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