World War II

Sample Lesson - Introduction

Lesson 1.01: Warning Signs

We really don't want to know what he's thinking about right now.
(Source)

Fun fact: Poet W.H. Auden once called the 1930s "a low dishonest decade."

Ouch.

To be fair, Auden had a pretty good point. The 1930s were the backdrop and start to World War II, the deadliest conflict in human history. Aside from the massive loss of life—both soldiers and civilians—this war truly rattled the world's faith in humanity and human rights.

If you think about it, it all went from relative peace and decadence in the 1920s to genocide and nuclear warfare real quick. We can chalk that up to the previous "war to end all wars"—World War I—and the rise of one man—Adolf Hitler. Put a power-hungry dictator, who's backed by popular support, with an international community that's still recovering from World War I, and you've got a recipe for disaster and the next world war.

Yep, we'd say Auden nailed the 1930s.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01a: Stirring the Pot

Here's the thing about history: everything is related. Major events don't just happen in a vacuum, and they're influenced by what happened previously. Sort of like playing a high-stakes game of Jenga where you think you can get away with pulling out the middle block on the bottom, but it ends in immediate disaster.

But we digress.

It's easy to look back in history and shake our heads, wondering how on earth a man like Adolf Hitler rose to power. But if you consider what happened during World War I and the Treaty of Versailles, then it makes a little more sense.

World War I (1914 – 1918) was, at that point in time, the most devastating conflict the world had ever seen. When it finally ended, the Allies—including France, Britain, and the United States—were eager to punish the losing side: Germany and her allies.

The resulting Treaty of Versailles (1918) aimed to cripple Germany and prevent her from starting any other wars. Here are the highlights:

• Germany was required to pay reparations for all damages caused by the war, close to $33 billion.
• Germany's empire was carved up and given to the victors. For instance, Germany was forced to cede parts of its territory to the newly independent Czechoslovakia and Poland. It's estimated that Germany had to give up about 13% of its territory.
• Germany's military was heavily restricted, including limitations on the number of soldiers and weapons it could have.

Basically, the Treaty of Versailles was one big "to the victor go the spoils" settlement. As a result, Germany's economy and political legitimacy were wrecked for years to come. Plus, there was widespread discontent among German citizens for how unfair the treaty was.

Bad move, Allies. Bad move.

Hitler Enters the Scene

Like millions of other young men who fought and survived World War I, Adolf Hitler was shaped by that bloody trauma. Having been wounded and decorated as a soldier at the front, he believed that Germany's defeat in WWI should be blamed on corrupt German politicians, Jews, and communists.

Hitler and many other Germans believed that Germany had been stabbed in the back by a weak leadership and had been forced to surrender. This Dolchstosslegende, or the stab-in-the-back myth, was one of Hitler's main arguments in his rise to power…even though it was false. However, Hitler was motivated to right the "wrongs" of the Treaty of Versailles, starting by taking back all the territory that Germany lost.

Dun. Dun. Duuun.

Mein, Mein, Mein

With Germany's economy just starting to recover from WWI, and the German population eager for fresh leadership, it was the perfect opportunity for a change in the status quo. By 1933, the Nazi Party was the dominant party in German politics, Hitler had been elected Chancellor of the country, and the Third Reich had been established.

After he gained absolute power in Germany, Hitler focused on improving the army, air force, and navy. Besides overturning the results of World War I, Hitler had another big goal: Lebensraum.

Translated as "living space," this policy believed that Germans, as a supposedly superior race, needed new lands to colonize and expand their population. Or to put it even more bluntly, Germany was entitled to other country's territories, including the land that had been taken from them in the Treaty of Versailles.

Surprise, surprise.

In March of 1938, Hitler was pressuring the government of bordering Austria to accept an Anschluss, or union, with Germany. Really, it was a trap because Austrian Jews and political dissidents would be slaughtered in the name of Lebensraum.

Giving in at Munich

After swallowing up Austria, Hitler claimed the German-speaking region of Czechoslovakia, known as the Sudetenland. He threatened war over this demand.

