In 1939, the powers of Europe had once again found themselves standing on the precipice of another world war. Great Britain and France looked the other way as Germany had spent the interwar period pushing the boundaries of the terms set by the Treaty of Versailles. However, when Germany invaded Poland, they would no longer stand by the side.
Europe erupted into the deadliest war on September 3, 1939. While World War II was a conflict that saw battles worldwide, this article will focus specifically on Europe and WWII.
World War II Timeline
Let's examine some main events that defined World War II in Europe. | Date | Event |
| 1935-1938 | Germany breaks the Treaty of Versailles by building its army, placing weapons in the Rhineland, annexing parts of Austria, and demanding control of the Sudentenland. |
| September 30, 1938 | Great Britain, France, and Germany met at the Munich Conference |
| August 23, 1939 | Germany and the Soviet Union sign the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact |
| September 1, 1939 | Germany invades Poland |
| September 3, 1939 | Great Britain and France declare war on Germany |
| June 1941 | Germany broke the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression pact and invaded the Soviet Union as part of Operation Barbarossa. |
| December 7, 1941 | Japan attacks the US Naval Base Pearl Harbor, prompting the US to declare war on Japan. |
| July 17, 1942 | The Battle of Stalingrad begins |
| June 6, 1944 | The Allies land on the beaches of Normandy to free France from Nazi occupation; known as D-Day |
| February 4, 1945 | The Allies meet at the Yalta Conference |
| April 30, 1945 | Adolf Hitler commits suicide |
| May 7, 1945 | The leaders of Nazi Germany surrenders, marking the end of WW2 in Europe |
World War II Causes
Europe entered the interwar period after the Treaty of Versailles was signed and the world laid down its arms from World War I. It was during this period that the foundation for the conflicts of World War II was laid.
As part of the Treaty of Versailles stipulations, Germany had been forced to disarm their military to 100,000 units, enact a democratic government, and pay reparations to the countries they affected during the war. On top of this, the entire world was plunged into the Great Depression- making dire financial situations even worse as inflation and unemployment skyrocketed.
The German people were unhappy with their new democratic government, called the Weimar Republic, and with the high rates of debt, inflation, and unemployment. This allowed Adolf Hitler's political party, the German National Socialist Worker’s Party or Nazi Party, to rise. Its platform of extreme nationalism and open aggression towards the Treaty of Versailles terms became popular among the German people.
The phenomenon of fascist leaders rising was not limited to Germany; in Italy, Benito Mussolini became dictator of Italy in 1922. Mussolini would be an essential ally for Germany during World War II.
Fig 1. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in 1937.
Hitler wasted no time violating the Treaty of Versailles's terms after gaining absolute power as dictator in 1933. He begins by secretly rearming the German military, rearming the Rhineland (the border between Germany and France), annexing Austria, and demanding control of the Sudetenland, a part of Czechoslovakia.
England and France knew these actions violated the Treaty and called Germany to meet at the Munich Conference in September 1938. They were against Hitler's aggressive moves but were reluctant to start another war. The two powers appeased Hitler by allowing Germany to have the Sudentenland in exchange for an end to German aggression.
However, Germany continued to prepare for future conflicts by signing a non-aggression pact with Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, called the Nazi-Soviet Pact. This pact allowed them to invade Poland, a country that had been a part of Germany before World War I, without any interference from the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union also had something to gain from this pact- they were allowed to seize land in Poland that they had lost after World War I.
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. France and England decided they could not ignore the invasion of another country in addition to the blatant disregard of the Treaty of Versailles stipulations. They declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.
interwar period
the period between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II (1918-1939)
fascism
a type of government that is supported by militarism and nationalism; usually led by a dictator
appeasement
the act of allowing something to happen to avoid conflict
World War II in Europe Summary
Germany quickly occupied Poland, made possible by its blitzkrieg strategy, which called for a swift and sudden attack to overwhelm the enemy. Typically an attack by the Luftwaffe, the German airforce, would be followed by a ground invasion with their military. The German military had greatly improved thanks to their heavy investment in new military technology during the interwar period.
