The Second World War
Chamberlain – British Prime Minister, wanted to avoid war as much as possible. Believed in appeasement (giving Hitler what he wanted to avoid war)
The four war leaders
Stalin – Soviet (Russian) Dictator – Hated Hitler, but fearful of war with Germany. Communist. Signed Nazi-Soviet Non Agression Pact with Hitler in an attempt to avoid war with Germany.
The four war leaders
Mussolini – Italian dictator, allied with Germany, believed in fascism, hated communism.
The four war leaders
Adolf Hitler – German Dictator. Believed in Lebensraum (living space for Germans) by invading other countries. Anti-Se.mitic racist
The four war leaders
Build up the German Military – Hitler believed that Germany should be powerful, even if that meant breaking the Versailles Treaty
Unite all German Speakers in Europe into one Empire, called the Third Reich
Conquer other countries for Lebensraum (living space)
Hitler’s ideas
Appeasement – belief that by giving Hitler what he wanted he would not attack them
Many people in France and Britain also felt sorry for Germany after World War 1.
What did the French and British do?
Hitler took over the Rhineland (the part of Germany near France) in 1935
Supported fascist General Franco in Spain during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39)
Took over Austria in 1938 (This event was known as The Anschluss)
Took over the German speaking part of Czechoslovakia (the Sudetenland) in 1938
Took over all of Czechoslovakia in 1939
Hitler begins to take over Europe
Hitler wanted Poland, but invading Poland would mean going to war with Russia.
To avoid this, Hitler and Stalin signed a treaty, known as the Nazi-Soviet Non Aggression Pact
This agreement secretly allowed Poland to be divided between the two countries
Britain and France could not understand this as Stalin and Hitler hated each other!
Poland
Hitler and Stalin – enemies pretending to be friends
1st September 1939 – Hitler invades Poland. Britain and France declare war on Germany – World War 2 begins.
Hitler believed in using overwhelming air power and tanks – a tactic known as blitzkrieg (Lightning War)
When Stalin also invaded Poland, the Poles surrendered.
The Attack on Poland
German bombers during the invasion of Poland
German troops and tanks during the blitzkreig
Once Poland was defeated, a quiet period set in as the main countries prepared for the battles ahead – this was known as the “Phoney War”.
The French had built a line of forts along their border with Germany – the Magniot Line– however Hitler was able to bypass this by invading through Belgium
The invasion of France
After Germany invaded France, over 300,000 British troops in France retreated to Dunkirk where they were rescued by British ships in Operation Dynamo
France then surrendered Hitler took over Northern France, the southern part of
france was ruled by Pro-Nazi Frenchmen in the town of Vichy
Dunkirk & Vichy France
Hitler in Paris after the French surrender
Chamberlain was seen as too weak and Winston Churchill was elected Prime Minister
Churchill belived that the only way to deal with Hitler was to fight.
Churchill takes over in Britain
The Battle of Britain was an air attack on Britain by Germany. It lasted from August 1940 to May 1941
Hitler’s Luftwaffe failed to defeat the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Hitler then decided to invade Russia
The Blitz was the bombing of British cities (including Belfast) during the Battle of Britain.
The Battle of Britain
London burning after German attack – “The Blitz”
Underground train station used as a bomb shelter in London
Churchill inspecting war damage
Dublin bombed by Germans “by accident”
Hitler realised he would not be able to defeat Britain in the West so turned his attention to Russia
The Russian army (the Red Army) was weak after Stalin had shot most of its leaders in the 1930s
The invasion of Russia on 22nd June 1941 meant that Hitler was breaking the Non-Aggression pact with Stalin
Operation Barbarossa – the German Invasion of Russia
“We have only to kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come crashing down” – Adolf Hitler
“When Barbarossa commences, the world will hold its breath and make no comment” – Adolf Hitler
“We drowned the enemy in our own blood” – Russian survivor of Operation Barbarossa
Quotes on Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa – the German invasion of Russia
Stalingrad – the turning point of World War Two – Germany in Retreat
German soldiers taken prisoner after Stalingrad
The British view of the Battle
War monument at Stalingrad
Americans wanted to avoid geting involved in the war – this was known as “isolationism”
Japan (allied with Germany) wanted to take over large parts of the Pacific and decided to launch a pre-emptive attack on America at Pearl Harbour
America’s President at this time was Franklin D. Rosevelt (FDR)
America enters the war
American Isolationism
Pearl Harbour – America attacked by Japanese
Germany declared war on America after Pearl Harbour In response, the Americans decided to defeat Germany
first and then defeat Japan War broke out in Africa between Germany and the
Allies (Britain and America) The allies pushed Germany out of Africa and then
invaded Italy, which surrendered to the Allies in 1943
War in Africa
War in Africa