Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

575

In 1939, German tanks and bombers attacked Poland, and the bloodiest

war in history began. Like World War I, World War II was a global war

and was fought on the ground, in the air, and at sea. the war was a result

of the rise to power of the German national socialist, or nazi, Party, led

by adolf Hitler. the nazis wanted to wipe out the memory of defeat in

World War I. Within a year, German armies, with help from Italy, had

occupied much of europe. Only Britain opposed them. In 1941, Hitler

invaded the soviet Union. But the soviet people fought hard

and millions died. In the Pacific, the Japanese formed an

alliance, called the axis, with Germany and Italy. Japanese

warplanes bombed the american naval base at Pearl

Harbor, in Hawaii. this brought the United states into

the war, and they joined the soviet Union and Britain

to form the allies. By may 1945, allied forces had

defeated the nazis in europe; Japan

surrendered in august. When the war

ended, 45 million people had died and

much of europe was in ruins. two new

“superpowers”—the soviet Union

and the United states—began

to dominate world politics.

The growth

of Nazi Germany

BLItz

Between august and October 1940,

the British royal air Force fought

the Luftwaffe—the German air

force—in the Battle of Britain

and finally won. Without

control of the skies, Hitler

could not invade Britain.

His bombers began

to bomb British cities

during the night.

this “blitzkrieg,”

or blitz, killed

40,000 people,

mostly civilians.

InvasIOn

In 1938, Hitler took control

of austria and parts of

Czechoslovakia. Britain and

France did not oppose him,

and he went on to invade

Poland. Britain and France

then declared war on Germany.

German troops smashed into

France in 1940, sweeping aside

the armies of Britain and

France. Fleets of fishing boats

and pleasure steamers from

the southern coast of england

helped the royal navy

rescue the retreating

allied soldiers from the

beaches at Dunkirk, on

the coast of France.

World War II

evaCUatIOns

During the bombing of major

cities, such as London, thousands

of British children were evacuated

to country towns and villages

where they were much safer.

France

Nazi

Germany

Soviet Union

Britain

Norway

Poland

Hungary

Czechoslovakia

Austria

Dunkirk

British

Spitfire

Sweden

German

Messerschmitt

HItLer

In 1933, adolf Hitler came to power in

Germany as leader of the nazi Party. the

nazis were fascists: they were against Communism

and believed in strong national government. the nazis

ruthlessly crushed anyone who opposed them. they

enslaved and murdered Jews, gypsies, and other minorities,

whom they blamed for all of Germany’s problems, from

defeat in World War I to unemployment and inflation.

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