1. World War II By Sophie Gower

2. World War II For almost six years from 1939 to 1945 Britain fought the toughest war it had ever experienced. World War II was a major war - every person, every business, every service was involved. Britain did not fight alone, the war also involved many countries. World War II involved 61 countries with 1.7 billion people (three quarters of the world's population). Fifty million people lost their lives and hundreds of millions people were injured.

3. How Did The Second World War Start? After World War One ended in 1918, Germany had to give up land and was banned from having armed forces. In 1933 the German people voted for a leader named Adolf Hitler, who led a political party in Germany called the National Socialists or Nazis. Hitler promised to make his country great again and quickly began to seize land from other countries. Shortly before 5am on Friday 1st September, 1939, German forces stormed into Poland. Tanks and troops raced into the country over ground, supported by dive bombers overhead. A total of 1.25 million Germans soldiers swept into Poland.

4. When Did World War II Begin? World War II in Europe began, 3 rd September 1939, when the Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany. It involved many of the world`s countries..

5. Neville Chamberlain`s Speech Part 1 " This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final Note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany. You can imagine what a bitter blow it is to me that all my long struggle to win peace has failed. Yet I cannot believe that there is anything more or anything different that I could have done and that would have been more successful. Up to the very last it would have been quite possible to have arranged a peaceful and honourable settlement between Germany and Poland, but Hitler would not have it. He had evidently made up his mind to attack Poland whatever happened, and although He now says he put forward reasonable proposals which were rejected by the Poles, that is not a true statement. The proposals were never shown to the Poles, nor to us, and, although they were announced in a German broadcast on Thursday night, Hitler did not wait to hear comments on them, but ordered his troops to cross the Polish frontier. His action shows convincingly that there is no chance of expecting that this man will ever give up his practice of using force to gain his will. He can only be stopped by force.

6. Neville Chamberlain`s Speech Part 2 We and France are today, in fulfilment of our obligations, going to the aid of Poland, who is so bravely resisting this wicked and unprovoked attack on her people. We have a clear conscience. We have done all that any country could do to establish peace. The situation in which no word given by Germany's ruler could be trusted and no people or country could feel themselves safe has become intolerable. And now that we have resolved to finish it, I know that you will all play your part with calmness and courage. At such a moment as this the assurances of support that we have received from the Empire are a source of profound encouragement to us. The Government have made plans under which it will be possible to carry on the work of the nation in the days of stress and strain that may be ahead. But these plans need your help. You may be taking your part in the fighting services or as a volunteer in one of the branches of Civil Defence. If so you will report for duty in accordance with the instructions you have received. You may be engaged in work essential to the prosecution of war for the maintenance of the life of the people - in factories, in transport, in public utility concerns, or in the supply of other necessaries of life. If so, it is of vital importance that you should carry on with your jobs. Now may God bless you all. May He defend the right. It is the evil things that we shall be fighting against - brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution - and against them I am certain that the right will prevail."

7. The Blitz It was dangerous living in a big city during the war. Cities were the target of enemy aircraft that flew over at night and dropped bombs. At 4:56pm on 7 September 1940, the air raid sirens wailed as the German Air Force launched a massive raid on London. Over 350 bombers flew across the Channel from airfields in France and dropped 300 tonnes of bombs on the docks and streets of the East End of London. The heavy and frequent bombing attacks on London and other cities was known as the 'Blitz'. Night after night, from September 1940 until May 1941, London was bombed every day and night for 11 weeks. One third of London was destroyed. During the first month, German Air Force dropped 5,300 tons of high explosives on London in just 24 nights.

8. Bombs People were warned of air raids by loud sirens, positioned in different parts of towns and cities. During the blitz, they became an almost daily part of life. The sirens made a very loud and long signal or warning sound. The All Clear was a continuous sound from the siren. Not every alert brought a raid, and sometimes raids happened when no alert had sounded. W hen people heard the siren they would stop what they were doing and rush to a shelter. Other cities and towns were also heavily bombed, including Swansea, Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Plymouth, Birmingham, Coventry and Liverpool. One devastating raid on Coventry in November 1940 was the biggest air-raid the world had ever seen. 4,330 homes were destroyed and 554 people killed. At one point during the night 200 separate fires burned in the city. During the Blitz 32,000 civilians were killed and 87,000 were seriously injured. Different types of bombs were dropped from the enemy planes. Fire Bombs caused huge fires.

