1. The Second World War

2. Hitler’s Aims Reverse the Treaty of Versailles
Unite all German speaking peoples
Greater Germany including all Germans into one homeland  Germans in Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, etc...
Lebensraum (“living space”)
Greater Germany would include +85 million people  would need more land to provide enough food and raw materials
German rearmament

3. Hitler’s Land Gains

4. Hitler’s Successes Reoccupation of the Saar region
Saar under occupation of the League of Nations for 15 years after WWI
Vote held in 1935  90% of population voted to be reunited with Germany
Reoccupation of the Rhineland
1936: Hitler marches troops into Rhineland; takes control back from the French who had received Rhineland under the Treaty of Versailles
Met with no resistance – French unwilling to fight
Later 98% of population voted for German reoccupation

5. Hitler’s Successes Anschluss with Austria Sudetenland
96% of Austrians spoke German; Hitler was born in Austria; strong Nazi party in Austria
March 1938: German troops march into Austria; Austria made a province of Germany
Nazis later claimed that 99% of Austrians voted for Anschluss
Sudetenland

6. Hitler’s Successes
Mainly a German –speaking area given to Czechoslovakia upon its creation post-WW1
Pro-Nazi Sudeten leader strongly supported
Czechoslovakia thought it would be protected by the League.
British Prime Minister (Chamberlain) did not want a war over Sudetenland  met with Hitler, Mussolini and French Prime Minister in Munich and they agreed that Hitler would have the Sudetenland if he promised to stop expanding
Chamberlain met privately with Hitler and they promised never to go war with each other again

7. New tactic: ‘Bliztkrieg’
Meaning ‘Lightning Storm’, the Blitzkrieg tactic allowed Germany to quickly take over territories in Europe.

8. Poland Demanded the return of Danzig and Polish Corridor.
Signed a treaty with Italy to help each other should there be a war.
Signed a pact with Russia  prevent war on 2 fronts
Russia would not object to a German invasion of Poland
Russia and Germany would divide Poland between them
Germany invaded Poland  British and French issued an ultimatum that Germany must leave or risk war  Germany did not reply  Britain declares war on Germany

9. Major points of WWII By April 1940, Denmark and Norway were occupied.
June 1940: Netherlands, Belgium and France were occupied. Conflicts in Mediterranean and North Africa.
June 1941: German invasion of USSR
December 1941: Japanese attack on Pearl harbour.

10. The Axis Powers
Propaganda associated to Tripartite Pact between Germany, Italy and Japan.

11. Empire of Japan

12. Imperial Japan In 1927, Japan enters a period of radical nationalism.
They wanted to expand ‘co-prosperity sphere’
Invasion of China in
Occupation of French- Indochina in 1940.

13. Nazi occupation of Paris

14. German Invasion of Soviet Union 1941 (Operation Barbarossa)
Germany invaded the Soviet Union; now seen as a threat.
Ended with Soviet victory; pushed back German troops.
Victory at Stalingrad

15. Operation Torch in 1942: Allied Invasion of North Africa

16. Italian Campaign
After the take over in North Africa, Allies move to land in Sicily and spread northward up Italy.
Slow going, tough battles.

17. End of the War in Europe
June 1944: Operation Overlord. Anglo-American invasion of northern France.
By April 1945, Russians had reached Berlin by the east and other Allies flanked Germany to the south and the west.
Many German cities were devastated from Allied air bombings.

18. Bombing of Dresden

19. The Pacific Front June 1942: Americans won battle of Midway Island.
American dive bombers attacking Japanese cruiser Mikuma

20. The Pacific Front (continued)
The American attempts to capture Japanese held islands was costly.
Example: Americans losses of roughly 85, 000 during whole of Battle of Okinawa in April 1945.

21. The Pacific Front (continued)
On August 6th 1945, a B-29 dropped a uranium bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
This resulted in 80, 000 deaths and 70, 000 injuries.
On August 9th , a plutonium bomb was dropped on Nagasaki killing 40, 000 people and injuring 25, 000.
On September 2nd 1945, Japan surrendered.

22. Potsdam Conference (Summer 1945)
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, and General Josef Stalin