-
Nazis Take the Sudetenland (Continued...)
• Why did it happen? Hitler wanted Sudetenland (territory), which belonged to Czechoslovakia.
• Effects/ Outcomes: Germany gained Sudetenland, and promised not to make any further territorial demands in Europe... -
Nazis Take the Sudetenland
In September 1938, Hitler threatened to invade Czechoslovakia unless Britain supported Germany's plans to take over the Sudetenland. After discussing the issue, the British prime minister informed Hitler that his plans were unacceptable. Adolf Hitler was in a difficult situation. Benito Mussolini suggested to Hitler that he should hold a conference of Germany, Britain, France and Italy would solve the problem. They agreed that Germany could have the Sudetenland, by signing the Munich Agreement. -
Ribbentrop/ Molotov Pact (Continued...)
• Why did it happen? By signing this agreement, Germany had protected itself from having to fight a two-front war in the upcoming World War II. The Soviet Union was awarded land, including parts of Poland and the Baltic States.
• Effects/ Outcomes: The Nazis attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, and the Soviets stayed back and watched. Two days later, World War II had begun when Britain declared war on Germany. The Nazis avoided a two front war since Russia didn’t join. -
Ribbentrop/ Molotov Pact
• What Happened? On August 23, 1939, representatives from Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union met and signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (Ribbentrop/ Molotov Pact), which assured that the two countries would not attack each other. The pact was broken two years later (1941), when the Nazis attacked the Soviet Union. -
Germany's Invasion of Poland
• What Happened? On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. After substantial bombing and shooting, Warsaw surrendered.
• Why did it happen? Hitler wanted more land, especially in the east.
• Effects/ Outcomes: It basically started World War II, because Britain and France declared war. -
German Blitzkrieg
• What Happened? Germany used Blitzkrieg starting on September 1, 1939, and ending in April of 1940. They used this tactic against Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. Tanks, air strikes (planes), bombs, and artillery shootings were all used in this strategy.
• Why did it happen? Germany wanted to avoid a long war so they used a military tactic called “Blitzkrieg” (lightning war).
• Effects/ Outcomes: Germany was able to conquer many countries in a short period of time -
Battle of Britain (Continued...)
• Why did it happen? Germany had one major enemy left in Western Europe (Great Britain). They predicted that they could quickly conquer Great Britain; by first gaining control over airspace and then later sending in ground troops.
• Effects/ Outcomes: The British had been victorious in this battle. This was also the first time Germany had been defeated in WWII, and prevented Germany from invading Britain. -
Battle of Britain
• What Happened? The Battle of Britain was an intense air battle between the Germans and the British. The intense fighting took place from July 1940 to October 1940, happening over Great Britain. Bombs were dropped by the Germans, in hope of defeating British spirits/ optimism. -
Nazi Invasion of the Soviet Union
• What Happened? Starting on May 1, 1941, Germany first invaded Russia, fighting multiple times before conquering some cities. The Germans planned a ‘Typhoon’ to take control of the capital, but were moving slowly and ordered a regroup.
• Why did it happen? Hitler wanted to gain more living space for the Germans in the Soviet Union.
• Effects/ Outcomes: When Germany regrouped, the Soviet Union gained reinforcements, causing a counter attack, and allowing the Russians to push the Germans back. -
Pearl Harbor
• What Happened? On December 7, 1941 (in the morning), Japan attacked the United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. After just two hours of bombing (from the air) more than 2,400 Americans were dead, over 1,000 were wounded, 21 ships were sunk/ damaged, and more than 188 U.S. airplanes were destroyed. -
Pearl Harbor (Continued...)
• Why did it happen? Japan was tired of negotiations with America. They wanted to continue expanding, but the United States placed and embargo on them to restrict them from doing this. Angered, they planned a surprise attack on the U.S. (Pearl Harbor).
• Effects/ Outcomes: The attack on Pearl Harbor angered so many Americans that the U.S. left its policy of isolationism and declared war on Japan. This brought the United States into World War II. -
Wannsee Conference
• What Happened? On January 20, 1942, the Wannsee Conference took place in the Wannsee Villa between 15 men. They discussed the “Final Solution of the Jewish Problem,” and how they would go about getting rid of roughly 11 million Jews in Europe.
• Why did it happen? Hitler blamed Jews for all of the problems going on. His hatred was very strong, and he had to decide what he wanted to do with them.
