War In Europe
April of 1940
Hitler takes over Norway and Denmark
- Appoints Vidkun Quisling as leader of Norway.
Hitler takes Netherlands and Belgium
France relies on Maginot line to defend against Germany advances.
- France surrenders June 22, 1940
- Surrounded by German Vermacht that invaded through dense forest.
- Hitler officially sets eyes on Stalingrad.
- Cancels plans to secure resources in the Black Sea.
- Attack on Stalin’s name.
Lead by Von Paulaus, Nazi’s bomb Stalingrad and think they won.
- Winter begins to set in
- 13,000 people will be killed by their own side trying to desert the battle.
January 1943
- Russians launch counter attack.
- Thousands of deaths as a result of hunger.
- Hitler does not allow troops to retreat.
- Von Paulus surrenders.
- 1943 BATTLE OF KURSK:
- largest tank battle in history
- USSR T-34 vs. German Tiger Tank
Tiger tanks were better but had to stop to shoot, causing them to lose to the mobile T-34
June 1944: D-Day (Operation Overlord)- Invasion takes place on the coast of Normandy, south of Calais.
- Germany fail to estimate where Allies will dock. (Guessed Calais)
- Through cracking Enigma, Britain tricks Germany into thinking they will have an army in Dover. Creates fake army.
- Actual army is in Southampton, central Britain.
- 25, 000 killed on the day.
December 1944- Battle of the Bulge
April 30th 1945- Hitler got married to Eva Braun and then kills his dog.
- Manhattan Project (Nukes)
- Lead by Oppenheimer (originally targeted Berlin but the war ended in Europe)
- August 1945: USSR Declares war on Japan
- America fears they will lose Japan to communist Russia, must act quickly to remove Japan from the war.
- Hope to bolster their reputation in displaying the power of their unused weapon (send a message to Russia).
- Only city left unbombed was Hiroshima, a fishing village separated from the war.
- 140,000 Japanese civilians immediately killed by the Little Boy nuke and 70,000 from the Big Man.
- total deaths caused by the two bombs is about 500,000.
May 8th 1945 Peace is Declared- Allied War Crimes
Guadalcanal battle in the pacific
Fire Bombings of Dresden and Tokyo
3,2,1
Devastating, Ruthless, Unpredictable
-What would have happened if Hitler chose to take out air bases in Britain instead of houses?
-What would have happened if Hitler had succeeded in invading Stalingrad?
The war in Europe was like a crusade by the people against the devil, one side unarguably evil and the other good.
War In The Pacific
The Holocaust
Nuremberg Laws 1935
1938
Star of david was mandated on jewish clothes.
1939: War Break Out (fog of war in place)
Hans Frank wants his country “jew free” (judenfrei)
1941: Holocaust of Bullets
Aktion 14 inspires the creation of the Death Camps
3,2,1
Systematic, Horrifying, Unforgettable
What if another racial minority had been the target for the Nazi's?
What if this had happened in the First World War?
The Holocaust was like a bully in school, a force of evil that everyone regrets not stopping sooner.
- Stripped rights from jews, forbade the marriage between Jews and Germans.
1938
Star of david was mandated on jewish clothes.
- Kristallnacht: Occurred when Nazi diplomat was killed, resulted in SS officers destroying massive amounts of jewish property.
- St. Louis refugee boat that was turned away by North America.
1939: War Break Out (fog of war in place)
Hans Frank wants his country “jew free” (judenfrei)
- Looked for a final solution to the jewish question.
- 1941 the decision was made to exterminate the Jewish race
1941: Holocaust of Bullets
- Einsatzgruppen (private Nazi police force) lead the mass executions.
- Heinrich Himler looks for an alternative, more humane method of systematically eradicating the jews.
Aktion 14 inspires the creation of the Death Camps
3,2,1
Systematic, Horrifying, Unforgettable
What if another racial minority had been the target for the Nazi's?
