Prelude to War -- 1933-1939
· The Role of Adolf Hitler
o Hitler’s beliefs, as outlined in ______, were clear regarding the superiority of the Germans as the leading group of Aryans.
· Aryan Expansionism
o Hitler’s belief in ______ or “living space” for the Germans was originally espoused by Karl Haushofer, professor of geography at the University of Munich.
· Lebensraum
o The Nazi’s believed that the superior _____ Germans had the right to take land from the inferior ______and ______ people to the east and south.
o With the Russian Revolution, which the Nazis claimed was a Jewish-Bolshevik led revolt, leaving Russia weak, the Germans must conquer the land and populate it with German peasants using Slavic slave labor.
· Nazi Germany
· German Military Goals
o Hitler’s plans fit well with the imperialist tendencies of the “Prussian ______” military that was still seething over the humiliation of the defeat of World War I.
o The Nazi’s plans of enslavement and genocide were clearly stated in Mein Kampf and other Nazi propaganda in the 20s and 30s.
o Although Hitler’s goals were clearly defined, he had no set timetable for achieving them and he acted often as a political ______, even if it meant contradicting his plans.
o But throughout the 30s and during the war, he always returned to his plans for an Aryan empire and the enslavement and ______ against “the inferior peoples.”
· The Führer
o Hitler also believed that he was the only one capable of carrying out his plans and the belief that he was hereditarily predisposed to dying young pushed him to fulfill his mission quickly.
· The Diplomatic Revolution
o Between 1933 and 1936, Hitler and Nazi Germany achieved a “______” in Europe.
· The Versailles Treaty
o The Treat of Versailles left Germany weakened and its territory occupied by foreign forces.
o The Treaty had also limited Germany to a 100,000-man army, a limited navy and no air force.
· German Advantages
o German was not without advantages – it had the ______ population in Europe and a great and productive industrial capacity.
o Hitler also believed that France and Great Britain were so distraught over the costs of World War I that they were willing to ______ at almost any price.
· The Man of Peace
o Hitler believed he had to convince the leaders of Britain and France that his primary motivation was to maintain _____ in Europe and that the Treaty of Versailles needed to be revised to make it fair.
o His actions in the first years he was in office were marked by ______ and the understanding that he would back down at the first sign of resistance.
· The Geneva Disarmament Conference
o In October, 1933, Hitler withdrew Germany from the conference to make a political statement to the nationalists at home.
o By 1935, he was ready to ______ of the British and French.
· Rearmament
o In March, 1935, Hitler announced that he was ______ Germany.
o The Air Force or ______ was created on March 9 and on the 16th he announced the reintroduction of universal conscription.
· World Condemnation
o Condemnation by Britain, France and Italy was swift but without consequences.
o Britain then tacitly agreed to German rearmament by signing the Anglo-German Naval Pact in August.
· Anglo-German Naval Pact
o The agreement allowed Germany to ______ to 35% the size of Britain and allowed parity in submarines.
· Appeasement
o This pact began the policy of appeasement – the belief that giving in to the “______” demands of Germany would keep the peace in Europe.
o This policy by Britain was partly motivated by the desire to have a stronger Germany as a bulwark against ______ expansion in Europe.
· Reoccupation of the Rhineland
o On March 7, 1936, Hitler ordered his army to march into the _____ valley – in direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
o The British and French accepted this as another “______ demand” by Germany.
o Reoccupation of the Rhineland
· 1935 -- Italy invades ______ -- the League of Nations does nothing.
· The Spanish Civil War
o The war in Spain becomes a dress rehearsal for W.W.II
o Fascist leader Francisco ______ leads a revolt against the leftist republican government of the Loyalists.
o Franco was aided by Nazi Germany and Italy.
o The Loyalists were aided by the ______.
o Franco, with Germans guns and planes, crushed the Loyalists.
o Death of a Loyalist
· 1936 -- Rome-Berlin Axis formed.
o The Rome Berlin Axis
· The Anti-Comintern Pact
o In November 1936, Germany and Japan conclude the ______ Pact to maintain a common front against communism.
