Download Number the Stars Background Information

Number the Stars Background Information
World War II
World War II was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers.
Most of the countries in the world were involved in some way. It was the deadliest
war in all of human history with around 70 million people killed.
The Axis forces: Germany, Japan, and Italy
The Allied nations: made up of as many as 50 countries (including the United States
of America after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The only country that remained neutral
was Sweden.
It started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France
responded by declaring war on Germany. The war in Europe ended with Germany’s
surrender on May 7, 1945. The war in the Pacific ended when Japan surrendered on
September 2, 1945. World War II started in Europe, but spread throughout the
world. Much of the fighting took place in Europe and in Southeast Asia.
Germany’s leader during World War II was Adolf Hitler. He believed that the
Jewish people caused Germany to loose World War I. A Jewish person is anyone
who belongs to the family of Jewish people who are sometimes considered a
religion, a race, and ethnic group, or a culture. He considered Jewish people to be
less than human. He treated them very poorly. He believed that he should get rid of
all of the Jewish people. He took away their rights, organized attacks against their
businesses and homes, and eventually imprisoned and killed millions of Jewish
people.
Many Jewish people hid from the Nazis during World War II. They would hide
with non-Jewish families. Sometimes they would pretend to be a part of the family
and sometimes they would hide in hidden rooms or in a basement or attic. Some
were able to eventually escape across the border into a free country, but many hid
for years sometimes in the same room.
Denmark in World War II
The book, Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry, takes place in 1943. It takes
place in a country called Denmark, which is a small country in Europe.
The Germans attacked the tiny country of Denmark on April 9, 1940. A man
named Christian X was the king of Denmark at the time. The people of Denmark
had no choice but to accept Germany’s occupation of their country since they were
far too small to fight back. King Christian X stayed in his throne and he was very
beloved by his people. He became a patriotic symbol to them of their country. King
Christian X continued to ride his horse daily through the streets of Denmark, which
inspired his people.
The people of Denmark did many things to sabotage the Nazis. The people
who did these things were called the Danish Resistance. For example, if the Nazis
had taken over a factory in Denmark to produce things for the war, the Resistance
fighters would burn it down. Obviously, these things made the Nazis angry,
especially because King Christian refused to punish the Resistance fighters. The
Nazis reacted by taking control of the Danish government in 1943. King Christian
was made a prisoner in his own palace, but still was a symbol to the people of
Denmark. The Danish Resistance even destroyed their own navy to help stop the
Germans. They burned all of their ships.