Download Prelude to War -- 1933-1939 - Hatboro

Prelude to War -- 1933-1939
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The Role of Adolf Hitler
o Hitler’s beliefs, as outlined in __________, were clear regarding the superiority of the Germans
as the leading group of Aryans.
Aryan Expansionism
o Hitler’s belief in __________ or “living space” for the Germans was originally espoused by Karl
Haushofer, professor of geography at the University of Munich.
Lebensraum
o The Nazi’s believed that the superior _____ Germans had the right to take land from the inferior
______ and ______ people to the east and south.
o With the Russian Revolution, which the Nazis claimed was a Jewish-Bolshevik led revolt,
leaving Russia weak, the Germans must conquer the land and populate it with German peasants
using Slavic slave labor.
Nazi Germany
German Military Goals
o Hitler’s plans fit well with the imperialist tendencies of the “Prussian ______” military that was
still seething over the humiliation of the defeat of World War I.
o The Nazi’s plans of enslavement and genocide were clearly stated in Mein Kampf and other Nazi
propaganda in the 20s and 30s.
o Although Hitler’s goals were clearly defined, he had no set timetable for achieving them and he
acted often as a political ___________, even if it meant contradicting his plans.
o But throughout the 30s and during the war, he always returned to his plans for an Aryan empire
and the enslavement and ________ against “the inferior peoples.”
The Führer
o Hitler also believed that he was the only one capable of carrying out his plans and the belief that
he was hereditarily predisposed to dying young pushed him to fulfill his mission quickly.
The Diplomatic Revolution
o Between 1933 and 1936, Hitler and Nazi Germany achieved a “__________ __________” in
Europe.
The Versailles Treaty
o The Treat of Versailles left Germany weakened and its territory occupied by foreign forces.
o The Treaty had also limited Germany to a 100,000-man army, a limited navy and no air force.
German Advantages
o German was not without advantages – it had the ______________ population in Europe and a
great and productive industrial capacity.
o Hitler also believed that France and Great Britain were so distraught over the costs of World War
I that they were willing to _________ at almost any price.
The Man of Peace
o Hitler believed he had to convince the leaders of Britain and France that his primary motivation
was to maintain _____ in Europe and that the Treaty of Versailles needed to be revised to make
it fair.
o His actions in the first years he was in office were marked by ________ and the understanding
that he would back down at the first sign of resistance.
The Geneva Disarmament Conference
o In October, 1933, Hitler withdrew Germany from the conference to make a political statement to
the nationalists at home.
o By 1935, he was ready to ________________ of the British and French.
Rearmament
o In March, 1935, Hitler announced that he was ________ Germany.
o The Air Force or _________ was created on March 9 and on the 16th he announced the
reintroduction of universal conscription.
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World Condemnation
o Condemnation by Britain, France and Italy was swift but without consequences.
o Britain then tacitly agreed to German rearmament by signing the Anglo-German Naval Pact in
August.
Anglo-German Naval Pact
o The agreement allowed Germany to ________________ to 35% the size of Britain and allowed
parity in submarines.
Appeasement
o This pact began the policy of appeasement – the belief that giving in to the “__________”
demands of Germany would keep the peace in Europe.
o This policy by Britain was partly motivated by the desire to have a stronger Germany as a
bulwark against ______ expansion in Europe.
Reoccupation of the Rhineland
o On March 7, 1936, Hitler ordered his army to march into the _____ valley – in direct violation of
the Treaty of Versailles.
o The British and French accepted this as another “__________ demand” by Germany.
o Reoccupation of the Rhineland
1935 -- Italy invades ________ -- the League of Nations does nothing.
The Spanish Civil War
o The war in Spain becomes a dress rehearsal for W.W.II
o Fascist leader Francisco ______ leads a revolt against the leftist republican government of the
Loyalists.
o Franco was aided by Nazi Germany and Italy.
o The Loyalists were aided by the ____________.
o Franco, with Germans guns and planes, crushed the Loyalists.
o Death of a Loyalist
1936 -- Rome-Berlin Axis formed.
o The Rome Berlin Axis
The Anti-Comintern Pact
o In November 1936, Germany and Japan conclude the ______________ Pact to maintain a
common front against communism.
