NAZI EXPANSION & THE SECOND WORLD WAR Eastview High School – AP European HistoryMcKay, et al., 8th ed. – Ch29 Section 5

Aggression & Appeasement (1933-1939)

A. Hitler’s main goal was territorial expansion for the “superior” German race.

B. He withdrew from the League of Nations in 1933.

C. An Anglo-German naval agreement in 1935 broke Germany’s isolation.

D. In violation of the Treaty of Versailles, Hitler occupied the demilitarized Rhineland in 1936.

E. The British policy of appeasement, motivated by both guilt and pacifism, lasted far into 1939.

Events leading to War

A. Mussolini attacked Ethiopia in 1935 and joined Germany in supporting the fascists in Spain.

B. Germany, Italy, and Japan formed an alliance.

C. Hitler annexed Austria and demanded part of Czechoslovakia in 1938. (the Sudetenland)

D. Chamberlain flew to Munich to appease Hitler and agree to his territorial demands.

E. Hitler accelerated his aggression and occupied all of Czechoslovakia in 1939.

F. In 1939, Hitler and Stalin signed a public nonaggression pact and a secret pact that divided eastern Europe into German and Russian zones.

G. Germany attacked Poland, and Britain and France declared war on Germany (1939).

Chamberlain & Hitler in Munich - 1938

Hitler’s Empire (1939 – 1942)

A. The key to Hitler’s military success was speed and force (the blitzkrieg).

B. He crushed Poland quickly and then France; by July 1940 the Nazis ruled nearly all of Europe except Britain.

C. He bombed British cities in an attempt to break British morale but did not succeed.

D. In 1941 Hitler’s forces invaded Russia and conquered the Ukraine and got as far as Leningrad and Moscow until stopped by the severe winter weather.

E. After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor (1941) Hitler also declared war on the United States.

Nazi Racial Ideology

A. A belief in the superiority of the German race to the Latin cultures/races

B. All high culture was the work of the Aryan race

C. A belief in “racial hygiene,” eugenics – the purity and health of the Aryan race must be maintained

D. Interbreeding would lead to decline of the race and extinction, and must be stopped"German bearing, German

prowess, manifest Nordic racial heritage!"

Hitler’s New Order

A. Hitler began building a New Order based on racial imperialism.

B. Nordic peoples were treated with preference; the French were heavily taxed; the Slavs were treated as “sub-humans.”

C. The SS evacuated Polish peasants to create a German “settlement space.”

D. Polish workers and Russian prisoners of war did most of the heavy labor.

The Death Camps

Jews, Gypsies, Jehovah’s witnesses, and communists were condemned to death—six million Jews were murdered in concentration camps.

The Grand Alliance

American aid to Britain and the Soviets, along with the heroic support of the British and Soviet peoples and the assistance of resistance groups throughout Europe, contributed to the eventual victory.

A. The allies had three policies that led them to victory:

1. The United States concentrated on European victory first, then Japan.

2. The Americans and British put military needs before political questions, thus avoiding conflict over postwar settlements.

3. The Allies adopted the principle of “unconditional surrender” of Germany and Japan, denying Hitler the possibility of dividing his foes.

The Tide of Battle

A. The Germans were defeated at Stalingrad at the end of 1942, and from there on the Soviets took the offensive.

B. At the same time American, British, and Australian victories in the Pacific put Japan on the defensive.

C. The Battle of the Coral Sea (1942) stopped the Japanese advance.

D. The Battle of Midway Island (1942) established American naval superiority in the Pacific.

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major turning point in the war for the Soviet troops and for the Allies in the European theater.

The Battle in Europe

A. The British defeat of Rommel at the Battle of El Alamein (1942) helped drive the Axis powers from North Africa in 1943.

B. Italy surrendered in 1943, but fighting continued as the Germans seized Rome and northern Italy.

1. The Germans were particullarly cruel to the Italians after they surrendered.

2. The Allies began to liberate Italy in September 1943 through 1945. Over 60,000 Allied troops lost their lives.

C. Bombing of Germany and Hitler’s brutal elimination of opposition caused the Germans to fight on.

D. The British and Americans invaded German-held France in June 1944, but did not cross into Germany until March 1945.

1. The Allied invasion of Normandy led to the liberation of France and the eventual defeat of German forces.

The American Military Cemetary near Florence, Italy. Thousands of Americans died liberating Italy from the Germans

during WWII. Eastview students visited here in 2006.

The End of the War

A. The Soviets pushed from the east, crossing the Elbe and meeting the Americans on the other side on April 26, 1945; Hitler committed suicide, and Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. (VE Day)

B. The United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in August 1945, and it too surrendered.

Questions for your review

1. Who was Himmler and what was his role?2. When did relations between Hitler and Mussolini get better?3. What was the first German act of aggression that could NOT be justified by self-

determination?4. When does the war officially begin?5. What was the key to Hitler’s military success?6. How does Hitler attempt to conquer the U.K.?7. What did Hitler’s invasion of Russia signal to the world?8. How did Hitler and his followers carry out the “final solution”?9. Who was Marshal Petain and what was his role in WWII?10. What were the statistics concerning German war production?11. Why was “unconditional surrender” the goal of the Allies?12. How do the Allies eventually win the war?13. What was the key battle for the Soviets on the Eastern front?14. Which were the key battles in the Pacific which established the U.S. as eventual

victors?