Download WORLD WAR II I. STEPS TO WWII A. LONG

WORLD WAR II
I. STEPS TO WWII
A. LONG-RANGE CAUSES WORLD WAR II
1. GIVEN WHAT HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT NATURE OF TOTALITARIAN DICTATORS &
THEIR GOVERNMENTS
2. IT IS EASY TO SEE WWII AS A SPLENDID ILLUSTRATION OF "DEVIL THEORY" OF
HISTORY
3. AGGRESSIVE DICTATORS ON ONE SIDE
4. DEMOCRACIES ON OTHER
5. CERTAINLY GERMANY, ITALY & JAPAN WERE AGGRESSIVE, MILITARISTIC, AND
EXPANSIONIST IN THE 1930'S.
6. ON OTHER HAND, STALIN'S RUSSIA WAS AS TOTALITARIAN AS HITLER'S
GERMANY
7. & STALIN WAS ON THE ALLIED SIDE
8. & BRITAIN STILL HEADED THE LARGEST EMPIRE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD
IN 1939
9. EVEN THE U.S. HAD MADE ITSELF SO UNPOPULAR MEDDLING IN AFFAIRS OF
LATIN AMERICAN REPUBLICS THAT SOME OF THEM WOULD NOT SIDE
W/AMERICA AGAINST NAZIS
10. OTHERS SEE CAUSE OF WAR AS ALLIED APPEASEMENT OF AXIS AGGRESSION
11. YET THIS APPROACH IS INCOMPLETE FOR IT DOES LITTLE TO EXPLAIN WHY AXIS
POWERS WERE AGGRESSIVE & EXPANSIONIST IN 1ST PLACE
12. DEEPER, LONGER-RANGE CAUSES FOR WWII INCLUDE, WORLD WAR I, THE
GREAT DEPRESSION, THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES & WEAK & INEFFECTUAL
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
13. BRITAIN, FRANCE & TO CERTAIN EXTENT THE U.S. SUPPORTED TREATY OF
VERSAILLES
14. GERMANY, ITALY, JAPAN & SOVIET UNION SEIZED EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO
MODIFY IT IN THEIR FAVOR
15. & IN SO DOING DREW STEADILY CLOSER TO ANOTHER GREAT WAR
16. & THEN A STRING OF INTERNATIONAL AGGRESSIVE EVENTS LED UP TO THE
FINAL EXPLOSION
17. ITALIAN AGGRESSION IN ETHIOPIA & ALBANIA
18. JAPANESE AGGRESSION IN MANCHURIA & CHINA
19. BOTH GERMAN & ITALIAN AGGRESSION IN SPAIN
a. SPANISH CIVIL WAR 1936-39
(1) BECAME DRESS REHEARSAL FOR WWII
(2) HITLER & MUSSOLINI GAINED VALUABLE PRACTICE
(3) BOMBING CIVILIANS & CITIES PROVIDED OPPORTUNITY TO TEST NEW
EQUIPMENT
(4) THAT WOULD BE USED LATER AGAINST POLAND, BRITAIN & FRANCE
20. & IN THE WORDS OF WWII HISTORIAN JOHN KEGAN
a. THE TRUTH OF 20TH C. EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION IS THAT THE WORLD IT
DOMINATED WAS PREGNANT WITH WAR
21. OTHERS SAY WWII JUST A CONTINUATION OF WWI WITH A SHORT 20- YEAR
INTERMISSION
22. AND HITLER'S WORDS SUBSTANTIATE THIS
a. WAR IS ETERNAL, WAR IS UNIVERSAL. THERE IS NO BEGINNING & THERE IS NO
PEACE. WAR IS LIFE
23. BUT WAR THAT BEGAN LITTLE OVER 50 YEARS
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24. WOULD NOT BE LIFE BUT DEATH
a. 50 MILLION DEATHS
b. 2/3 OF THEM CIVILIANS
(1) WHO HAD BEEN SHOT, DROWNED, BOMBED, FROZEN, STARVED, GASSED
25. & NEW HORRORS ALMOST BEYOND DESCRIPTION WERE INFLICTED ON MANKIND
a. FIRE STORM
(1) INTENSE FIRE OVER LARGE AREA INITIATED BY ATOMIC EXPLOSION
b. RADIATION
c. HOLOCAUST
II. MORE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO WORLD WAR II
A. GERMANY'S AGGRESSIVE STEPS
1. BETWEEN 1933 & 1937 HITLER DISMANTLED CONDITIONS OF PEACE OF
VERSAILLES
a. WITHDREW FROM LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN 1933
b. NEXT BEGAN REARMAMENT AFTER 1935
c. THEN MILITARILY OCCUPIED RHINELAND 1936
2. WERE ACCEPTED AS PREFERABLE TO CONFRONTATION & WAR
3. THOUGH MANY EUROPEAN STATESMEN WOULD HAVE AGREED W/HITLER THAT
WAR IS ETERNAL
4. THEY HAD NOT FORGOTTEN TRAGIC HORRORS OF WWI
5. NONE WANTED TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR A 2ND ONE
6. IT WAS DETERMINATION TO AVOID ANOTHER WAR AT ALL COSTS
7. THAT LED BRITISH & FRENCH STATESMEN TO SEEK COMPROMISE AFTER
COMPROMISE W/HITLER
8. ONLY LATER WOULD THEIR POLICY OF APPEASEMENT BE WIDELY CONDEMNED
AS COWARDNESS
9. & CONSENSUS BY SCHOLARS THAT HITLER COULD HAVE BEEN STOPPED BY
FORCE EASILY
10. BRITISH POLITICIANS, PARTICULARLY PM NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN,
a. CLUNG TO BELIEF FUHRER WAS A REASONABLE MAN DESPITE WARNINGS OF
CHURCHILL & FRENCH
11. CHURCHILL REMARKING AFTER HITLER INVADED SOVIET UNION:
a. IF HITLER INVADED HELL I THINK I WOULD FIND A KIND WORD TO SAY
ABOUT THE DEVIL...
