3.2 Europe at war (lesson I)

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What is hard to understand about World War II? It could be something we discussed, but also something we haven't (yet).

If you were alive in the Netherlands in 1945, how would feel about the future?

Hitler defeated 

April 1945

• In April the Red Army (of the Soviet Union) attacks Berlin, Hitler's capital.
  
• Hitler commits suicide
  

Especially London is targeted, first by airplanes, later by V1 and V2 rockets too.

3.2 Europe at war (lesson I)

The Second World War

Time of World Wars 1900-1950

Lesson goals

- To gain insight in the first part of World War II

- To understand the meaning of events for ordinary civilians

Which assignment, if any, was hard to do?

How did the Nazis prepare for war in the 1930s?

Why did they prepare for war?

Germany attacks Poland 

1 September 1939

The Second World War in Europe has started (in Asia it started some years earlier)

Britain and France declare war on Germany 

3 September 1939

The first months

end 1939 - start 1940

• Some weeks after the German attack on Poland: Soviet Union attacks the east.
  
• The Germans are cruel to Poland. In 1945, 20% of the Polish population is dead.
  
• Soviet Union takes over other countries as well (part of Finland, Baltic States)
  

Blitzkrieg in Western-Europa

April-July 1940

• Phoney War
  
• In April Denmark and Norway are attacked, Western Europe follows in May
• The Germans use a lot of force and speed:  Blitzkrieg
  

What will this mean for Polish-German relations when the war is over?

The Netherlands capitulates

15 May 1940

• The Dutch fight bravely, but are no match for the Nazi army.
• When Rotterdam is bombarded, the Dutch surrender
• Belgium and France surrender a couple of weeks later

The fight between the French and Germans in the Second World War is very different one from the one in the First World War. How?

Battle of Britain

July - October 1940

• The Germans want to conquer Great Britain. The Royal Air Force wins however: England remains free. 
• Churchill (Prime Minister England): ‘Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few’. 
• Great Britain will nevertheless be bombed throughout the war

• Het betekent niet dat de Britten van Duitse bombardementen af zijn...
  

The population of London hides in the Underground metro stations when the Luftwaffe (German airforce) attacks. 

Poster by the British government to enstill faith and confidence in the British people.

What will a Dutch Jew say about the current situation in the war?

What will a German mother say in the same situation?

Operation Barbarossa

June - December 1941

• Disregarding the Nonagression Pact signed in 1939, the Nazi's attack the Soviet Union
• At first, it seems to be great success

Homework

Study 64-65

Do 3 and 6

• The Germans treat the population of the Soviet Union with great disrespect. They consider them Untermensch, hardly worthy of living. 
• In WWII, more than 20 million (!) will die (military and civilian deaths)

Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor

7 December 1941

• 
  
• Japan attacks the American marine base of Pearl Harbor. It is a surprise attack.
• The American fleet is largely destroyed: the Japanes have free range in Asia

The Axis powers stick together: Germany also declares war on the US.

Considering the map: why did the Germans/Japanese loose the war?

Battle of Stalingrad

August 1942 - February 1943

• The Germans loose. Hitler underestimated the climate, length of time it would take to beat the Soviet Untion and the will power of Stalin and others.
  
• This is the turning point in the war in Europe: the Soviet Union starts to push the German army back to the west.

Japan occupies the Dutch East Indies 

March 1942

D-Day

6 June 1944

• With the landing of allied forces in Normandy (France), the Germans are attacked from the west as well as the east
• D-Day means Decision Day.

Why is 'Stalingrad' more important in the defeat of the Nazi's than 'D-Day'?

Market Garden/Battle of Arnhem

September 1944

• The Allies want to cross the Rhine to liberate the rest of the Netherlands, but more importantly, to enter Germany (Ruhr area: industrial heart of Germany.
• The attack fails: the Germans are stronger than expected. 
• It was, literally, a Bridge to Far

Conference of Yalta

February 1945

• The Allies meet in Yalta (Soviet Union) to discuss post-war issues concerning Europe: e.g. what to do with Germany. 
• The Big Three present: Churchill (GB), Roosevelt (VS) and Stalin (Soviet Union). 
  

Would you want to go and see this movie?

1. For sure
2. Absolutely not
3. I would definitely consider it
4. Probably not

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

President of the United States

Joseph Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union

Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Great Brittain

If you were a German in May 1945, how would you look at the future?

the Netherlands liberated

5 May 1945

• The actual liberation depends, of course, on local circumstances

Germany capitulates

8 May 1945

Atomic Bomb hits Hiroshima

6 August 1945

• The Americans have developed a nucleair weapon. 
• The first city to be hit is Hiroshima. There is great devastation. 
• On the 9th of August, Nagasaki is hit as well

Japan surrenders

15 August 1945

Did the Japanese have any other option? Please explain briefly.

Video

Histoclips: World War II