· Appeasement Continues
o November 1937, British Prime Minister Neville ______ makes it clear to Hitler that Britain will accept changes in Central European borders as long as they are achieved peacefully.
· The Anschluss
o In 1934, the Italian-allied Fascist, but ______, Chancellor of Austria, Engelbert ______, was assassinated by pro-German Nazis.
o Under the new chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, the regime drifted on, weakened by internal rivalries but sustained by promises of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to maintain the status quo.
o Mussolini’s guarantee lasted only until the ______ was established in 1936.
o Schuschnigg soon reached an agreement with Adolf Hitler that acknowledged Austria as “a ______ state” and established a Nazi regime.
· Crossing into Österreich
o When Schuschnigg called for a plebiscite on Austrian independence in 1938, Hitler demanded and received his resignation.
o The ______ (annexation) was accomplished when German troops entered Austria on March 12, 1938, and a German Nazi government was formed, headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart.
· The Ostmark
o Austria, now called the Ostmark (Eastern March), was divided into seven administrative districts under the central authority of the German Third Reich.
· The Move on Czechoslovakia
o May 30, 1938 -- Hitler announces to his generals that he will seek to take control of Czechoslovakia.
o Even at the risk of ______.
o Hitler Explains……...
· Annexation of the Sudetenland
o On September 15, Hitler demands the cession of the “______” territories of the Czech border area of the Sudentenland.
· The Sudentenland
o ______ Conference is called to halt German aggression.
· The Munich Conference
o On September 29, a conference was called to meet in Munich to discuss the German demands.
o Neither Russia nor the ______ were invited to the meeting.
· Appeasement reigns
o Czechoslovakia is sold out at Munich and Germany gets the Sudetenland.
o Neville Chamberlain of Great Britain declares it means “peace in our time”
o Peace in Our Time…...
o To Hitler, the easy appeasement of the Western European nations was seen as a sign of ______.
o On March 15, 1939, German troops simply occupied Bohemia and Moravia, making them a “______” of the German Reich.
o Czechs Welcome the Nazis
· Slovakia
o Germany also prodded the Slovaks to declare their own independent republic, a clerico-fascist state headed by a Roman Catholic priest, Father ______ that became a puppet and military ally of the Reich.
· The Danzig Corridor
o Hitler now began to demand that the “free city” of ______ be returned to Germany.
o The western allies began negotiating with Stalin to form an alliance to stop Hitler’s aggression.
· Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
o August 1939 -- USSR and Germany sign the Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to ______Secret provisions plan for the division of Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.
o Hitler and Stalin
The Second World War -- 1939 - 1945
· World War II Begins
o ______, ____ – “Code Name Weiss” – the 3 million man German army invades Poland - the war begins.
o France and Great Britain declare war on Germany three days later.
o In three weeks the German Blitzkrieg defeated the Polish army.
· Blitzkrieg
o The “______” of the German Werhmacht used armored columns of ______ tanks with infantry, supported by the Luftwaffe air force.
o On September 28, 1939, Poland surrenders and the Germans and Russians officially ______between them.
o Poland Falls
· The Phony War
o From the fall of Poland until April of 1940 Germany backs off and repositions its troops.
o The period was called the “______”
o During this time the British and French moved reinforcements into to place along the ______ and on the Belgian – French border.
· Invasion of Finland
o On November 30, 1939, the USSR invades Finland with 600,000 troops.
o The Russians are halted by the Finns at the ______ Line.
o The Finns will fight alone against the Soviets until March 13, 1940, when they are forced to surrender.
o The war losses were 25,000 Finnish dead – ______ Russians.
· Phony War Ends
o April, 1940 -- Germany invades ______and ______.
o May 10, 1940 -- Germany invades ______, Belgium and Luxembourg.
o Panzer divisions led by Erwin ______ pushed south into Belgium, while General ______ Panzers pushed through the Ardennes, flanking the Maginot Line
· Dunkirk
o The lightning moves of the German Army pushed the allies back to the ______.
o British forces are barely able to retreat from the continent at ______.
