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Hitler's First Saturday Surprise
Reading 1: This occured on a weekend when British Leaders retreated to their country homes, so it was really the perfect time to do it. In the name of "defense," Hitler announced that he was rebuilding the German Air Force, reinstating the draft, and rearming the nation. He assured the world that these were purely "defensive" measures. -
Hitler's Second Saturday Surprise
Reading 1: That day German soldiers marched into the Rhineland as German fighter planes roared overhead. The Treaty of Versailles had set aside the Rhineland, a strip of land thirty-one miles wide, as a buffer between Germany and both France and Belgium. -
Germans agitated for "a return to the Reich."
Reading 4 (Exact date not provided only said that it was in 1938.): In 1938, with secret funding from the Nazis, many of those Germans agitated for "a return to the Reich." By summer, Hitler was openly supporting those demands.The Czechs became worried about keeping their independence so France and Russia were among other nations that promised to help keep the Czechs independence. -
Hitler summons Austrian Prime Minister Kurt von Schuschnigg
Reading 2: Hitler summoned the Austrian Prime Minister to a secret meeting which consisted of 11 hours of threats and insults. At one point, Hitler flew into a rage and screamed that Austria must become a part of "Greater Germany."When the Austrian Prime Minster disagreed Hitler gave him 3 days to change his mind. The Austrian Prime Minister left it up to his people and held a national vote to decide the fate of Austria. -
Germany mitreats the Jews.
Reading 9: On January 30, 1939, six years after he became chancellor of Germany Hitler told the Reichstag that other nations were hypocritcial in their complaints that Germany mistreated the Jews. This faced Hitler and the Reichstag with the task to better hide their treatment towards Jews so that no more news of this happening reached outside of Germany. -
Polish Prisoners Murdered.
Reading 15: On August 31, 1939, the Nazis took agroup of prisoners from a concentration campto Gleiwitz, a town on the Polish border. After being dressed in Polish army uniforms, the prisoners were killed. The next morning, the German army and the SS marched in Poland. They claimed that they were retaliating for a Polish "attack on Gleiwitz." -
Future of Polish Children.
Reading 16 (did not give a specific day in May 1940). : In May 1940, Henrich Himmler plotted the future of Polish children. The non-German population of the East would go to no higher scholl than 4th grade elementary school. Solr purpose was to teach aritmetic, but no numbers above 500. -
France Falls.
Reading 19: By June 22, France had the British fough alone, many conquered nations formed governments-in-exiled in London. Each prepared for the day its people would be free again. -
Germany Invades Russia.
Reading 20: On June 22, 1941, Hitler ordered the invasion of Russia to destroy once and for all the "Jewish-Bolshevik menace." As the German army advanced into what was then the Soviet Union, four SS units known as the Einsatzgruppen followed close behind. -
U.S.A. Declares War on Japan.
Reading 21: On December 8, 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. The day before the Japenese had bombed Pearl Harbor, the United States naval station in Hawaii. Japan and Germany were allies.