12. & MANY IN THE WEST SAW HITLER & GERMANY AS BULWARK AGAINST
COMMUNIST RUSSIA
a. THEY HOPED THE "RED MENACE" WOULD BE TAKEN CARE BY FUHRER
B. GERMAN SEIZURE OF AUSTRIA, SUDETENLAND & CZECHOSLOVAKIA
1. 1938 HITLER BEGAN CARRYING OUT HIS AVOWED AIM
a. ABSORBING ALL THE GERMAN PEOPLE INTO ONE GERMAN STATE
2. 1ST TO BE ADDED - AUSTRIA - 1938
a. CALLED ANSCHLUSS= ADJOINING
(1) FORCIBLE JOINING OF AUSTRIA TO GERMANY
b. SOUND OF MUSIC THEME
3. NEXT WESTERN CZECHOSLOVAKIA- SUDETENLAND
a. WHERE GERMANS LIVED
b. SUDETEN GERMANS DESPISED THE CZECHS
(1) VERY PRO PAN-GERMANISM
(2) CZECHS NOT ALLOWED TO PLAY SMETANA
C. MUNICH CONFERENCE 1938
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1. HITLER'S MOVES PROMPTED MUNICH CONFERENCE
2. MEETING OF
a. BRITISH, FRENCH, GERMAN & ITALIAN DIPLOMATS
b. CZECHOSLOVAKIA NOT INCLUDED IN DISCUSSIONS
3. GERMAN-SPEAKING REGIONS OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA CEDED TO HITLER TO AVERT
THE THREAT OF WAR
4. CHAMBERLAIN RETURNING TO ENGLAND SHOWING HIS AGREEMENT W/HITLER
THAT THE 2 NATIONS WOULD NEVER GO TO WAR W/EACH OTHER
a. PEACE FOR OUR TIME
D. REARMING OF FRANCE & GREAT BRITAIN
1. BY 1938 FRANCE & GB ARE SEEING TO THEIR DEFENSE
a. NOT OFFENSE
2. ENGLAND
a. DUG TRENCHES IN LONDON PARKS
b. PRACTICED WEARING THEIR GAS MASKS BECAUSE OF FEAR OF GERMAN
INVASION
3. FRANCE ERECTED THE MAGINOT LINE
a. STRETCHED ACROSS NORTHEASTERN FR TO PROTECT ALSACE-LORRAINE
b. SERIES OF INTERLOCKING CONCRETE & STEEL FORTRESSES
c. W/UNDERGROUND COMMAND POSTS, BARRACKS, KITCHENS, AMMUNITION
DUMPS & UNDERGROUND RR
d. INDICATIVE OF FR FEELING OF GOOD DEFENSE BETTER THAN A GOOD
OFFENSE
E. COLLAPSE OF MUNICH AGREEMENT
1. IN MARCH 1939 MUNICH AGREEMENT COLLAPSED WHEN GERMANY SEIZED
REMAINDER OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA
2. BRITAIN & FRANCE DID NOT RETALIATE DIRECTLY
3. BUT OPENED NEGOTIATIONS FOR AN ALLIANCE W/SOVIET RUSSIA
4. AND OFFERED TO GUARANTEE THE POLISH FRONTIER AGAINST GERMAN
ATTACK
F. RUSSIAN & GERMAN PACT 1939
1. TO THEIR DISMAY, IN AUGUST STALIN & HITLER SIGNED A NONAGGRESSION
PACT
a. STALIN AGREED NOT TO OPPOSE HITLER'S CONQUESTS IN EASTERN EUROPE
b. WHY?
c. STALIN HAD BEEN TRYING TO GAIN A TREATY W/WESTERN POWERS TO
CHECK HITLER'S AMBITIONS
d. BUT HAD BEEN CONTINUALLY PUT OFF WITH SLOW NEGOTIATIONS
e. STALIN KNEW WESTERN POWERS HAD LOOKED AT GERMANY AS A SAFETY
VALVE AGAINST COMMUNIST RUSSIA
f. WESTERN DEMOCRACIES HAD A SPOTTY RECORD OF RESPONDING TO
AGGRESSION
g. NAZI GERMANY COULD OFFER RUSSIA CONCRETE ADVANTAGES IN EASTERN
EUROPE
h. RUSSIA WOULD ABSORB FINLAND, ESTONIA, LATVIA & BESSARABIA & PART
OF POLAND
i. GERMANY WOULD GAIN EVERYTHING TO WEST, INCLUDING LITHUANIA
(1) PLUS RAW MATERIAL & GRAIN FROM SOVIETS
j. STALIN HAD PURGED HIS ARMY & FEARED GERMANY
k. CONSEQUENTLY NO OFFICER CORP LEFT TO FIGHT GERMANY
l. IN RUSSIA IT BECAME TREASON TO STATE WAR MIGHT BECOME DEFENSIVE
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G. FINAL STEP TO WAR - GERMAN INVASION OF POLAND
1. HITLER DECIDED TO INVADE POLISH CORRIDOR AS THOUGHT BRITAIN & FRANCE
WOULD NOT OPPOSE HIM
a. HITLER: OUR ENEMIES ARE LITTLE WORMS. I SAW THEM AT MUNICH
2. ON SEPTEMBER 1 GERMAN ARMIES ENTERED POLAND
3. RUSSIAN TROOPS INVADED POLAND FROM EAST
4. 48 HOURS LATER BRITAIN & FRANCE DECLARED WAR ON GERMANY
5. IN LESS THAN 4 WEEKS POLAND CONQUERED
a. DIVIDED BETWEEN RUSSIA & GERMANY
6. TERRIBLE DEVASTATION W/WARSAW REDUCED TO RUBBLE
7. AFTER 1ST PUTTING JEWS INTO A GHETTO WHERE THEY WERE SUPPOSE TO EXIST
ON 200 CALORIES A DAY
8. FILM EXISTS OF THIS AS GOEBBELS TOOK PICTURES TO USE FOR PROPAGANDA
III. COURSE OF THE WAR IN EUROPE
A. INVASION OF SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRIES
