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WINSTON CHURCHILL
Churchill was possibly Britain’s greatest weapon as that nation faced the Nazis. A born fighter, Churchill became prime minister in May 1940 and used his gift as a speaker to arouse Britons and unite them. -
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ADOLF HITLER
Adolf Hitler was the leader of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. He initiated fascist policies that led to World War II and the deaths of at least 11 million people, including the mass murder of an estimated 6 million Jews. -
New Military
This invasion was the first test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. -
Secret meeting with the Military
Hitler met secretly with his top military advisers. He boldly declared that to grow and prosper Germany needed the land of its neighbors. His plan was to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich. When one of his advisors protested that annexing those countries could provoke war, Hitler replied, “‘The German Question’ can be solved only by means of force, and this is never without risk.” -
Hitlers First Target
Austria was Hitler’s first target. The majority of Austria’s 6 million people were Germans who favored unification with Germany. On March 12, 1938 German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. The United States and the rest of the world did nothing. -
Meeting in Munich
Hitler invited French premier Édouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to meet with him in Munich. On September 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired.In the agreement that said Germany can annex the Sudetenland, a German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia. -
Hitler back in action
In the spring of 1939, Hitler began his familiar routine, charging that Germans in Poland were mistreated by the Poles and needed his protection. -
Troops going to Czechoslovakia
As dawn broke on the German troops poured into what remained of Czechoslovakia.Hitler wanted to annex Czechoslovakia in order to provide more living space for Germany as well as to control its important natural resources. -
Response from Czechoslovakia
Response from Czechoslovakia, The U.S. correspondent William Shirer, then stationed in Berlin, wrote in his diary: “The Nazi press is full of hysterical headlines. All lies. Some examples: ‘Women and Children Mowed Down by Czech Armored Cars,’ or ‘Bloody Regime—New Czech Murders of Germans." -
Nonaggression Pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. The idea in which the two countries agreed to take no military action against each other. -
German air force
As day broke on September 1, 1939, the German Luftwaffe, or German air force, roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities -
Declaring War
On September 3,two days following the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. -
Invasion in the French Coast
In the summer of 1940, the Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. -
Surprise Invasion
On April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect freedom and independence.” -
March toward Paris
Hitler’s generals sent their tanks through the Ardennes, a region of wooded ravines in northeast France, thereby avoiding British and French troops who thought the Ardennes were impassible. The Germans continued to march toward Paris -
Hitlers Surrender
At Compiègne, William Shirer and the rest of the world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender.He signed the Armistice which signaled the end of World War I. -
RAF
With the help of a new technological device called radar, British pilots accurately plotted the flight paths of German planes, even in darkness. On September 15, 1940 the RAF shot down over 185 German planes; at the same time, they lost only 26 aircraft. Six weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain.
