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1. The Causes Of World War 2
1.1. Important events in the 1930s
Adolf Hitler and his party, the Nazis, came to power in Germany in 1933.
They took several actions that violated the treaty of Versailles:
- Conscripting soldiers and greatly expanding the German army in 1935
- German troops into the Rhineland in 1936
- Annexed (to take possession) Austria (the Anschluss) in March 1983
France and Great Britain protested but took no action.
Autumn of 1938:
Hitler demanded (claimed) that Czechoslovakia would surrender (hand over) Sudetenland to
Germany. Many Sudeten Germans lived there. Hitler threatened to declare war on
Czechoslovakia if they refused.
France had a treaty with them and to prevent a major war, the prime ministers of France and
England travelled to Munich to negotiate (onderhandelen) with Hitler. They agreed not to help
Czechoslovakia. By their people, Chamberlain from England and Daladier from France where
hailed as 'saviours of peace'.
The German army invaded Sudetenland soon afterwards and the Czechs didn't offer any
resistance.
March 1939:
Hitler occupied the rest of the Czech lands. Slovakia became an ally (bondgenoot) of Germany.
France and GB protested but didn't stop Hitler. Both countries stated that they wouldn't tolerate
any other German acts of aggression in the future. This is why they promised to come to Poland's
aid in the event of a German invasion.
France and GB tried to negotiate with the Soviet union to form an alliance against Germany but
they didn't trust one another.
August 1939:
Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact. They agreed not to attack one
another. Poland would be annexed and divided among the two states.
1 September 1939:
German troops invaded Poland: direct cause of the second World War. Three days later, GB and
France declared war on Germany.
1.2. Views on the causes of World War 2
Some scholars believe that is has always been Hitler’s intention to expand the German
Lebensraum. The only suitable territories for this were in Eastern Europe. People who lived
there were not going to give up their territory willingly, so war was necessarily. Hitler had been
preparing for a war from the very beginning.
Others believe that also France, GB and the Soviet Union are to blame for the war:
† The leaders in France and GB believed that they could keep the peace by giving in to certain
of Hitler’s demands. When they realized what the consequences were, it was too late.
† By signing a non-aggression pact with Germany, Stalin cleared the way for Hitler to attack
Poland.
Other scholars believe that Hitler didn’t intend to start a war and they believe that much of the
blame should be laid at the feet of France and GB:
† The Treaty of Versailles was the most important cause of the war. It imposed harsh restrictions
on Germany and Hitler was trying to win back what Germany had lost.
† France and GB had allowed Hitler to have his own way. He therefore didn’t expect that these
countries would declare war on him for attacking Poland.
† France and GB should not have been so distrustful of the Soviet Union. A successful alliance of
France and GB with the Soviet Union would have been possible. Stalin would most likely not
have signed a treaty with Hitler. He now felt it necessary to do so to protect the interests of the
Soviet Union.
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2. The Second World War: Changes In Warfare
2.1. In the beginning: fear and confusion instead of enthusiasm
† Start of WW1, 1914: Soldiers and civilians on both sides were full of enthusiasm. They believed
that their country was fighting for a just cause and would achieve quick victory.
† Start of WW1, September 1939: Everywhere in Europe, people felt frightened and depressed,
horrors of WW1 where still fresh in the minds. People were afraid it would bring even greater
horrors because much progress had been made in aircraft design (vliegtuigontwerpen) and they
were afraid that poison gas bombs would be used.
2.2. A true world war
Both wars involved a large part of the world.
WW1: Almost entirely in Europe
WW2: Many important battles took place in North Africa and Asia. These areas experienced their
own, parallel war. In Asia, war had been raging (bulderen) between China and Japan since 1931,
after Japanese troops had invaded Manchuria. In 1940, Japan also seized (took) the French
colonies in Asia. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the US became their main enemy.
2.3. New and improved weapons
† Thanks, aeroplanes and motorized vehicles were improved upon and were more reliable.
† Soldiers better trained to make use of their equipment.
