Transcript File

The Events of World War II
1933 Hitler is elected and persecution of Jews begins.
March 1936 Reoccupied the Rhineland
March 1938 Austria taken without firing a shot (Sound of
Music)
Sept 1938 Munich Agreement signed (appeasement giving
Czechoslovakia to Germany).
March 1939 Non Aggression Pact – Hitler signed a nonaggression pact with Russia. This was a secret agreement to
divide Poland between Russia and Germany. Hitler was
interested in reoccupying the Polish Corridor, an area that
had been given away after WWI.
March 1939 Occupied all of Czechoslovakia
Sept 1939 Invaded Poland
Sept 3rd, 1939 Britain and France declare war on Germany
Sept 9th 1939 Canada declares war on Germany.
Ernst Rhom, a good friend of Hitler’s and head of the
Brownshirts (Nazi Army)
• Rhom wants the Nazi Army to replace the regular
army and to “purge” all non-Nazis from the army.
• Regular army eventually hear what Rhom is trying to
do and they demand Hitler take decisive action or they
will withdraw their support.
• Hitler heeds their warning and sets up a plan to get rid
of Rhom – sends him to a spa.
• Late at night, Rhom is hacked to death with machetes
by the Nazi death squads.
• Hitler is clearly willing to do anything, including kill
his friends to maintain power.
Under the direction of the Nazi death squads, enemies of the state were
rounded up and kept prisoner in Concentration Camps.
Civil Service Reconstruction Act of 1933
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Jews were expelled from all government and public institutions.
Conscription Law of 1935
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All Jews are barred from service in the military.
Nuremburg Laws of 1935
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Deprived non-Aryans of full citizenship
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Forbade Jews and Aryans to marry
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Prohibited Aryan domestics in Jewish homes.
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Open sexuality between diverse racial groups was prohibited.
Chrystal Night (Night of Broken Glass) – using crowbars, hammers
and axes they destroyed 267 synagogues, 844 Jewish stores, 171
private home and countless apartments.
In total 91 Jews were murdered and 35000 Jews were arrested and sent
to camps.
Summer 1940
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A massive air strike against British cities,
airfields and industrial areas.
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Designed to cripple and destroy Britain's
fighter planes, factories and morale of the
British people.
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To prepare ground for German invasion of
Britain and to take control of the English
channel by taking down the Royal Air
Force (RAF).
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The British had developed a radar system that
determined distance, direction and speed of
unseen objects and warned them of approaching
enemy aircrafts.
In July and August the outnumbered British
fighter planes waged war overhead.
London and Berlin were bombed by each party
for retaliation.
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Hitler was surprised and
outraged; he abandoned
his assault on the RAF for
daytime bomb raids on
cities.
Gave time for Britain to
regroup – soon obvious
that Germany had failed to
control the English
Channel.
The British became even
more determined to defeat
Hitler and the Nazis.
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During the Battle of Britain, Hitler decided to
postpone his invasion of Britain and turn his
gaze eastward to Russia.
Hitler needed access to the vast reserves of oil,
gas and other natural resources to help feed his
war machine and more living space –
“lebensraum”
Hitler broke the “non-Aggression Pact” with
Russia that had been signed in 1939 and
invaded Russia.
June 22nd 1941 – 3.8 million troops invade –
largest invasion in history of warfare
Germans were initially
successful and in the fall of
1941 the Nazis came within 39
km of Moscow.
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The Germans were defeated by
the “scorched earth” policy – a
Russian tactic of retreating into
the depths of the country but
destroying everything that
could be used by the advancing
army (crops, livestock, supplies
and machinery).
Ultimately it was the bitter cold
of the winter of 1941-42 that
defeated the German army.
Soviet soldiers hoisting the Soviet flag in Berlin
•
In 1940 the US stopped all exports of iron,
steel and other military supplies to Japan to
stop them from expanding into the Pacific.
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Emperor Hirohito of Japan opposed war
with the US but military leaders had
control of the government
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December 7, 1941 Japan launched an air
raid from Japanese aircraft carriers
against the US Naval headquarters at
Pearl Harbour, Hawaii.
