of annihilation : A war of annihilation is a conflict driven by mass violence and destruction, aiming to eliminate the enemy rather than only defeat forces.
• Globalization of the war : Globalization of the war is the spread of fighting to multiple world theaters as modern powers with imperial ambitions expand the conflict worldwide.
• Crime against humanity : Crime against humanity is a modern legal concept used to describe extreme atrocities committed during war, linked to a redefinition of war crimes.

📝 Essential Points