† Armies were much more mobile because of armoured divisions (tanks and soldiers
transported on trucks) would then break through the lines, sometimes advancing dozens of
kilometers a day.
† Cannons and fighter planes bombarded the defence lines.
New weapons:
† Sonar and radar. These helped the Allies detect German submarines. Improvements were also
made to depth charges (an underwater bomb).
† The V1 and V2 rockets. German engineers experimented but there was too little money to
develop. They were not important for the military strategy.
By the end Germans scientists developed V15 and V25. Many of these weapons were used to
bomb London. In the end, though, the Germans were unable to produce enough and to guide
them accurately.
† Atomic bomb. Developed in the US towards the end of the war and used against Japan.
2.4. From trench warfare to manoeuvre warfare
† In May-June 1940, the German army did succeed in quickly breaking through enemy lines by
means of surprise attacks. The German forces made much better use of tanks and aircraft than
their opponents.
Blitzkrieg: focused, lightning fast attacks to take out the enemy command, supply lines and
aeroplanes.
GB and France were not prepared for this new way of waging war.
† Within a few years the Allies had rededicated their major industries to supporting the war
effort. German forces were now faced with an enemy who was superior in terms of both the
number of weapons and troops.
The allies adopted many of the Germans’ military techniques, particularly those concerning the
use of tanks and aircraft.
† Japanese and German forces were the first to bomb cities but the Allies also began to use this
tactic.
At first, GB and the US relied on a victory through a strong air force. They carried out bombing
raids to destroy German industrial targets. Allied bombing raids inflicted extensive damage
within Germany. But they did not have the desired effect of forcing Germany to surrender.
A new strategy: Their primary objectives became to launch an invasion of Europe from England
and to destroy the entire German air force in order to let the invasion succeed. But the bombing
of Germany continued.
The bombing of cities may not have caused Germany to surrender, but it did contribute to the
fall of Mussolini in Italy.
It also ultimately led to the capitulation of Japan. But this was only accomplished using two
atomic bombs.
2.5. Propaganda
Differences between WW1 and WW2 in terms of the use of propaganda and censorship.
WW2:
† The Germans strictly censored the press in occupied areas. This resulted in the development of
extensive networks of underground newspapers.
† Film became a much more important tool for propaganda.
† Leaflets were employed on a much great scale. They urged the enemy population to surrender
and to rise up against their own government. They were dropped from aeroplanes.
† Radio was the foremost propaganda tool. Both sides broadcasted special radio programmes
aimed at people living in enemy territory or occupied areas.
Governments on both sides hoped propaganda would help them gain the support of the
population for the war. The governments of GB and the US did not control the media but enjoyed
a great deal of support from the people. The peoples’ determined hostility (vijandigheid) was
caused by the enemy themselves.
The German government: controlled the media, manipulated it down to the smallest details.
The British government and media: believed that people would be more likely to trust them if
they spoke the truth.
German propaganda was successful for large parts of the German population, but less successful
in the occupied territories.
2.6. Medical care improves
During WW2 the scientists received more money for research into antibiotics, such as for the
development of penicillin in the UK and the US. Researchers estimated that penicillin saved the
lives of 12-15% of Allied troops.
2.7. A true ‘total war’
Deaths WW1: 8 million soldiers, 0,5 million civilians
Deaths WW2: 20 million soldiers, 20 million civilians
Why so many more soldiers killed in WW2?
† More countries and many more soldiers were involved.
† German, Soviet and Japanese troops were forced to fight to the bitter end; this is the reason
why enormous numbers of soldiers were killed in the last year of the war.
Why so many more civilians killed in WW2?
† Manoeuvre warfare meant that large areas of the occupied countries became part of the front
lines.
† The massive bombing of cities killed hundreds of thousands of civilians (particularly Germany
and Japan)
† The Nazis’ policy of ethnic cleansing resulted in the deaths of millions of Jews, Russians and
Poles.
