4.7 The World at War (beginning and end)

• Geschiedenis
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 3

4.7.1 The world at war

Feniks, Geschiedenis Werkplaats, Memo, Saga

At the end of this lesson...

You will be able to explain how World War II went

1939-1941 Molotov-Ribbentrop

Pact between the Soviet Union and Germany, stating that the

Soviet Union would remain neutral if Germany invaded Poland. Also known as the Nazi-Soviet Pact.

It also contained a secret clause: Stalin and Hitler agreed to invade and divide Poland between them.

1939-1941 Molotov-Ribbentrop

Advantage Hitler:

Prevent two-front war (all his troops on the Western front)

Advantage Stalin: he could expand his army

Germany attacks Poland

September 1st 1939

''We will fire back at 5.45!''

Hitler indicates that he must respond to a Polish attack on a

German radio station. The Germans staged this attack.

The start of WW2

September 3rd 1939

After this attack on Poland, England and France can only do one thing:

Declare war on Germany....

The first three months

end of 1939 - beginning of 1940

• The first phase of the war happens mostly in Eastern Europe.
• Because of the agreements made in the Molotov-von Ribbentroppact, the Soviet-Union attacks Poland from the east.

Source C

In the car: Hitler and his cronies. The roadsign: CCCP is the Soviet Union.

Source B

Groups of four:

10 minutes individual worktime

-Read your part

-Make notes and use of the concepts

-Inform your group

Groups of four:

Finish the four parts by dividing them in your group:

-4.7.2:War in Western Europe(1)

-4.7.3: War in Eastern Europe (2)

-4.7.4: War in Africa (3)

-4.7.5: War in Asia (4)

After reading: explain your part to your group and make a short summary. Make use of the concepts.

Blitzkrieg in Western Europe

april-july 1940

• The war seems far away....
• This changes in the spring of 1940 when the Germans literally 'roll up' Europe with enormous speed and superior strength.
• This way of warfare  is called Blitzkrieg.
  

The Netherlands surrenders

15th of May 1940

• Although in some places the Dutch army offered more resistance than the Germans had expected, after the bombing of Rotterdam, the Dutch government can do nothing but surrender (capitulate) to the Germans.

France surrenders

22nd June 1940

• A part of France, Vichy,  does not become occupied. They collaborate with the Germans (Vichy France)

Battle of Britain

July - October 1940

• The German attack on Britain. Thanks in part to the invention of radar, Great Britain is able to defend itself against Germany.

• However, it doesn't mean Great-Britain doesn't get bombed by the Germans....
  

...during the whole war England, especially London, will be heavily bombed. First by bombers, but later also by the V1 and V2 missiles.

The people of London take refuge in the Underground during a German air raid. In addition, the British government had an evacuation plan: 'Pied Piper', in which mainly children, mothers and pregnant women would be sent to the safe countryside.

This poster was commissioned by the British government to give people confidence. They would win the war.

Operation Barbarossa

June - December 1941

• Despite the non-agression pact, Germany attacks the Soviet-Union.
• Hitler needs ''Lebensraum'' and resources for his people. 

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

7th of December 1941

• Axis Power Japan wants to be powerful in Asia.
• To reach this goal, they attack the American marinebase Pearl Harbor on Hawaii by surprise. 
• With the destroyed US fleet, Japan has free rein in Asia

The US at war

8th of December 1941

• One day after the attack, the United States declared war on Japan.

Because of the agreements the Axis Powers made, Germany and Italy declare war on the United States on December 11th

Strijdende partijen na 11 december 1941

Japan occupies the Dutch East Indies 

March 1942

• The Dutch are locked up in ''Jappenkampen''
• The conditions are terrible: poor hygiene, hunger and corporal punishment
• Women sometimes have to work as prostitutes (''troostmeisjes).

Battle of Stalingrad         

August 1942 - February 1943

• Due to the icy cold and poor supplies, the German army is defeated.
• Hitler has to give up: Stalingrad turns out to be unconquerable.
• It becomes a turning point in the war: the Soviet Union begins to push back at the German army.

D-Day

6th of June 1944

• The Normandy landings finally brought a front in the West, something Stalin had long requested.
• De D in D-Day stands for Decision.
  

Battle of Arnhem

September 1944

• The Allies want to push through to the northern part of the Netherlands, to invade Germany from there, but they are mistaken in the strength of the Germans.
• Operation Market Garden failed at Arnhem ('A bridge too far').

Yalta conference

February 1945

• The Allies meet in Yalta (Soviet Union) to discuss what to do with Germany and Europe after the war.
• The Big Three are: Churchill (GB), Roosevelt (US) and Stalin (SU).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

President of the United States

Jozef Stalin

Leader of the Soviet-Union

Winston Churchill

Prime minister of Great-Britain

Hitler is defeated

April 1945

• In April, Stalin's Red Army attacks Berlin.
• It is the final blow for Hitler: he commits suicide.

Liberation of the Netherlands

5th of May 1945

Germany surrenders

8th of May 1945

Atomic bomb on Hiroshima

6th of August 1945

Atomic bomb on Nagasaki

9th of August 1945

Japan surrenders

15th of August 1945

• The atomic bombs cause major destruction. Japan has no other choice but to surrender.

The liberation of the Netherlands

Mad Tuesday

5th of September 1944

• The allies advance very fast after D-Day.
• The events are followed on illegal radios: "They are in the Netherlands!"

• German soldiers flee from the approaching Allies.
• But the Allies don't show up at all...

• The people started celebrating too early.

Battle of Arnhem

September 1944

• The Allies want to push through to the northern part of the Netherlands, to invade Germany from there, but they are mistaken in the strength of the Germans.
• Operation Market Garden fails at Arnhem ('A bridge too far').

Railway Strike

September 1944 - May 1945

• To help the Allied advance, Radio Oranje calls on the railway staff to go on strike. The Germans can no longer use the railway for their war.

• It also leads to food and fuel shortages...

Hongerwinter

November 1944 - April 1945

• The Hongerwinter had a couple of causes:

1. It was no longer possible to supply coal from Limburg, because this part of the Netherlands had already been liberated.

1. In addition, the railway strike ensured that nothing was transported anymore...
2. ...Plus the Germans retaliated by blocking the main routes to the western Netherlands. 

The system of distributing coupons/stamps , which had already been introduced in 1939, no longer works in the last phase of the war: there was simply nothing left

German capitulation

4 mei 1945

• On the 5th of May, negotiations took take place in Hotel De Wereld in Wageningen about the unconditional surrender of the German troops in the Netherlands.

The liberation

May 1945

• Nowadays, the liberation of the Netherlands is celebrated on the 5th of May. But the entirety of Netherlands wasn't liberated at the same time. Sometimes it was earlier, sometimes it was later like on Texel.
• This island was liberated on the 20th of May 1945..