1. RUSSIAN ARMIES INVADE FINLAND DEC 1939 -MAR 1940
2. RUSSIA TAKES LARGE AREAS IN FINLAND
3. GERMAN SURPRISE INVASION OF DENMARK & NORWAY APRIL 1940
4. DENMARK OCCUPIED IN 1 DAY
5. NORWAY IN LESS 1 MONTH
6. GERMAN INVASION GREATLY AIDED BY NORWEGIAN FIFTH COLUMN OF NAZI
SYMPATHIZERS UNDER MAJOR QUISLING
a. WHO BETRAYED HIS COUNTRY
b. WORD MEANS A TRAITOR NOW
7. FALL OF NORWAY LED TO CHURCHILL REPLACING CHAMBERLAIN AS PRIME
MINISTER MAY 1940
B. HITLER'S METHODOLOGY OF WAR
1. HE WOULD DEMAND A COUNTRY ACCEPT HIS PROTECTION SO THE COUNTRY
WOULD NOT BE OCCUPIED BY FRANCE & GB
a. USED PLOY ON AUSTRIA, CZECH, DENMARK, NORWAY
2. BLITZKRIEG - LIGHTNING WAR
a. GERMANS BROKE THROUGH ENEMY LINES BY USING LARGE NUMBER OF
TANKS FOLLOWED BY INFANTRY
b. FOLLOWED BY SATURATION BOMBING
c. RARELY SINCE NAPOLEON HAD SPEED & CONCENTRATED FORCE BEEN USED
SO EFFECTIVELY
C. BATTLE FOR WESTERN EUROPE
1. SPRING 1940 GERMAN ATTACK LAUNCHED
2. SUDDEN GERMAN INVASION OF NEUTRAL HOLLAND, BELGIUM, & LUXEMBOURG
MAY 1940
3. COMPLETE GERMAN SUCCESS
4. 1 OF MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY CAMPAIGNS EVER
5. NEXT GERMAN ARMIES PENETRATED INTO N. FRANCE
a. ENTERED WHERE MAGINOT LINE STOPPED
6. IN PROCESS TRAPPED AN ANGLO-FRENCH ARMY OF NEARLY 400,000 ON BEACH
AT DUNKIRK
7. FORCED EVACUATION OF BRITISH ARMY FROM DUNKIRK
D. DUNKIRK
1. 338,000 TROOPS RESCUED
a. 2/3 BRITISH
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b. EVERYTHING THAT COULD FLOAT WAS USED TO RESCUE MEN
c. 850 ASSORTED VESSELS
(1) SAILING, TUGS, 19 TH C STERNWHEELER PADDLE BOATS, TUGS
(2) EVEN BUTLERS ALONG TO ASSIST
2. BRITISH WERE SAVED BY HITLER AS WELL
a. HE GAVE ORDERS TO STOP TANKS & NOT PURSUE ENEMY
b. DID NOT WANT TO HUMILIATE GB
c. HITLER LIKED BRITISH & WOULD STOP BATTLE OF BRITAIN FOR SAME
REASONS
d. ALSO HITLER WANTED GB TO SIGN PEACE SO COULD GO GET RUSSIANS
E. GERMANY'S DEFEAT & OCCUPATION OF FRANCE
1. GERMANS THEN WHEELED AROUND TO KNOCK OUT FRENCH ARMY
a. MOST OF WHO WERE TRAPPED IN MAGINOT LINE
2. ITALY THEN DECLARED WAR ON FRANCE
a. STABBED IN THE BACK JUNE 10TH
3. FRANCE SURRENDERS JUNE 22, 1940
4. HAD NEITHER THE WILL NOR MIGHT TO FIGHT ANOTHER WAR
5. FRANCE DIVIDED INTO 2
a. GERMAN-OCCUPIED NORTHERN 2/3 FRANCE
b. SOUTHERN FRANCE
(1) VICHY FRANCE
(2) UNDER MARSHALL PETAIN
(3) A SATELLITE OF GERMANY
6. GENERAL CHARLES DE GAULLE, 1890-1970
a. FLED TO LONDON
b. ORGANIZED FREE FRENCH GOVT
c. ADOPTED AS ITS SYMBOL RED CROSS OF LORRAINE
(1) FLOWN BY JOAN OF ARC IN HER FIGHT TO LIBERATE FRANCE 15TH
CENTURY
(a) 500 YRS EARLIER
d. LED OPPOSITION MOVEMENT
e. AT WAR END WILL DECLARE HIMSELF PRESIDENT
F. BATTLE OF BRITAIN - AUG 8- OCT 31, 1940
1. FALL OF FRANCE LEFT BRITAIN ISOLATED
2. ODDS AGAINST BRITISH SEEMED OVERWHELMING
3. HITLER EXPECTED BRITISH TO COME TO TERMS
4. HE WAS PREPARED TO ALLOW BRITAIN TO RETAIN ITS EMPIRE
5. IN RETURN FOR A FREE HAND FOR GERMANY ON THE CONTINENT
6. BRITISH HAD NEVER BEEN WILLING TO ACCEPT DOMINATION OF EUROPE UNDER
1 POWER
7. ANY CHANCE BRITISH WOULD CONSIDER SUCH TERMS DISAPPEARED WHEN
WINSTON CHURCHILL 1874-1965 REPLACED CHAMBERLAIN AS PRIME MINISTER
8. CHURCHILL HAD BEEN AN EARLY & FORCEFUL CRITIC OF HITLER & POLICY OF
APPEASEMENT
9. HIS SKILL AS A SPEAKER ALLOWED HIM TO INFUSE THE BRITISH PEOPLE W/HIS
OWN COURAGE & DETERMINATION
10. & TO UNDERTAKE WHAT SEEMED ALMOST A HOPELESS FIGHT
11. I HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER BUT BLOOD, TOIL, TEARS & SWEAT...WE SHALL FIGHT
ON THE BEACHES, WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE LANDING GROUNDS, WE SHALL
FIGHT IN THE FIELDS AND IN THE STREETS, WE SHALL FIGHT IN THE HILLS, WE
SHALL NEVER SURRENDER...
