Germanys Conquests and the Age of the Nazi

Germany’s Conquests and the Age of the Nazi

Invasion of Poland • Germany invades Poland on 9/1/1939 • Britain/France declare war on Germany – start of WW 2 • Germans used “blitzkrieg” to attack…used the Luftwaffe

Calm Before the Storm • Stalin invades Baltic states and Finland – create buffer zone • Sitzkrieg – “phony war” for winter 1939 -1940 • June 1940 • Germans take many countries in early 1940 • Defeat Allies at Dunkirk in northern France

Fall of France • Paris surrenders on 6/22/1940 • Puppet gov’t set up in southern France – Vichy France • Free French – located in London • Led by Charles De Gaulle • Only Britain remains as a democratic enemy to Germany

The Battle of Britain • Winston Churchill refuses peace offering from Hitler • German attacks England through air – Luftwaffe • Britain’s advantages – radar, the Royal Air Force, Churchill’s demeanor • Hitler calls off invasion • Germany loses 2500 planes, RAF only 900 • Significance?

Germany Invades USSR (June 1941) • Germans breaks treaty, invades USSR for lebensraum • Stalin orders scorched-earth policy • Germans lay siege to Leningrad (St. Pete) and Moscow but cannot achieve victories

American Rumblings • Britain and USA agree to Atlantic Charter (August 1941) • Franklin D. Roosevelt • After victory, the end to age of empire • “Permanent system of general security” • Americans lending money to British and Soviets • Japan attacks USA at Pearl Harbor (December 1941)

Nazi Empire in Europe

The Nazi New Order • Exploit Europe for its economic value • Racial Order • Nordic peoples receive preferential treatment • French were tolerated but heavily taxes • Slavs seen as “subhuman” and forced to work as slaves • Genocide of Jews, Gypsies, etc.