† Countless ethnic Germans lost their lives when they were driven out of Eastern Europe by the
Soviets.
Everyone was effected by WW2 more than WW1; huge shortages of food, clothing and other
goods.
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3. Characteristics Of Warfare, Both New And Old
3.1. Industrial manufacturing once again of great importance
- Manufacturing and industry were very important during WW2.
- Mass production produced weapons for enormous armies.
Germany:
1936: Hitler began to build up the German war industry.
- Manufactures irritated the close involvement of the army in their production methods .
- The organization of the war industry did not get very efficiently.
1942: Hitler realized things had to change and he appointed Albert Speer to lead the German
war industry.
- Speer sharply decreased the influence of the army.
- He reduced the number of models, selecting a few models that were mass produced.
- He arranged for more workers to be brought in to German from occupied countries (600,000
Dutch citizens).
- The German war industry tripled production within three years despite (ondanks) heavy Allied
bombing raids.
1945: 40% of German war industry manufacturing facilities had been destroyed by bombs.
- Oil production had fallen to 10% of previous levels.
Soviet Union:
- Received a great deal of supplies and equipment from the West (500,000 vehicles and 625,000
field telephones for the army).
- The economy also became more focused on war effort.
- By 1943, the Soviets had twice as many troops as the Germans and four times as many tanks.
The United States:
- Contributed to war effort on a voluntary basis.
- Factories only began changing for the war effort in 1941.
- The US proved unbeatable in those days when it came to mass production.
- Manufactures produced nearly two-thirds of all the Allied military supplies and equipment
used throughout the war.
Great Britain:
- Was able to keep up with that of Germany to a certain extent.
- Largely dependent on support from its colonies and from the US.
- German submarines caused heavy losses on supply lines to England but they were unable to
stop the shipments (zendingen) completely.
3.2. Leaders once again very influential
Leaders once again very influential:
Hitler (Germany):
- Absolute ruler, in politics, military strategy and tactics.
- His Blitzkrieg was very successful.
- 1941: Invasion of the Soviet Union was a mistake and Japan attacked the US, prompting the US
to join the war.
- In the end, for the German army command, Hitler’s leadership of the German military was
disastrous.
- He refused to allow his troops to retreat (zich terugtrekken), even when it was strategically
necessary: 200,00 German troops under General Paulus were forced to fight on through the
winter of 1942-1943 at Stalingrad. The fight was so bloody that Stalingrad became to known as
‘Verdun of Volga. The German army was surrounded by one million soviet troops with superior
supplies and equipment. They had no change of success but were ordered to hold firm.
- Generals who went against his orders were fired or transferred (overgebracht).
- It’s a wonder that the German army was able to hold out until May 1945 with such an
incompetent leader at the helm.
Churchill (Great Britain):
- Not a strong strategist but he did not go against the wishes of his generals when they didn’t
agree with him.
- He was able to unite the people of GB with his speeches, particularly via movie newsreels and
on the radio.
- He contributed greatly to the successful cooperation among Allied leaders, despite his great
mistrust of Staling.
Roosevelt (America):
- Inspiring leader; he often used radio and film to convince the American Nation of his ideas.
- Only leader during WW2 to leave military strategy and tactics entirely to his generals.
- More prepared to trust Stalin than Churchill. One example of this is the film Mission to Moscow
which was made at his request. As a result, he played an even more crucial role in feeding Allied
cooperation than Churchill did.
Staling (Soviet Union):
- Absolute ruler.
- In 1937-1938, he ordered more than two-thirds of his army commanders to be shot or
imprisoned.
- When Germany invaded the Soviet Union he was so surprised that he took almost no action.
- When he became aware that he knew little about military strategy and tactics he appointed
Georgy Zhukov commander of the armed forces. He proved to be one of the WW2 most skilled
generals.
- Stalin was able to inspire the people of the Soviet Union to give everything they had to resist
(verzetten) the Germans.
