Post on 02-Dec-2014
description
Early Turning Points of
World War II
Recap of the Path to War
militarization
Anschluss
Sudetenland
Munich Conference
Invasion of Poland
Appeasement
• 3 possible motives
• Significance in 1938?
• Modern significance?
• Application to U.S. foreign policy
• end of isolationism
The Fall of FranceJune 1940
• the French learned the wrong lesson from WW I
• construction of the Maginot Line
• “phony war”
• blitzkrieg warfare
• fall of Denmark and Norway
• less than three weeks....
• train car
Battle of Britain aka“The Blitz” (Fall 1940)
• Background of battle
• new technology
• Nazis change tactics
• First major turning point: Allies go on the offensive--Germany is not invincible!
The U.S. at the Start of WW II
• end of WW I: the U.S. demilitarizes!
• policy of isolation
• impact of the Battle of Britain
• lend lease program
• Hitler’s opinion of the United States
Operation Barbarossa June 1941
• Nazis invade the USSR! (lebensraum)
• what about the relationship? Left--------|--------Right
• second major turning point: two front war
• a new alliance and propaganda--”Uncle Joe”
• lend lease is extended to the USSR
Significance of Operation Barbarossa
Ultimately, Hitler failed to learn from WW I