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12. EVEN THE QUEEN IN BUCKINGHAM PALACE TOOK PISTOL LESSONS, SAYING
a. I SHALL NOT GO DOWN LIKE THE OTHERS
13. SO RELUCTANT HITLER STARTED OPERATION SEA LION
a. INVASION OF BRITAIN
14. FIRST STEP WAS TO GAIN CONTROL OF AIR BEFORE AN AMPHIBIOUS INVASION
OF BRITAIN
15. 1ST STRIKES AGAINST AIRFIELDS & FIGHTER PLANES IN SOUTHEASTERN ENG
16. IF ATTACKS HAD CONTINUED, GERMANY MIGHT SOON HAVE GAINED CONTROL
OF THE AIR
17. & W/IT CHANCE OF SUCCESSFUL INVASION
18. NAZI BOMBERS MADE NAVIGATIONAL ERROR & BOMBED LONDON
19. RAF RETALIATED & BOMBED BERLIN
20. SO LUFTWAFFE MADE LONDON ITS MAJOR TARGET
21. BECAME KNOWN AS THE BLITZ
22. 200 + BOMBERS OVER LONDON EVERY NIGHT FOR NEARLY 2 MONTHS IN SUMMER
& FALL 1940
23. CHURCHILL PROVIDED THE DEDICATION & ELOQUENCE THAT SUSTAINED
BRITISH
a. HELPED PRESERVE BRITISH MORALE IN THEIR FINEST HOUR
24. MUCH OF THE "CITY" WAS DESTROYED
a. ABOUT 15,000 KILLED
25. BOMBINGS MADE BRITISH MORE COHESIVE & RESOLUTE
26. SENT THEIR CHILDREN & OLD PEOPLE TO NORTH & WEST
27. SLEPT IN AIR-RAID SHELTERS & UNDERGROUND TUBE STATIONS
28. GERMAN LUFTWAFFE ALSO CONDUCTED MASSIVE BOMBARDMENT OF OTHER
ENGLISH CITIES
a. COVENTRY WENT DOWN EVEN THOUGH ENGLAND HAD CRACKED GERMAN
CODE & KNEW IT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN
b. BRISTOL, PLYMOUTH, SOUTHAMPTON, PORTSMOUTH
c. ENGLAND LOST 1/5 OF ALL HER SCHOOLS IN AIR RAIDS
29. IN ALL ABOUT 40,000 CIVILIANS IN ENGLAND KILLED
30. GB POPULATION OF 47 MILLION IN SUMMER 1940
31. WAS LITERALLY SAVED BY THE SKILL & VALOR OF LITTLE OVER 1000 ROYAL AIR
FORCE PILOTS
a. WHO CONDUCTED THE WAR IN THE SKIES
b. 1/3 KILLED DURING BATTLE
c. BUCKING ODDS THAT OCCASIONALLY APPROACHED 30 TO 1
32. 'NEVER IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN CONFLICT WAS SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO
SO FEW
33. ANOTHER FAMOUS EXPRESSION FROM THESE TIMES
a. PIECE OF CAKE
(1) RAF PILOTS DESCRIBING THEIR SHOOTING GERMAN PLANES
34. OUTNUMBERED BRITISH RAF INFLICTED DEVASTATING TOLL OF GERMAN
PLANES
a. GERMANY LOST 2375 PLANES
b. GB 800 PLANES
35. HEAVY GERMAN LOSSES & BEGINNING OF BAD AUTUMN WEATHER FORCED
GERMANY TO HALT
36. BIG FACTOR BRITISH USE OF RADAR DETECTION
37. GERMANY RADAR NOT PERFECTED
38. 1ST MILITARY DEFEAT FOR GERMANS
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39. 1 OF MAJOR TURNING POINTS OF WAR
40. THEREAFTER INCREASING US AID AND INTERVENTION
41. TOGETHER W/GERMAN PREOCCUPATION W/RUSSIAN FRONT SAVED ENGLAND
G. OPERATION BARBAROSSA
1. HITLER'S SURPRISE INVASION OF SOVIET UNION JUNE 22, 1941
2. 1 DAY BEFORE 129TH ANNIVERSARY OF NAPOLEON'S INVASION OF RUSSIA
3. BARBAROSSA FAMOUS 12TH C. GERMAN HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR WHO TRIED TO
EXTEND GERMAN DOMINION INTO ITALY
4. ALONG A NEARLY 1000 MILE FRONTIER W/3 MILLION MEN
a. 70% OF GERMAN FORCES TO RUSSIA
b. NORTHERN PART ARMY TOWARDS LENINGRAD
c. CENTRAL PART ARMY TOWARDS MOSCOW
d. SOUTHERN PART ARMY TOWARDS CAUCASUS MTNS & OIL
5. FROM 1ST DEFEAT OF RUSSIA & CONQUEST OF UKRAINE
6. TO PROVIDE LEBENSTRAUM FOR GERMAN PEOPLE MAJOR HITLER GOAL
a. UKRAINE VAST LAND BETWEEN VISTULA RIVER & URAL MOUNTAINS
b. FOOD PRODUCER & INDUSTRIAL AREA
c. COMMUNISM WAS TO PERISH SO NAZISM COULD LIVE
d. ALL RULERS TO BE LIQUIDATED & RUSSIAN PEOPLE TO BE STARVED
7. INVASION OF RUSSIA AIMED AT KNOCKING RUSSIA OUT OF WAR BEFORE WINTER
a. FELT HAD ALREADY BEATEN BRITAIN
8. HITLER SO SURE QUICK VICTORY POSSIBLE DID NOT PREPARE FOR WINTER
CAMPAIGN
a. KICK THE DOOR & THE WHOLE ROTTEN STRUCTURE WILL COME CRASHING
DOWN
9. PROBLEM OF MUSSOLINI CAUSED A 6-WEEK DELAY THAT MAY HAVE CHANGED
THE OUTCOME
10. MUSSOLINI WAS ALWAYS JEALOUS OF HITLER'S SUCCESSES
11. SO DECIDED TO INVADE GREECE ON HIS OWN W/O LETTING HITLER KNOW OF HIS
PLANS
12. MUSSOLINI SAID
a. HITLER ALWAYS FACES ME WITH A FAIT ACCOMPLI
THIS TIME IT IS MY TIME - HE CAN READ ABOUT MY OCCUPATION OF GREECE
IN THE NEWSPAPERS
13. BUT IN NORTH AFRICA BRITISH COUNTER-ATTACKED AGAINST ITALIANS
14. DROVE ITALIANS BACK INTO LIBYA
15. GREEKS THEN PUSHED INTO ALBANIA
a. ITALY HAD SEIZED IT IN 1939
