An Introduction to WWII

1. An Introduction to WWII

2. World War I (1914-1917) • the Entente Powers: France, the United Kingdom, Russia, and later Japan in, Italy, and the United States • The Central Powers: Germany and Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria • The Entente Powers were victorious Our Story Starts with the End of WWI

3. The Entente Powers (especially France) insisted that Germany take the blame for the war • Germany must disarm • Germany must pay reparations Treaty of Versailles1918

4. The economic hardships were especially severe in Germany because of the war reparations • The unemployment rate in Germany reached over 30% • Germany money was worthless—so worthless that people heated their homes by burning money The Great Depression 1929

5. The depression caused enormous hardships on the German middle and lower class People were unemployed, homeless, and hungry They were looking for a person to save them from this crisis Many were looking for someone to blame—a scapegoat (person or groups of people to blame) The Impact of Depression

6. Born in Austria in 1889 • He grew up in Germany and Vienna, Austria • Both his parents died at a young age • As a young man, he wanted to be an architect or an artist • In Vienna, he was influenced by the mayor Karl Lueger who promoted the idea that Jewish immigrants were a threat to Austrian Christians • He moved to Munich, Germany and in 1914 joined the German Army Adolph Hitler

7. Hitler in WWI

8. Hitler was humiliated by the German defeat and the Treaty of Versailles • He began his political career with extreme German patriotism • He was a charismatic and convincing speaker—people, hungry, jobless and in need of hope, begin following Hitler in larger numbers • In 1923 Hitler tried to overthrow the government. He was arrested and sent to jail • While in jail he wrote his famous book, Mein Kampf Post WWI

9. To rebuild Germany using a strong central government and German national pride • To rearm Germany • To retake the lands lost to the Treaty of Versailles • To strengthen the economy and create jobs • To transform German society to one based on one race Hitler’s Ideals

10. Appealing to the working class, the Nazi’s eventually won seats in the government and Hitler was appointed Chancellor. In a series of moves Hitler and the Nazi’s were able to take charge of the German government. In July of 1933, Hitler’s Nazi party declared itself the only ruling party of Germany—the democracy had fallen to Hitler’s dictatorship. The Fuhrer Comes to Power

11. Scapegoating Propaganda Hitler took over all control of the news and used marketing and advertising methods to promote his ideals Citizens were encouraged to follow his ideas and turn in those who did not follow • Hitler used people’s fear and economic despair to create feelings of hatred towards German Jews • Hitler publicly blamed the Jews for the economic problems of Germany Hitler’s Methods

12. Laws By 1937 Jewish businesses were being seized and given to “Aryans” A red “J” was added to the German identity card In 1939 the government conducted a census to allow them to locate and track every German Jew • Hitler created a new set of laws that began to violate the rights of German Jews • The 1935 Nuremberg Laws defined who is Jewish and forbid marriage between Aryan and Jews • Books were burned and the government censored people and ideas seen in opposition of the Nazi ideas

13. Education Young people were encouraged to turn in their parents and their peers. Anti-Semitic books were used to teach children hatred of Jewish people Eventually, Jewish children were not allowed to attend school • Textbooks were re-written to teach pro-Nazi history and promote the Nazi ideas • Boys were forced to join the Nazi Youth. Boys wore uniforms and were indoctrinated in the Nazi ways. • Students celebrated Hitler’s birthday as a holiday

14. The Poisonous Mushroom

15.  “Just as it is often hard to tell a toadstool from an edible mushroom, so too it is often very hard to recognize the Jew as a swindler and criminal...” “The Jewish nose is bent. It looks like the number six...” http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/thumb.htm

16. On September 1, 1939 Germany invaded Poland • April 1940 Germany invaded Norway and Denmark • May 1940 Germany attacked France, France surrendered in June • Great Britain joined in defense of France, Germany begins an air bomb attack • Italy joined forces with Germany in June; by September Japan also joined forces with Germany creating the Axis Powers • September 1941 Japan bombed Pearl Harbor forcing the United States into the war. The US, UK, USSR, and France formed the Allied Powers. • Fighting a war on the eastern and western fronts, Germany begans to lose the war • On April 30, 1945, facing occupation in Berlin, Hitler committed suicide • On May 8, 1945 Victory in Europe was declared Timeline of the War

17. Hitler believed it was his destiny to cleanse the world of racial impurities. • He believed the Germans were a part of a “master race” that he called the “Aryans” • From the moment the Nazi’s came to power, Hitler began his program to purify the German race • He began by creating laws that would make life in Germany difficult for Jews • Many Jews fled Germany, however, many could not. Even the US refused to take Jewish immigrants • The atrocities began early in his regime with the opening of the first concentration camp in 1933 The Holocaust

18. 1938: Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) • 1939: First Polish ghetto is established. • By 1940 all Jews living in German occupied areas were forced to wear the Star of David • 1942-1945: Germans begin their “Final Solution” the mass round up of Jews and transport to concentration (death and work) camps. This continues until April 1945 when the camps are liberated by the Allies.

19. It is estimated that over 11 million people were killed in the Holocaust. Estimates suggest that of these people 6 million were Jews; others were “enemies of the German state” including gypsies, people with disabilities, and political enemies. In Memory