7. The Second World War

1. Brief content of the lecture

1 International relations in the 30-s

*In 1938: Germany

**Italy

The governments of GB and France decided to negotiate with the USSR about assistance to each other. The talks took place in Moscow in May- July, 1939. The Soviet delegation proposed that GB, France and the Soviet Union had to help to each others if Germany attacked any of these countries and to help all countries of Eastern Europe in the case of German aggression. But the delegations could not come to any agreement . In addition, the governments of Poland and Rumania refused to allow the Red army to cross their territories if Hitler attacked Western Europe. The talks failed.

Soviet- German pact of 1939. Germany was interested in the neutrality of the SU when it started aggression against Poland. The talks between Germany and the USSR were finished by the non- aggression pact signing in August, 1939.( Pact of Molotov- Ribbentrop). The countries agreed to be neutral during the military conflicts with other countries. In secret protocol Germany and the USSR agreed about “ spheres of influence” in Eastern Europe: Soviet sphere - former territories of the Russian empire

( Finland, Latvia, Estonia and Bessarabia), German- Lithuania. Poland could be divided, too.

2. The Second World War

**Causes of the WWII:

The Beginning of the Second World War

WWII

Plan “ Weiss”- attack on Poland

Tactics “ blitzkrieg”

Germany and allies

1939-1940

Western Europe Eastern Europe

Battle of Britain Africa Balkans

Soviet policy. On the 17-th of September the Soviet army crossed the borders of Poland and on the 28 of September in Moscow the treaty between Su and Germany about friendship and borders was signed. It separated Poland, Western Ukraine and Western Byelorussia were joined to the Soviet Union. The Soviet government demanded from the governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to sign treaties, they agreed and the Soviet army took positions along the western borders.

The Soviet government demanded from Finland to exchange territories, but it refused and the SU declared War on Finland (“ Winter War Nov. 1939-March 1940). The SU got territories near Karelia isthmus (перешеек)

Military bloc: Anti- Hitler bloc:

Germany USSR

Italy France

Japan Great Britain

USA ( since December, 1941)

61 countries took part in the war with the armies of 110 mln military men.

Periods of the war:

1. 1 of September, 1939- June, 1942

2. June, 1942- January, 1944

3. Jan. 1944- 2 of September, 1945.

The war started from the German invasion to Poland on the 1-st of September. On the 28-th of September Poland surrended.

Beginning of the war. On the 3-d of September GB and France declared war on Germany, but no large military operations were undertaken- it was called “ phony” war. In 1939-1940 Hitler conquered Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland and in May- June France.

The head of the French government Petain moved to Vichy ( “ Vichy government”).

General de Gaulle from Great Britain called to start the movement of Resistance in France.

The USA Congress declared its neutrality and law about lend-lease.

*In August- October, 1940- “ Battle of Britain”

On the 22 of June, 1941 Hitler began the war against the USSR ( “ Barbarossa Plan”). The main directions of the German army were:1) Moscow, 2) Leningrad 3) Kiev. The Soviet army left a lot of territories.

In December, 1941, after the Pearl Harbor attack, the USA entered the war: it declared war on Japan. Germany and Italy declared war on USA.

On the occupied territories the Germans established “ New Order” with the race war. All conquered countries had to provide Germany with mineral resources and food.

14 of August, 1941, W. Churchill and F.D. Roosevelt signed the Atlantic Charter, they agreed to restore the rights of the peoples who were under occupation.

1 of January, 1942, Declaration of the United Nations Organization ( UNO) was sighed by 26 countries , they agreed to fight against fascism.

December, 1941- Moscow battle

By the summer, 1942, Germany and her allies conquered the territory from Lebanon to the Barents Sea, from the Biscay Gulf to the Volga.

From summer, 1942 the Stalingrad battle began

Main conferences of the “ Big Three”: 1. Moscow conference, Oct., 1942

2. Teheran conference- November- December, 1943

3. Yalta ( Crimea) conference – Feb. 1945. The main problems : the second front-

3. The end of the war

Since 1944 the Soviet army liberated its territories and Eastern European countries. The British- American armies liberated the territories of Western Europe and in April, 1945, they met on the river Elbe, in Torgau. On the 7-th of May German general Jodl signed the document of unconditional surrender to the British, Americans and Soviet. This was the end of the war in Europe.

Due to the decisions of the Crimea conference the USSR declared war on Japan , on the 2-nd of September, 1945 Japan capitulated . The second world war was over.

In 1946 special international tribunal at Nuremberg charged the leaders of fascist Germany with crimes against the humanity. They were accused in planning aggressive war and genocide. 10 of them were executed.

Glossary

Phony war-странная война

Movement of Resistance- движение Сопротивления

Lend-lease- ленд-лиз

To surrender- сдаваться

Unconditional surrender – безоговорочная капитуляция

To execute- казнить

3. Questions for test

1. The causes of the Second World War

2. The beginning of the WWII

3. Main events of the WWII

4. The end of the WWII

Dates of the Second World War:

A) 1 September, 1939- 2 September, 1945

B) 22 June, 1941- 9 May, 1945

C) 22 June, 1941- 2 September, 1945

D) 1 September, 1939- 9 May, 1945

The world became bi-polar after:

A) the WWI

B) the WWII

C) conflict in Yugoslavia

D) war in Vietnam

According to the decision of Yalta conference after the end of the war in Europe the war on Japan would declare:

A) USA

B) China

C) USSR

D) Great Britain

Reference

История стран Европы и Америки, т.3

Язьков Е.Ф. История стран Европы и Америки в новейшее время. М. 2001, стр. 300-307