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War in Europe
Chapter 24 – Section 2
Video(s)
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Awesome Hitler Story
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Are we the bad guys?
Hitler’s Plan
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On November 5th, Hitler called a secret meeting with his
top military advisors – he gave them the first steps in his
plan to establish the “German Empire.”
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1. Absorb Austria into the “Third Reich”
2. Absorb Czechoslovakia
3. Conquer Poland
Hitler thought 1&2 would be easy
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On March 12th, 1938…
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German forces marched into Austria.
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They were welcome with cheers and applause because
the majority of Austria’s population were Germans who
favored unification.
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Hitler then turned his attention to Czechoslovakia
Phase II - Czechoslovakia
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German newspapers begin printing headlines about
“Czech atrocities and abuses” being committed against
German peoples living in Czechoslovakia… Hitler
promises to “protect them.”
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These were lies and propaganda
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France & Great Britain respond by promising to protect
Czechoslovakia
Hitler seizes the Sudetenland
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Hitler invites Neville Chamberlain (Britain) & Edouard
Daladier (France) to meet in Munich (September 1938).
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At this meeting, Hitler promised that this would be his
final act of aggression. Daladier & Chamberlain believe
him and sign The Munich Agreement.
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Hitler seizes the Sudetenland (a portion of
Czechoslovakia) without firing a shot.
The Policy of Appeasement
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Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain’s political rival in
Britain argued that the Munich agreement was a
“shameful policy of appeasement” and that Hitler would
continue his aggressive acts.
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Britain & France had to choose between “war &
dishonor” and they chose dishonor according to
Churchill.
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At this point FDR wrote a letter to Neville Chamberlain
praising his appeasement of Hitler and “preventing all out
war in Czechoslovakia.”
Phase III – Hitler invades Poland
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In 1939, Hitler began his familiar routine. He accused
Poland of abusing the German population living there and
vowed to give him his protection.
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Most of the world thought Hitler was bluffing because…
-This action would create a two front war with
France/Britain on one side & the S.U. on the other.
-This was the same situation that exhausted German
troops in WW1 and no one thought Hitler would be
foolish enough to repeat that mistake
Surprise Deal
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Stalin surprised the world by signing a nonaggression
pact with Hitler – the two countries promised never to
attack one another.
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This was surprising because the two countries were
bitter enemies.
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They also secretly agreed to divide up Poland.
Hitler invades Poland
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Hitler’s first move on September 1st of 1939 was to send
in the Luftwaffe (German air force) to conduct bombing
raids.
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Next, Hitler launched his Blitzkrieg (lightning war)
campaign which utilized new military technology (air
assault & heavy tanks) to launch a surprise attack and
quickly crush the enemy with overwhelming force.
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Two days later, on September 3rd, Britain and France
finally declared war on Germany.
The Phony War
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For the next several months, British & French troops sat
on the “Maginot Line,” a system of fortifications built
along France’s eastern border and they sat staring into
Germany.. Waiting for German advancement.
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On the “Siegfried Line” a few miles away, German troops
sat starring back at them. This stage of Hitler’s plan was
called the “Sitzkrieg” (sitting war) and was meant to offset
the pace of the war and keep his opponents guessing
while German forces reinforced their gains.
Newspapers called this “The Phony War”
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Suddenly on April 9th, 1940…
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Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and
Norway in order to “protect those country’s freedom
and independence.”
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This went against France and Britain’s expectations of an
invasion through Verdun… they thought the “Ardennes”
were impassable.
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The Ardennes are a series of forestlands on the edge of
France.
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This brought an end to the “phony war”
Hitler Crushes France
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The German bypass of Verdun worked – The German
forces attacked Denmark and Norway and brought their
tanks through the Ardennes Forest and into France from
the North.
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From there, they advanced to Paris and successfully
conquered France.
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As soon as Italy saw that France’s defeat was assured –
they invaded from the south.
Watch
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French & British troops flee
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The French & British troops who were bypassed were
now trapped – so they fled by sea across the English
channel.
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Charles de Gaulle set up a government-in-exile in
England.
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Hitler now prepared for an invasion of the British Isles.
The Battle of Britain
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Hitler knew he could not compete with the British navy –
which was the most powerful in the world.
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His plan was to use the luftwaffe to carry out bombing
raids to soften Britain up for a land invasion.
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For two months, German planes carried our air attacks
on London.
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The British used radar to map out German flight patterns
and fought back brilliantly.
“Their finest hour…”
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Listen to Churchill’s speech (a segment of it)
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Choose two of the following perspectives and explain
how you might have felt as….
A British citizen
A British soldier or pilot
A German soldier or pilot
A German citizen
An American citizen
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Victory
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Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) shot down 185 German
planes and lost only 26 of their own.
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A frustrated Hitler called off his invasion of Britain
indefinitely – but still conducted air strikes.
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“Never in the field of human conflict, was so much owed
by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill
The Holocaust
Hitler was influenced by the Eugenics movement and the
writings of Henry Ford – these beliefs led to the
systematic murder of 6 million people (mostly Jews).
*Number is on final
Hitler’s “Solution”
1. Sent Jews/non-Aryans to “ghettos” in Poland
2. Sent them to concentration camps to work, starve, and
conduct torturous scientific experiments
3. Mass murder through firing squads, gas chambers,
starvation, injecting of diseases, furnaces, and other
methods.