 Hitler envisioned enlarging Germany beyond its 1914 borders  Wanted to Bring the entire German people (Volk) into one nation  Hitler hoped to extinguish Jews from his new Germany  Reunite the German people of the old Hapsburg Empire and to seize land from neighboring countries– Beginning with Poland and Ukraine

 In 1935, Mussolini attacked Ethiopia (angers international community)  Britain and France did not want to alienate Mussolini and in the end turned to Germany  1936 Germany allied with Italy in the Rome-Berlin Axis (origins of the Axis powers)  1936 Hitler marched into the Rhineland and seized control  Only received weak protests from Britain and France in the form of policy of appeasement

 Hitler and Mussolini supported Francisco Franco in his bid to take control of Spain  Japan joined the Axis powers  Germany and Austria entered into an Auschluss (union) which had profound implications for Czechoslovakia which was surrounded by Germany  The Czech appealed to France, England, and Russia for aid  Neville Chamberlain was committed to the policy of appeasement and id not want Britain in another war

 In 1939 Hitler Invaded Prague putting an end to the Czech state  Hitler began aggressive acts in Poland  Britain and France considered a alliance with Russia  Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact was revealed:  This pact divided Poland between the two nations and allowed Russia to occupy the Baltic States  This pact effectively led to the French and English going to war

 Germany’s attack on Poland was swift—a Blitzkrieg—or lighting war  Hitler invaded Denmark and Norway in 1940  A month later he attacked Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg  British and French armies in Belgium fled to the English Channel and escaped from the beaches of Dunkirk, saving thousands of lives  The Maginot Line, an imaginary line that ran from Switzerland to the Belgian frontier, was exposed on its left flank after Hitler remilitarized the Rhineland  Hitler’s advance through Belgium avoided the French Defenses  Mussolini staged an invasion in southern France, and less than a week later France, led by Marshal Petain, asked for an armistice

 Britain was isolated after the Fall of France, but the rise of power of Prime Minister Winston Churchill ended the government’s days of appeasement  Churchill established a connection with FDR and the U.S aided Britian before entering the war  Hitler invaded Britain in 1940, bombing London and destroying much of the city  British morale grew during this time period and united the nation against Hitler  Hitler also began his invasion of Russia in 1941

 War was thrust on the Americans in 1941 when Japan launched an attack on the U.S naval base at Pearl Harbor  The next day the U.S and Britain declared war on Japan  Three days later Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S  In 1942 the allies gained control of the Mediterranean Sea  In 1943 they conquered German controlled Italy and gained another ally  The Battle of Stalingrad, the Russians lost more soldiers than the U.S did during the entire war, but prevailed against Germany  Hitler’s army was essentially destroyed

 In 1943 American and British began a series of day and night bombings on German cities  On June 6 th, 1944 D-Day American, British, and Canadian troops landed on the coast of Normandy, France and got through the German defense  France was liberated by September  The Battle of Bulge in December 1944 resulted in heavy Allied losses, but the Allies pushed on and crushed German resistance  By May 1 st 1945 Berlin was occupied by the Allies  Japan refused to surrender  Americans warplanes dropped Atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki  The government under Emperor Hirohito surrendered on August 14 th, 1945

 In Germany the economy remained buoyant until the army’s failure to overwhelm the Russians ( after which a wartime economy took over)  Germany suffered severe food shortages and demanded sacrifices from its people  The manufactor of armaments replaced the production of consumer goods and food rationing began in 1942  Women, teenagers, and retired Men were required to work in factories  Thousands of people from conquered lands were forced to labor in Germany  Political Propaganda intensified in Germany and the role of women began important to the German ideology

 In France, the Vichy government that followed Germany’s aggression was a source of national controversy  It encouraged intense nationalism that fostered anti-Semitism  Internal resistance to the Vichy government developed in 1942, but large scale movements did not arise until 1944  General Charles de Gaulle, who had fled to Britain, urged the French people to resist their conquerors and support the French National Committee of Liberation  In 1945 France voted to end the Third Republic and the Fourth Republic was started with a new constitution