1. World War II Part I

2. The Path to War Hitler begins to criticize the Treaty of Versailles (1919) and gained the support of the German people when he vowed to no longer obey the treaty. In March 1935, Hitler announced Germany was increasing the size of its army and formed a new air force. Hitler ordered German troops into the Rhineland in March 1936 and neither the French or British intervened to stop the invasion. British and French leaders did not want to risk another war with Germany, so British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain believed they could avoid war if they accepted Hitler’s demands.

4. Appeasement: Trying to avoid war with an aggressive nation by giving in to its demands. The French were dependent on British aid, so they accepted the demands of Hitler in the Rhineland.

5. Hitler and Mussolini Germany and Italy became allies when Italy invaded the African country of Ethiopia. Britain and France condemned the action but did nothing to stop the invasion. Hitler now demanded that Austria become a part of Germany, called Anschluss (union with Germany). In March 1938, the Austrian chancellor asked Britain and France for aid to stop the German takeover but they provided no aid. Germany takes over Austria to form one country.

7. Hitler demands the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia because it had a large population of German speaking people. Czechoslovakia refused and begins to fight to keep its territory. The Munich Conference: British and French leaders agreed to give Germany the Sudetenland. Hitler pledged not to expand German territories anymore. Chamberlain promised the conference would promise “peace in our time”. German forces will eventually takeover all of Czechoslovakia and the city of Danzig in Poland. Britain responded by supporting Poland if Germany invaded.

10. Germany on the Attack Hitler has signed a “non-aggression” pact with Soviet Union promising Germany and the Soviet Union would not attack each other. September 1, 1939: Germany invaded Poland and Britain and France declared war on Germany because of this invasion. Germany attacked Poland from the west while the Soviets attacked from the east. In less than a month, Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland. In April 1940, Germany attacked Denmark, Norway then west to the Netherlands and Belgium.

12. The Germans swept through the northern part of France while the Italians attack France from the southeast. June 14, 1940: German troops marched triumphantly into Paris and France will surrender a week later.

15. The Battle of Britain The last remaining power of the Allies is Britain. Hitler expects the British to seek peace as they had at the Munich Conference. Winston Churchill is Britain’s new prime minister and he declared: “We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills, we shall never surrender.”

17. Hitler begins his plans to invade Britain and wants to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF) to have control of the skies. Luftwaffe (Nazi Germany’s Air Force) begin to bomb British airfields and aircraft factories. As German air losses mounted, they started to bomb British cities. Large sections of London are destroyed and many civilians are killed. October 1940: Hitler cancels his plan to invade Britain when he cannot win the air battle or break the British people’s will to defend their country. “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”- Winston Churchill’s comment on the RAF pilots during the Battle of Britain

22. The United States Remains Neutral In the 1930’s, Congress had passed laws making it illegal for the United States to assist warring countries if the U.S. was not involved in the war itself. President Roosevelt believes Nazi Germany is a threat to the U.S. In 1940, Roosevelt convinced Congress to allow Britain to buy U.S. goods if they paid cash and transported the goods in British ships. Lend-Lease Act: Allowed the U.S. to lend weapons to Britain to defend itself against Nazi Germany during the Battle of Britain.

24. Invasion of Soviet Union Hitler ignores the agreement he has with the Soviet Union and Stalin and the Nazi German forces invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. The Germans destroy most of the Soviet Union’s warplanes, disabled tanks and captured 500,000 Soviet soldiers. Stalin ordered a scorched-earth policy and Soviet troops and civilians burned cities, destroyed crops and blew up dams.

25. In 1941, a rainy autumn had stopped the German advances in the Soviet Union and the harsh winter began, the invasion stalled to make progress. The Germans were caught unprepared and Hitler’s army reached the outskirts of Moscow but were forced back by the Soviet army.

26. Pearl Harbor While Europe was at war, Japan had launched new attacks in East Asia and had taken over Manchuria in 1931. By December 1937, Japan seized the Chinese capital of Nanking. Japan wanted to control Southeast Asia to obtain badly needed food supplies, oil and rubber.

30. President Roosevelt blocked Japanese efforts to withdraw money they had deposited in the U.S. He also stopped the sale of oil, gasoline and other resources to Japan in response to their action in Asia. December 7, 1941: The Japanese launched a surprise air attack on the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The attack destroyed many airplanes, battle ships and more than 2,300 sailors, soldiers and civilians. U.S. declared war on Japan the next day. “December 7, 1941 a date that will live in infamy.” President Roosevelt December 11, 1941 Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.