WW2 Notes:
1. Germany is the best: Germans are descended from Aryans (a mythical
group of people) who are the master race and better than all others. “White,
blonde haired, blue eyed, tall, physically fit.”
2. Foreign Policy: The Treaty of Versailles is worthless. A strong military will
keep Germany strong and make Germany powerful. War makes countries
stronger.
3. Lebensraum/ Third Reich: German speaking Aryans should be united and
given living space. Any areas that Germany lost in the Treaty of Versailles
with German speaking people should be returned to Germany. Therefore,
Germany will be a strong reich for the third time in its history. The Third
Reich means the Third Empire.
4. Hatred towards Jews and Communists: Germans want a strong
government with new ideas to get them out of The Great Depression. Nazis
and communists are popular parties with new ideas to fix the economy.
Many people are racist against Jewish people (anti-semitic) and have
discriminatory beliefs that Jews hold positions of power in the world. Jews
also have top positions in the Communist government in Russia and are
treated as equals among Russians. Therefore, Nazis believe there is a
Jewish-Communist alliance and conspiracy to take over the world.
5. Economic Policy: Public building projects (roads like the Ottobahn-
Germany’s super highway with no speed limit, libraries, stadiums, public
buildings), the land standard (a fixed economy where Germany has a value
based on land and not gold), re-arm (build weapons and get workers into
factories), stop reparation payments (don’t pay France and Belgium for
damages caused in WW1)
Discussion Question: Does history repeat itself? Look for the 4 main causes of
WW1 in the 5 main beliefs of the nazi party. What similarities and differences do
you see?
Militarism:
The Third Reich which meant German speaking Aryans: should be united and
given space.
Imperialism:
Lebensraum: German speaking people should live in one place and they need
more space as a country.
Nationalism:
The first point says Germany is the best which states that Germans are
descended from Aryans who are the master race and better than others.
-Germany believes war makes countries stronger.
-Germany believes that they need a strong army to truly become a strong country.
Hitler becomes a brilliant politician after he exits prison. He’s one of the first
people who uses the radio to speak on announcements.
-He maintained a public image that kept people interested in him. He never
allowed people to take pictures of him so people could see what he looked like.
-WW2 is the second total war in history.
-WW2 is the first time that civilians were widely punished in war.
Love, Hate and propaganda
-In WW2, at that time what you believed in could be the difference between life or
death.
-People know Hitler’s name or what he did, but no one knew his face or what he
truly looked like. He turned down $20,000 to get one photo of himself.
-Hoffman, a photographer at the time tried to take a photograph of Hitler, but the
camera was taken out by his bodyguard.
-Hoffman would help Hitler create the perfect image of himself with good
photographs.
-Hiter became the leader of the Nazi party right after Germany was defeated in
WW1.
-The economy of Germany is in ruins.
-The Jew was utilized as a hate figure.
-Hitler is sent to jail for treason.
-Hitler as soon as he leaves jail, gets a new photo by Heinrich Hoffman, and he
looks like a fuhrer.
-Goebells manipulates the masses and hates Jews.
-The Nazis mobilized its hate on Jews on the streets.
-The Nazi party issued postcards that made Hitler stand out like no one else
could.
-Hoffman released a book called: Hitler’s soft side which has pictures of him
looking a lot softer.
-In 1933, Hitler became the leader of Germany.’
-His first move as a leader was to remove democracy and make himself a dictator.
Americas’ thoughts on the war
How does Hitler turn the Chancellorship into a dictatorship by 1934?
1. Hitler became chancellor
2. The Reichstag fire
3. The enabling act
4. The night of the long knives
5. The death of president Hindenburg
6. Oath of loyalty to Hitler
January 1933
- The depression after the Wall Street Crash made many more people vote
for the Nazis. In 1933 Van Papen was convinced that Hitler should become
Chancellor. He was chosen to be a leader.
February 1933
- The Reichstag building burnt down.
- A communist was found inside the building. He admitted responsibility.
- Chancellor Hitler was able to convince people that the Communists were
trying to take power by terrorism.
- He was able to have Communists from the Reichstag.