The war fell largely silent after the fall of Poland. The months between the winter of 1939 and the spring of 1940 are referred to as the Phoney War because of the few instances of fighting between the armies. However, the Phoney War ended in April, when Germany began to mobilize again and conquer much of the European continent. By 1940, German forces had occupied Demark, Norway, Holland, and France.
Phoney War
refers to the first eight months of World War II when there were few instances of armed conflict
blitzkrieg
can be translated into "lightening war;" which refers to the German style of attack where they rushed the enemy by first bombing from the air, followed immediately by an attack on the ground
Fig 2. A British soldier watches the sky for German aircraft during the Battle of Britain.
Germany then turned its sights to England. Germany realized that while it could not use its successful blitzkrieg strategy, it could still use its Luftwaffe in a bombing campaign. The German military ordered nightly bombing raids on London and devastated much of the city during what became known as the Battle of Britain.
During this time, Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, rallied people in support of the war and solidified his place in history as a leader. Germany abandoned the Battle of Britain and the bombings after it was clear that Great Britain would not surrender, prompting Germany to refocus on its plan to invade the Soviet Union.
Germany broke the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression pact and invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941 in Operation Barbarossa. After two years of fighting, Germany failed to capture two major cities in the Soviet Union, Leningrad and Stalingrad. It saw a decisive defeat during the Battle of Stalingrad in November 1942. This signaled the beginning of the end of Nazi forces in World War II.
The campaign against the Jews in Germany had been growing since the Nazi regime took power in the 1930s. It began with the Nuremberg Laws forcing Jews to display the Star of David on their clothing and progressed to Jews being transported by railroad first to ghettos and then to concentration camps like Auschwitz and Dachau.
This was part of a plan concocted by the Nazi party called the Final Solution. The Final Solution was rooted in anti-semitism and called for eliminating the entire Jewish population- an act now referred to as genocide.
The Nazis did not only target the Jewish population. Any person deemed "undesirable" by the Nazi party was included in the Final Solution; people of Roma or Sinti descent (known as gypsies), those with disabilities, and homosexuals were among the other targeted groups.
The Nazis had murdered over 6 million Jews and 7 million other "undesirables" by the end of World War II.
Fig 3. Hungarian Jews at the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland.
Allied Victory in WWII
The Allies of Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union grew by one more in December 1941 after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.
The United States joining the war tipped the scales in favor of the Allies. A few years into their involvement in World War II, the US assisted the Allies by freeing France from Nazi occupation during the D-Day campaign, sending troops to Western Europe for the first time during the war. With France being freed, the Allied forces could move into Belgium. The Allied forces freed Belgium from Nazi occupation during the Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944 into 1945.
Feeling confident, the Allies met in February 1945 at the Yalta Conference. The Conference was attended by Great Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union, who discussed what the post-war world would look like. Soon thereafter, the Nazi military retreated, and the Nazi party fell when Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
Fig 4. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin
On May 7, 1945, Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender to the Allied forces, which took effect the following day. Their surrender marked the end of World War II in Europe.
The war in the Pacific against the Empire of Japan continued through the summer and fall of 1945 before Japan surrendered in September.
World War II Impact
Much of Europe was left devastated by World War II. Cities had been bombed, civilians killed, and the true horrors of the Holocaust came to light.
Germany began the process of denazification immediately after the war. The Allies set up the historic Nuremberg Trials and the International Military Tribunal to hold Nazi war criminals accountable for their actions, marking the first time in history multiple countries would set up a court of international law and the first time "crimes against humanity" was used as a conviction. Additionally, the United Nations was proposed to prevent future conflicts.
The Allies also split Germany into four zones, each occupied by a different Allied country. However, although these terms ended World War II, they set up the future conflicts of the Cold War.
Europe and WWII - Key takeaways
- Much of the German discontent that led to the war stemmed from the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
- World War II in Europe began on September 9, 1939, and ended on May 7, 1945.
- World War II began with Germany violating the terms of the Treaty of Paris and then invading Poland, prompting Great Britain and France to declare war.
- There were two main groups of powers during World War II:
- The Allied powers: Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the US
- The Axis powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan
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