Appeasement Continues
o November 1937, British Prime Minister Neville ___________ makes it clear to Hitler that
Britain will accept changes in Central European borders as long as they are achieved peacefully.
The Anschluss
o In 1934, the Italian-allied Fascist, but _________, Chancellor of Austria, Engelbert ________,
was assassinated by pro-German Nazis.
o Under the new chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, the regime drifted on, weakened by internal
rivalries but sustained by promises of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to maintain the status
quo.
o Mussolini’s guarantee lasted only until the ________________ was established in 1936.
o Schuschnigg soon reached an agreement with Adolf Hitler that acknowledged Austria as “a
______ state” and established a Nazi regime.
Crossing into Österreich
o When Schuschnigg called for a plebiscite on Austrian independence in 1938, Hitler demanded
and received his resignation.
o The _________ (annexation) was accomplished when German troops entered Austria on March
12, 1938, and a German Nazi government was formed, headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart.
The Ostmark
o Austria, now called the Ostmark (Eastern March), was divided into seven administrative districts
under the central authority of the German Third Reich.
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The Move on Czechoslovakia
o May 30, 1938 -- Hitler announces to his generals that he will seek to take control of
Czechoslovakia.
o Even at the risk of _________.
o Hitler Explains……...
Annexation of the Sudetenland
o On September 15, Hitler demands the cession of the “______” territories of the Czech border
area of the Sudentenland.
The Sudentenland
o ______ Conference is called to halt German aggression.
The Munich Conference
o On September 29, a conference was called to meet in Munich to discuss the German demands.
o Neither Russia nor the ______ were invited to the meeting.
Appeasement reigns
o Czechoslovakia is sold out at Munich and Germany gets the Sudetenland.
o Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain declares it means “peace in our time”
o Peace in Our Time…...
o To Hitler, the easy appeasement of the Western European nations was seen as a sign of
________.
o On March 15, 1939, German troops simply occupied Bohemia and Moravia, making them a
“____________” of the German Reich.
o Czechs Welcome the Nazis
Slovakia
o Germany also prodded the Slovaks to declare their own independent republic, a clerico-fascist
state headed by a Roman Catholic priest, Father __________ that became a puppet and military
ally of the Reich.
The Danzig Corridor
o Hitler now began to demand that the “free city” of ______ be returned to Germany.
o The western allies began negotiating with Stalin to form an alliance to stop Hitler’s aggression.
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
o August 1939 -- USSR and Germany sign the Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to
________________Secret provisions plan for the division of Eastern Europe into spheres of
influence.
o Hitler and Stalin
The Second World War -- 1939 - 1945
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World War II Begins
o ___________, ____ – “Code Name Weiss” – the 3 million man German army invades Poland the war begins.
o France and Great Britain declare war on Germany three days later.
o In three weeks the German Blitzkrieg defeated the Polish army.
Blitzkrieg
o The “_____________” of the German Werhmacht used armored columns of ______ tanks with
infantry, supported by the Luftwaffe air force.
o On September 28, 1939, Poland surrenders and the Germans and Russians officially
______________between them.
o Poland Falls
The Phony War
o From the fall of Poland until April of 1940 Germany backs off and repositions its troops.
o The period was called the “_________”
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o During this time the British and French moved reinforcements into to place along the _______
____ and on the Belgian – French border.
Invasion of Finland
o On November 30, 1939, the USSR invades Finland with 600,000 troops.
o The Russians are halted by the Finns at the __________ Line.
o The Finns will fight alone against the Soviets until March 13, 1940, when they are forced to
surrender.
o The war losses were 25,000 Finnish dead – _______ Russians.
Phony War Ends
o April, 1940 -- Germany invades ______ and _______.
o May 10, 1940 -- Germany invades _______, Belgium and Luxembourg.
o Panzer divisions led by Erwin ______ pushed south into Belgium, while General __________
Panzers pushed through the Ardennes, flanking the Maginot Line
Dunkirk
o The lightning moves of the German Army pushed the allies back to the _______.
o British forces are barely able to retreat from the continent at _______.
