World War II, 1939-1945

1
World War II, 1939-1945

• In this lesson, students will be able to define
  the following terms
• Appeasement
• Blitzkrieg
• Holocaust
• Axis Powers

2
World War II was in many ways a continuation of
World War I. Hitler wanted to avenge Germanys
humiliating defeat. German aims coupled with
Japanese ambitions in Asia made it the most
destructive war in history.
3
Fascist dictators glorified war and set out to
expand their territories through conquest. The
member states of the League of Nation did nothing
when Hitler rebuilt his army in violation of the
Treaty of Versailles.
4
When Hitler annexed or took Austria and then
claimed part of Czechoslovakia, the British
Prime Minister Chamberlain tried
appeasement. Appeasement is a policy of
granting concessions to an aggressor hoping to
avoid war.
5
Hitler made a secret deal with Stalin to
keep the Soviet Union out of war. When
Britain and France finally refused to give
Hitler Poland, he invaded Poland and started
the Second World War.
6
The German army used planes, tanks, and motorized
troop carriers to advance rapidly into enemy
territory. This military tactic became known as
the Blitzkrieg, or lightning warfare. By the
end of 1940, Germany controlled most of Western
Europe-only Britain remained free.
7
In 1941, Hitler betrayed Stalin and launched a
surprise attack on the Soviet Union. However,
the fierce winter of 1941-1942 froze
German combat vehicles before their army could
reach Moscow. By 1943, the Soviet army pushed the
Germans back.
However, the Soviets lost 21 million
people fighting the Germans.
8
The Holocaust refers to the genocide (murder of
an entire people) of the Jews during World War
II. Hitler called his plan the Final Solution
and built large concentration camps to murder the
Jewish people.
9
Most Jews were gassed and their bodies burned in
large ovens. Some were spared to do the work of
running the camp. Jews were half-starved and
subjected to inhuman conditions. Six million
Jews were killed by the Nazis.
10
Two-thirds of all Jews living in Europe met
their deaths at the hands of Nazis. The Nazis
also killed Gypsies, Slavs, political prisoners,
the elderly, and mentally disabled people.
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The Holocaust was one of the worst Human Rights
Abuses in the history of the world.
12
The Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor in 1941
brought the Americans into the war.
13
Germany, Italy, and Japan were theAxis Powers.
Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States
were the Allied Powers. It was a brutal war.
14
Questions for Reflection

• What were the causes of World War II?
• What was appeasement and why do you think it
  failed?
• How did the strategy of the Blitzkrieg differ
  from previous war strategies?
• What was the Holocaust and why was it one of the
  worst human rights abuses?
• List the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers.