WORLD WAR II 1939 1945 EUROPEAN THEATER Adolf

WORLD WAR II 1939 -1945 EUROPEAN THEATER

Adolf Hitler • Came to power in post WWI Germany • Blamed German economic problems and Germany’s loss of WWI on the Jews • Was in fact raised by his paternal grandfather who was Jewish • Was psychologically and physically abused.

Adolf Hitler • Hitler became the leader of the NSDAP Germans workers party or Nazi party in 1921. • In Munich in 1923 Hitler was arrested in the uprising called the “Beer Hall Putsch” • Was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 10 years in prison, Hitler served just over a year. While in Prison Hitler wrote his book “Mein Kampf” My struggle

Hitler wrote his book while he was imprisoned. He served about 20 months of a 10 year sentence.

Hitler in power • In his book, Hitler outlined Germany’s problems. The Jews were at the root of Germany’s problems according to Hitler. • Strong Anti-Semitism and nationalism along with the “Darwinism” idea of the survival of the fittest gave Hitler the idea that Germany needed “Lebensraum” or living space. • To get living space, Germany needed to eliminate the Jews in eastern Europe.

Benito Mussolini • Came to power in 1924 • Was a WWI veteran. • Organized what became known as the Fascist party which relies on dictatorship and totalitarian tactics. • Was known as “Il Duce” which means the leader.

Francisco Franco • Was came to power in Spain in the early 30’s. • Became allied with Mussolini and Hitler. • Got help during Spanish Civil war from Germany and Italy. • Was member of Fascist party.

Joseph Stalin • Came to power in the Soviet Union after the death of Lenin. • Was one of original culprits who overthrew the Government in the 1916 revolution. • Had over 20 million people killed in the years after WWII

ROME BERLIN AXIS FORMED 1936

AXIS POWERS • Germany – Hitler • Italy – Mussolini • Japan – Hirohito

Germany’s first move was to occupy the Rhineland in 1936

Hitler's next move came in 1938 as Germany took over the western part of Czechoslovakia shown in gold this area was known as the Sudetenland. in what became known as the “policy of appeasement” English Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain gives in to Hitler's demands. “…peace in our time. . ” Neville Chamberlain

Hitler's next move was to occupy Austria in 1938. Hitler moved troops into Vienna and told the Austrian President to step down and be annexed or we’ll start shooting. Germany annexed Austria without firing a shot.

HITLER OCCUPIES THE REST OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA • In 1939 Hitler takes over the rest of Czechoslovakia. • Hitler has taken over the Rhineland, the Sudetenland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, all without firing a shot and all without resistance except for notes of protest from England France.

NAZI-RUSSO PACT • Hitler shocks the world as he and Joseph Stalin sign a non aggression treaty in 1939. • In reality this was a way for Hitler to buy time for his eventual attack of the Soviet Union. And the dividing of Poland.

BLITZKRIEG Hitler unleashes his new style of warfare that is characterized by three waves of attack. • Stuka dive bombers • Panzer tank divisions • Infantry World War II begins as Germany attacks Poland Sep. 1 st 1939

Hitlers flunkies were Joseph Goebbles the propaganda chief Irwin Rommel Hitler’s best general Heinrich Himmler the Shutzsaffel chief. (SS) Herman Goering the leader of Germany’s Air Force Luftwaffe

HITLERS MISTAKES • Hitler makes some very costly mistakes during the war, they are as follows: – Failing to finish off the allies at Dunkirk – Starting up with the Russians and creating a second front. – Not utilizing the jet aircraft. – Replacing strategy with obsession and vengeance – Sleeping in late

NOTABLE DATES • • Sept. 1 1939 WWII begins 1941 Barbarossa (Germany invades USSR) 1942 Torch (allied invasion of N. Africa) 1942 -43 allies invade Italy, Russians drive back Germans) • June 6, 1944 Overlord (allies invade Normandy beaches • April 30 1945 Hitler commits suicide • May 8 1945 German surrenders to allies

As the Germans swept through Europe they had the English pinned up against the English Channel, rather than giving the English the knock out punch and perhaps finishing them off, he foolishly calls off the attack and this gives the English time to regroup and retreat across the channel into England……. . France has already fallen and is in German control 1940.