Operation ______
o From May 26th to June 3rd, 861 ships (many of them private craft) evacuated 340,000 British,
French and Belgian soldiers from Dunkirk.
o 243 ships were sunk by the Luftwaffe.
o Waiting on the beach at Dunkirk
Battle of France
o June 5, 1940 – After capturing Dunkirk, Germany launches a full-scale invasion into France.
o Five days later _________ will declare war on Britain and France and invade southern France.
Paris Falls
o Paris is declared an “_________” and on June 14th German forces enter the city and march under
the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysses.
o Nazis March into Paris
o Parisians Welcome the Nazis
The German – French Armistice
o On June 22, the newly formed French government of Henri ______ agrees to an armistice.
o The agreement will be signed in Marshal Foch’s old railway car from World War I.
o Hitler as Tourist
o Britain is all that stands in the way of Fascist control of Western Europe.
Vichy France
o The Germans occupied three-fifths of the country while the south of France was controlled by
the authoritarian puppet regime of Henri Petain from the city of _____.
The Battle of Britain
o Britain was then all that stood in the way of Fascist control of Western Europe.
o On May 10, 1940, Winston _________ replaces Chamberlain as Prime Minister.
Winston Churchill
o “If the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This
was their ___________.'”
Operation ________
o Hitler makes plans for a full-scale amphibious invasion of Britain by September 15, 1940.
o The landing requires that the Germans destroy ___________ support and radar.
Enigma
o The British project _____, using Polish mathematicians, was able to break the German’s Enigma
codes.
o This allowed them to have foreknowledge of the Luftwaffe’s plans for attack.
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The Day of the Eagle
o On August 13, 1940 Germany sent 1485 aircraft to attack Britain.
o 45 were shot down.
o Massive attacks followed for four days.
The British ___
o The Royal Air Force, with great sacrifice, was able to shoot down 367 German planes.
o “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston
Churchill.
British Counter Attack
o Churchill then ordered nighttime _____________ over German cities to destroy their industrial
base.
o To retaliate for the British bombing of Berlin, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to begin bombing
________ instead of military targets.
o This allowed the British to rebuild the RAF.
Battle of Britain
o The failure of the Luftwaffe over England forced Hitler to ________ operation Sea Lion and to
change strategies.
o London Burns…...
The Destroyer Swap
o Churchill negotiated with U.S. president Roosevelt to transfer 50 W.W.I vintage destroyers to
Britain for naval bases extending from Nova Scotia to South America.
o American Destroyers
o The US would soon be aiding the British under the Lend-Lease Act that makes good FDR’s
pledge to make America the “_______ of _________.”
o FDR and Churchill
o America makes an economic declaration of war - eventually totaling $50 billion.
The Mediterranean Strategy
o In October 1940, Hitler began to pursue a strategy to capture the __________ and Middle East
____________Italian failures in Africa and the Balkans led Hitler to send in German troops.
Rommel in Africa
o March 1941, Rommel’s ___________ begins offensive against the British in North Africa.
o The British are forced to retreat into Egypt – ______ is besieged
Balkan Campaign
o The German army invades Yugoslavia and Greece in April.
o Yugoslav capital Belgrade is destroyed by firebombs.
o Yugoslav army surrenders.
Greece Surrenders
o By the end of April, two Greek Armies surrender and British Expeditionary Forces are forced to
evacuate ______.
o Germans enter Athens April 27.
The Thousand Year Reich
o May 4, 1941 -- Hitler proclaims that Britain is doomed and that the German Reich will last for
one thousand years.
Hess Flies to Britain
o In one of the most bizarre incidents in the war, Rudolph ____, the Deputy Führer, makes an
unauthorized solo flight to Scotland to “arrange peace talks.”
o He parachutes down after his plane is hit and is captured.
o After the War Hess was held in _______ Prison until his death by suicide in 1987 – he was 92.
The Blitz Ends
o May 6, 1941 – the last major German air raid hits Birmingham.
