History - Unit 5 - World War 2 And The Holocaust

Key Vocabulary For This Unit: Dictatorship, Evacuation, RAF, Blitz, Isolationism, USSR, Atomic Bomb, Nuremburg, Anti-Semitism, Indoctrinated, Persecution, Ghetto, Uprising, Einsatzgruppen, Final Solution And Holocaust Denial.

What were the causes of the war?

• Students will know that Hitler became Fuhrer of Germany in 1934 and from then on, he had the desire to increase Lebensraum after the Treaty of Versailles removed that.
• Students will know that the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain followed a policy of appeasement giving Hitler what he wanted on the run up to war.
• Hitler was able to take over countries like Czechoslovakia and Austria with the catalyst of war being his invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939.

Was the start of the war a disaster for Britain?

• Students will know that the start of war was known as the Phoney War as no fighting happened. This changed in 1940.
• Students will know that Germany advanced through Europe taking over France, this led to British and French forces having to be evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk.
• Students will know the reasons why Dunkirk can be considered a miracle or a disaster as it was an evacuation, not a victory and Britain lost its ally, France.

What happened when the Nazis tried to invade Britain?

• Students will know that by 1940, Britain was fighting the war on her own.
• Students will know that Hitler knew he would have to invade Britain in order to win the war. This led to the Battle of Britain, a series of battles fought in the skies between the RAF and Luftwaffe.
• Students will know that there were several reasons why Britain won the Battle of Britain including the strength of the RAF and radar.

What was the Blitz?

• Students will know that the Blitz was when the German Luftwaffe aimed for British civilians bombing major cities to try and decrease morale.
• Students will know that the British had to endure black outs and nights in air raid and Anderson shelters for protection.
• Students will know that children were evacuated to the countryside for protection.

Why did the USA become involved in World War 2?

• Students will know that America originally wanted to stay out of the war as they were following a policy of isolationism meaning they kept themselves to themselves.
• This changed in December 1941 when Japanese forces attacked Pearl Harbour, an American naval base in Hawaii.
• Students will know that America declared war on Japan and Germany declared on America.

Why did the USSR join the Allies in World War 2?

• Students will know that Hitler and Stalin were allies before the war started as they signed the Nazi Soviet Pact with the aim of splitting Poland between them.
• Students will know that Hitler invaded the USSR in the hopes of increasing Lebensraum. This led to high death rates of both sides.
• Students will know that Hitler’s invasion failed and the USSR started to plan to invade Germany.

What brought World War 2 to an end?

• Students will know that the allies planned to invade Nazi Germany by going through France, the soldiers landing in France were known as the D-Day landings.
• Students will know that the USSR invaded Germany.
• Students will know that to end the war with Japan, the USA dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

What was the aftermath of the Second World War?

• Students will know that Germany lost the war and were punished by the Allies.
• Students will know that at the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences it was decided that Germany would be split into 4 zones of occupation. At these conferences, tensions started to increase between the USA and USSR.
• Students will know that the NHS was set up in the aftermath of the Second World War in Britain. In Germany, Nazi war criminals were punished.

What were the most important turning points in the Second World War?

The most important turning points in the Second World War include:

1. Battle of Stalingrad (1942-1943) - Marked the turning of the tide in favor of the Allies on the Eastern Front.

2. Battle of Midway (1942) - A crucial naval battle that shifted the balance of power in the Pacific.

3. D-Day (June 6, 1944) - The Allied invasion of Normandy, leading to the liberation of Western Europe.

4. Battle of El Alamein (1942) - A decisive victory for the Allies in North Africa.

5. Fall of Berlin (1945) - Led to the surrender of Nazi Germany and the end of the war in Europe.

What was Jewish life like before World War 2?

• Students will know that there was 9 million Jews living in Europe before WW2.
• Students will know that life was diverse meaning that some were wealthier than others and some were more religious than others.
• Students will learn that anti- Semitism means discrimination towards Jewish people and this has been around for centuries, it did not start with the Nazis.

What was life like in Nazi Germany for Jewish people?

• Students will know that when Hitler came to power, there was an increase in anti- Semitic propaganda and people were indoctrinated into believing that Jews were subhuman.
• Students will know that the Nuremburg Laws removed German citizenship from Jewish people and forbade mixed marriages.
• Students will know that Kristallnacht saw the destruction of Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues.

What was life like in ghettos?

• Students will know that before the Nazis had decided on the Final Solution, Jewish people were moved into ghettos.
• Students will know that the conditions in these ghettos were deliberately harsh.
• Students will know that the conditions in the Warsaw Ghetto were live endangering and there was resistance in the form of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

What was the Final Solution?

• Students will know that the Einsatzgruppen were in operation before the Wannsee Conference and were Nazi death squads.
• Students will know that the leading Nazis met at the Wannsee Conference to decide on the Final Solution.
• Students will know that 6 million Jewish people were systematically murdered in extermination camps like Auschwitz. There was resistance at Auschwitz when prisoners blew up Crematorium 4.

What was life like in the post war world for Jewish people?

• Students will know that Soviet forces liberated Auschwitz on 27 January 1945 but many feared a return to their home country due to persecution.
• In 1948, the creation of the State of Israel saw Jewish displaced persons and refugees moving into the new sovereign state.
• Students will know that today, there are Holocaust deniers that we as Historians must always challenge.

How was the Holocaust allowed to happen?

The Holocaust was allowed to happen due to a combination of factors, including:

1. Anti-Semitic Ideology: Widespread anti-Jewish sentiment in Europe.

2. Political Climate: The rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, which capitalized on economic instability and nationalistic fervor.

3. Propaganda: Effective use of propaganda to dehumanize Jews and justify their persecution.

4. Complicity and Indifference: Many individuals and institutions either supported or turned a blind eye to the atrocities.

5. Legal Framework: Implementation of discriminatory laws that marginalized Jews and stripped them of rights.

These elements created an environment where systematic genocide could occur.