21 Keys to Unlock a Basic Understanding of World War II: Part One

Part One:

I. Treaty of Versailles – Ended World War I

II. Adolf Hitler – Dictatorial Leader of NAZI Germany

III. Night of the Long Knives – Hitler’s move to Kill his political rivals and seize control of Germany

IV. Appeasement – Western Allies giving into Hitler’s territorial demands to avoid having to fight another war

V. Japan Invade China – Japan begins an imperial march conquering large parts of Asia

VI. Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact – Shocking peace pact between Adolf Hitler’s Germany and Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union

VII. Invasion of Poland – Event that starts World War II

I. Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919) – A vengeful treaty imposed upon Germany at the end of World War I, by the Allied Powers, including the United States, France, and Britain, requiring the Germans to give up all the land they had conquered during World War I, and holding them financially responsible for the total cost of the war. This treaty was meant as a punishment of Germany and created a brutal environment which generated people like…

II. Adolf Hitler – (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) – Hitler was a decorated German soldier during WWI, was burned and almost blinded in the trenches, and felt betrayed by the Treaty of Versailles. After being thrown in jail following a failed attempted to take control of the government, he wrote out his plan in a book. Mein Kampf (My Struggle) describes his hatred of Jewish people and the need to create Lebensraum (Living Space) for the superior German people. By 1933, Hitler’s National Socialist Party (NAZI) held a large part of the elected offices in Germany, and to rid himself of competition for control of Germany, Hitler killed his political rivals in what is known as…

III. Night of the Long Knives. Hitler’s willingness to kill his political rivals was perfectly in line with his vision of a new “Order” in which Germany was supreme. Hitler took dictatorial control of Germany using secret police and other violent tactics. To create his vision of “Order” he would rid the world of all opposition to it. During World War II this would lead eventually to a “final solution”, which meant killing off all undesirable peoples in death camps such as Auschwitz II-Birkenau, Jewish people being the primary target. On 30 April 1945, with Soviet Troops only blocks away, Hitler shot himself.

IV. Appeasement – On 24 September 1938 British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain met with Adolf Hitler who was demanding lands which were taken from Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. After the shocking level of death, the people of Britain wanted more than anything to avoid another war, and so Chamberlain agreed to Hitler’s demands. More importantly, this meeting revealed to Hitler that the Western Allies were not ready for another fight.

V. Japan invades China – July 7, 1937, On the other side of the world The Empire of Japan, having already taken control of Manchuria, begins a series of victories over China, taking control of key strategic points, such as Shanghai and the capital of Nanking. By 1939, having extended their control deep inland, and facing increasingly effective resistance, the fighting reaches a stalemate, and Japan would expand its territorial ambitions beyond China.

VI. Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact – In a stunning turn of political relations, Hitler and Stalin agree to invade Poland, split the conquered lands between the two countries and then exist in a state of non-aggression. In the 1930’s engaged in a proxy-war with each supporting one side in the Spanish Civil War. Hitler represented Fascism in Germany, and Stalin represented Communism in the Soviet Union. This détente, or peace, between sworn enemies shocked the world.

VII. Invasion of Poland – On 31 August 1939 both the German and Soviet militaries launched invasions against Poland as previously agreed upon, with the lands being divided between the two powers, providing a buffer zone to support the non-aggression pact. This conquest also freed Hitler to turn Germany’s full might against the Western Allies, France and Britain. Hitler also used the invasion of Poland as an opportunity to test his new military strategy….