1. Responding to German Aggression

2. Hitler defies Treaty of Versailles As Hitler promised, he would not obey the Treaty of Versailles. He built up his military. He took over the Rhineland (which was the buffer zone between Germany and France). He made an alliance Mussolini and then Japan. Italy, Germany, and Japan became the Axis Powers

3. Anchluss In 1938, Hitler sent his troops to Austria and annexed it (took it over). The League of Nations (with no military) did not do anything.

4. #1: The Czechoslovakia Crisis Czechoslovakia was created at the end of WWI and it was home to many ethnic Germans The Sudetenland was a mineral rich, naturally defensive region which contained many Germans. In 1938, Hitler demanded the return of the Sudetenland to the Reich. Czechoslovakia turned to its ally France for support, and then France asked Great Britain. Hitler then demanded complete annexation.

5. The Sudentenland

6. (LEFT) A Sudeten woman dutifully salutes parading Nazis, October, 1938. The Sudetenland was the portion of Czechoslovakia inhabited by over 3 million Sudeten Germans. Many of them became Nazis and strongly supported the acquisition of the Sudetenland by Hitler.

7. How did your country respond to the Czechoslovakia crisis? A.Unconditional support of Germany’s demands B.Proclaimed neutrality C.Negotiated an agreement with Hitler that allowed Germany to take Sudetenland if it promised to make no more demands in Czechoslovakia. D.Opposed Germany’s demands, but didn’t threaten to declare war. E.Threatened to declare war if Hitler took Sudetenland.

8. The Historical Response to the Czechoslovakia conflict Great Britain: (C) Initiated talks with Germany at the Munich Conference. Followed a policy of appeasement. Said that Germany could occupy Sudetenland if Hitler didn’t ask for more of Czechoslovakia. France: (C) Also attended the Munich Conference and signed Munich Pact (agreement to give Hitler the Sudetenland as long as he didn’t ask for any more territory). France also claimed it would protect Czech. if Hitler invades. Soviet Union (USSR): (D) They were opposed to any extension of Germany territory and so they were not invited to the Munich Conference. Since Stalin didn’t believe he was ready to fight Germany’s army, the Soviet Union did not get involved in solving the Czech conflict. USA: (B) Adopted a foreign policy of isolationism because it didn’t want to fight another war—it didn’t get involved in the crisis.

9. #2: Violation of Munich Pact Britain, France, Germany, and Italy met in Munich to address the Czech conflict. France and Britain decided on a policy of appeasement with Hitler. He signed a pact that said that Sudetenland is the “last territorial demand in Europe”. 1939, Hitler demanded that the new Czech government be put in charge that is sympathetic to the Germans. They did not, and Hitler annexed Czechoslovakia the following day.

11. How did your country respond to the violation of the Munich Pact? A.Supported Germany’s annexation of Czechoslovakia. B.Declared war on Germany for breaking the Munich Pact. C.Continued appeasement, hoping the Germany was done taking land. D.Negotiated with Germany to pull out of Czechoslovakia. E.Proclaimed neutrality. F.Proclaim neutrality, and prepare for a possible war.

12. The Historical Response to the Munich Pact Violation Great Britain: (C) Did not respond and stood by while Hitler carved up Central Europe. France: (C) Followed Britain’s lead and hoped that this wouldn’t lead to war. USSR: (A) Changed its stance and became friendly with Germany because Stalin saw that Europe and the US wouldn’t stand up to Hitler. USA: (E) Kept to the policy isolationism because it didn’t want to fight another war—it didn’t get involved in the crisis.

13. #3: Invasion of Poland Hitler then turned his interest to the Polish corridor, which had divided Germany in two and gave Poland their only access to the sea. Hitler demanded this corridor be returned to Germany, so Poland turned to Britain, France and the Soviet Union for help. Stalin and Hitler sign the non-aggression pact which said that Russia and Germany would not fight each other. Britain signed a pact to come to the aid of Poland if the Nazi’s attacked Poland. 15 days later, Hitler invaded Poland.

14. Polish Corridor

15. “All I want of him is a thin slice of his neck” Polish Corridor Poland

16. The Non-Aggression Pact

17. How did your country respond to the invasion of Poland? A.Proclaimed neutrality. B.Proclaimed neutrality, but prepared for a defensive war in case of invasion. C.Provided financial aid to the Allies (those fighting against Germany). D.Joined Germany in its invasion of Poland. E.Declared war on Germany, and hoped Germany would retreat from Poland, but didn’t actually fight. F.Declared war on Germany and sent in troops to fight.

18. The Historical Response to the Invasion of Poland Great Britain: (E) could not help defend Poland militarily. Britain declared war on September 3, 1939, but did not instigate (start) any fighting with the Germans. France: (E) Followed Britain’s lead and declared war. France began its long process of mobilizing on the Franco-German border. USSR: (D) Supported Hitler’s invasion of Poland and made a secret treaty to divide eastern Europe between Germany and USSR. Also seized part of Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. USA: (A) Proclaimed neutrality and FDR said he would take “all measures, short of war” to support Allies.

19. #4: The Invasion of France After the fall of Poland, Germany and the Allies did not fight for 8 months, something that the journalists called the “phony war.” It ended when Hitler invaded Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Belgium—all of which fell by the end of May. Hitler then went to try to capture Paris which he did within 2 weeks. The French troops went to Britain and the government moved south.

