WWII Begins

Path to War

• 1935 Hitler begins to defy the Treaty of Versailles

• Began rebuilding the German Air Force and started a military draft

• Both were in direct violation of the Treaty

• Instead of enforcing the Treaty---European leaders tried to negotiate with Hitler

Why make a deal with Hitler?

• Wanted to avoid a repeat of the bloodshed of WWI

• Thought most of Hitler’s demands were reasonable

• Assumed that the Nazis would be more interested in peace once they gain more land

Uniting German People

• 1937 Hitler called for the unification of all German-speaking people– Including those

living in Austria and Czechoslovakia

• 1938 Hitler threatened to invade Austria unless Nazis were place in high ranking government positions

• Hitler sent troops into Austria in March

The Munich Crisis

• Hitler next moved his attention to the Sudetenland– Area in Czechoslovakia where they spoke

German– Czechs did not want to give up the

Sudetenland– France threatened to fight Germany if it

attacked Czechoslovakia, with Soviet Union aid

Munich Conference

• Representatives from Britain, France, Italy, and Germany met to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia

• Sept. 1938--- Britain and France agreed to Hitler’s demands– Appeasement

• Czechoslovakia was told to give up the Sudetenland or fight Germany on it’s own

Hitler Demands Danzig

• Hitler demands Danzig to be returned to German control

• Danzig--- 90% German city in Poland

• France and Britain now realized that war was inevitable

• March 31, 1939---if Poland goes to war to defend themselves against Germany, Britain and France would help

The Nazi-Soviet Pact

• Nonaggression Pact between German and the USSR

• Secret part of the deal was the Germany and USSR would divide Poland between them

The War Begins

• Sept. 1, 1939---Germany invades Poland

• Sept. 3, 1939--- Britain and France declared war on Germany

• WWII had officially began

• Poland fights hard, but is defeated in about a month (Oct. 5, 1939)

• Blitzkrieg was just too much for the Polish military, who were greatly out gunned

The Fall of France

• France waited for Germany to attack them

• Hitler tricked French and English soldiers– trapping them in Belgium

• Germany had taken all French ports except one– Dunkirk

• For some unknown reason Hitler delayed his attack on Dunkirk

English were dead in the water!!

Miracle at Dunkirk

• This delay allowed over 338,000 British and French troops evacuate

• Ships from all over northern Europe helped save the soldiers

• English lost most of there supplies but were happy not to lose all their soldiers

• June 22, 1940--- Hitler accepts France’s surrender

Britain Remains Defiant

• Hitler expected England to surrender after France

• Winston Churchill had other plans

• Convinces the English people that they will NEVER surrender

• Whenever Germany would try and ship soldiers over to England the Air Force would sink the ships

• Germany had to first defeat the British Royal Air Force

Battle of Britain

• Aug. 1940 Germany launched an all air battle against England

• Aug. 23, 1940---German planes accidentally bombed London

• Aug. 24, 1940--- English planes bombed Berlin

• Air raids began

• Germany began bombing London almost every night

• Hitler wanted to terrorize England into surrender

• England had developed radar--- great help to the out numbered English Air Force

• Oct. 12, 1940 Hitler canceled his invasion of England