· Operation ______
o From May 26th to June 3rd, 861 ships (many of them private craft) evacuated 340,000 British, French and Belgian soldiers from Dunkirk.
o 243 ships were sunk by the Luftwaffe.
o Waiting on the beach at Dunkirk
· Battle of France
o June 5, 1940 – After capturing Dunkirk, Germany launches a full-scale invasion into France.
o Five days later ______ will declare war on Britain and France and invade southern France.
· Paris Falls
o Paris is declared an “______” and on June 14th German forces enter the city and march under the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs Elysses.
o Nazis March into Paris
o Parisians Welcome the Nazis
· The German – French Armistice
o On June 22, the newly formed French government of Henri ______ agrees to an armistice.
o The agreement will be signed in Marshal Foch’s old railway car from World War I.
o Hitler as Tourist
o Britain is all that stands in the way of Fascist control of Western Europe.
· Vichy France
o The Germans occupied three-fifths of the country while the south of France was controlled by the authoritarian puppet regime of Henri Petain from the city of _____.
· The Battle of Britain
o Britain was then all that stood in the way of Fascist control of Western Europe.
o On May 10, 1940, Winston ______ replaces Chamberlain as Prime Minister.
· Winston Churchill
o “If the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their ______.'”
· Operation ______
o Hitler makes plans for a full-scale amphibious invasion of Britain by September 15, 1940.
o The landing requires that the Germans destroy ______ support and radar.
· Enigma
o The British project _____, using Polish mathematicians, was able to break the German’s Enigma codes.
o This allowed them to have foreknowledge of the Luftwaffe’s plans for attack.
· The Day of the Eagle
o On August 13, 1940 Germany sent 1485 aircraft to attack Britain.
o 45 were shot down.
o Massive attacks followed for four days.
· The British ___
o The Royal Air Force, with great sacrifice, was able to shoot down 367 German planes.
o “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill.
· British Counter Attack
o Churchill then ordered nighttime ______ over German cities to destroy their industrial base.
o To retaliate for the British bombing of Berlin, Hitler ordered the Luftwaffe to begin bombing ______ instead of military targets.
o This allowed the British to rebuild the RAF.
· Battle of Britain
o The failure of the Luftwaffe over England forced Hitler to ______ operation Sea Lion and to change strategies.
o London Burns…...
· The Destroyer Swap
o Churchill negotiated with U.S. president Roosevelt to transfer 50 W.W.I vintage destroyers to Britain for naval bases extending from Nova Scotia to South America.
o American Destroyers
o The US would soon be aiding the British under the Lend-Lease Act that makes good FDR’s pledge to make America the “______of ______.”
o FDR and Churchill
o America makes an economic declaration of war - eventually totaling $50 billion.
· The Mediterranean Strategy
o In October 1940, Hitler began to pursue a strategy to capture the ______and Middle East ______Italian failures in Africa and the Balkans led Hitler to send in German troops.
· Rommel in Africa
o March 1941, Rommel’s ______ begins offensive against the British in North Africa.
o The British are forced to retreat into Egypt – ______ is besieged
· Balkan Campaign
o The German army invades Yugoslavia and Greece in April.
o Yugoslav capital Belgrade is destroyed by firebombs.
o Yugoslav army surrenders.
· Greece Surrenders
o By the end of April, two Greek Armies surrender and British Expeditionary Forces are forced to evacuate ______.
o Germans enter Athens April 27.
· The Thousand Year Reich
o May 4, 1941 -- Hitler proclaims that Britain is doomed and that the German Reich will last for one thousand years.
· Hess Flies to Britain
o In one of the most bizarre incidents in the war, Rudolph ____, the Deputy Führer, makes an unauthorized solo flight to Scotland to “arrange peace talks.”
o He parachutes down after his plane is hit and is captured.
o After the War Hess was held in ______ Prison until his death by suicide in 1987 – he was 92.
· The Blitz Ends
o May 6, 1941 – the last major German air raid hits Birmingham.
· Operation “Rhine Crossing”
o The German Battleship ______ leaves the Baltic to attack Atlantic convoys.