BATTLE OF BRITAIN 1940 This battle was in the skies over England between the RAF and the Luftwaffe targets were: Large cities RR hubs Centers for industry (factories)

“…. . never have so many owed so much to so few…. . ” Winston Churchill RAF Hurricane RAF Spitfire Luftwaffe Messerschmitt 109 Luftwaffe Stuka

Barbarossa 1941 Barbarossa was Germany’s attack of the Soviet Union in 1941 Germany got dangerously close to the key cities of Stalingrad Moscow and Leningrad. This also was one of Hitler’s greatest mistakes as Germany attacked too close to winter and her supply lines were too long.

Einsatzgruppen • Special SS units followed the invading armies into conquered areas and rounded up and executed Poles Slavs and Gypsies, while Jews were send to death camps

CAMPAIGNS • TORCH 1942 Allied invasion of North Africa. This was the allied effort to gain a foothold and be able to attack Italy from. It was decided that Italy was the soft underbelly and that the allies would have to go through Italy to get to Germany. • U. S. General Patton and British General Montgomery teamed up to defeat the desert fox, German General Rommel

Operation Torch (North Africa) 1942 Allies try to gain a staging ground to attach Germany from. Major victory for the allies came at “El Alamein”this gave the allies the needed foothold to start the Italian Campaign from. It also gave the Russians some relief as Germany had to pull some men out of the Eastern front and send them to prepare for the coming invasion of Italy.

The tide of war shifts in the East. The freezing bitter winter in Russia along with desperate defenders of the cities held off the Germans, and the Russians counter-attacked the Germans. The Americans and English were now making advancements in North Africa.

Europe in 1942 and into 1943 Europe in 1942 saw the Russian closing in from the East and the Americans and English working Northward up the Italian peninsula. Germany was involved in a two front war and was about to get into a three front war as soon as the allies invaded France in the D-Day invasion of 1944.

Europe in ‘ 43 &‘ 44 June 6 th 1944 the allies turned the tide of war for good in favor of the allies. Operation Overlord was successful as hundreds of thousands men landed on the French coast and began the liberation. Now Germany was facing a three front war and was slowly was about to lose the war.

D-Day Invasion ‘ 44

DISCOVERING THE UNIMAGINABLE

The Holocaust • The larger of the concentration camps were outfitted with furnaces or ovens so that the Germans could hide the fact that they had been exterminating the Jews on a massive scale.

Zyklon B gas • The Germans used blue chalky pellets of zyklon b gas which is a form of cyanide. • It was put into vents in the so called “shower rooms”

• Each of the five crematoria at Auschwitz/Birkenau consisted of three elements — dressing room, gas chamber, and cremation facility. The prisoners were told to undress in a room that could hold 1, 000 people. They were then herded into the underground "bathroom. " A sign on the doorway read, Cleanliness Brings Freedom! Fake shower heads were fitted on the ceiling. Approximately 2, 000 victims were contained at any one time in each of the four gas chambers in Birkenau. After the doors had been sealed shut, the chalky pellets of Zyklon B were poured into the chamber through special vents in the roof. Within 1520 minutes, the trapped victims were dead. Crematorium II at Birkenau had fifteen ovens, which were capable of burning 45 to 75 corpses at once — over 1, 000 bodies a day.

• In 1943, the infamous Dr. Josef Mengele became the chief physician of Birkenau. Children were subjected to brutal and inhumane experimentation. He expanded his experimentation to include twins, dwarfs, and others with physical abnormalities. Most of his "tests" were performed on victims who were still alive; almost all of these experiments were painful and traumatic.

By 1944 -45 the war is lost for Germany, with the allies closing in from three sides, it is a matter of time till Hitler and others take their lives.

THE END OF THE THIRD REICH • On April the 30 th Hitler marries his mistress Eva Braun in their Berlin bunker and commit suicide together. • On May the 8 th the allies celebrate VE day. Victory in Europe.

Propaganda Posters

German Propaganda Posters