Operation “Rhine Crossing”
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o The German Battleship ________ leaves the Baltic to attack Atlantic convoys.
o It will sink the HMS Hood and damage the Prince of Wales.
Sink the Bismarck
o On May 27, the British cruiser Dorsetshire torpedoed and sunk the Bismarck after a 1750-mile
sea chase.
Crete Falls
o By the end of May the island of Crete is captured by the Germans following a massive ________
assault.
o Churchill forced to defend the “Crete Debacle.”
Germany plans for USSR
o Hitler’s plans for a full-scale invasion into the USSR are near fruition.
o He tells his generals that the Soviets are “Not to be considered POWs.”
Operation __________
o On June 22, Germany launches invasion of Russia.
o 3.2 million troops invade over an 1800 mile front in three main thrusts: _________, ______ and
the ________ oil fields.
Russia Holds
o The German armies rapidly pushed the Russian armies backward.
o By November the Germans had captured the Ukraine, were besieging Leningrad and 25 miles
from Moscow.
o And then the Russian ______ set in.
The War in Asia
o Japan’s ambitions led to the war in Asia.
o Japan’s rise to the status of world power had been swift; they defeated China in 1895, Russia in
1905, and took over many of Germany’s eastern and Pacific colonies in WWI.
The Japanese Empire
o By 1933, Japanese Empire included Korea, Formosa, Manchuria, and the Marshall, Caroline, and
Mariana Islands in the Pacific.
Problems in Japan
o By the early 1930s, Japan had many internal tensions.
o Its population exploded from 30 million in 1870 to 80 million by 1937.
o They needed to manufacture heavy industrial goods and textiles to feed its population and pay
for industrial raw goods, but Western nations established tariff barriers to protect their own
economies from depression.
o Japan was devastated, economically and politically
o Japan also experienced slow growth of political democracy with universal male suffrage in 1924
and emergence of mass political parties.
o This growth was stifled by the economic crises.
Rise of Militarism
o The right-wing patriotic societies allied with the army and the navy to push for a program of
expansion at the expense of China and the Soviet Union.
o The navy hoped to make Japan self-sufficient in raw materials by conquering British Malaya and
Dutch East Indies, so they constructed a modern naval fleet.
o After 1936, the armed forces exercised much influence over the government.
Marco Polo Bridge
o War in Asia began in July 1937 when Japanese troops invaded northern China
o At the same time, Japanese naval expansion brought conflict with European imperial powers.
o When the Japanese occupied Indochina in July 1941, the Americans cut off sales of vital scarp
iron and oil to Japan.
Pearl Harbor
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o Then, Japan attacked the American naval fleet in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the US
declared war the next day
o Three days later, Hitler declared war on US.
o This enabled President Roosevelt to overcome American isolationist sentiment and bring US to
European conflict.
o The simultaneous involvement of the US in both the European and Asian theaters made WWII a
truly world war.
The Turning Point of the War (1942-1943)
o When US entered the war, they formed a coalition, the _____ ________, that defeated the Axis
Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan).
o However, Britain, US, and the Soviet Union had to overcome mutual suspicions before they
could be an effective alliance.
o Hitler’s declaration of war on the US made it easy for Americans to accept British and Soviet
contention that the defeat of _______ should be America’s first priority
o The tacit agreement of the three chief Allies to stress _________operations while ignoring
political differences and larger strategic issues made it easier to overcome suspicions, too.
o The Allies agreed to fight until the Axis powers surrendered _______________, and this
cemented the Grand Alliance.
o However, this might have discouraged dissident Germans and Japanese from overthrowing their
government to negotiate peace.
o After the attack and invasion by the Japanese in the Pacific, Hitler and his allies continued the
war in Europe against Britain and Soviet Union.
The War Goes On
o Until the fall of 1942, it appeared that the Germans might still win on the battlefield.
Afrika Corps
o The Afrika Corps under General Erwin Rommel broke through the British defenses in Egypt and
went to __________.
o ___________Germans also had success in the Battle of the North Atlantic.
