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WORLD
WAR II
BEGINS
Essential Question: What steps led to War in Europe
during the 1930’s?
The
beginning

In 1935 Hitler began to defy the Treaty of Versailles

He declared that Germany would build up its Army and create an Air Force

Other European countries knew that they had to do something but where
scared of another war.



In 1937 Hitler calls for the
unification of all German
speaking people.
Hitler was focusing on Austria
and Czechoslovakia and
declared that he would use force
if necessary.
Despite the Austrian government
trying to stall the Germans,
Hitler sent troops and announced
the Anschluss or Unification of
the two countries
The Munich Conference
Hitler then claimed that
Germany had a right to the
Sudetenland which was part
of Czechoslovakia
France threatened to fight
Germany if it tried to gain
the Sudetenland by force
So the Munich Conference
was called by Britain, France,
and Italy along with
Germany
The Munich Conference



At the Conference it was
decided that to prevent war
they would give in to Hitler’s
demands
This was a policy of
appeasement
Czechoslovakia was told
that they should give up the
Sudetenland or face
Germany alone.
Hitler demands more
Right after the Munich Conference
Hitler began to demand land from
Poland
This convinced France and Britain
that a war was coming and
appeasement had failed
On March 31st, 1939 Britain and
France declared that if Poland was
attacked they would help protect
Poland.
The Nonaggression pact



Hitler began to prepare his
military for war, while at the
same time trying to form a treaty
with the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union agreed to a
nonaggression pact with
Germany and secretly divide
Poland between the two countries
The Soviet Union felt that by
having the other capitalist
countries fighting they would
remain safe.
Poland falls
In September of 1939
Germany invaded Poland
Britain and France then
declared war on Germany,
starting WWII
The Polish military was not
strong and was defeated by
the German’s Blitzkrieg or
Lighting Warfare
The war expands



Britain sent troops into France
and waited for Germany to
attack
After WWI France had built
the Maginot line along the
German border, a line of
concrete bunkers
This however would prove to
be a disaster for France
The invasion of France
These Maginot lines only protected the
German-French border, so Hitler simply
went around
To get to France Hitler invaded Belgium,
the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
France sent troops to defend the Belgium
open border, but Hitler was one step
ahead.
He sent his tanks through the mountains,
catching the French and British off guard
The miracle of Dunkirk



The French and British stuck
out of position and were
being forced north
They were cornered in the
last French port of Dunkirk
It appeared as though
Germany would wipe out the
remaining British and French
troops with his tanks
Miracle at Dunkrik
Despite having the French and
British at his will, Hitler for still
unknown reasons ordered the
troops to stop.
For three days Hitler held up
his own troops.
This allowed 338,000 French
and British ships to escape on
civilian and military ships back
to Britain.
The Fall of France



This left France without any
protection and they were forced
to surrender 3 weeks later.
Germany now control most of
France and set up a Puppet
Government to rule over the rest
of France.
With France gone in a matter of
weeks Hitler expected Britain to
give up without a fight.
Winston Churchill
Germany underestimated the
bravery of the British people
and their new leader.
Winston Churchill was the new
Prime Minister and he gave a
defiant and strong speech to
the British people.
This made Hitler convinced he
had to attack Britain
The Battle of Britain
Hitler wanted to invade Britain
but crossing the English
channel proved difficult.
The British Royal Air force
could easily sink any German
transport ships
Hitler therefore focused on
destroying the British Royal Air
force in what became known
as the Battle of Britain.
The Battle of Britain



The Luftwaffe began to bomb
British military post which held
the Royal Air Force
The British were able stop some
of the attacks with a new
invention
Radar stations were placed
across Britain and were able to
detect incoming attacks