Transcript Germany Dominates Europe

Germany Dominates Europe
Europe 1939-1941
1.Germany Strikes Europe
• Europe feared Hitler would attack Poland first
• 1937 - GB + Fr signed an alliance with Poland to
protect them
• GB + Fr tried to ally themselves with Russia but failed
• Stalin wanted to make a deal with Hitler instead
• 1939 - Hitler and Stalin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact
1. Promised not to fight each other
2. They would divide Poland in ½
• Sep. 1, 1939 - Germany attacked
Poland
• Without help from GB/Fr,
Poland was quickly defeated
• GB/Fr knew only a war would
stop Germany
• Appeasement had failed
• WWII had officially begun
Poland is Divided
2.Germany Looks to the West
• GB+Fr were the main goals
for Germany in the West
• Smaller countries
were in
the way
• First = clear a path
• Denmark - 1 day
• Norway - 6 mo.
Denmark
• Nether. - 4 days
• Belg. – few weeks
• Luxembourg. - ?
(fast)
• France was also
attacked
Netherlands
Norway
Belgium
3.France is Next
• Germany first used the “Blitzkrieg”
on Poland (1939)
• Blitzkrieg = Fast-paced war attacking
with tanks + planes to quickly…
• break through defenses and drive
deep into enemy territory
• May 1940 - France was attacked
by Germany
• Germany hit France with lightning
speed (avoid the trenches of WWI)
• Britain sent troops to help but
were quickly pushed back
• British forces retreated back
to England (Dunkirk)
• France - defeated in 6 weeks
Poland
4. Hitler Enters Paris
• Hitler wanted to punish France
because of the Versailles Treaty
• French Army reduced to 100K
• Country was split in half
• N. France controlled by Germany
• S. France controlled by a proGerman French Gov’t = Vichy
• Forced to Pay reparations
• French soldiers enslaved in
German military factories
• Sep. 1940 – Ger, Italy, and Japan
signed the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis
or Axis Powers
5. Battle of Britain
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Germany wanted to invade GB
Had to get across the English Channel 1st
1st Knock out the Royal Air Force
Ger + British planes dueled in
the skies
British fighters were winning
German planes switched to bombing
British cities
Cities burned, thousands of
people were killed
But Britain held out
Prime Minister Winston Churchill
boosted morale throughout – kept
spirits up
Hitler became frustrated
and impatient
While continuing to bomb GB…
Germany attacked the Soviet Union
6. The Pact is Broken(1941)
• The Pact prevented a 2-Front war
(major problem in WWI)
• Stalin believed Hitler would
never attack him
• But Hitler always wanted to
control the Soviet Union
• Before attacking, wiped out all of
the Balkan countries (Bulgaria,
Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary)
• Took longer than expected
• Attacked Russia 6 weeks later
than planned – ran into winter
• Blitzkrieg broke down (cold weather;
long supply lines)
• Russia survived; 2-Front war was
established (GB+Rus)
1938-1942