World War II and the Holocaust
Explain causes, major theaters, genocide, the Holocaust, home fronts, atomic weapons, and the postwar order.
A lesson of World History, in The Twentieth Century, about 10 minutes.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain the causes and major phases of World War II, describe the nature and scale of the Holocaust, analyze why the Allies won, and evaluate the war's transformative consequences.
Road to War
German aggression (1933–1939):
- 1935: Hitler began open rearmament — violating Versailles
- 1936: German troops remilitarized the Rhineland — France and Britain did not respond
- 1938: Anschluss — Germany annexed Austria
- 1938: Munich Conference — Britain and France gave Hitler Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland in exchange for his promise of "no more territorial demands" (appeasement). Czechoslovakia was not consulted.
- March 1939: Germany occupied the rest of Czechoslovakia — breaking the Munich agreement
Appeasement: Britain and France avoided confrontation, hoping Hitler's demands had limits. Reasons: war weariness, economic weakness, some sympathy for Germany's "legitimate" grievances, underestimating Hitler.
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (August 1939): Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact — shocking the world. Secret protocols divided Eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres.
September 1, 1939: Germany invaded Poland using Blitzkrieg ("lightning war") — combined tanks, aircraft, and motorized infantry in fast-moving coordinated attack. France and Britain declared war on Germany.
The War in Europe
Phase 1 (1939–1941): Axis Dominance
- Fall of France (June 1940): Germany defeated France in six weeks — shocking the world. France divided into occupied zone and Vichy puppet state.
- Battle of Britain (1940): Germany attempted to win air superiority to enable invasion of Britain. RAF (Royal Air Force) held off the Luftwaffe; Hitler abandoned Operation Sea Lion (invasion plan).
- North Africa: German and Italian forces contested Egypt and the Suez Canal.
Operation Barbarossa (June 22, 1941): Germany invaded the Soviet Union with 3 million troops — the largest invasion in history. Early German successes; then Soviet resistance stiffened.
- Battle of Stalingrad (1942–1943): Germany surrounded; Hitler forbade retreat; entire German 6th Army destroyed — 800,000 Axis casualties. Turning point of the war in the East.
Phase 2 (1942–1945): Allied Counteroffensive
- El Alamein (1942): British forces defeated Rommel's Afrika Korps; North Africa cleared of Axis forces