After Germany’s surrender on the 7th of May 1945[1], it was split up into 4 occupation zones controlled by Britain, France, the USA and the Soviet Union. However, it soon became clear that the political opinions about democracy of Western countries (Britain, France and the USA) did not go along with the politics of the…
The Berlin Wall was a barrier that divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. At the end of World War II, the Allied powers divided Germany into…
How the war was going for Germany’s army How the war affected Germans at home in Germany 1939 · Hitler was in control of much of western and eastern Europe. o High morale. · Many people still remembered the horrors of the First World War. · Food and clothing rations were introduced. · Luxury…
It could be argued that the cause of the hyperinflation of Germany in 1923 was due to both the internal causes such as Germany’s government policies and the external causes such as the Treaty of Versailles, demanding Germany to pay reparations. The internal causes including Germany’s government policies quickly became quite unpleasant with the German…
Timeline… April 9, 1940 – Nazis invaded Denmark and Norway. May 10, 1940 – Nazis invaded France and Belgium. May 15, 1940 – Holland surrendered to the Nazis. What You need to know Beforehand: Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden) was economically important to Germany Germany relied on iron ore from Sweden (shipped through Norway) for…
Battle of the Atlantic Longest battle of World War Two (1939-1945) Began on September 3rd 1939 Fought by ships, U-boats and airplanes One of the most costly battles Major impact on Germany’s defeat in World War 2 Battle between Britain and its Allied forces against Germany Transporting Materials Large ship and U-boats were used to…
Totalitarianism is merely a word, but behind this word is eras marked with terror and death. The plague of fear that coursed through the veins of the people living under these regimes was brought on by individuals who, through outside circumstances or their own abilities, were able to rise to the position of dictator, leaving…
Location: French Port of Dieppe (northern coast of France) Date: August 19, 1942 Nations involved: USA, Britain, Canada vs. Germany Key Figures: British Chief of Combined Operations – Louis Mountbatten, Canadian Major-General J.H. Roberts, German General Field Marshal– Gerd von Rundstedt Objectives: Allies wanted to test amphibious techniques and gather data on coastal defenses and…
Location: Stalingrad, Southwestern Russia Date: July 17th, 1942- February 2nd, 1943 Nations Involved: Germany, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Croatia vs. the Soviet Union Strategy Relevant to the Battle Operation Blue: The plan was to concentrate all available forces in the southern flank of the long front, destroy the front line Russian forces there, and then…
Appeasement Means to pacify/soothe In Germany, Hitler began to: Build an army, create an air force Stop reparation payments Reoccupy land that was taken away from Germany Rhineland Rejoin forces with Austria in 1938 – called Anschluss (unification). This was allowed because Britain and France felt bad about the Treaty of Versailles and the state…
Early Conquests: After taking Poland, Germany turned towards Northern Europe. In April, 1940 Hitler attacked Denmark and Norway. It took only two months to take these countries. He then turned towards Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium in May. The Blitzkrieg proved to be too much for these countries as well. The Maginot Line After WWI France…
Serbia Serbia of 1914 has been described as an aggressive, backward, and domestically violent nation. Part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire. This empire included five religions and more than a dozen languages. Serbia was one of the chief sources of trouble for Austria-Hungary. Balkan region of Southeastern Europe controlled by A.H. Many of these nations looking…
Militarism Alliances Imperialism Nationalism Militarism Def: Building up of arms (weapons) to deter (scare) others from attacking. Germany was competing with the UK to build battleships. The British feared an attack on their Empire Germany was competing with Russia and France to expand their armies Alliances Def: Banding together of countries against a common threat.…
The Rise of the Nation-State Political leaders driven to consolidate power By 1871 the process of consolidation and unification had created modern Germany and Italy, altering the balance of power The struggle between states for land and wealth occurred primarily outside Europe through imperialism The process of expanding a nation’s territory through the acquisition of…
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (INFLATION) Instead of taxing its people to finance WWI, Germany had borrowed the money. Thus it had burdened its citizens with a huge debt. To payoff this debt after the war, the German government simply printed more money. This was done even though the country’s industry, agriculture, and commerce were not expanding because…
In one way, losing in World War I could have been a blessing in disguise for Germany. For centuries before World War I, Germans had been ruled by the wealthy noble minority, the dukes and princes in the country. This nobility had not wanted to lose its power, so they had never allowed the German’s…
The long term (ones that were going on for a long time) causes of World War One can be easily remembered by the acronym MAIN M – Militarism When a country builds up their military force. By 1914, Germany and Britain were building up their navies, and France and Germany were building up their armies…
With the Russians out of the war, Germany had a renewed hope for success. They could now concentrate all their troops along the western front in France in their last attempt to win the war. With the entrance of the Americans into the war, the Germans realized that their last chance at victory was to…