were imprisoned simply because they were physically or mentally disabled Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3 1939 These and other nations that fought Germany were called the Allies The Soviet Union joined the Allies in June 1941 Germany and the countries that supported it including Italy and Japan were known as the Axis Powers At first the United States did not send troops to the war front After World War I many Americans did not want to take part in another European war Congress even passed laws that limited when the United States could help other countries at war However President Franklin Roosevelt saw the danger Hitler posed to the people of Europe and their
freedom In 1940 he convinced Congress to give the Allies weapons and military supplies The war finally came to the United States on December 7 1941 On that day waves of Japanese planes attacked U S naval ships stationed at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii The next day the United States declared war on Japan On December 11 Hitler declared war on the United States In the blink of an eye the United States had been pulled into the deadliest war the world had ever known SEEKING A SECOND FRONT By the end of 1941 Germany had conquered 11 countries in Europe including France which had surrendered in June 1940 A year later Germany
launched an invasion of the Soviet Union The fighting between the Germans and Soviets affected large parts of Eastern Europe and the Soviets suffered heavy losses The fighting in the east became the major European battlefront Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin urged Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to open a second battlefront in Europe Since June 1941 the Soviets had been fighting the majority of the German Army By the end of the war their casualties were in the millions Stalin suggested an invasion of France which would force the Germans to move some of their troops out of the Soviet Union Roosevelt was on board but Churchill had another idea In late 1942 he suggested that the Allies first attack German
controlled lands in North Africa From there the Allies could attack Italy As that fighting went on the Allies could then start making plans for the amphibious invasion of France They went forward with this revised plan of attack and the invasion in France was given the code name Operation Overlord Today it is known as D Day which is a term used to describe a day on which an important event is planned PREPARING FOR OVERLORD The Allies chose U S General Dwight D Eisenhower to command the troops that would invade France He had helped train troops during World War I In 1942 and 1943 he commanded U S troops that
