World War II European Theater of War

World War II European Theater of War

Adolf Hitler • In defiance of Versailles Treaty, Hitler rebuilds military • Plans to recapture territory lost in WWI • Accused Jews of polluting the Aryan master race

Germany Under Hitler • 1936, Germans march into the Rhineland (western border) • 1938, Anschluss, annexation of Austria • 1939 took Czechoslovakia • 1939 marched through Poland, causing France and Britain to declare war on Germany

• 1940 smashed through Denmark and Norway • 1940 invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France • France surrendered and installed a government at Vichy that collaborated with Nazis • Poised to invade Britain.

Winston Churchill Britain’s new Prime Minister

Battle of Britain • 1940, relentless bombing of Britain, • Britain is successful, partly due to technology in radar, and the ability to decipher Germany’s top-secret military codes • first major defeat for Germany

Soviet Union • Unable to overpower Britain, Hitler launched a surprise attack on the Soviet Union

The largest military operation in human history in both manpower and casualties • Over 4. 5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along an 1, 800 mi front. • 600, 000 motor vehicles and 750, 000 horses

Stalin • US extends Lend-Lease to Soviet Union • Stalin demands that the US and Britain open a second front against Germany in France • They are not ready, causing deep resentment from Stalin

U-boats • German U-boats repeated tactics of World War I, trying to starve and isolate Britain In 1941 -42 • Patrolled Atlantic Coast – Sank 4, 700 merchant vessels and almost 200 warships – Killed 40, 000 allied sailors

North African Campaign • Allies opted to strike in Mediterranean rather than western France as Stalin wanted

Benito Mussolini

Italy • July, 1943, Allies landed 160, 000 troops in Sicily; • Italian troops withdrew to Mainland • Mussolini was deposed, and Italian government surrendered. • Germans sent reinforcements and took Rome.

• By spring 1943, Allies had defeated Germany in North Africa, allowing for invasion of Italy

442 nd • The 442 nd fought (all Japanese-Americans) with distinction in Italy, southern France, and Germany, becoming the most highly decorated regiment in the history of the US armed forces, including 21 medal of honor recipients.

“Operation Overlord” • • • D-Day, June 6, 1944 Largest amphibious assault in history 175, 000 troops landed 195, 000 troops involved over 5, 000 ships

D-day

Battle of the Bulge

Battle of the Bulge • Dec 16, 1944 -Jan 31, 1945 • 70, 000 allied soldiers killed including more Americans than in any other battle of the war • Nazis lost 100, 000. • the “bulge” being the initial incursion the Germans put into the Allies' line of advance

The Final Solution Holocaust

Displaced Jews • 1938, in the Anschluss, thousands of Austrian Jews attempted to emigrate to the US. They were turned away. • In 1939, legislation was introduced to grant 20, 000 German Jewish children asylum in the US. The bill was defeated. • Of the millions of Jews in Europe, only 150, 000 were admitted to the US before entry into the war. After the war began, vastly fewer were admitted.

Requirements to leave Germany, 1937 • Passport • • Certificate from the local police noting the formal dissolution of residence in Germany • Certificate from the Reich Ministry of Finance approving emigration, which required: – Payment of an emigration tax of 25 percent on total assets valued at more than 50, 000 R M. --This tax came due upon the dissolution of German residence. – Submission of an itemized list of all gifts made to third parties since January 1, 1931. --If their value exceeded 10, 000 R M, they were included in the calculation of the emigration tax. • Payment of a capital transfer tax of 25 percent (levied only on Jews) of assets in addition to the emigration tax. • Certification from the local tax office that there were no outstanding taxes due. • Certification from a currency exchange office that all currency regulations had been followed. An emigrant was permitted to take 2, 000 R M or less in currency out of the country. Any remaining assets would be transferred into blocked bank accounts with restricted access. • • • Customs declaration, dated no earlier than three days before departure, permitting the export of itemized personal and household goods. This declaration required: – Submission of a list, in triplicate, of all personal and household goods accompanying the e m i grant stating their value. The list had to note items acquired before January 1, 1933, those acquired since January 1, 1933, and those acquired to facilitate emigr a t i o n. – Documents attesting to the value of personal and household goods, and written explanations for the necessity of taking them out of the country. – Certification from a currency exchange office permitting the export of itemized personal and household goods, dated no earlier than 14 days before departure. With the preceding documents, emigrants could leave Germany, if and only if they had valid travel arrangements and entrance visas for another country. After the union of Germany and Austria in March 1938, emigrants from Austria holding an Austrian passport had to apply for a German exit visa before they were permitted to leave the country.

World Jewish Congress • Reported Hitler’s “final solution” that Jews and other “undesirables”—old people and children, homosexuals, Gypsies, and religious or political dissenters—were systematically being killed and cremated. • Requested Allies to bomb the concentrations camps and the trains leading to them.

Excuses • US officials in the State Department and the military said the claims were exaggerations.

Ravensbrueck concentration camp

Genocide that became known as The Holocaust

Bergen-Belsen • Pile of shoes • Survivors at liberation

A crematoria oven where the corpses of prisoners were burned in Bergen-Belsen

Varian Fry

1942 • The New Republic published “The Massacre of the Jews of Europe” by Varian Fry. It got very little notice.

Yalta • February 1945 • Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt met secretly at Yalta, a Russian resort town on the Black Sea