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US navy was temporarily crippled – they
only had three aircraft carriers left.
The day after the attack on Pearl
Harbour the US declared war on Japan
Germany and Italy declared war on the
US.
The US was now at war with both Japan
in the Pacific and Germany in Europe.
1942 – Nazi’s continue their brutal march through
Russia – casualties are staggering as Nazi death
squads commit mass murder
Stalin appeals to Allies to open a western front to
divide German forces
Allies plan a “hit and run” operation on the French
town of Dieppe to test Nazi defences
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August 19, 1942
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Convoy of 237 ships reached Dieppe and were met with
a deadly German crossfire of bullets and artillery shells.
No element of surprise – German ships were ready and
the noise from their fire allowed German troops to
prepare and engage by the time the soldiers hit the
beach.
The raid was a disaster!
Canadian troops led the attack and suffered more losses than any
other day of the war.
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901 killed
2000 captured
2211 made it back to England
The country went into mourning.
What did the Allies learn from the raid?
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German defenses formidable
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Intelligence vital to success
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Must have the element of surprise
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Future invasions would have to be massive and well
organized.
Battle of Stalingrad
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Winter of 1943 Russian troops were able to
stop Nazis at Stalingrad.
Vicious fighting in the houses and streets for
control of the city.
Hitler refused to retreat and in the end 330 000
German soldiers were killed or captured.
Russians were able to begin pushing Nazis out
of Russia and Germany begins a long strategic
retreat
Frustrated Hitler takes charge of war in east –
disaster!
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With Soviets making great
progress against Nazi’s in
east, western Allies begin to
worry about a Russian
takeover of Europe
Russian army is now larger
and superior to German
army
July 1943 British, American
& Canadian troops invade
Italy
American General Dwight D.
Eisenhower begins to plan
the invasion of Normandy
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To preserve the element
of surprise the Allies
build a fake military base
across the English
channel from Calais
The real invasion will
come at Normandy
Rubber tanks, empty
barracks &cardboard cut
outs of soldiers marching
are placed on this base
General Patton is driven
around in a jeep to fool
outsiders
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At dawn 130 000 Canadian,
British, and American troops
landed in Normandy, France
to fierce resistance (800
warships and 11 000 aircraft)
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Element of surprise worked –
Hitler believed the invasion
would come at Calais and
refused to move his panzer
divisions to Normandy before
it was too late.
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More than a million allied
troops steadily pushed
German armies out of France
and other parts of Western
Europe
Why was D-Day an important event?
Canadian soldiers preparing to land at Normandy
Feb 1945 – Allied troops began to invade Germany
by crossing the Rhine River.
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Soviet troops advanced toward Germany from the
Eastern Front (2 fronts).
Mussolini – caught by Italian resistance fighters, shot
and hung in the city for all to see.
Hitler – shot himself as Soviet troops entered Berlin
Allies demanded unconditional surrender.
On May 7th 1945 Germany surrendered
unconditionally and the world celebrated V-E Day
Japan Continues to Fight...
August 6th, 1945 Hiroshima
70 000 men, women and
children died immediately
and an additional 20 000
eventually died of burns or
exposure to radiation.
World
War II was the most destructive war
in human history:
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30 million died (compared to 10 million in
WWI)
Technology allowed people to kill each other
quickly and in massive numbers.
Fought on several fronts: Britain, North Africa,
Italy, Eastern Europe, and South East Asia.
Total Casualties of World War 2
France:
United Kingdom:
United States:
Military dead: 217,600 Military dead: 383,800
Military dead: 416,800
Civilian dead: 350,000 Civilian dead: 67,100
Civilian dead: 1,700
Total: 567,600
Total: 450,900
Total: 418,500
Germany:
Soviet Union:
World:
Military: 5,530,000
Military: 10,700,000
Military: 25,487,500
Civilian: 3,150,000
Civilian: 17,700,000
Civilian: 60,207,000
Total: 8,680,000
Total: 28,400,000
Total: 85,694,500