20. How did your country respond to the Invasion of France? A.Unconditional surrender to Germany B.Surrendered on the condition that your gov’t retained limited independence and control of some of your territory C.Proclaimed neutrality D.Proclaimed neutrality, but prepared defenses in case the war spread to your country E.Fought Germany wherever possible F.Supported Germany’s invasion of France

21. The Historical Response to the Invasion of France Great Britain: (E) Although British forces evacuated Paris, they fought wherever they could. When France fell, they were the last Allied country left in Europe. France: (B and E) France signed an armistice on June 22, 1940 and Germany got all of northern France and 60% of western France. A puppet French gov’t (Vichy gov’t) was set up. Charles De Gaulle, an army general, rejected the Vichy Government and set up the Free French gov’t in Britain which continued to fight the Germans. USSR: (F) Supported Hitler’s invasion of France but didn’t participate in it. USA: (C) Maintained neutrality but was alarmed by Germany’s success. When Italy declared war on both France and Great Britain, President Roosevelt announced that the US would “extend to the opponents of force (the Allies) the material resources of this nation [the USA].”

22. Vichy France Same map, but with French key

24. #5: The Battle of Britain After France surrendered, Britain was the only European country left. Winston Churchill said that they would never surrender in Britain. The Germans started massive air attacks— 1500 planes a day—to get rid of Britain’s aerial power.

25. How did your country respond to the Battle of Britain? A.Surrender to Germany B.Fought against Germany’s attack on Britain C.Supported Germany’s attack on Britain D.Proclaimed neutrality E.Proclaimed neutrality, but supported Britain with supplies and money F.Proclaimed neutrality, but prepared defenses in case the war spread to your country

26. Great Britain: (B) The Royal Air Force fought brilliantly, GB suffered 40,000 casualties, including 16,000 civilians dead. The British “won” the Battle of Britain by never allowing the Germans to weaken Britain to a point where Hitler felt he could invade. The Germans lost 1,733 planes in the fighting. This was the first time Hitler was stopped. France: (C and B) Vichy France supported the Nazis while the Free French forces in Britain fought the Nazis. USSR: (C) Supported Hitler’s invasion of France but didn’t participate in it. USA: (E) Maintained neutrality in fighting but loaned Britain money and 50 American destroyers. The Historical Response to the Battle of Britain

28. #6: The Invasion of the Soviet Union Victorious in Western and Southern Europe, Hitler decided to invade the Soviet Union with a massive invasion. The non-aggression pact was meant to stall the inevitable war (Hitler didn’t want to fight on 2 fronts and Stalin needed time to modernize his army). The time had come to go against the pact. On June 22, 1941 Hitler unleashed a massive invasion across a long front stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea.

29. “Wonder how long the honeymoon will last?”

30. German Invasion of the Soviet Union

32. How did your country respond to the Invasion of the Soviet Union? A.Supported Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union B.Fought against the German invasion of the Soviet Union. C.Proclaimed Neutrality D.Supported Soviets with military supplies E.Surrendered to Germany F.Opposed Germany’s invasion by fighting Germans elsewhere

33. The Historical Response to the Invasion of the Soviet Union Great Britain: (D) GB and the USSR captured Iran and this allowed the British to send supplies through India to the USSR. France: (A and F) The Vichy Government remained allied to the Nazis sent some troops to aid in Operation Barbarossa. The Free French Government in Britain fought the Nazis in North Africa but was unable to aid in the defense of the USSR. USSR: (B) Superior number of Russian troops and the harsh winter gave the Russians an advantage. In the spring, the Germans were forced to retreat across the Eastern Front. Throughout the entire invasion, Stalin pleaded with western leaders, without success, to open a Western Front to take pressure off the Soviets in the East. USA: (D) Sent the USSR aircraft, tanks, and raw materials. Joined the Allies later that year and began fighting the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan).

34. Ever since the United States entered the war in 1941, the Allied powers had been planning an invasion of Western Europe to fight Germany. This plan was delayed because of fighting in Northern Africa and Italy. By 1944 the Allies could finally focus on their invasion of the Normandy coast. Germany was now in control of all of France since it dissolved the Vichy Government. The Germans were expecting an attack and built up its forces along the Normandy coast. #7: Operation Overlord

35. How did your country respond to Operation Overlord? A.Participated fully in an invasion of the Normandy coast B.Supported the Allies by sending some troops and supplies to Operation Overlord C.Did not participate in Operation Overlord, but fought the Germans elsewhere D.Provided financial support only to the Allies E.Proclaimed neutrality F.Proclaimed neutrality, but secretly helped the Allies

36. The Historical Response to Operation Overlord Great Britain: (A) organized and housed the Allied army while it prepared for the invasion. British and Canadian soldiers made up more than half of the initial landing forces on D-Day (about 83,000 troops). France: (A) The Vichy Government was ended in 1942 and French forces came under control of the Free France government. French forced were part of the invasion of Southern France which was eventually successful in driving the Germans out of France. Paris was liberated on August 24, 1944. USSR: (C) continued the war against Germany in the East but did not participate in Operation Overlord. By 1944, the Red Army had driven Germans off nearly all Soviet territory. USA: (A) contributed 73,000 soldiers to the invasion. Many of the ships and planes used in the invasion were American. US President Eisenhower took command of the Allied armies in Europe in September, 1944. He received Hitler’s surrender on May 8, 1945.

37. Storming the Beaches of Normandy