9. Anne Frank and Other Jews Over one million children under the age of sixteen died in in World War II, not because of the bombs, but because they did not fit in as Hitler’s image of the "perfect" German. Many children and their parents living in countries, which had been invaded by the Germans, were imprisoned and killed because they were Jewish. Anne Frank was an ordinary German Jewish girl. She enjoyed playing with her toys, riding her bike and going to the seaside. Hitler wanted to create what he saw was the perfect German, this meant that anyone who did not fit into his perfect image was persecuted (ill treated) and/or killed. Hitler persecuted German citizens who were Jewish, Gypsies, or otherwise "undesirables". By the end of World War II, six million Jews were killed because they were, in Hitler's eyes, 'different'. Anne Frank and other Jews were forced to think they were lower and inadequate to everyone else just because they had a different religious belief. Through her diary "The Diary of Anne Frank", people all over the world are able to see what life as a persecuted Jew was like during World War II; thus gaining an appreciation for the sacrifices people made in the struggle to stay alive. Anne describes in her diary how she felt while she was in hiding, and how it was very hard to survive in such a small living space.

10. ARP Wardens Air Raid Precautions (ARP) were organised by the national government and delivered by the local authorities. The aim was to protect civilians from the danger of air-raids. In September 1935, four years before WW2 began, British prime minister, Stanley Baldwin, published a circular entitled Air Raid Precautions (ARP) inviting local authorities to make plans to protect their people in event of a war. Such plans included building public air raid shelters. In April 1937 the government decided to create an Air Raid Wardens' Service and during the next year recruited around 200,000 volunteers. These volunteers were know as Air Raid Precaution Wardens. Their main purpose of ARP Wardens was to patrol the streets during blackout and to ensure that no light was visible. If a light was spotted, the warden would alert the person/people responsible by shouting something like "Put that light out!" or "Cover that window!". The ARP Wardens also reported the extent of bomb damage and assess the local need for help from the emergency and rescue services. They were responsible for the handing out of gas masks and pre-fabricated air-raid shelters (such as Anderson shelters, as well as Morrison shelters), and organised and staffed public air raid shelters. They used their knowledge of their local areas to help find and reunite family members who had been separated in the rush to find shelter from the bombs.

11. Battle World War II was the most widespread and the most destructive war in history. It involved all the Great Powers and most of the smaller nations of the world. One of the first naval battles fought in the Pacific during World War II. The Battle of the Coral Sea was fought from 4 May – 8 May 1942. It was a major naval battle fought, about 500 miles northeast of Australia, between the Imperial Japanese Navy and the United States and Australia. After Pearl Harbour, the Japanese took more and more islands in the Western Pacific Ocean. In May 1942, the Japanese planned to invade Port Moresby and then to bomb Australia from there. By early May the combined American and Australian fleet was in the Coral Sea, off Australia. So was the Japanese fleet. Some bombing went on and each side lost planes and ships. In the end the battle was a draw, but two things made it an important battle. It stopped the Japanese from invading Port Moresby and threatening Australia. It was also the first sea battle in history when neither opposing sides' ships sighted or fired directly upon the other. The Battle of Midway was a naval battle in the Pacific Ocean. It took place from 4 June 1942 to 7 June 1942, approximately one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was commander-in-chief of the Japanese Combined fleet. He planned to destroy the US Pacific Fleet at Midway Island. however, the Americans were waiting for him at Midway. There was a big battle. America only lost one carrier but the Japanese lost four aircraft carriers. The Americans won.

12. Battle Of Britain The First World War had to be fought mainly on the ground. World War Two was a different kind of war as it was both on the ground and from the air. In July 1940, Hitler gave orders for the preparation of a sea born invasion of Britain, called Operation Sea lion. To make this easier, he sent the Luftwaffe (German air force) to destroy Britain's Royal Air Force. German leaders felt it was essential to destroy the British air force to stop it sinking the ships that would carry German soldiers across the Channel. Battle of Britain is the name commonly given to the effort by the Luftwaffe to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF), before a planned sea and airborne invasion of Britain during the Second World War. The Luftwaffe tried to destroy the Royal Air Force. On 10 July, 1940, the Luftwaffe made their first bomber attack on British ships in the Channel. In August, 1940 the German air force began its mass bomber attacks on British airfields, harbours, aircraft factories and radar stations. During the next three months the Royal Air Force lost 792 planes and over 500 pilots were killed. 31 October 1940, is generally considered to be the end of the Battle of Britain, after the RAF caused considerable damage to the Luftwaffe. 1,547 allied aircraft were lost during the Battle of Britain. They decided to concentrate on bombing London and other British cities.

13. The Blackouts Britain was blacked out on 1st September 1939, two days before the outbreak of war. During the war, everyone had to cover their windows and doors at night (before sunset) with heavy blackout curtains, cardboard or paint. They needed to prevent any glimmer of light from escaping and aiding enemy aircraft during the bombing raids. Street lights were switched off or dimmed and shielded to deflect the light downward. Traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect the beam down to the floor. Thousands of people died in road accidents. The number of road accidents increased because of the lack of street lighting and the dimmed traffic lights. To help prevent accidents white stripes were painted on the roads and on lamp-posts. People were encouraged to walk facing the traffic and men were advised to leave their shirt-tails hanging out so that they could be seen by cars with dimmed headlights. Other people were injured during the Blackout because they could not see in the darkness. Many people were injured tripping up, falling down steps, or bumping into things.

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