16. HITLER FORCED TO SEND AID TO HELP THE ITALIANS IN AFRICA & THE BALKANS
17. GERMANS GOT BRITISH OUT OF LIBYA & BACK INTO EGYPT
a. GERMAN AFRICAN TANK CORPS UNDER BRILLIANT GEN ERWIN ROMMEL =
THE DESERT FOX
b. ROMMELS HITLER'S FAVORITE MILITARY MAN
c. REGAINED ALL LOST TERRITORY & W/IN 65 MILES OF ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT &
BRITISH WHEN
d. ROMMEL RAN OUT OF SUPPLIES & HALTED BY MONTGOMERY
e. BECAUSE OF HITLER' DECISION TO CONCENTRATE ON CAPTURING
STALINGRAD
f. ROMMEL PART OF PLOT TO ASSASSINATE HITLER
(1) ROMMEL COMMITTED SUICIDE FOR HIS ROLE IN IT
18. GERMANY SWIFTLY OCCUPIED YUGOSLAVIA & CRUSHED GREEK RESISTANCE
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BUT PRICE WAS 6 WEEK DELAY
19. DIVERSION CAUSED BY MUSSOLINI'S VANITY PROVED TO BE COSTLY FOR
RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN
20. IN SPITE OF RUSSIA'S DEEP SUSPICION OF GERMANY, RUSSIANS TAKEN QUITE BY
SURPRISE
a. WE HAD ORDERS NEVER TO FIRE TOWARDS THE GERMAN SIDE
b. WHEN ASKED WHY THEY DID NOT FIGHT THE GERMANS INITIALLY
c. I'VE BEEN FIRED UPON" TO A SUPERIOR OFFICE A RUSSIAN SOLDIER SAYS
d. YOU MUST BE INSANE, NO ONE IS FIRING AT YOU
21. WITHIN ABOUT 4 MONTHS HITLER HAD GONE FURTHER INTO RUSSIA THAN
NAPOLEON
a. 2300 MILES
b. & HAD SEIZED 500,000 SQ MILES OF SOVIET TERRITORY
22. BUT HAD NOT TAKEN MOSCOW OR LENINGRAD
23. BUT IT WAS A CLOSE THING
24. PERHAPS CLOSER THAN BATTLE OF BRITAIN
25. HITLER'S PLAN ALMOST WORKED
26. HITLER'S GENERALS WANTED TO DRIVE DIRECTLY FOR MOSCOW WHICH NOW
HUB OF RUSSIAN GOVT
27. BUT HITLER WANTED TO DIVERT SIGNIFICANT PART OF FORCES SOUTH AND
NORTH
28. BY TIME HE READY TO RETURN TO OFFENSIVE NEAR MOSCOW TOO LATE
29. WINTER STRUCK GERMAN ARMY WHICH WAS NOT DRESSED NOR EQUIPPED TO
FACE IT
H. BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
1. SHOWDOWN BETWEEN 2 ARMIES CAME IN AUG 1942
2. CITY SW RUSSIA ON VOLGA RIVER
3. VITAL TRANSPORTATION CENTER
4. IF HITLER COULD WIN STALINGRAD HE COULD APPROPRIATE VITAL OIL BEING
SHIPPED FROM CAUCASUS UP THE VOLGA
5. RIVER COULD BE MADE NEW EASTERN BOUNDARY OF NAZI EMPIRE
6. HITLER'S FORCES BOMBARDED STALINGRAD SO RUTHLESSLY THAT 3/4 OF ITS
BUILDINGS FLATTENED IN 1 DAY
7. BUT RUSSIAN TROOPS KEPT UP FIRST RESISTANCE
a. HAND TO HAND FIGHTING
8. BY NOV & DEC RUSSIANS ABLE TO COUNTERATTACK
a. TRAPPED GERMAN 6TH ARMY & FORCED TO SURRENDER
9. GERMANS BEGAN TO HAVE VISIONS OF NAPOLEON'S RETREAT
10. GERMANS STOPPED BY
a. SCORCHED EARTH POLICY OF RUSSIANS
(1) PEOPLE FORCED TO BURN THEIR HOMES, ETC.
b. GERMAN SUPPLY LINES INADEQUATE
c. RUSSIAN DIRT ROADS IMPASSABLE FOR GERMAN ARMORED VEHICLES
11. MOST DESTRUCTIVE LAND BATTLE WORLD WAR II
12. 99% OF STALINGRAD REDUCED TO RUBBLE
13. 1 MILLION LIVES LOST CIVILIANS & SOLDIERS
14. THIS BATTLE DEEPLY DAMAGED GERMAN MORALE
15. MAJOR TURNING POINT IN WAR
16. AFTER STALINGRAD HITLER ON DEFENSIVE
17. UNTIL STALINGRAD RUSSIA HAD SIMPLY STRUGGLED TO SURVIVE AGAINST
GERMAN ASSAULT
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18. NOW RUSSIANS BEGAN TO SEE WAR AS CHANCE TO NOT ONLY LIBERATE THEIR
OWN LAND
19. BUT TO GREATLY INCREASE THEIR TERRITORY, INFLUENCE & PRESTIGE IN
EASTERN EUROPE
IV. COURSE OF WAR IN ASIA
A. GENERAL REMARKS RE JAPAN'S ROLE IN WAR
1. JAPAN'S ENTRY INTO THE AXIS ALLIANCE HAD COME AT A TIME WHEN HER
IMPERIALISTIC & MILITARY AMBITIONS WERE AT THEIR PEAK
2. AFTER WITHDRAWING FROM LEAGUE OF NATIONS IN 1935
3. & UNDERTAKING CONQUEST OF CHINA, JAPAN CAME UNDER VIRTUAL MILITARY
RULE
4. HER EXPANSIONIST AIMS & EXTENSIVE REARMAMENT THREATENED TO BRING
ABOUT WAR W/US
5. ALTHOUGH WHEN JAPAN HAD INVADED MANCHURIA
6. WEST REFUSED TO IMPOSE SANCTIONS AGAINST HER BECAUSE SHE TOO COULD
SERVE AS A COUNTERWEIGHT TO RUSSIA
7. U.S. LIKE JAPAN WAS A STRONG NAVAL POWER W/TERRITORIAL INTERESTS IN
THE PACIFIC
8. JAPAN DETERMINED TO STRIKE 1ST & GAIN THE ADVANTAGE OF SURPRISE
9. JAPANESE WAR MACHINE HAD BEEN LARGELY DEPENDENT ON US SHIPMENTS OF
STEEL, SCRAP IRON, OIL & AVIATION GASOLINE
10. US BANNED EXPORTS OF SCRAP IRON & STEEL TO JAPAN IN SEPT 1940
11. US FROZE ALL JAPANESE ASSETS IN US IN JULY 1941 IN REACTION AGAINST
