Hitler’s Lightning War Macdonald World History

Mein Kampf In jail, Hitler wrote Mein Kampf or My Struggle – that explained his beliefs and goals for Germany Treaty of Versailles an outrage / Hitler would regain German lands 2. Germany was overcrowded & needed more lebensraum or living space – get that by conquering other lands 3. Claimed Germans (Aryans) were master race / all others inferior

Hitler Attacks Poland Hitler / Stalin signed non-aggression pact After signing, Hitler attacked Poland in a surprise attack Used blitzkrieg – “lightning war” – used fast moving planes & tanks, followed by massive ground forces to surprise enemy & overwhelm them

Hitler Invades Poland

Polish Invasion Britain & France declared war, but Poland already fallen “Phony War” 2 weeks later, Stalin sent Soviet troops to occupy half of Poland and then moved to annex many other countries to the west 7 months later German troops invaded Denmark and Norway

Fall of France May 1940 Hitler invaded Netherlands, Belgium & Luxembourg in strategy to attack France Allies sent most troops to protect those countries, then Hitler sent in larger force to mostly undefended France France quickly fell & by June, France surrendered, Germans took control of northern part of country

Battle of Britain Now Great Britain stood alone against Hitler Winston Churchill new prime minister declared that his nation would never surrender Hitler’s plan to conquer Great Britain was to first knock out British Royal Air Force, then land 250,000 ground troops to overwhelm Britain

London Blitz

Battle of Britain (con’t) 1940 Luftwaffe (German air force) began bombing Great Britain Attacked both military & civilian targets Royal Air Force began to fight back using 3 advantages Radar German code-breaking machine Churchill’s determination

Never Surrender!!!!!!!!

Battle of Britain (con’t) To avoid RAF, Germans gave up daylight attacks & focused on night bombing Battle of Britain continued until May 1941 until Hitler decided to call off attacks & focus on Mediterranean &Eastern Europe Proved Hitler could be stopped

Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary Fall to Axis Powers

Operation Barbarossa Attack on the Soviet Union 3 million Germans poured into USSR Stalin was caught by surprise Further weakened by recent purges where he had killed some of his best generals

Russia Defends Itself The Soviets had to retreat under the German attack 2 ½ million Soviets died Scorched Earth Policy Burned everything (factories, shelter, fields) By autumn, the Germans were outside of Stalingrad

The Russian Winter The Germans attacked Stalingrad, but in winter Freezing temperatures led to many German soldiers freezing to death Inside Stalingrad, people were starving They ate all of the food, then all living things (including rats), and got to the point where they were boiling wallpaper from their walls and eating it or boiling leather and eating it

Hitler’s Solution to the “Jewish Problem”

Nuremberg Laws

Nuremberg Laws Kristallnacht

Nuremberg Laws Kristallnacht Ghettos

Nuremberg Laws Kristallnacht Ghettos Concentration Camps

Nuremberg Laws Kristallnacht Ghettos Concentration Camps “Final Solution” – genocide (extermination camps)