WWII Test Review - History Flashcards
Mein Kampf
During Hitlers 9 Months in Prison he wrote a book called Mein Kampf about his plan to conquer countries for German Lebensraum (Living Space)
Hitler’s Rise to Power
He joined the German Workers Party, which he renamed Nazi Party when he became Chairman. He created his army called the SA Brown Shirts, which adopts the Swastika and went through many elections in the Reichstag until the Enabling Act was passed after Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany, leading to him gaining dictatorial power
Night of the Long Knives
Hitler purges his party murdering anyone seen as a threat, including President Hindenburg, making Hitler Fuhrer
The Reichs
First Reich - Holy Roman Empire (included Germany and Italy)
Second Reich - German Empire of WWII
Third Reich - The empire Hitler envisioned creating during his rule. He said it would last thousands of years
Hitler Youth
After school program which became mandatory when attendance dwindled which taught German children intellectually, physically and morally about German/Nazi National Socialism
Girls were prepared for Motherhood
Boys for Military
Treatment of Jews Prior to the War
Hitler believed in the “purity” of the “Aryan Race” (Northern Europe), so he banned all art, music and performances influenced by Jewish people and then altered textbooks to portray them as evil.
The Nuremberg Laws
attend a university
teach in any school or university
marry a person who was not of Jewish faith
hold a government job (civil service)
be the author of a book
be a lawyer or a doctor
vote or hold public office
Policy of Appeasement
The allied leaders were hoping that if they just gave Hitler what he wanted he would be satisfied and they could avoid war
Policy of Appeasement (Austria)
Hitler wanted Austria to be a part of Germany as they were mostly German speaking. Austria’s Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg disagreed and held an election which was disrupted by the Austrian Nazis who said that 99.73% of Austrians agreed with Germany
This all denied the Treaty of Versailles but no one did anything
Policy of Appeasement (Czechoslovakia)
Hitler now wanted Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, so he met with the British and French governments, who gave him Czechoslovakia. Hitler staged violent attacks using his own army to make it seem that Czechs were victums of violence and oppresion. Czechs felt betrayed by their allies but were helpless and Hitler soon conquered all of Czechoslovakia making The Allies realize appeasement doesn’t work as Winston Churchill Stated
The Start of WWII
After Czechoslovakia, Hitler made an agreement with the Soviet Union for no aggression so that he could invade Poland without resistance. Britain and France agreed to support Poland however Germany staged fake attacks which showed Poland Invading Germany giving him reason to “Fight Back” He used the Blitzkrieg to defeat Poland and conquer it’s territory
What is the Blitzkrieg
based on speed, coordination and movement meant to hit hard and cause panic/havoc among civilians creating doubt, confusion, distress and paralyzing the government and military forces. Once the target was selected Stuka Dive Bombers came to destroy all rail lines, communication centres, and major rail links to weaken enemies then planes would retreat at the last minute allowing tanks and infantry to come in giving no time for the enemy to recover
Phony War
Seeing the Attack on Poland France and Britain declared war on Germany but they were ill-prepared and couldn’t fight. During this time many countries declared war on Germany but only Germany was fighting and invading Denmark, Norway, Netherlands and Belgium. Time of preparation before the bloodbath to come
The Fall of France
German Senior Officers were planning an invasion of Northern France called the Manstein Plan after one of the officers. It involved using the Blitzkrieg tactic. They avoided the border of Germany and France (Maginot Line) by going through Southern Belgium. They then went over the Ardennes, which France thought would be impossible to get over in tanks, forcing the French Government to surrender Paris. This ended the Phony War
The Miracle at Dunkirk
As the British Navy rushed across the English Channel to help defend France, many became trapped and were forced to retreat to the seaport town of Dunkirk. Britain had few ships to spare, so English fishers, weekend sailors, and ferry captains took their boats across the channel in what was called Operation Dynamo to rescue the British and French troops. They saved 338,226 people, 10 times the expected number
What is Operation Sea Lion
Hitlers Plan for Invading Britain but he needed to control the skies before he could invade so he set out to destroy the Royal Air Force (RAF), Radar Stations, Air Fields, Ports and Factories
The Battle of Britain
Hitler wanted to control the skies over the English Channel, so he sent the Luftwaffe (2500 planes) to battle with the RAF (1200 planes). Despite the large difference in planes, Britain had excellent radars to track Luftwaffe planes before they could bomb a location, and they had the Spitfire, which was the best Interceptor fighter in the world, along with the limits on the flying range of German Planes. However, Germans had lost more than 600 aircraft and the RAF only 260, but the RAF was rapidly losing badly needed fighters and experienced pilots, and its effectiveness was further hampered by the bombing damage done to its radar stations.
Canadian Contribution in the Battle of Britain
Canada was sending Pilots, Radar Personnel, Replacement aircraft, and other supplies. Over 100 flew in the Battle of Britain 200 more in bombing raids and more on ground crew
What were Hitler’s mistakes in the Battle of Britain
When Britain bombed Berlin, which was promised never to be bombed, Hitler became angry and bombed large cities in Britain for 57 days, hoping to weaken resistance 43 000 were killed, and it was called the War of Terror, but all it did was strengthen their resistance and give them time to recover/repair the RAF. German planes almost blackened the sky by the last day, but the RAF was ready and beat the German Air Force, pausing Operation Sea Lion and the Invasion of Britain.
The Battle of The Atlantic
Britain needed Canadian supplies, which were transported across the Atlantic they formed convoys which would be guarded by Canadian ships halfway there and then switched with British ships this was to protect them from German U-boats, which travelled in packs of 10 called Wolf Packs. Germany sank 142 Allied ships but by the end of the battle, the Allies were winning as they had improved their crew/sailors along with U-boat detection technologies