JAPAN'S OCCUPATION OF FRENCH INDO-CHINA
12. IN NEGOTIATIONS IN WASH IN NOV-DEC 1941 US INSISTED JAPAN CALL OFF HER 4
YR WAR W/CHINA
B. PEARL HARBOR
1. DEC 7, 1941, DAY OF INFAMY
2. JAPANESE SURPRISE ATTACK ON US FLEET & AIRFIELDS AT PEARL HARBOR
HAWAII
3. DEC 8, 1941 US CONGRESS W/1 DISSENTING VOTE DECLARES WAR ON JAPAN
4. DEC 11, 1941 GER & ITALY, ALLIES OF JAPAN DECLARE WAR ON US
5. ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR SANK OR DISABLED 19 US WARSHIPS, INCLUDING 8
BATTLESHIPS & KILLED 2343 AMERICAN SAILORS & SOLDIERS
a. CRIPPLING ANY IMMEDIATE AMERICAN COUNTEROFFENSIVE
b. WOULD TAKE US A YR BEFORE COULD REBUILD THEIR FLEET & GAIN
MOMENTUM
6. WESTERN COASTLINE GOT DEFENSE SYSTEM
7. INCLUDINGINTERNMENT CAMPS OF JAPANESE
a. LIVING ON WEST COAST FORCED TO ENTER THEM
C. BELLIGERENTS NOW IN WAR
1. AXIS
a. GERMANY
b. ITALY
c. JAPAN
d. HUNGARY, RUMANIA, BULGARIA, FINLAND
2. ALLIES
a. UNITED KINGDOM & BRITISH COMMONWEALTH (AUSTRALIA, CANADA, INDIA)
b. SOVIET UNION, US, FRANCE, BELGIUM, NETHERLANDS, DENMARK, NORWAY,
GREECE, YUGOSLAVIA, POLAND, CHINA & 29 OTHER COUNTRIES
10
D. JAPANESE BLITZKRIEG
1. WEEK BY WEEK JAPAN SUCCESSFULLY CAPTURED ISLANDS & ALLY HOLDINGS
IN PACIFIC
a. GUAM DEC 13
b. WAKE ISLAND DEC 20 - 1 WK LATER
c. HONG KONG DEC 25 - LESS THAN WEEK
2. FALL OF GREAT BRITAIN'S SINGAPORE
3. CONQUEST OF PHILIPPINES 1942
4. CONQUEST OF NETHERLANDS EAST INDIES JAN-MAR 1942
5. CONQUEST OF BURMA BY MAY 1942
6. & WERE THREATENING INDIA
7. LATER BOMBED ALASKA & SHELLED OREGON COAST OF US
V. DEFEAT OF AXIS POWERS
A. RUSSIAN COUNTER-OFFENSIVES
1. RUSSIAN SUMMER CAMPAIGN & WINTER OFFENSIVE OF 1943-44
a. RUSSIANS NOW HAD COMPLETE SUPERIORITY
(1) MEN, PLANES & TANKS
b. RUSSIANS PUSHED GERMANS OUT OF RUSSIA
c. BY AUG 1944 REACHED BORDERS OF EAST PRUSSIA
d. KNOCKED RUMANIA OUT OF WAR AUG 1944
e. KNOCKED BULGARIA & FINLAND OUT OF WAR IN SEPT 1944
2. RUSSIANS CONTINUED ON OFFENSIVE W/FINAL DRIVES INTO GERMANY IN JAN
1945
3. BY FEB WERE COMPLETELY VICTORIOUS IN BALKANS & IN BALTIC REGIONS
B. COLLAPSE OF ITALY 1943-4
1. AMERICAN LED FORCES INVADED SICILY JULY 1943
2. SICILY & S. ITALY CONQUERED
3. NORTHERN ITALY RESISTED W/AID GERMANY UNTIL FINAL COLLAPSE OF
GERMANY
4. MUSSOLINI EXECUTED APRIL 1945
C. OPERATION OVERLORD = D-DAY
1. GEN DWIGHT EISENHOWER
a. SUPREME COMMANDER OF ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN WESTERN
EUROPE JAN 1944
2. D-DAY - JUN 6, 1944
a. INVASION OF NORMANDY IN FRANCE
3. LARGEST AMPHIBIOUS OPERATION IN HISTORY
a. HALF A MILLION MEN LANDED ON BEACHES OF NORMANDY
b. 4000 INVASION CRAFT
c. 600 WARSHIPS
d. 11,000 PLANES
4. BROKE GERMAN DEFENSES & LIBERATED PARIS BY END AUGUST &
5. BRUSSELS AT BEGINNING OF SEPT.
6. W/IN WEEK GERMANS SENT SMALL PILOTLESS PLANES LOADED W/EXPLOSIVES
TO STRIKE LONDON
a. V-1 FOR VERGELTUNGSWAFFEN OR REVENGE WEAPON
b. 6000 KILLED
7. WITHIN SEVERAL MONTHS A MORE POWERFUL ROCKET LAUNCHED AT LONDON
AS WELL
8. V-2 ROCKET
a. 1ST LONG-RANGE GUIDED MISSILE
11
b. VELOCITY 3500 MPH
9. V-2 ROCKETS BOMBED LONDON FOR 7 MORE MONTHS
10. THIS "NEW BLITZ" KILLED SOME 2800 LONDONERS
D. FINAL DEFEAT OF GERMANY
1. BATTLE OF BULGE - DEC 16-26 1944
a. HITLER'S LAST MAJOR OFFENSIVE
b. SURPRISE ATTACK BY GERMANS
c. GERMANS ADVANCED 50 MILES
d. ALMOST SUCCEEDED BUT STOPPED BY FIERCE AMERICAN RESISTANCE
2. 4 MORE MONTHS WAS ALL IT WAS TO TAKE TO END WAR W/GERMANY
3. RUSSIANS FROM EAST & US & BRITISH FROM WEST
4. RUSSIA ARRIVES BERLIN 1ST
5. HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE ON APRIL 30
6. GERMAN ARMY SURRENDERS ON MAY 7
7. V-E-DAY ON MAY 8, 1945
a. OFFICIALLY PROCLAIMED BY PRESIDENT TRUMAN & PRIME MINISTER
CHURCHILL
E. DEFEAT OF JAPAN
1. GEN DOUGLAS MACARTHUR MADE SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER SW PACIFIC
MAR 1942
2. BATTLES OF CORAL SEA & MIDWAY
3. LIKE BATTLES OF BRITAIN & STALINGRAD, MAJOR TURNING POINTS IN WAR
4. THESE BATTLES KEPT JAPAN FROM CAPTURING AUSTRALIA & THE HAWAIIAN
ISLANDS
5. IF JAPAN HAD BEEN SUCCESSFUL WOULD HAVE DEPRIVED U.S. OF BASES TO
LAUNCH COUNTER-ATTACKS
6. SERIES OF BATTLES FROM 1942 THAT TOOK BACK AREA FROM JAPAN
