3.2 Europe at war

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 3

3.2 Europe at war

Goals for this lesson

At the end of this lesson you can...

• give details about the Molotov-Ribbentop pact.
• give an overview of the (military) events leading up to the war and during the war.
• Show the view on the war using cartoons.

Where were we?

What was the main goal of the British and French for the Munich Conference?

After the conference

• Sudetenland (German speaking Czechia) is taken by the Germans. 
• Germany starts looking at lebensraum in Poland but is scared of a war with the Soviet Union.

Molotov Ribbentrop 

Pact

• 1939: Hitler and Stalin sign a military pact.
• Stalin would not object to a German attack on Poland.
• Secret agreement: The Soviet Union would occupy the Baltic states and part of Poland. 

Start of the war

•  1 September 1939: Hitler invades Poland.
• Two weeks later, the Soviet Union also invades Poland.

How did France and the United Kingdom react to the invasion of Poland?

They did nothing and said nothing

They did nothing and condemned it

The did nothing but declared war on Germany

The declared war and invaded Germany

Reaction

• 3 September 1939: France and the UK declare war on Germany because Poland was their ally.
  
• They did not invade Germany.
  
• Why not?

From Sitzkrieg 

to Blitzkrieg

• France made the Maginot line and waited for Germany to wreck itself on it.
• This tactic was known as Sitzkrieg.
• Blitzkrieg is a fast attack supported with tanks and planes.

In what order did Hitler conquer these countries?

Norway

Belgium

The Netherlands

Denmark

Battle of Britain

• 1940: Luftwaffe (German air force) tries to break British resistance.
• Very close affair, but the British managed to hold out.
• 'Never before have so many owed so much to so few.'

Operation Barbarossa

• 1941: Hitler wanted to secure even more Lebensraum.
• In the summer of '41 he invaded the Soviet Union. 
• Initially this proved succesful.
• 1942-1943 Battle of Stalingrad became a turning point of the war.

Turning point

• US joined in december 1941.
• 6 June 1944: D-day landings in Normandy.
• Axis powers are forced back. 

The end

• Soviet Union, UK and US reconquered all Axis territories.
• May 1945: Germany surrenders
• Hitler had committed suicide days before surrender.