OPENING ASSIGNMENT
• TURN IN ALL WORK FROM MONDAY AND TUESDAY
TO YOUR CLASS’S FOLDER ON THE FRONT TABLE.
• How would factors such as the size and strength of
the German military affect the response of Britain
and France should Germany violate the Treaty of
Versailles?
• How did the Treaty of Versailles attempt to deal
with this issue?
Essential Learning Goal & Learning Targets
• Essential Learning Goal:
– The Second World War caused dramatic changes for the
citizens of the US and to the US’ position as a world power.
• Learning Targets:
– I can explain, in chronological order, the steps Hitler took to
expand Germany.
– I can identify the British leaders Neville Chamberlain and
Winston Churchill by their opinions on the Munich
Agreement.
– I can identify the terms; nonagression pact, blitzkrieg, and
Axis Powers.
– I can describe how World War II began in Poland and
spread to France and Britain.
Germany Begins Conquests
• 1936 – Hitler moves
troops into the
Rhineland (German
region near the
French border)
• The Treaty of
Versailles said no
German troops were
allowed here.
• French Gov’t and
League of Nations –
TOOK NO ACTION
German-Italian Alliance
• Germany and Italy
form the Axis Powers
• Now – two dictators
with stated goals of
expansion were
united.
• Axis Powers help
Spain’s Fascist
military overthrow its
elected government
in the Spanish Civil
War.
Mussolini and Hitler
Hitler begins his own Conquests
• 1938 – Hitler and the
Germans annex
Austria (many
Austrians spoke
German and welcomed
becoming a part of
Germany)
• But Hitler and the
Germans were
expanding – and the
Treaty of Versailles
told them not to.
The Sudetenland
• After taking Austria
Hitler wants to
bring more
Germanic people
under his control.
• His next conquest
is the Sudetenland
in Czechoslovakia
• The Czechs did not
want to give this
area to Germany –
nor did France and
Russia
Germany’s Expansion
“Appeasement” at Munich
• The British step in to
offer peace in an
effort to avoid war.
• British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain
meets with Hitler in
Munich, Germany and
create the Munich
Agreement
– They agree to give
Hitler the
Sudetenland
– Hitler has to promise
he is done seeking
territory
Reactions to Munich Agreement
• Neville
Chamberlain, the
British Prime
Minister who came
up with the
agreement, said
that he had
achieved “peace in
our time”
• Winston Churchill,
the future Prime
Minister, said:
“Britain and
France had to
choose between
war and shame.
They chose shame.
They will get war,
too.”
Hitler breaks his promise: Germany
Starts the War
• After being given Sudetenland – Hitler
takes the rest of Czechoslovakia
• Hitler signs a secret Non-Aggression Pact
with Stalin and the Soviet Union (they
agree to not make war on each other) –
now France and Britain have lost an ally.
• Immediately after on September 1, 1939 –
Germany invades Poland (France & Britain
declare war on Germany) WWII officially
begins.
World War
• September 1, 1939- German invasion of Poland
begins.
• September 3, 1939- Britain & France declare war on
Germany.
• April 9, 1940- Denmark and Norway fall to Germany’s
surprise invasion.
• May 10, 1940- German invasion of France begins by
passing through Belgium and the Netherlands.
• May 27 – June 4, 1940- The British Expeditionary Force
and remaining French forces are evacuated from
Dunkirk, France to southern England.
• June, 1940- France surrenders to the Germans.
• August 12, 1940- Germany begins airborne attacks on
Great Britain called the Battle of Britain.
German Conquests in Europe
Britain holds fast.
• Britain remained the last European power to hold
out against the Germans.
• This was partially due to the British development
and use of RADAR, which allowed the Royal Air
Force to combat the German Luftwaffe (air
force).
• Listen to this speech given by Winston Churchill
in May 1940 regarding the coming German
invasion.
In summary:
 Causes of WWII: similar to the causes of WWI.
 Nationalism- (Mussolini and Hitler nationalistic)
 Militarism- Germany, Italy and Japan spent large
amounts of money building up the military then used
those militaries as a tool of diplomacy. They also
formed the Axis Powers.
 Imperialism- Larger countries continued to try to
gain more land overseas (ex: Italy takes Ethiopia and
Japan takes Manchuria and Germany takes Austria,
Czechoslovakia, and Poland.)
In summary:
Causes of WWII Continued.
Treaty of Versailles- Made Germans angry.
The Great Depression- made people very poor
and desperate for change. People were more
willing to follow dictators.
Daily Review
What nations were taken by the Germans under
the leadership of Hitler?
What invasion marks the beginning of the Second
World War?
How were the British able to survive the attacks of
the German air force during the Battle of Britain?
Which British leader did we listen to explain how
America would play a role in saving Britain?
How did this speech represent the shift in the
Great Powers (nations) of the world?