World War II (Europe)

1. World War II (Europe) Part II: Pre-U.S. Involvement The Holocaust

2. Definition: The Holocaust Between 1933 and 1945, Germany’s government, led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist (Nazi) party, carried out a deliberate, calculated attack on European Jewry. Basing their actions on anti-semitic ideology and using World War II as a primary means to achieve their goals, they targeted Jews as their main enemy, killing six million Jewish men, women, and children by the time the war ended in 1945. This act of genocide is now known as the Holocaust. As part of their wide-reaching efforts to remove from German territory all those whom they considered racially, biologically, or socially unfit, the Nazis terrorized many other groups as well, including political opponents, Roma (also known as Gypsies), Germans with mental and physical disabilities, homosexuals, Jehovah's Witnesses, Poles, and Soviet prisoners of war. In the course of state-sponsored tyranny, the Nazis left countless lives shattered and millions dead.

3. Genocide The systematic and purposeful destruction of a racial, political, religious, or cultural group.

4. WWI • Ended with Germany’s defeat • Treaty of Versailles – June 28,1919

5. German Workers’ Party Hitler’s aim was to violently overthrow the liberal democracy of the Weimer Republic. SA – Hitler’s militia The Nazi Socialist “Nazi” Party of the 1920s

6. Hitler’s book “My Struggle” or “My Battle” In the book, Hitler divided humans into categories based on physical appearance. Hitler asserts that the Aryan race is the master race, and the Jew is the major oppressor of the Aryan. 1925: Publication of Mein Kompf

7. 1933: Hitler became Chancellor of Germany • The Reichstag burned. • The Enabling Act made Hitler a legal dictator.

8. The Expedient Nazi Takeover of Germany • Hitler’s “final solution”: Eliminate all the Jews • Immediately after Hitler’s chancellorship, • Boycott on Jewish shops • Jews in civil service positions were fired • Jews prohibited from serving as doctors and lawyers • Jews prohibited from attending public schools • ALL non-Aryans prohibited from government employment • Jews banned from attending public entertainment activities • All newspapers placed under Nazi control • Nazis began burning books with “anti-German” ideas

9. Oranienburg (first concentration camp) opened in 1933 “Wild” concentration camps served as prisons to collect ransom for Nazi opponents and Jews. Concentration Camps

10. 1934 Hitler overthrew the original SA and replaced with his new militia, the SS. Ordered the execution without trial of SA leaders. At least 74 murders, some mistakes "If anyone reproaches me and asks why I did not resort to the regular courts of justice, then all I can say is this: In this hour I was responsible for the fate of the German people, and thereby I became the supreme judge of the German people." (Adolf Hitler) The Night of Long Knives

11. Following the death of German President Hindenburg in August 1934, Hitler became “The Fuhrer”, yeilding the most dictatorial power in history. The next day, mandatory loyalty oaths were instituted. Hitler: The Fuhrer

12. Loyalty Oaths "Article 1. The public officials and the soldiers of the armed forces must take an oath of loyalty on entering service. Article 21. The oath of loyalty of public officials will be:'I swear: I shall be loyal and obedient to Adolf Hitler, the Führer of the German Reich and people, respect the laws, and fulfill my official duties conscientiously, so help me God.'2. The oath of loyalty of the soldiers of the armed forces will be:'I swear by God this sacred oath: I will render unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, the Führer of the German Reich and people, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and will be ready as a brave soldier to risk my life at any time for this oath.‘ Article 3. Officials already in service must swear this oath without delay according to Article 2 number 1."

13. Laws that prohibited “full Jews” from exercising human rights Jews were labelled as “subjects” of the Nazis’ third reich. A “full Jew” = person having three Jewish grandparents A “Mischlinge” = person having one or two Jewish grandparents 1935: Nuremburg Race Laws

14. German Gestapo becomes the head of German state Mussolini (Italian dictator) invades Ethiopia. Franco (Spanish dictator) becomes the head of the Spanish state. Hitler has a secret conference to plan for more Lebensraum (“living space”) for Germany Mussolini Meanwhile… Franco

15. March 1938 • Anchluss (union) with Austria • German Gestapo began the humiliation of Austrian Jews

16. Hitler invaded Sudetenland, part of Czechoslovakia. October 1938

17. The Night of Broken Glass Began when one 17-year-old Jewish boy shot and killed a German soldier at the embassy in Paris after that soldier mistreated the boy’s father. Massive, coordinated attack on the Jews of the Third Reich 25,000 Jewish men seized and sent to concentration camps 267 synagogues burned 91 Jews killed All Jewish property was seized by the Nazis. November 9-10, 1938: Kristallnacht

18. Hitler instituted euthanasia for children under 3 who were mentally ill or deformed. Eventually, adults were euthanized also. Creation of “killing centers” with gas chambers Eventually, killing centers were placed at concentration camps Gas chambers—injections—starvation—other means of murder October 1939

20. Picture of the Gas Chamber in Auschwitz I

41. August 1939 The Soviet Union and Germany signed a non-aggression pact

42. September 1939 • Employing blitzkrieg (literally, "lightning war") tactics, Germany invaded Poland. Soviets invaded Poland from the east and the Baltic countries. • Britain and France declared war on Germany. World War II began. • U.S. was still Neutral.

43. 1940 • Nazis invaded Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. • Germans began Blitz of Britain. • Italy declared war on France and Britain, and then invaded Egypt and Greece. • Romania and Hungary joined the Axis powers.

44. Invade Soviet Union Take possession of Northern African oil Bomb Britain out of the war Axis Strategy

45. May 1940 Winston Churchill became prime minister of Britain.

46. Invasion of Paris France surrendered to the Germans.

47. July 10, 1940 • The Battle of Britain began. • A 3-month battle fought in the skies over Britain included destructive bombing raids on London and other cities (Germany pounded Britain from the air.) • Hitler’s first defeat

48. March 1941 • Roosevelt passed the Lend-Lease Act • It gave Britain war supplies and old naval warships in return for military bases in Bermuda and the Caribbean. • Soon after, the Lend-Lease Act gave the President authority to sell or lend equipment to countries to defend themselves against the Axis powers. “It’s like lending a garden hose to a neighbor whose house is on fire!” - FDR

49. A day that will live in infamy Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor Hitler instituted the Night and Fog Decree: "After lengthy consideration, it is the will of the Führer that the measures taken against those who are guilty of offenses against the Reich or against the occupation forces in occupied areas should be altered. The Führer is of the opinion that in such cases penal servitude or even a hard labor sentence for life will be regarded as a sign of weakness. An effective and lasting deterrent can be achieved only by the death penalty or by taking measures which will leave the family and the population uncertain as to the fate of the offender. Deportation to Germany serves this purpose." December 7, 1941

50. Why We Fight • The Three Little Pigs • 1-BB