• Effects/ Outcomes: It led to the Holocaust (‘extermination’ of Jews in Europe). -
Allied Invasion of Africa (Continued...)
• Effects/ Outcomes: The Allies had many casualties. Invading Africa kept Germany’s expansion limited to Europe. It also gave the Allies a good place to start when moving into Italy. -
Allied Invasion of Africa
• What Happened? Starting on November 8, 1942, France and the United States made an agreement that the U.S. would land in North Africa and France couldn’t interfere. The U.S. was out matched, but called for Allied reinforcements, and finally pushed back the Italians and Germans - forcing them to retreat.
• Why did it happen? The United States were hoping of moving German and Italian forces out of North Africa. It also kept Germany’s expansion contained to Europe. -
Battle of Stalingrad
What Happened? In the winter of 1942-43, Germany attacked the city of Stalingrad, and the Volga River. The city was being turned to rubble, and the Germans were starting to take over. But the Russians began fighting back, and after months of fighting, Germany surrendered.
Why did it happen? Hitler wanted to take over the city of Stalingrad, due to its location on the Volga River (good for imports/ supplies). The Russians fought back because it was the city named after their leader, Josef Stalin. -
Battle of Stalingrad (Continued...)
• Effects/ Outcomes: It was one of the largest and deadliest battles in WWII. It was a turning point in the war. After losing the battle, the German army lost so many soldiers that they never quite recovered. -
Opperation Gomorrah (Continued...)
• Effects/ Outcomes: Operation Gomorrah was a success for the Allies. They destroyed a large percent of Hamburg, leaving it in rubble. It left over 1 million resident’s homeless, and killed 40,000-50,000 people. It also worried Hitler/ the Nazi government that similar attacks could cause them to lose the war. -
Operation Gomorrah
• What Happened? Operation Gomorrah started on July 24, 1943 and continued until August 3rd. It was an aerial bombing that happened over Germany’s city of Hamburg, planned by the Allies.
• Why did it happen? The Allies wanted to capture Germany, and since Hamburg was a major city there, it seemed like the correct place to attack. -
D-Day/ Normandy Invasion (Continued...)
• Why did it happen? Germany had invaded France and was trying to take over all of Europe. But, Britain and the United States decided it was time to stop the Germans, and start attacking.
• Effects/ Outcomes: The Allies gained victory on this battle, and it was another turning point in the war. By June 17th over 500,000 Allied troops had arrived and the Germans began to get pushed out of France. -
D-Day/ Normandy Invasion
• What Happened? On June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces (Britain, America, Canada, and France) attacked the Germans on the coast of Normandy, France. Thousands of planes dropped bombs, and warships bombed the beaches. The main attack involved over 6,000 ships bringing in troops and supplies. With a huge force of over 150,000 soldiers, the Allies attacked. -
Battle of the Bulge
Starting on December 16, 1944 to January of 1945, Germany attacked the Allies using over 200,000 troops and nearly 1,000 tanks. It was winter and the weather was snowy/ cold, and the Americans were not ready for the attack (due to the blitzkrieg tactic). However, German tanks ran out of fuel causing America to get ahead.
• Why did it happen? It was Germany's final attempt to drive the Allies out of Europe.
• Effects/ Outcomes: There were about 89,000 U.S. casualties, but Germany lost the battle. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps (Continued...)
• Why did it happen? Jew were mistreated, beaten, starved, and killed in concentration camps. People found these camps to be inhumane, so they felt the need to liberate them.
• Effects/ Outcomes: Soldiers who liberated the camps were shocked by what they saw, and were traumatized by these camps. They freed the Jews that were still in the camps, but many, many Jews had already died. They continued to liberate many other camps. In addition, these cruel Nazi activities were exposed to the world. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
What Happened? In January of 1945, The Soviets liberated Auschwitz, the biggest concentration camp. Soviet soldiers found a few thousand prisoners alive when they entered the camp (they were starved and extremely skinny) and there was evidence of mass murder. Though the Germans had destroyed most of the buildings, the ones that were still standing were filled with personal belongings (over 14,000 pounds of human hair, hundreds of thousands of men's suits, and more than 800,000 women's outfits). -
VE Day
• What Happened? On May 8th, 1945 Germany officially surrendered to the Allied forces.
• Why did it happen? Germany’s army began to collapse after the death of Hitler.
• Effects/ Outcomes: It was officially the end of World War II in Europe.