- He was successful in this largely because:
† The communist Party slightly loosened its grip on the people of the Soviet Union;
† The Russian Orthodox Church, which had been suppressed by the Communists, was granted a
bit of freedom;
† Stalin’s followers were in control of all media, which glorified Stalin as a great military leader;
† He ordered a regime of terror against real or imagined opponents within the Soviet Union;
† German troops in the Soviet Union were very brutal and cruel.
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4. The Netherlands Under German Occupation
4.1. The German invasion
Friday 10 May 1940: Start WW2 Netherlands:
† Germany didn’t declare war.
† Invasion of the Netherlands was part of a large-scale German plan to occupy Western Europe.
† Plan was successful everywhere, except for GB.
Netherlands vs. Germany:
† Dutch army was larger but poorly armed and not well-prepared.
† 13 May: it became clear to the Dutch military leaders that the battle was lost. Heavy bombing
of Rotterdam was the final blow. They feared other cities would be bombed.
† 14 May: Dutch commander-in-chief gave the order to surrender (give up).
† Nearly 4,500 Dutch soldiers and civilians lost their lives in these 5 days.
† Dutch government (Queen Wilhelmina and the cabinet) had already evacuated to England for
safety reasons; from there they were able to continue running the rest of the Kingdom (Dutch
east indies, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles). They remained in London until 1945.
† The Nazis took control of the Netherlands, led by officials appointed by Hitler.
4.2. An end to Dutch neutrality
Four reasons why people in the Netherlands thought that neutrality was the best policy:
† Neutrality seemed to be the best policy for maintain the Dutch security.
† It was good for trade.
† They thought it was morally superior; they would serve as an example for other countries of
how to refrain from fighting wars.
† WW1 seemed to show that it was a good policy, the warring countries acknowledged Dutch
neutrality.
4.3. German government during the occupation
Type of government in the Netherlands during the German occupation:
The highest authority was Reichskommissar Seyss-Inquart. He reported directly to Hitler and
was in charge of 1,500 German administrative officials. They issued orders to be carried out by
Dutch ministries, provinces and municipal governments. The Nazis planned for the Netherlands
to be incorporated into the new German empire. According the German National-Socialists, the
Dutch people also belonged to the Aryan race.
German soldiers had to defend the Dutch coast against a possible Allied landing from England.
They could also be used to maintain order. German fighter planes were stationed at Dutch
airports to shoot down British and American bombers on their way to Germany.
The German occupying forces had two primary goals with their policies:
† To involve the Netherlands in the German war effort.
Recruit citizens for the German army, force labourers to work in Germany, products from
agricultural and manufacturing sectors were shipped to Germany.
† To win people of the Netherlands over for the principles of National Socialism.
The society should be turned into a National Socialist society (Nazification). As part of this
process the Nazis wanted to remove Jews from society.
4.4. First phase (May 1940 - late February 1941): Mutual goodwill
† The German occupying forces hoped that the Dutch population would voluntarily embrace the
National Socialist cause. Nazification was introduces gradually.
† The Nazis expected Dutch citizens to volunteer to work in Germany (Arbeitseinsatz).
† The persecution of Dutch Jews began. Gradually they were isolated from society. Autumn
1940: Jews who worked for the government were registered and after that they were fired.
Businesses owned by Jews were also registered. They were forbidden to perform ritual animal
sacrifices. Little/No protest.
† Germans allowed many organizations to continue to exist and let many Dutch government
officials keep their jobs. Most civil servants and people working in business and industry also
continued to work as normal
† The Nazis flooded the Netherlands with huge amounts of propaganda promoting National
Socialism. Dutch press was immediately placed under strict control.
† Both the upper and lower houses of the Dutch parliament and many political parties were
suspended. The States-Provincial and city councils remained in existence for another year.
† Membership in the NSB grew.
† There was little resistance. Most Dutch people seemed willing to adjust and cooperate with the
Germans.
† Students and staff at the Delft Polytechnic School (now TU Delft) and the University of Leiden
organized strikes to protest against the firing of Jewish professors. Small groups began issuing
underground resistance newspapers.
