The League of Nations After WWI The League of Nations was established to avoid another world conflict. It was the first international peace organization. Members of the League were entitled to the assistance of other members if they came under attack.

The League of Nations

Appeasements Remilitarization of the Rhineland France consulted Britain and lodged protests with the League, but took no action. In Britain it was thought that the Germans were merely walking into "their own back yard"

Appeasements Invasion of Austria The treaty of Versailles forbade any sort of union between Austria and Germany . On the 12th of march 1938 German soldiers crossed the border and were greeted by cheering Austrians. Austria became the German province of Ostmark.

Appeasements The Munich Agreement On 29 September 1939, Hitler, Chamberlain (British Prime Minister), Édouard Daladier (the French Prime Minister) and Mussolini met in Munich. They agreed that Germany could take over the Sudetenland. Hitler and Chamberlain signed a peace treaty between the UK and Germany. Chamberlain told the British he had won "peace for our time".

Appeasements The Munich Agreement In March 1939, Chamberlain talked about a possible disarmament conference between himself, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Joseph Stalin. That same month Czechoslovakia was completely divided up between Germany, Hungary, and Poland.

A Strange Alliance The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact/Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact was signed in Moscow on August 23, 1939. This agreement was a peace treaty stating that Germany and Russia would not go to war and all disputes would be settled diplomatically.

A Strange Alliance They also secretly agreed to divide Poland between themselves.

Example of a Bullet Point Slide Sub Bullet

Invasion of Poland On September 1, 1939 The Nazi’s invaded Poland. France and Britain declared war.

Invasion of Poland France remained close to or behind the Maginot Line.

Invasion of Poland The RAF dropped leaflets, not bombs, urging a peace settlement.

Invasion of Poland The British and French were assuming that Germany was going to maintain tactics that were common during WW1. They were not prepared for…

Invasion of Poland Video Clip What made it possible to take over Poland? Could Britain and France stopped the Nazi’s? 1 September – 6 October 1939 (1 month and 5 days)

Invasion of Europe Germany had avoided a two front war. They took over Poland and made allies with the next country to the east. It was now time to push west.

Invasion of Europe In April 1940 Hitler quickly changed the direction of his army and pushed west. He quickly attacked and subdued Demark and Norway. A month later he attacked Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Despite some help from the British and French, the Nazis quickly conquered.

Invasion of Europe Denmark and Norway: 9 April 1940 Luxembourg: 10 May 1940 Netherlands:10–14 May 1940 Belgium: 10–28 May 1940

Invasion of Europe The French expected Belgium to continue the Maginot Line. When France failed to stand up to Germany’s occupation of the Rhineland, Belgium lost faith in France as an ally and declared neutrality.

Invasion of Europe Germany swept around the Maginot Line. The French army was led by aged generals who were not strategically prepared for blitzkrieg. Invasion of France: 10 May – 22 June 1940 (1 month and 12 days)

Invasion of Europe Hitler accomplished in two months what the German army in WW! Failed to accomplish in four years of hard fighting.

Battle of Britain The Nazi’s then went on to attack Britain. They thought that they would quickly overcome Britain but the British had the newly invented Radar as well as the Spitfire fighter plane which was more maneuverable than the German planes.

A Strange Alliance The Molotov Ribbentrop Pact was supposed to last 10 years. It lasted 2. Since Germany was failing to win the Battle of Britain, Hitler thought it was a good time to take Russia by surprise.

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa In just a few months the Nazis had moved further into Russia than any other invasion had before. They only needed to take Moscow before the winter came. They failed.

Japan Attacks The USA Germany wanted to keep the United States out of the war as long as possible. They made the mistake in WW1 of sinking one of their ships. They didn’t want that to happen again. But on 7 December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor.

D- Day Canada was a major participant in the liberation of France Our soldiers landed on Juno Beach, 6 June 1966 (D-Day). A new memorial is planned.

The Defeat of Nazi Germany Finally on 1 May 1945, Hitler committed suicide in an underground bunker in Berlin, and the Russians, with consent of their allies, occupied the city.