early stages of wwii unit 8: wwii · •vichy france: germany allowed ... largest deportation of...
TRANSCRIPT
EARLY STAGES OF WWII Unit 8: WWII
BLITZKRIEG IN THE WEST
Maginot Line: Heavy French fortifications at the French-German border; light fortifications around Ardennes Forest
French military 2x the size of Germany; too focused on old tactics, lack of radio comm
Germany bypassed Maginot Line by going through Ardennes Forest and Belgium
Belgium surrendered in 18 days; Netherlands in 5; Luxembourg in 1
Germany—Heavy use of tanks to surprise and overwhelm
HITLER’S EARLY VICTORIES
Germans trapped French troops and large portion of British army at beaches of Dunkirk
340,000 British/French troops evacuate Dunkirk; major failure for Germany
*Why did Germany let them go?
From 1940-1941, only armies fighting Germany were part of British empire
FRANCE SURRENDERS
• France signed armistice in June, 1940
• Germany occupied northern half of the country including Paris
• Vichy France: Germany allowed French gov’t to keep control of southern half; new capital at Vichy
• Collaborated with Nazis
• Free France: French soldiers and generals that escaped Dunkirk set up camp in London
• Continued to fight against Germany; organized French Resistance
Before the Nazis ever demanded the Vichy government
participate in anti-Semitic policies, the French had enacted
policies that removed Jews from civil service and began seizing
Jewish property.
“The Vichy French government participated willingly in the
deportations and did most of the arresting…The arrests of
foreign Jews often involved separating families from their
children, sometimes in broad daylight, and it had a very
powerful effect on public opinion and began to turn opinion
against Pétain.”
Smithsonian.com
One particularly notable roundup was July 1942’s Vel d’Hiv, the
largest deportation of Jews from France that would occur during the
war. Among the 13,000 Jews arrested and deported to Auschwitz
were 4,000 children—removed with their parents for “humanitarian”
reasons, according to French Prime Minister Pierre Laval.
If they stayed behind, he reasoned, who would care for them?
All told, the Vichy regime helped deport 75,721 Jewish refugees and
French citizens to death camps, according to the BBC.
Smithsonian.com
As France has slowly come to terms with its role in the Holocaust and the
willing collaboration of the Vichy government, citizens have struggled with
what that legacy means for them. It wasn’t until 1995 that a French president
(Jacques Chirac) acknowledged the state’s role.
“It’s an extremely emotional burden on the French people…[Vichy] is seen
more negatively than before and affects almost every French family whose
grandparents either supported it or held office.”
More recently, French president Emmanuel Macron gave a speech on France’s
role in the genocide, denouncing his political opponents on the far right who
dismiss the Vichy government. “It is convenient to see the Vichy regime as born
of nothingness, returned to nothingness. Yes, it’s convenient, but it is false. We
cannot build pride upon a lie,” Macron said in July.Smithsonian.com
BATTLE OF BRITAIN
Hitler launches massive bombing raid of Britain
British RAF fought back using radar to detect German planes early
Still suffered major losses
Hitler began targeting British cities instead of strategic targets (factories, airfields)
Hoped to crush morale
Allowed RAF to rebuild and heavily damage Luftwaffe
Major victory for British; Luftwaffe slowly declined for rest of war
ATTACK ON THE SOVIET UNION
Conquering much of W. Europe provided Germany with tons of raw goodsPreviously relied on USSR for goods as part of German-Soviet Pact
Hitler believed alt. source of raw goods would allow Germany to quickly defeat USSRHitler saw USSR as weak (Stalin’s purges of officers led to untrained, undisciplined soldiers); full of Jews and inferior Slavs
Operation Barbarossa launched June 1941 to invade USSR
ATTACK ON THE SOVIET UNION
Germans push 500 miles into USSR Soviets retreat and scorch supply lines (railroads, bridges, etc.)
Germans halted 25 miles from Stalingrad Lack of supplies Fierce resistance Early winter
Battle of Stalingrad: Bloodiest battle in human history German army badly damaged; proven to NOT be invincible
USSR suffers enormous casualties
Unable to defeat USSR quickly, Germany had to fight on two fronts
“Regardless of the strategic implications, there is little doubt about Stalingrad's symbolism. Germany's defeat shattered its reputation for invincibility and dealt a devastating blow to German morale. On 30 January 1943, the tenth anniversary of his coming to power, Hitler chose not to speak. Joseph Goebbels read the text of his speech for him on the radio. The speech contained an oblique reference to the battle, which suggested that Germany was now in a defensive war. The public mood was sullen, depressed, fearful, and war-weary. Germany was looking in the face of defeat.
The reverse was the case on the Soviet side. There was an overwhelming surge in confidence and belief in victory. A common saying was: "You cannot stop an army which has done Stalingrad." Stalin was feted as the hero of the hour and made a Marshal of the Soviet Union.
The news of the battle echoed round the world, with many people now believing that Hitler's defeat was inevitable.”
1,000
deaths
HITLER AS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEFHitler was paranoid; often took control away from his more qualified generals and experts
Hitler believed ethnic cleansing of Europe was equally (if not more) important as winning the war
Frequently sacrificed victory and manpower in order to murder more undesirables
Hitler fixated on long-shot, risky, and expensive wunderwaffe (wonder weapons)
V2 rockets
Jet aircraft
Increasingly large and heavy tanks
…while ignoring the one wunderwaffe that made sense: the atomic bomb
Believed theoretical physics to be “Jewish science”
Hitler put most funding into Wehrmacht (army) and Luftwaffe; completely ignored Kriegsmarine (navy)
Never able to stand toe-to-toe with Britain at sea
In the Luftwaffe, Hitler focused on fighters and light bombers