7. NOT EVEN THE KAMIKAZE a. THE SUICIDE PILOTS
b. WHO CALLED THEMSELVES MEN OF THE DIVINE WIND
c. COULD HALT APPROACH OF AMERICAN NAVAL FORCES
8. TRUMAN DECIDED TO USE BOMB AS WAY TO SHORTEN WAR
9. SECRETARY OF WAR HENRY STIMSON WROTE ABOUT WHY BOMB USED
10. SAID JAPAN STILL HAD 5 MILLION ARMY & 5000 KAMIKAZE PILOTS LEFT
11. WE HAD 5 MILLION MEN TOO & ESTIMATED THAT WOULD WAR WOULD LAST
UNTIL END OF 1946
12. & COST AT LEAST 1 MILLION U.S. LIVES
13. & MORE OF OUR ALLIES
14. BUT ALSO TO BE A PSYCHOLOGICAL WEAPON AS
15. WE HAD ALREADY LAUNCHED FIRST GREAT INCENDIARY RAID ON TOKYO AREA
16. & MORE DAMAGE & CASUALTIES INFLICTED THAN W/HIROSHIMA
17. BUILT BY TEAM OF SCIENTISTS AT LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO
a. $3 BILLION HAD BEEN SPENT ON PROJECT
18. ATOMIC BOMB ON HIROSHIMA AUG 6
a. HIROSHIMA MILITARY CENTER & HEADQUARTERS OF JAPANESE ARMY
DEFENDING S. JAPAN
b. PLANE - ENOLA GAY
(1) BY SPREADING OF BOMB DOORS 43 SECONDS LATER HIROSHIMA GONE
c. OVER 60% OF CITY COMPLETELY OBLITERATED
d. AT LEAST 70,000 CIVILIANS OUT OF 200,000 RESIDENTS KILLED OUTRIGHT
e. 100,000 INJURED -
12
f. 40,000- 130,000 DIED WITHIN WEEKS OF RADIATION POISONING
19. NAGASAKI AUG 9, 1945
a. GREAT INDUSTRIAL CENTER AS WELL AS MAJOR NAVAL SEAPORT
b. RESULTS ALMOST AS APPALLING
20. PILOT OF ENOLA GAY COULD NOT HANDLE WHAT HAD OCCURRED &
EVENTUALLY COMMITTED SUICIDE
21. SOVIET UNION DECLARED WAR ON JAPAN & BEGAN INVASION OF MANCHURIA
AUGUST 8, 1945
22. & JAPANESE EMPEROR HIROHITO FORCED JAPAN TO SURRENDER
a. LAST YEAR DIED & STATE FUNERAL OF GRANDEUR
b. FJ-DAY OFFICIALLY PROCLAIMED ON AUG 15, AFTER JAPANESE ACCEPTANCE
OF TERMS OF SURRENDER W/RIGHT TO KEEP EMPEROR
VI. ROLE OF WOMEN IN WORLD WAR II
A. GENERAL REMARKS
1. WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN WAR EFFORT GREATER WWII THAN WWI
2. NOT ONLY WORKING IN FACTORIES & CIVIL DEFENSE
3. BUT WOMEN IN RUSSIA REPLACED VIRTUALLY ALL MEN IN AGRICULTURE
a. & BY END OF WAR COMPRISED MAJORITY OF ALL INDUSTRIAL WORKERS
4. GREAT BRITAIN & SOVIET UNION ACTUALLY DRAFTED WOMEN
5. WHILE GERMANY & ITALY DID NOT
6. & SOME HISTORIANS CLAIM THAT ALLIES ULTIMATE VICTORY MAY BE DUE IN
PART TO THEIR USE OF WOMENPOWER
B. GREAT BRITAIN
1. GOVT REGISTERED ALL WOMEN BETWEEN 18-50
2. FROM 1941 DRAFTED SINGLE WOMEN BETWEEN 20-30
a. GIVING THEM CHOICE OF WAR WORK OR MILITARY SERVICE
3. BY 1943 90% OF SINGLE WOMEN BETWEEN 18-40 WORKED IN INDUSTRY OR
ARMED FORCES
4. AS DID 80% OF MARRIED WOMEN OF SAME AGE
5. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT A WOMAN WHO LOCATED APPROACHING GERMAN
BOMBERS
6. & DIRECTED ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS ONTO THEM WERE WOMEN
7. BUT WOMEN NOT ALLOWED TO PULL THE TRIGGER OF THE GUNS
C. IN RUSSIA
1. RUSSIAN WOMEN ACTUALLY SERVED IN COMBAT
2. THOUSANDS OF RUSSIAN WOMEN SERVED IN ARTILLERY & TANK UNITS & AIR
FORCE
a. 1 BOMBER REGIMENT COMPOSED ENTIRELY OF WOMEN PILOTS
3. 1 OF MOST FAMOUS AIRWOMEN WAS LILY LITVAK
a. BECAME CHIEF SOVIET FEMALE ACE
b. BARELY OVER 5' TALL
c. SHE SHOT DOWN 12 GERMAN PLANES &
d. BECAME KNOW AS "WHITE ROSE OF STALINGRAD"
e. HER LAST LETTER TO HER MOTHER BEFORE SHE WAS KILLED, SPOKE OF HOW
THE WAR HAD CONSUMED HER:
(1) BATTLE HAS SWALLOWED ME COMPLETELY. I CAN'T SEEM TO THINK OF
ANYTHING BUT THE FIGHTING...I LOVE MY COUNTRY AND YOU, MY
DEAREST MOTHER, MORE THAN ANYTHING. I'M BURNING TO CHASE THE
GERMANS FROM OUR COUNTRY SO THAT WE CAN LIVE A HAPPY NORMAL
LIFE TOGETHER AGAIN."
13
4. DURING FIGHT FOR STALINGRAD WOMEN FOUGHT ALONGSIDE MEN IN
CERTAIN AREAS
5. OVER 100,000 SOVIET WOMEN WON MILITARY HONORS
6. 86 WON COVETED RANK OF
a. A "HERO OF THE SOVIET UNION"
(1) RUSSIA'S HIGHEST AWARD
D. WOMEN IN RESISTANCE MOVEMENT
1. SOME OF GREATEST NAMES IN VARIOUS RESISTANCE MOVEMENTS IN OCCUPIED
COUNTRIES WERE WOMEN
2. IN FRANCE 1 OF MOST ACTIVE WAS MARIE MADELEINE FOURCADE
3. WAS 30 YRS OLD WHEN ASKED TO ORGANIZE UNDERGROUND SIDE OF AN
INTELLIGENCE NETWORK IN FRANCE 1940
a. I'M ONLY A WOMEN WHO WILL OBEY AND FOLLOW ME?
b. THAT'S A GOOD REASON TO USE YOU HE REPLIED
c. WHO WOULD SUSPECT A WOMAN?