What if this had happened in the First World War?
The Holocaust was like a bully in school, a force of evil that everyone regrets not stopping sooner.
Essay
Oliver Ollenberger
Describe the impact that technology had on the Second World War between the years 1939-45
As a result of each of the world’s superpowers fierce vying for military superiority, the Second World War saw the emergence of numerous revolutionary technologies that would go on to reshape the war-torn global community. For the Second World War was as much a battle of scientific minds as it was bombs and bullets, as the pioneering of groundbreaking technologies lead the Allies to seemingly hopeless victories over the bloodthirsty Axis powers of Europe. The success of the Third Reich in the early stages of the war was also influenced heavily by early military weapon advances, utilizing their small technological edge over the Allies by employing the use of the lightning fast and unpredictable Blitzkrieg. The promising power of technological military research began to captivate both sides, even further encouraging the exorbitant amounts of resources being funneled into the development of military equipment in hopes of gaining a competitive edge over their adversary. Outcomes of this would eventually be showcased in all its glory, as the United States, with power from the flourishing war economy and eager to brandish their technological superiority, needlessly dropped atomic bombs on the brittle, defeated Japan.
The development or obtaining of certain technologies was often a key factor in deciding a battles victor amidst the chaos of the Second World War. The historic Battle of Britain is one such event, where the invention and use of Radio Detecting and Ranging (RADAR) allowed Britain to ward off the previously unstoppable German crusade through western Europe. After losing almost 30,000 civilians to “The Blitz” - a strategy of bombing British households employed by Hitler -, Britain faced the German Luftwaffe’s superior Bf 109 and 110 with their Spitfire Mk 1 and Hurricane Mk 1. German air forces outnumbered Britain 2:1, the situation looking more grim by the minute. Through surgical and organized strikes made capable by radar, Britain successfully defeated the German offensive in a monumental victory. This tide-turning battle was fought exclusively through fighter planes and bombers, newly developed technology that changed the face of the battlefield. Though the skill and valor of the Allied pilots was no small factor in the victory, "I think we can say that the Battle of Britain might never have been won... if it were not for the radar chain" - MRAF Sir William Sholto Douglas. Following a similar trend, the ensuing Battle of Kursk saw the largest tank battle in history. The USSR’s T-34 subsequently defeated the German tiger tanks, granting them the strategic initiative for the remainder of the war.
Still awash with anti-semitic fervor amidst the war, the Nazi party of Germany had begun to finalize their answer to the Jewish question - mass executions aptly dubbed the Holocaust by Bullets. While at first resorting to mass shootings to thin the jewish populace, Heinrich Himmler, the head of the S.S, deemed such actions as too barbaric for the good German members of the Nazi execution force - The Einsatzgruppen - to have to carry out. Himmler would go on to enact Action 14f13, the campaign thats ultimate goal was the extermination of anyone the Third Reich deemed “invalid”; mostly elderly, sick and mentally ill citizens who were unable to carry out the grueling physical labor enforced at prisoner camps. Enticed by the prospect of killing two birds with one stone, the Nazi Party then looked to enforce a method of systematic eradication whilst obtaining valuable research to aid the German war effort, the dark result being the infamous concentration camps that swallowed the lives of millions.
The end of The Second World War was definitely considered over when the United States detonated the Fat Man and Little Boy over the fishing villages of Nagasaki and Hiroshima respectively. The completion of the Manhattan Project provided the United States with revolutionary strike capabilities by way of long ranged, unmanned means of mass destruction. It meant that the United States no longer had to invade Japan to force them to finally surrender, and could also simultaneously display military superiority over the Soviet Union with hopes of deterring the spread of communism. Both bombs were dropped; the Little Boy detonated August 6th and the ensuing Fat Man on August 9th would kill around 200,000 innocent Japanese civilians. Japan signed an instrument of surrender to the allies six days after the bombing of Nagasaki, effectively ending the Second World War.