† Before the war, there had been widespread discontent about the state of affairs in Dutch
politics. Leaders had been unable to solve problems brought by the economic crisis. They began
to doubt the value of parliamentary democracy. The leaders of the Dutch Union wanted to make
a fresh start. The Dutch Union movement attracted many members. The leaders wanted to
cooperate with the Germans, but emphasized the Dutch character of the party.
4.5. Second phase (late February 1941 - April 1943): Growing anti-German sentiment and
increasing use of force
† The Nazis began to use much harsher measures because:
National Socialism was not catching on in the Netherlands (obvious because of a strike in
Amsterdam on 25 February 1941: they protested against the anti-Jewish measures and the mob
violence by Dutch National Socialists toward Jews in Amsterdam) and because Germany needed
the Netherlands to contribute more resources to the German war effort.
† Dutch citizens were forced to work in Germany and to provide supplies for the German war
effort. Dutch employment agencies helped the Germans to locate workers.
† The Netherlands was forced to contribute agricultural and industrial products to Germany.
There was a gradual running out of goods and resources that had been imported before the war
so certain products become scare.
† Many people were forced to join Nazi organizations.
† As of July 1941, the only political party that was still allowed was the NSB. The Dutch Union
was banned in December. The NSB, like the Nazi Party in Germany was based on the
‘Führerprinzip’ (leadership principle). They spread propaganda to convince people to join the
party but this was unsuccessful. Germans gave the NSB and his leader, Anton Mussert, very little
power.
† Dutch Jews were increasingly isolated and persecuted.
1. All Dutch citizens were required to carry identification cards. Thos of the Jews were stamped
with a large letter ‘J’.
2. Starting in May 1942, Jews had to wear a yellow star on their clothes when they went out in
public.
3. The next measure involved rounding up most of the Jews and transporting them to Camp
Westerbork in the northeast of the country. From there they were deported to extermination
camps of Auschwitz and Sobibor in Poland. More than 100,00 of the 140,000 Dutch Jews were
killed in these camps.
† Growing anti-German sentiment. The number of people involved in the resistance grew,
although this number remained extremely small.
4.6. Third phase (April 1943 - September 1944): A growing number of conflicts between the
Dutch and the occupying forces
† The Nazis implemented harsh measures whereby every male citizen could be summoned and
sent to work in Germany.
† Dutch prisoners of war who had been released in 1940 were send to Germany to work. To
protest against this measures, the April/March strike broke out in 1943. These strikes formed
the transition from the second the third phase. Germans brutally suppressed the strikes.
Participants were executed after a quick trail. The strikes gave many former soldiers the courage
to resist the occupier. They didn’t answer the summons (they didn’t go to Germany) but went
into hiding.
† Nazification became less of a priority. The German war effort was the Nazis’ top priority.
† The Nazis completed the process of deporting Dutch Jews to extermination camps.
† The harsh measures taken by the Nazis led to ever more wide-spread Anti-German sentiment.
Opposition to these measures became increasingly common. 300,00 Dutch citizens went into
hiding but still 600,000 worked in Germany. Illegal organizations grew rapidly during this phase.
Most of them involved underground press or helping people who had gone into hiding. Other
served as spies or were members of teams that committed sabotage. The German occupying
forces responded to these illegal activities with several harsh measurements but this only
strengthened the anti-German feelings of the Dutch population.
4.7. Fourth phase (September 1944 - May 1945): Total disruption of Dutch society
† After the successful Allied Invasion of Normandy (6 June 1944) and the advance of Russian
troops in Eastern Europe, the Allies were certain to win the war. In September 1944, the Allies
reached the south of the Netherlands. The Dutch government-in-exile called for the Dutch
railways to go on strike. They hoped this would disrupt the German supply lines in the
Netherlands. But the Allied advance ground to halt at the Rhine. Paratroopers participating in
‘Operation Market Garden’ were supposed to seize the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem but
failed.