Russian Offensive
o In the spring of 1942, a renewed German offensive led to the capture of the entire ______, but
this was his last big win.
The Turning Point
o By the fall of 1942, the war turned against the Germans.
El Alamein
o July – November 1942, in North Africa, British forces under Bernard Montgomery halted
Rommel’s troops _____________ and pushed them back.
Operation Torch
o Then, 100,000 British and American forces make an amphibious landing in French
____________.
_________ Pass
o Rommel will counter-attack against inexperienced American tank troops in February 1943 with
10,000 American casualties.
Tunisian Surrender
o By May 1943, over _______ Axis soldiers will surrender in Tunisia – ending the North African
Campaign.
Stalingrad
o On the Eastern front, the turning point of the war was in __________.
o Between November 1942 and February 1943, German troops surrounded and destroyed the city
of Stalingrad in the worst fighting in the war.
Russian Resistance
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o The Soviet Red Army held on to a small “beachhead” on the _____ River and resisted the
German 6th Army.
German Surrender
o By February 1943, the last pockets of German ________ troops are forced to surrender, General
Paulus is captured – 150,000 German casualties.
o By February 1943, German forces in Soviet Union were back to their position in June, 1942.
Russian Dead
o The cost to the Soviets was 750,000 soldiers and _______ civilians.
o Of the over 100,000 German prisoners taken, only 5000 were ever returned to Germany.
War in Asia
o The tide of battle in Asia turned in 1942.
o In the Battle of _________, American naval forces stopped the Japanese advance.
Midway
o At the Battle of ______ Island, they established American naval superiority in the Pacific.
The Last Years of the War
o By the beginning of 1943, the tide of battle had turned against the Axis powers, but it would take
a long time to reach unconditional surrender.
o After capturing Tunisia, the Allies carried the war to Italy, the “_______________” of Europe
o After taking ______, the Allied troops began the mainland invasion of Italy.
o Allies land at _____, Italy meet stiff and bloody German resistance - invasion bogs down
o Meanwhile, after the arrest of Benito Mussolini, a new Italian government offered to surrender to
the Allies.
o However, the Germans liberated Mussolini and set him up as the head of a puppet German state
in northern Italy while German troops occupied much of Italy.
The ______ Line
o The new defensive line at Rome was very effective; Rome didn’t fall until June 1944.
o May 1944 - _____ _______ falls after bombing reduces it to rubble - Gustav Line collapses.
o Allied forces break out of Anzio beachhead begin to move on Rome.
o This wasn’t significant because the ____________ in Western Europe was beginning.
Operation Overlord
o The Allies planned a cross-channel invasion of France from Britain under the direction of
Dwight __________.
D-Day
o The Allies landed five assault divisions on the ________ beaches in history’s greatest naval
invasion
D-DAY
o Within three months, they landed 2 million men and broke through German defensive lines.
o Storming the Beach…..
Paris Liberated
o The allies moved south and east to liberate _____.
o Paris falls after German general refuses Hitler's orders to resist at all costs.
o The Yanks are back
December 1944 - Germany launches a counter-offensive in the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, called the
"Battle of the _____" after the bulge created when center of allied advance retreats.
Battle of the Bulge
o The Battle of the Bulge by the Germans slowed Allied advance, but by March 1945, the Allies
had crossed the _____ River and advanced further into Germany.
1945
o US and Russian troops begin liberating Nazi concentration camps - discover remains of Nazi's
"______________" = genocide of 6,000,000 Jews.
Buchenvald
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o The Allied forces finally moved toward the Elbe River where they linked up with the Soviets.
o Shaking Hands at the Elba
Soviet Invasion
o The Soviets had come a long way since the Battle of Stalingrad.
o They defeated the Germans at the Battle of _____, the greatest tank battle of WWII.
o Soviets began a relentless advance westward into Poland and Germany.
The End for Hitler
o In January 1945, Hitler moved to a bunker under Berlin to direct the final stages of the war.
o In this final political testament, he still blamed the ____ for the war.
o Hitler committed _______ on April 30. German commanders surrendered.
o The war in Europe was over.
o __________September 2, 1945 - Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay.