And in the midst of the Japan crisis there is Germany. Germany had no idea that they were really losing WWI. They finally found out by reading it in the paper and this caused great psychological shock. Their leaders had lied to them.
Germany thought they had lost in an unfair fight. Nazi’s said that the Jews had stabbed them in the back. And they were humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles. In 1923 the currency was so inflated that it wiped out the savings of the middle class of Germany. They did recover some prosperity during 1923-1929 but the economy had not completely recovered. By the 1930 s their economy had stabilized due to American loans.
The Great Depression had really hit Germany hard. This is what gave Hitler is chance to move. He promised to restore jobs to Germans, which he did to some degree. Hitler was a Nazi. Nazi’s denounced communism, rejected democracy, believed in the right of the individual, and anti-seminitism (Jews were to blame for all the Germany’s problems).
Germany had no universal knowledge.
They said that there was only a German science and a German math. And that Physics was a Jewish discipline. Germany lost some of it’s leading physicists because of this view, and even today in 1999 they have never regained their stature in science. Hitler wanted to reunite all the German people.
He wanted to restore Vokdeutsch. So he took over the Rhineland and Austria. Then he stepped into Sudetenland and that’s when problems began. He said that they were German and that it should be his land. Well, Chamberlain basically gives Sudetenland to Hitler because he thought it was a way to avoid war with him. But Hitler wants a war really bad.
The Essay on Weimar Republic Hitler Nazi Rise
... Republic and the rise of Hitler and the nazi party. During the early 1920 s, Germany was struggling with economic ... appealing. A large proportion of Germans, in disillusionment, began to support the Nazi Party. Hitler's perfect timing and his manipulation ... promising better alternatives became an attractive option to many Germans. The Treaty of Versailles' vindictive terms and unreasonable reparations ...
But March 15, 1939 Hitler takes over ALL of Czechoslovakia. This is a clear sign of aggression. But he didn’t want to fight a two front war, so on Aug 23, 1939 he signed a non-aggression pact with Joseph Stalin of Russia. This amazed the world because this was his biggest enemy.
Well, this freed Hitler’s hands to make war in the east. And on Sept 1, 1939 German army invades Poland. Poland quickly falls to Hitler’s blitzkriegs. Well, Britain and France had given Poland sovereignty so they go to war with Germany.
Well, Russia then moves in to Poland and basically splits it down the middle with Germany. Well, we believed that France had a great army and could stop Germany, but in the spring of 1940 they moved around the front line of France and conquered it. Well, Britain successfully evacuates all of their men out of France but they had to leave their weapons there. So here in the summer of 1940 Britain is without defense. Well, for Germany to go to Britain they needed control over the skies.
But Britain had good airplanes and a great system of radar’s. So in Aug of 1940, Battle of Britain, German air force attacks southern England in hopes of knocking out some of their air force. Then on Aug 24, 1940 German bombers mistakenly drop a load of bombs on London. Well, Britain didn’t know it was a mistake so the next night we bomb Berlin. Well, Hitler was mad and embarrassed that we made it all the way to Berlin in our attack. He wanted revenge now! In Sept 1940 Germany makes largest daylight raid of the war on the British Isles.
Germany loses an outstanding amount of equipment and lives because Britain was ready for them. But Germany kept bombing London at night until the next spring. They called off all day raids, and this virtually meant that they couldn’t win. With Hitler’s success in the 40 s many Americans, especially Roosevelt, believed that this was entirely different from WWI. And if Britain fell to Hitler then we would be in danger.
So during the Battle of Britain Roosevelt ordered that 50 destroyers be given to Britain in exchange for naval bases in Newfoundland and Caribbean. And in Jan 1941 Roosevelt proposed to Congress the Lend-Lease Act. The President could sell or transfer military equipment to any country whose defense the President considered vital to American interest. Americans had growing support to assist Britain, but not to get into war. But Pearl Harbor changed our minds. Three days after the Pearl Harbor attack, Hitler declared war on the United States.
The Term Paper on Germany’s Invasion of Poland
... the next year. b) Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 -. The invasion of Poland forced Britain and France, to declare war on Germany because they had ... A new facet to international politics was added when Adolph Hitler acceded to power in 1939. Initially he was held back ...
If he hadn’t have done this we would have concentrated on the war with Japan, but we felt that Germany was more dangerous and that they should be taken care of first. And finally, after many battles, Germany surrendered in 1945.
