Transcript File
Outline of events 1939-45. Connector • Brainstorm everything you know about World War 2 Outcomes • All to independently research the events of World War 2 • All to be able to link the events to rule of Hitler and the Nazi’s • Most to see how foreign policy affected Nazi rule of Germany Big picture • Hitler aimed to make Germany a world power but had various obstacles to overcome • He wanted to create Lebensraum in the east of Europe for Germans to live there as well as take countries natural resources Hitler’s Aims and Ojectives • Get rid of the Treaty of Versailles • Union of German speaking people in Europe- Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania • The creation of Lebensraum- the creation of Nazi racial empire particularly in Poland and get rid of the slavs Early results • March 1935- TofV challenged by the creation of the army and conscription • March 1936- remilitarisation of the Rhineland • March 1938- Anschluss with Austria • Sept 1938- Munich Agreement with Britain, agreeing not to take over anymore countries 1939-41 • Between 1939-41 Germany won a series of stunning victories over Europe, despite Hitler not aiming to be fighting a full scale war until the mid- 1940’s. However they were not destined to fail • Even by 1943 Germany was not destined to defeat and its demise has to be explained Early victories • Poland Sept 1939- defeated in 6 weeks using the Blitzkrieg tactics • Phoney war (until May 1940)- Germany waited to invade the low countries and France • Summer 1940- defeats France, Holland, Belgium, Denmark and Norway • Summer 1940- German fails to win air superiority over Britain, making an invasion impossible against the island nation Why were they successful? • France and Britain failed to support Poland • Germany’s Blitzkrieg tactics allowed rapid advances across Europe • The French tactics were based more on WW1 static defences which could not stop the German armies Operation Barbarossa • In June 1941 Germany invaded Russia, Greece and Yugoslavia, and by November 1941 German soldiers were only miles from Moscow and Leningrad. • However the Russians were surprised by the attack as they had signed a NonAggression Pact in 1939 and were not really prepare. Stalin had also purged the army of its officiers before the war Turning Tide • December 1941- America join the war after Japan bomb Pearl Harbour, Hitler aligning with Japan and declaring war on USA • However the USA had become increasingly involved in the Battle of The Atlantic, trying to defeat the German u-boats destroying the British convoys • By 1942 Germany were still pushing on strongly to the Caucaus oilfields and the Afrika Corp were pushing the British out of Africa Stalingrad and El Alamein • The desparate struggle for Stalingrad in Russia signified the beginning of the end of the Nazi war success. Along with the defeat at El Alalmein in Africa Germany would now be on the retreat. • By the end of 1943 Hitler was now willing to defend his “Fortress Europe” against allied invasion but increasingly he became convinced of his own invincibility and the fact that the USSR would not last in an alliance with Britian and the USA The End of the Reich • D Day June 1944 signalled the end of the war as the USA and Britain pushed across France, Holland and Belgium before finally entering Germany and linking up with the Russians • The Russians managed to capture back their own land and progressed across Germany before entering Berlin in the seach for Hitler • By 1945 much of Germany’s infrastructure had been destroyed by the continuous night time and day time bombing by the allies. Much of the army now consisted of fanatic Nazi’s, old men and young boys forced into fighting, quite often with whatever weapons they could find. • On the 30 April 1945 Hitler committed suicide and the war was over. Activity • Watch the following on Youtube – Episodes of the World At War on Clickview • Draw a timeline of the events of world war 2 and annotate your timeline.