4. SHE FOUND HER SEX ENABLED HER TO ESCAPE SUSPICION IN A WORLD STILL
CONSIDERED WOMEN PASSIVE & SUBORDINATE
5. FOR 4 YRS SHE ORGANIZED & DIRECTED 1 OF THE LARGEST & MOST SUCCESSFUL
RESISTANCE ORGANIZATIONS IN WESTERN EUROPE
a. PASSING INVALUABLE INFORMATION
b. AS WELL AS HUNDREDS OF BRITISH & AMERICAN PILOTS DOWNED IN FRANCE
ACROSS TO ENGLAND
6. & BECAME KNOWN AS "HEDGEHOG"
7. WHEN CAPTURED BY GERMANS SHE ESCAPED & USED HER SEX, DISGUISED AS
AN OLD PEASANT WOMEN GLEANING IN THE FIELDS
VII. DEATH & DESTRUCTION - CASUALTIES FROM WORLD WAR I
A. HOLOCAUST
1. HITLER HAD SPECIAL PLANS FOR JEWS
2. HE MEANT TO MAKE ALL OF EUROPE FREE OF JEWS
3. FOR TIME HE THOUGHT OF SENDING THEM TO ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR OFF
COAST OF AFRICA BUT
4. LATER ARRIVE AT FINAL SOLUTION = EXTERMINATION
5. GOEBBELS NOTED IN HIS DIARY IN 1945
a. ITS NECESSARY TO EXTERMINATE THESE JEWS LIKE RATS, ONCE AND FOR
ALL
6. EXTERMINATION CAMPS SET UP IN GER & POLAND
a. BELSEN, BUCHENWALD, DACHAU, AUSCHWITZ, ETC.
b. EVEN MOBILE KILLING OPERATIONS THAT MOVED W/THE ARMIES
7. FINAL SOLUTION BEGAN 1942
8. ONLY DENMARK'S JEWS ESCAPED NAZIS
a. DANES HELPED 8000 FELLOW JEWS ESCAPE RIGHT BEFORE NAZIS ENTERED
DENMARK
b. DANES HID JEWS IN COUNTRYSIDE UNTIL GREAT VOLUNTARY FLEET OF
FISHING, SAILING & ROW BOATS
c. EVACUATED JEWS TO SWEDEN
9. IN GERMANY & POLAND VICTIMS TAKEN BY FORCE OR DECEPTION TO SHOWER
ROOMS WHICH ACTUALLY WERE GAS CHAMBERS
10. THAT HAD BEEN PERFECTED IN EXECUTION OF 70,000 MENTALLY ILL GERMANS
BETWEEN 1938-41
11. FOR 15-20 MINUTES CAME TERRIBLE SCREAMS, & GASPING SOBS OF PEOPLE
CHOKING TO DEATH ON POISON GAS
14
12. GOLD FILLED TEETH PULLED FROM THEIR JAWS & HAIR CUT OFF FOR USE IN
CHAIR STUFFINGS & FELT SLIPPERS
13. BODIES CREMATED OR SOMETIMES BOILED FOR OIL TO MAKE SOAP
14. WHILE BONES CRUSHED TO PRODUCE FERTILIZERS
15. MORE THAN 3 MILLION PUT TO DEATH AT AUSCHWITZ ALONE
a. MORE THAN 2000 PEOPLE AT TIME COULD BE GASSED IN 20 MINUTES
16. MILLIONS MORE DIED FROM STARVATION ON DIETS AVERAGING 600-700
CALORIES A DAY
17. TORTURE, MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION ALL CLAIMED LARGE TOLL TOO
18. FEW OF THE MORE THAN 3 MILLION POLISH JEWS SURVIVED THE WAR
19. SIMILAR DEVASTATION OCCURRED AMONG RUMANIAN JEWRY
20. BEFORE WAR OVER 6 M JEWS DIED IN WHAT HAS BECOME KNOWN AS THE
HOLOCAUST
21. ABOUT 1 MILLION REMAINED ALIVE, MOSTLY IN HORRIBLE CONDITION
22. HITLER HAD ELIMINATED OVER 1/3 OF THE WORLD'S JEWISH POPULATION
23. & 2/3 OF EUROPE'S JEWS
B. SLAUGHTER OF OTHERS
1. HEINRICH HIMMLER, HEAD OF HITLER'S SS HAD PLANNED ELIMINATION OF 30
MILLION SLAVS TO MAKE ROOM FOR GERMANS
2. BUT MANAGED TO ONLY KILL 6 MILLION BY WAR END
a. INCLUDING GYPSIES, & HOMOSEXUALS
b. & POLISH INTELLECTUALS & PRIESTS
3. PEOPLE WERE FORCED TO DIG GIANT PITS
4. WHICH BECAME MASS GRAVES AS VICTIMS LINED UP ON EDGE & MOWED DOWN
BY MACHINE GUNS
C. SUMMARY OF HUMAN COSTS OF WAR
1. CASUALTIES
a. TOTAL MILITARY & CIVILIAN DEAD = 50 MILLION
b. WWI - 1/20 OR 5% OF CASUALTIES CIVILIAN
c. WWII -1/2 TO 2/3 OF CASUALTIES CIVILIAN
2. COUNTRY W/GREATEST LOSSES RUSSIA
a. LATEST FIGURES 26 MILLION KILLED
b. 1/3 SOLDIERS & 2/3 CIVILIANS
c. SO MANY RUSSIANS HAD BEEN TRANSPORTED TO GERMANY AS SLAVE
LABOR
d. FOUR OUT OF FIVE DID NOT SURVIVE WAR
3. POLAND LOST 22% OF HER POPULATION
a. 300,000 SOLDIERS
b. 5-8 MILLION CIVILIANS
4. WHEN STALIN'S ARMIES CONQUERED POLAND AND ENTERED GERMANY THEY
RAPED, PILLAGED & DEPORTED MILLIONS TO THE EAST
5. GERMANY LOST 6 MILLION IN THE MILITARY
a. 600,000 OF THEM CIVILIANS
6. GREAT BRITAIN
a. 300,000 MILITARY
b. 100,000 CIVILIANS
7. JAPAN 2 MILLION MILITARY
8. SS KILLED 14 MILLION
a. 6 M JEWS
9. DIRECT & INDIRECT MONETARY COSTS OF WAR
a. 4 TRILLION DOLLARS
15
VIII. OTHER CONCLUDING REMARKS
A. POLITICAL COSTS OF WAR
1. WAR ENDED EUROPE'S HEGEMONY THAT HAD ENDURED SINCE MIDDLE AGES
2. EUROPE WAS DIVIDED & IN RUINS
3. FROM THE CARNAGE & DESTRUCTION ONLY 2 MAJOR POWERS EMERGED
a. US AND SOVIET UNION
4. WHO WOULD SOON BE PITTED AGAINST EACH OTHER IN A COLD WAR STRUGGLE
5. WHICH HUMANITY FEARED WOULD RESULT IN YET A THIRD WORLD WAR.
B. OTHER LEGACIES FROM WORLD WAR II
1. BALL-POINT PEN
a. DEVELOPED WHEN FOUNTAIN PENS PROVED IMPRACTICAL FOR USE DURING
HIGH-ALTITUDE FLYING
2. INVENTIONS OF
a. JET ENGINE, MICROWAVE OVEN, TAPE RECORDER, SULFA DRUGS & RADAR
3. POLISH CHILDREN TODAY PLAY "NAZIS & THE RESISTANCE" THE WAY
AMERICANS PLAY COWBOY & INDIANS