World+War+II

**World War II** **1939-1945** **Elsa, Dylan, and Katie**



**The ideas of Adolf Hitler lead Europe into World War II. Hitler believed that Germany was capable of becoming a great civilization. He also thought that the Germans belonged to the 'Ayran' race and were superior to all other races and nationalities. But in order to be a great power, Germany needed more land. Hitler was convinced that the Western states had no intention of using force to maintain the Treaty of Versailles. So on March 7th of 1936, Hitler sent German troops into the Rhineland. The Rhineland was part of Germany, but according to the treaty it was a demilitarized area. This means that Germany was not permitted to have weapons or fortifications there. France, although, had the rights to use force against demilitarized Rhineland, but would not act without British support. Great Britain soon began to use a policy of appeasement. This policy was based on the belief that if European states satisfied the reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers, the dissatisfied powers would be content, and stability and peace would be achieved in Europe.**


 * Hitler had what he called Blitzkrieg, or 'lightning war,' and used armored columns, called panzer divisions, supported by airplanes. The forces of the blitzkreig broke quickly through Polish lines and encircled the bewildered Polish troops. On September 28th of 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union divided Poland. After waiting a winter, Hitler resumed the attack on April 9th of 1940 with another blitzkreig attack against Denmark and Norway. Germany launched another attack on the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The Germans action split the Allied armies, trapping French troops and the entire British army on the beaches of Dunkirk. **


 * Racial struggle had become a key element in Hitlers world of ideas. The Nazies called their Final Solution to the Jewish people genocide. This was physical extermination of the Jewish people. Reinhard Heydrich, head of the SS's security service was given the task of adminstering the final solution. He created a strike force, called Einsatzgruppen, to carry out the Nazi plan. In June of 1941, the Einsatzgruppen was given the new job of acting as mobile killing unites. Around one million Jews were killed by the Einsatzgruppen. The Germans had killed between five and six million Jews, over three million of them in the death camps. The largest of which was Auschwitz. **

__**Ten Key Terms **__ __**1) Appeasement- **__ **Great Britain began a practice of this policy. This policy was based on the belief that if European states satisfied the reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers, the dissatisfied powers would be content, and stablity and peace would be achieved in Europe. ** __**2) Demilitarized- **__ **This is an area where Germany was not permitted to have weapons or fortifications at. ** __**3)Blitzkrieg- **__ **Hitler used this concept. This is also was known as 'lightning war' ** __**4)Partisans- **__ **These are resistance fighters. Mussolini had been shot by Italian partisans. ** __**5)Genocide- **__ **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">This was known as the 'final solution,' or physical extermination, of the Jewish people. ** __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">6)Collaborators- **__ **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">These were people who assasinated the enemy. They helped the Nazis hung down Jews. ** __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">7)Mobilization- **__ **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The act of assembling and preparing for war. This was very extensive work. ** __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">8)Kamikaze- **__ **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Young Japanese pilots who served on suicide missions were known as this 'divine wind.' ** __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">9)Cold War- **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**The total victory of the Allies in World War II was followed not by a real peace but by a period of political tensions that became known as the** **Cold War.** __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">10)Afrika Korps- **__ **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Georgia,serif;">These were German forces under the control of General Erwin Rommel **



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Ten Key People 1: Adolf Hitler: Was appointed chancellor of Germany four days before he met secretly with Germany's leading generals. He had a plan to annihilate the Jewish population, this was called the final solution. 2: Benito Mussolini: Long dreamed of creating a new Roman Empire in the Mediterranean. He welcomed Hitler's support and began to draw closer to the German dictator. 3: Joseph Stalin: Soviet dictator. He began political and military negotiations with the soviet union. 4: Chiang Kai-shek: Tried to avoid a conflict with Japan so that he oculd deal with what he considered the greater threat from the Communists 5: Franklin D. Roosevelt: President who denounced the aggressors. He was convinced that the neutrality actts actually encouraged Axis aggressiona dn wanted the acts repealed. 6: Douglas MacArthur: Moved into the Philippined through New Guinea and the South Pacific Islands. He was a commander of the U.S. He was a general. 7:Renhard Heydrich: He was head of the SS's Security Service. He was given the task of administerind the Final Solution. He created special strike forces called Einsatzgruppen to carry out Nazi plans. 8: Albert Speer: Made minister for armaments and munitions in 1942. He was able to triple the production of armaments between 1942 and 1943 despite Allied air raids. 9: General Hideki Tojo: Prime minister from 1941-1944. He opposed female employment and argued that "the weakening of the family system would be th weakening of the nation...we are able to do our duties only because we have wives and mothers at home." 10: Oskar Schindler: German industrialist who saved Jews workng in factories-Polish and Czech

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Links: 1[|Adolf Hitler]-This is a page that describes Adolf Hitler's childhood, damage done during World War Two, and all of his Legacy 2[|Winston Churchill]-This is a page that talks about Winston Churchill. The information varies from his awards, military service, and early life. 3[|Auschwitz]-This page talks about the concentration camp Auschwitz. After the war museum information is all given on the site. 4[|Hiroshima]-This website talks about the Japenese city of Hiroshima, including things such as post war and the city's current state. 5[|Afrika Korps]-This page talks about the German Africa Corps. Discussing things such as organization of the group. 6[|Tojo]-This page talks about the Japanese war minister Tojo Hideki. It includes things such as his legacy and rise to Prime Minister 7[|Heinrich Himmler]-This page talks about Heinrich Himmler, the leaders of the SS put in charge of German Resettlement plans in the east. 8[|Anne Frank]-This is a page on Anne Frank, a jewish girl forced to hide from the Nazi's for two years. Her diary was published and made into a book. 9 10