Monday- WWII
Germany's WWII Story- 1919-1945
Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer- One People, One Empire, One Leader
Starts at the end of WWI- Treaty of Versailles caused huge inflation at the end of WWI and led into2. Germany was forbi WWII
Hitler wanted to reclaim all of the land lost after WWI
Treaty of Versailles:
- Territorial
- Germany lost land to France, Belgium, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Poland
- Also lost overseas colonies
- Military
- Germany's army reduced to 100,000 men- kept reserves- trained 100,000 men, then released them, then trained 100,000 more
- German army not allowed tanks
- Allowed only 6 capital naval ships and no submarines
- The Rhineland was made into a demilitarized zone (DMZ)
- No German soldier or weapon was allowed into this zone
- The Allies were to keep an army of occupation on the west bank of the Rhine for 15 years
- Financial
- Loss of vital industrial territory would be a severe blow to Germany's economy
- Coal from the Saar and Upper Silesia in particular
- Germany had to pay $33 billion to the Allies (Britain and France)
- General
- 1. Germany had to admit full responsibility for starting the war. Clause 231- the infamous "War Guilt Clause".
- 2. Germany was forbidden to unite with Austria- Austrians are ethenic Germans
- 3. A League of Nations was set up to keep world peace
German Reaction to the Treaty:
- There was anger throughout Germany when the terms were made public
- The Treaty was seen by many Germans as being forced on them and the Germans had no voice, no choice but to sign it
- German representatives in Paris knew that they had no choice as Germany was incapable of restarting the war again
- Many right wing groups such as the Nazis believed in the Dolchstoss Theory (Stab in the Back Theory)- Germany's representatives in Paris stabbed the Germans in the back
- Blamed the "November Criminals" (the Weimer Republic) for accepting the treaty
- Created the perfect storm for the Nazis to rise to power
- "In troubled times, people bring in more radical governments" - Jon McCain
Adolf Hitler
- Born in 1889 in Austria- poor family- Mother was Klara Hitler, Father was Alois Hitler
- Family moved to Germany when he was three
- Had 5 siblings, 3 died in infancy
- His brother Edmund, whom we was very close with, died in 1900
- After his brother's death, Hitler changed and became more moody and withdrawn
- Had more issues at school and with his dad
- Both parents died when he was pretty young- his dad in 1903 and his mom in 1907
- All 3 deaths had a huge negative impact on the young Hitler
- In Mein Kamp, Hitler said he first became anti-Semitic (anti-Jew) during his time in Vienna, Austria
Tuesday- Continue PowerPoint
Adolf Hitler
- Vienna, Austria- 1905-1913
- Hitler failed to get into the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna two different times
- Started selling paintings in the streets of Vienna
- Very poor, homeless for a while
- In WWI, he failed his physical examination to get into the Austro-Hungarian army in 1914
- Moved to Munich, Germany and joined the Germany army when WWI broke out in 1914
- Hitler in WWI
- Wounded twice while serving
- Injured by a shell explosion
- Temporarily blinded by a mustard gas attack, heard about the end of the war while in the hospital
- There is a story that Hitler could have been shot by the British soldier, Henry Tandey, but was spared
- After WWI
- Hitler starts spying on the new Nationalist Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi) for the German military
- Hitler quickly realized that this group discussed topics that he believed in
- Hitler dropped out of the military and joined the NazI party and quickly rose to become the leader
- Hitler found out that he had the power of speech and persuasion during this time
- Beer Hall Putsch - 1923- Nazis tried to overthrow German government and failed
- Trial - 1924- Hitler got off easy for treason- helped him become more well-known throughout Germany
- Sentenced for 5 years, only served 9 months for good behavior- wrote Mein Kamp (My Battle/Struggle) during this time
- Hitler's Rise to Power
- Hitler is appointed Chancellor in 1933
- President Paul von Hindenburg dies shortly after and Hitler dissolves the Weimer Repbulic
- Early Actions of Hitler
- Drops out of League of Nations
- Starts rearming Germany
- Rearms the German Rhineland area
- Nobody stopped Hitler- appeasement- the last thing they wanted was another war
- Anschluss (Union) with Austria- 1938- Germany annexed Austria in 1938
- Wanted to "re-uninte German-speaking people)
- Munich Conference- 1938- Germany was given the parts of Czechoslovakia that are over 50% German-speaking
- From this conference came the policy of appeasement- giving Hitler what he wants in order to avoid war
- Chamberlain was seen as a hero at the time: "Peace for our time"
- Hitler was given the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia
- Hitler promised he was done taking over territories
- Hitler wanted to re-unite all German-speaking people
- Policy of appeasement- but you can't appease someone who wants it all
Wednesday- Continue presentation
- Winston Churchill- Opposed Appeasement
- "An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last."
- Hitler takes over all of Czechoslovakia- March, 1939
Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact
- Russia and Germany both agreed that they are not going to fight one another
- Russia gave raw materials to Germany in exchange for money and weapons
- Both agreed to stay neutral if the other entered the war
- Secretly agreed to invade and split Poland. Germany would the the western half and USSR gets the eastern half
- Russia would get Finland, Estonia, and Latvia and Germany would get Lithuania
How did the World React to this?
- Shock
- Poland was "stuck between a rock and a hard place"
- Hitler thought it would force Great Britain and France to back out of their promise to help Poland if attacked
- How very wrong he was
German/USSR invasion of Poland- Blitzkrieg (lightning warfare)
- Hit the enemy like lightning
- Cause chaos
- Germany on one side, Russia on the other- Poland never stood a chance
Sitzkrieg- The Phony War- Winter 1939/40
- War was officially declared, but no one was fighting
- Britain and France were just waiting out the winter and preparing to fight
- Ended that spring
Miracle of Dunkirk
- Germany was pushing the British and French armies back towards the city of Dunkirk
- Hitler commanded the military to wait on the outskirts of the city
- In this extra day or so, most British and French troops were able the be evacuated back to Britain
Thursday- Continue presentation
France's "Impenetrable" Maginot Line
- Defensive barrier on border of Germany and France
- As impenetrable as the Titanic was unsinkable
France Surrenders in June, 1940
France was divided
- The Vichy Government
- Led by Henri Petain
- Southern France
- Hitler's lapdogs
- The French Resistance
- Free French Underground
- General Charles De Gaulle
- The Maquis
- Still lived in France, but didn't conform to Hitler
- Spied on and sabotaged Nazis
Hitler's alliance with Japan cost him the war
- After Pearl Harbor, US declared war on Japan
- Germany declared war on the US
Nazi Goals for Battle of Britain
- Destroy the Royal Air Force (before invasion was possible- hopefully by 9-15-1940)
- Attack and destroy the British Navy
- Attack British troops
- Once air control was gained, the invasion of Great Britain would begin
- Germany never succeeded in achieving the first goal
- German bombers did so poorly against the Royal Air Force that they started bombing at night only
- Great Britain was helped a lot by radar and Ultra (the British way of intercepting and deciphering German code- no one knew about it for decades)
Operation Sea Lion- German plan to attack Great Britain, never happened
Battle of Britain
Royal Air Force
- "Never was so much owed by so many to so few"- Winston Churchill
VS
Luftwaffe
- German/Nazi Air Force
- Messerschmitt Bf 109
- Herman Goering
Results
- In May, 1941, Germany decided to focus on attacking British ships and ports and thus stopped attacking cities
- British losses-around 40,000 civilians killed, 46,000-139,000
- German losses-3,363 aircrew and 2,265 aircraft
- Britain won by the fact that Germany did not achieve their goals and Britain never surrendered (just like Churchill said)
Friday- no school
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