March 1933
- The Enabling Act: With the Communists banned from the Reichstag Hitler
was able to pass: “Hiter can rule alone for four years. There is no need to
consult the Reichstag.”
- The Enabling Act gave Hitler the power to make his own laws. So, he
banned all other political parties.
- Political prisoners were put in concentration camps run by the S.S.
- His opponents were put into concentration camps.
June 1934
- The Night of the Long Knives
- Now that he has gotten rid of opposition from political groups, he could
now deal with opposition in his party. Ernst Rohm (an old friend), head of
the S.A. is very unpopular with German army leaders. They have the power
to overthrow me. I’ve been worried about Rohm for a while, so this is a
good excuse. The Night of the long knives is the night where the S.S. and t
- Hitler had to get rid of Rohm. He was too much of a threat.
- On the night of the 30th of June in 1934, Hitler’s S.S killed over 1000 SA
members including Rohm.
- The army were pleased.
- Hitler gained support of the army.
- 3 million people are in his army
August 1934
- The death of President Hindenburg:
- A final note: President Hindenburg’s death gave hitler the opportunity to
combine the role of chancellor and the role of a leader.
- Every soldier swore a personal oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler.
How did Hitler rise to power (ted talk)
-
Appeasement:
-Giving in to demands to avoid WW2
-The Steps to war
Once Hitler established power in Germany, he quickly started to rearm the
country and take over surrounding territory
-1931: Japan conquers Manchuria
-Facing severe economic problems such as overcrowding on its islands, Japan
invades Manchuria just North of Korea. The League of Nations takes no decisive
action against Japanese aggression.
-1933: Germany rearms
-Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany and immediately begins expanding the
German army and air force beyond the limits set in the Treaty of Versailles. The
Germany military slogan is “TO
1935: Mussolini invades Ethiopia:
Italy invades Ethiopia in Africa to expand its territory and to obtain the region’s
rich oil resources. Again, the League of Nations takes no decisive action.
1936: Hitler reoccupies Rhineland
-By the Treaty of Versailes, German troops were forbidden from moving 50km of
the Rhine River. No one stops the German advance. Hitler had given secret orders
to retreat if any resistance was encountered.
March 1938: Germany Annexes Austria:
Nazi soldiers occupy Austria without a single shot being fired. Again, other
nations made no attempt to stop Hitler’s advance because they wanted to avoid
war. Hitler uses the annexation to give his army practice in blitz warfare.
September 1938: Munich Pact is signed
-Britain and France meet with Hitler and sign the Munich Pact. They allow
Germany to have the Sudetenland (the northwest of Czechoslovakia) because
they believe it will save the world from war. This policy of giving in for peace
becomes known as “appeasement”
March 1939: Hitler Occupies Czechoslovakia
Hitler takes Czechoslovakia despite saying he only wanted a part of it.
Axis powers: Italy Germany and Japan
August 1939:Germany and Soviet Union sign a Non Aggression pact
The Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact promises that Germany and Russia will not attack
each other. They secretly divide Poland between them. Hitler is now free to fight a
war with Britain and France without Russia attacking Germany in the East.
September 1, 1939: Hitler invades Poland
Hitler Demands that the Polish Corridor (awarded to Poland in the Treaty of
Versailles) be given back to Germany. Poland refuses. The Nazis launch a
Blitzkrieg (lightning war) on Poland. Russia attacks Poland in the east and the
country quickly falls.
Allies: France Poland and Britain
September 3,1939: Britain and France declare war
-Britain and France realize there can be no more appeasement. They declare war
and WW2 begins.
September 10, 1939L Canada declares war on Germany.
Blitz Krieg Lightning war: Using tanks, trucks, horses, and airplanes to surround
enemies.
The Invincible Maginot Line
During the 1930s the French army, with the support of British troops, built a
series of fortifications along the border with Germany. The reasoning was:
Germany will never destroy French towns and cities in a war with us ever again.
-Pinch Raid: A raid designed to steal important information.
-Enigma: The German secret code for all military messages. It used a machine
with many spinning wheels to randomize every letter and the only way to decode
it was to have another enigma machine with the daily start code.
Dieppe Uncovered
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