† Most Dutch territory to the south of the major rivers had been liberated, but it was still
considered part of the front lines. Allied commanders were in charge of what went on there. This
resulted in a great deal of damage and thousands were left homeless.
† The railway strike was regarded as the transition from the third to the fourth phase.
† ‘Normal’ civil administration was a virtual impossibility.
† The part of the Netherlands that was still occupied suffered the worst during this period. The
German occupying forces increasingly waged a campaign of terror against the population. Raids
(plunderen) were held to gain workers for the German war effort. Men were plucked from the
street and send off to Germany.
† The German occupying forces increasingly waged a campaign of terror against the Dutch
population.
† There was widespread starvation, particularly in big cities. During the Dutch Famine Winter of
1944, around 15,000 people died as a direct result of food shortages. Hundreds of thousands
were severely weakened. They also suffered from the cold.
† The opposition grew to an unprecedented (ongekende) size. The German occupying forces
enacted increasingly brutal measures in retaliation (wraak) for acts of resistance.
† In the spring of 1945, the Allies managed to break the German opposition in the Netherlands.
On 5 May 1945, the German troops in the Netherlands surrendered. A few days later, the entire
German army capitulated/surrendered, bringing an end to the National Socialist regime in
Germany.

5. Consequences Of The Second World War
5.1. Casualties (victims)
Around 40 million people were killed during WW2. Around 250,000 of these were in the
Netherlands. The war also had enormous consequences for the survivors.
5.2. Prosecuting war criminals
War criminals were put on trial (rechtzaak) not only in Germany but also in the Netherlands.
The process of prosecuting people who had collaborated with the Germans was very difficult.
Everyone agreed they should be punished. But sorting out who had done what proved to be so
complicated that it was difficult the determine the correct punishment. The large number of
accused (aangeklaagde) persons did not make the process easier. In the summer of 1945,
approximately 100,000 people in the Netherlands were imprisoned, some of the wrongly. The
number of cases under investigation was even several times this figure. Most cases had been
dealt with within five years after the war. However, almost no one was stratified with the way
matter were concluded. It was agreed to end the prosecution of war criminals.
5.3. The Netherlands' role in the world changes dramatically
The Netherlands did not return to its policy of neutrality: it entered into alliances with other
western countries. Dutch rule in Indonesia came to an end and they were unable to regain its
pre-war power over the Dutch East Indies.
5.4. Only few changes to Dutch politics
During the war, many people in the Netherlands began to discuss ways of modernizing Dutch
society. But this did not take place.
5.5. Shifting borders, disappearing countries
Borders were redrawn in Europe. Poland’s borders westward into what had been Germany. The
German population in this area was driven out, as well as the ethnic Germans living in the
Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. More than 12 million Germans were displaced after the ar.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as parts of Slovakia and Romania once again fell under
Russian control. Istria, which had belonged to Italy, became part of Yugoslavia. Europe was split
in 2.
5.6. Changing balance of power
Before WW2: The West European powers set the tone in the world.
During WW2: The US and Soviet Union took the role of superpowers.
After WW2: The Western European states now had only a modest role to play in world politics.
5.7. Decolonization on the horizon
Nationalist movements in European colonies had been growing strongly in the years following
WW1. They demanded independence. The colonial powers started to realize that the colonial era
wouldn’t last forever. But they disagreed with the nationalist groups on when colonialism should
end, as well as on other issues.
WW2 presented the nationalist movements with new possibilities. Soldiers from the colonies
fought on the side of the Allies. Some colonies were ‘liberated’ by the Japanese.
The colonies powers were more preoccupied with fighting the war, and paid less attention to the
colonies.
After the war, it became clear the that nationalist movements had grown much stronger. The US
and the Soviet Union were anti-colonialist.
Some nationalist movements succeeded in achieving independence shortly after the war, and
others not long afterwards.
The Dutch rule in Indonesia, which had lasted for centuries, also came to an end.
Colored = the nine consequences of WW2.