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The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggresion Pact
In 1939, Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression pact, which provided a mutual understanding for the division of Eastern Europe. Germany had interest in Lithuania and western Poland, and the USSR had interest in Eastern Poland, Estonia, Finland, and Latvia. Both governments also agreed to not form any alliances against the other party. -
Invasion of Poland
In mid-September, Germany and the USSR invaded Poland from the east and the west, dividing the country close to the Curzon Line. The USSR also invaded the Baltic republics, with Germany giving up Lithuania in exchange for more of Poland. -
Operation Barbarossa
Going against their pact with the USSR, Germany, with support from Finland and Romania, dispatched 3 million soldiers and 3,300 tanks to cross the Russian borders. The 3 million soldiers consisted of 75% of Germany's army at the time. The attack opened with Blitzkrieg tactics, destroying large parts of the Soviet's air force, followed by ground attacks that cut off Red Army units from supplies and retreat routes. -
Soviets Retook Rostov
In November, 1941, the Germans suffered their first major set-back. The Soviets retook the town of Rostov and launched a major counter-offensive around the Russian capital, Moscow. -
The Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler had became obsessed with the desire to take over the city named after his great adversary. One of the bloodiest battles in history, after Nazi bombings around the city, the Soviets eventually emerged victorious. This was a major victory against Hitler's army, as it proved that the Nazi's were not invincible. -
Soviets retook Kharkov
Following the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviets went on to retake the city of Kharkov. -
The Soviets retook Kiev
Following the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviets retook the modern-day capital of Ukraine, Kiev -
The Yalta Conference
The "Big Three", Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin held a conference seeking to end the war and develop a time of peace. They agreed to divide Austria from Germany, and temporarily split each country into different zones, being under British, America, Soviet, and French control. Yalta was the last conference the three major allies had during the war. They would later meet after the defeat of Germany -
The United Nations
Set up in the San Francisco conference, the UN was composed of five permanent members, China, France, the UK, the USA, and the USSR, and ten temporary members. -
Grego assigns this project 17 days before I leave school forever
Wanting to bring down their motivation even more, Grego forces his students to complete an assignment while watching from above with a clenched first. It is currently Monday morning, exactly a week later, and I am still dreading the inevitable completion of this project -
Unit Questions
1) Why did World War II become global in nature?
A major reason for WWII's global involvement was Hitler's natural aggression. His drive to take over other nations and take down anyone who opposed him brought in many victims and their allies. Just as Germany was allies with Austria, Russia was allies with Serbia, who sparked a conflict. -
Unit Question 2: Question Harder
2) How did World War II impact the war?
As a result of the war, the Great Depression ended and many nations were divided. The European economy, especially Germany's, collapsed. It was also the end of European imperialism and would lead to the Cold War between the USA and the USSR -
Unit Question 3: The Uncreative Title
3) How did World War II reshape political and economic global power structures by 1950?
In Russia specifically, its economy struggled after the war effort. The USSR obtained credits from Britain and Sweden but refused any help from America. The Nazi's made reparations to the Soviet Union and its citizens began reconstruction.