3.2 Europe at war

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2,2 Europe at war

Today's lesson:

• memory game
• instruction par 3.2
• time to work
• recap par 3,2

Memorygame....

Hitler wanted to join all Germans living outside Nazi Germany together to form a self-sufficient Greater German Reich. To get his hands on sufficient farmland and raw materials, he had to expand in an easterly direction. He saw these areas as Lebensraum.

From the moment Hitler gained control in Germany, he started violating the Treaty of Versailles by building an army and conquering territory. Hitler established an alliance with Italy. They were called the axis powers. During the Conference of Munich  Britain and France gave in to his treaty violations and territorial demands to prevent a new war. This policy was called appeasement. The United States weren't involved yet as they had declared a policy of isolationism after the First world war.

Fill in the blanks....

Hitler wanted to join all Germans living outside Nazi Germany together to form a self-sufficient Greater German Reich. To get his hands on sufficient farmland and raw materials, he had to expand in an easterly direction. He saw these areas as Lebensraum.

From the moment Hitler gained control in Germany, he started violating the Treaty of Versailles by building an army and conquering territory. Hitler established an alliance with Italy. They were called the axis powers. During the Conference of Munich  Britain and France gave in to his treaty violations and territorial demands to prevent a new war. This policy was called appeasement. The United States weren't involved yet as they had declared a policy of isolationism after the First world war.

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 Hitler's next target: Poland

BUT THEN...

• Hitler and Stalin make a DEAL:
• the NAZI-SOVIET Pact

(a non-agression pact)

• 
  
• august 1939
• The world is shocked.

WHY?

Stalin:

• Needs time to reorganise his army.
• Does not trust Britain and France.

Hitler:

• Wants to avoid a two front war.
• Now he has his hands free to invade Poland.

World War 2

1939:

• Sept 1: German invasion Poland
• Sept 3: Britain and France declare war on Germany
• Sept. 17: Soviet Union occupies eastern Poland

World War 2

1940 German Blitzkrieg in:

• April 12: Denmark and Norway
• May 10: Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and France
• June 22: France capitulates

Blitzkrieg in the West

Hitler decided to force England and France into a peace before trying to conquer the Soviet Union as well. Therefore he had to conquer Western Europe first. Hitler was successful in a short period of time due to a new type of warfare, the so-called Blitzkrieg (‘lightning war’). This type of warfare relied on mobility and powerful, surprise attacks. Tanks and armoured trucks, supported by aircrafts, were used to break through enemy defence lines. Opponents were unable to respond to German pace, surprise attacks and deep penetrations. Hitler even ordered big cities to be bombed to force his opponents to surrender. Like most other countries, France’s strategy was defensive and relied on the Maginot Line: a ‘supertrench’ to defend its border. As a result, France was unable to attack Hitler.

The Maginot Line today: a monument, museum and tourist attraction.

Get to work...

• Read par 3,2
• take a look at magister for the weeks to come
• Make par 3.1 and 3.2
• Prepare for the test

Deze poster werd gemaakt in opdracht van de Britse regering om de bevolking vertrouwen te laten houden in de overwinning.

2,2 Europe at war

Today's lesson:

• read page 64 and 65
• recap
• instruction par 3.2
• time to work

1. Conference of Munich
2. Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
3. Invasion Poland
4. Blitzkrieg
5.  Maginot line
6. Vichy France
7. Churchill
8. Luftwaffe

a. RAF

b. defensive strategy

c. offensive strategy

d. opponent appeasement

e. annexation Sudetenland

f. war declaration

g. cooperation Germany

h. avoid two-front war

By May 1940, Hitler had occupied Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. Hitler was now able to concentrate completely on France. Unlike the First World War, the French were unable to resist the German Blitzkrieg. By June 1940, France asked for a truce. Most of its territory was then occupied by Germany. Only a small area in the south, Vichy France, remained independent but cooperating with Germany.

After the French capitulation Hitler visited Paris. Here he poses in front of the Eifel Tower.

Left: Albert Speer, Hitler's architect. Note the film cameraman (bottom right), filming for the propaganda newsreel.

Victory parade: German troops march along the Arc the Triomph in Paris.

Britain takes a stand

In May 1940, Winston Churchill succeeded Chamberlain as Prime Minister. Churchill had opposed appeasement from the start and refused every offer of peace from the Germans. To prepare for war, conscription had been introduced in 1939.

In Britain, many people, especially children and women, were evacuated to the countryside, because bombing of cities was anticipated. Gas masks were distributed and at night there was total blackout: windows had to be covered so no light came from houses to prevent enemy aircraft locating cities or industrial centres to bomb.

Hitler wanted to invade Britain, but knew that the British navy was strong. This is why he wanted to force Britain to surrender by bombing its cities; to do this, he needed to destroy the British Royal Air Force (RAF), so German bombers could operate unopposed. In the summer of 1940, the air war called the Battle of Britain started. 

Londoners sheltering on a station on the underground railway during ‘the Blitz’. London was bombed on 76 consecutive nights between July 1940 and May 1941.

The Battle of Britain

At first the German Luftwaffe dominated: hundreds of RAF planes were shot down and it was hard for the British to train enough new pilots to replace those killed in air fights. But the RAF held out and Britain survived. British aircraft then bombed Germany until the end of the war.

modern painting of British spitfires.

The British airforce was known as the RAF (Royal Air Force) while the German airforce is known as the "Luftwaffe".

London was hit hard by German bombs during what the British call: "The Blitz"

RAF pilots posing for the camera before going on a mission

Operation Barbarossa

June - December 1941

• Hitler and Stalin had promised not to attack each other
• But Hitler breaks his promise in the summer of 1941
• He needs Lebensraum (living space) in Eastern Europa
• Fuel, food, land and raw materials for the German people
  

The Battle of Stalingrad

August 1942 - February 1943

• Russian winter, bad logistics and fierce resistance defeat the German army
• Hitler is forced to surrender: a turning point in the war
• The Soviet-Union begins driving the Nazis back to Germany

D-Day

6 June 1944

• With the landing of allied forces in Normandy (France), the Germans are attacked from the west as well as the east
• D-Day means Decision Day.

Get to work...

• Read par 3,2
• take a look at magister for the weeks to come
• Make par 3.1 and 3.2
• Prepare for the test

Deze poster werd gemaakt in opdracht van de Britse regering om de bevolking vertrouwen te laten houden in de overwinning.