WW+II

__**1939-1945**__ **Dolan & Matt** "A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."

-Winston Churchill

World War II came about in a series of events which involved Germany pushing its boundaries. First he formed an axis with Italy. Then he forced a union with his home country of Austria. Next he took part of Czechoslovakia called Sudetenland. The rest of Europe went with the __idea__ of appeasement, or letting Hitler do what he wants to make him happy. When he then invaded Poland he crossed the line. Great Britain and France then declared war of Germany.

Hitler used blitzkrieg when invading and attacking. It involved a very fast offensive and it worked very well in Europe at first. Hitler got victories in Denmark and Norway almost instantly. These were followed by axis victories in Netherlands, Belgium, France, Greece, and Yugoslavia. He then invaded the Soviet Union, following this Japan attacks the United States at Pearl Harbor.

The tide of the war changed as Germany was forced to fight on many fronts and face supply shortages. The allies had an almost unlimited supply of supplies from the United States, while other countries had their production cut by bombing carried out by both sides in the war. As the war continues the allies take Italy and North Africa. Then they recapture France at D-Day. Following this the allies capture Germany and the U.S. bombs Japan ending the war.

Timeline: 1. 1935- Hitler violates Treaty of Versailles 2. 1936- Germany signs separate pacts with Italy and Japan 3. 1938- Hitler annexes Austria 4. 1939- Britain and France declare war when Germany invades Poland 5. 1940- France falls to Germany 6. 1941- United States enters war after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor 7. 1942- Nazi death camps in full operation 8. 1945- Japanese surrender after United States drops atomic bombs on Japan 9. 1945- Germany surrenders 10. 1946- Churchill proclaims existence of "iron curtain" in Europe

media type="youtube" key="aYCGuhWUayM" height="315" width="560" media type="custom" key="17093740" media type="custom" key="17093884" __**10 Important Terms:**__ __**5 Important People:**__
 * **Demiliterized:** An area that is not permitted to have weapons or fortifications, an example of this is Rhineland, Germany.
 * **Appeasement:** Policy based on the belief that if European states satisfied the reasonable demands of dissatisfied powers, the dissatisfied powers would be content, and stability and peace would be achieved in Europe.
 * **Sanctions:** These are restrictions intended to enforce international law that the United States used on the Japanese Empire.
 * **Blitzkrieg:** Hitler's "lightning war" that used armored columns, called panzer divisions, supported by airplanes.
 * **Partisans:** Resistance fighters in Italy who killed Mussolini on April 28, 1945.
 * **Genocide:** Physical extermination of a certain race, in this case it was how Hitler wanted to kill all of the European Jews.
 * **Collaborator:** People who assisted the enemy, in this case it wast people who helped the Nazi's hunt down Jews.
 * **Mobilization:** The act of assembaling and preparing for war, this act was a lot more extensive in WW II than in WW I.
 * **Kamikaze:** Or "divine wind", these were Japanese pilots who were encouraged to drive their planes into enemy ships for their country.
 * **Cold War:** An ideological conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, this tension was to take place untill the end of the 1980's.
 * 1) **Winston Churchill:** Great Britain's wartime leader who was a key role in the defeat of the German Army.
 * 2) **Adolf Hitler:** Leader of Nazi Germany and is responsible for the mass murder of millions of European Jews.
 * 3) **Benito Mussolini:** Leader of Fascist Italy who teamed up with Hitler and was killed by Partisans in 1945 towards the end of the war.
 * 4) **Joseph Stalin:** Leader of Communist Germany who defeated the German's and was a part of the Allies.
 * 5) **Heinrich Himmler:** Leader of the SS, who were a group of Nazi secret police who would round up the Jews to be taken to concentration camps.

__**5 Links:**__
 * 1) World War II This link has tons of information on World War II, it also has pictures, video, and interactive learning games.
 * 2) WW II Fun Facts Here is a pretty cool website that has a lot of neat facts about WW II.
 * 3) Winston Churchill This website has all you need to know about Winston Churchill.
 * 4) Harry Truman Here is a great website that is basically a biography on the 33rd president of the United States, Harry Truman.
 * 5) Atomic Bombing This link has all of the information your looking for on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.