By this point, you're probably wondering, "Why isn't anyone trying to stop Hitler?" Trust us, the international community was feeling pretty nervous about Hitler's expansion. However, France and Britain were wary about repeating the same mistakes that had led them into WWI—namely, jumping to war to save an ally.

France was supposed to aid the Czechs in case of war, and Great Britain was a traditional ally of France. Neither country wanted another war with Germany over this issue.

At the Munich Conference in September 1938, Germany, Italy, France, and Great Britain decided to take the Sudetenland away from Czechoslovakia and give it to Germany. Czechoslovakia, which wasn't even invited to the conference, had no choice but to accept the deal. Hitler had won even more territory without firing a single shot.

The British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, spearheaded this policy of appeasement. It aimed to meet Hitler's demands in an effort to avoid another world war. Ceding the Sudetenland was "for the greater good" and all that jazz.

In fact, Hitler had promised the Sudetenland would be his last demand for territory. Chamberlain flew back to Britain feeling like a champion and that the Munich deal meant "peace for our time."

Oof. Have we got some bad news for you, Chamberlain.

Hitler Wants More

In March 1939, Hitler went back on his word and demanded more territory. Shocker, we know.

Ignoring Great Britain and France, Germany seized the rest of Czechoslovakia. Soon after, Italy—Germany's ally in the Axis—invaded Albania. Led by dictator Benito Mussolini, Italy had also taken advantage of the policy of appeasement. In the 1930s, it invaded Ethiopia without much international opposition. Hitler and Mussolini also signed a the Pact of Steel, agreeing that if one entered a war, the other would join in.

As you can probably tell, it's the beginning of the end for peace.

Hitler eyed Poland next. By this point, Great Britain and France knew appeasement wasn't working. They used Poland as an ultimatum: if you invade Poland, we will declare war.

On September 1, 1939, German forces attacked Poland and officially kicked off World War II between the Allies (Britain, France, United States, Soviet Union, and others) and the Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan, and others).

Hitler's drive to expand German territory and swallow up her neighbors is a perfect example of how difficult resolving an international conflict can be. How does one nation stop an aggressor nation? Where and when should "red lines" be drawn or ultimatums laid down? When does war become the last resort?

While these questions haunted pre-war Europe, they also confront statesmen and diplomats today. Hitler and the 1930s are long gone, but aggression and duplicity—unfortunately—didn't end way back when.

Sample Lesson - Reading

Reading 1.1.01b: Legalized Racism

If you know anything—like, anything at all—about World War II, then you probably know about the Holocaust. It was no secret that the Nazi Party's rise to power meant persecution and genocide of Jews both in Germany and abroad.

At the heart of Lebensraum ideology was the idea that Germans were of the superior Aryan race, while Jews were "subhumans" who threatened the purity of the German people and had orchestrated the nation's defeat in WWI.

Just like with Germany's territorial expansion, the Holocaust happened in stages. First, the Nazi-led government began to harass and isolate Jews from the rest of German society. Since it controlled newspapers and radio, it wasn't hard to barrage German citizens with the propaganda that Jews should be discriminated against.

In 1935, the Nazi government instituted the notorious Nuremberg Laws. This policy legally institutionalized anti-Semitism in Germany by

• making Jews non-citizens.
• taking away their right to vote.
• making it illegal for them to marry or have sexual relations with non-Jewish Germans.

By 1937, the Nazi government had imposed an Aryanization program that confiscated many Jewish-owned businesses. It also segregated Jews to ghettoes and banned from even entering so-called "Aryan zones."

The government even forced Jews to wear yellow Stars of David prominently on their clothing. This had the effect of further isolating Jews and making them targets of public humiliation.

If this sounds like a dystopian nightmare straight out of an Orwell novel, then you'd be right. And honestly, it would get much worse before it got better.

The Night of Broken Glass

In November 1938, the world got a startling look at just how violent and ugly anti-Semitism could be in Nazi Germany. After a Jewish youth shot and killed a German diplomat in Paris, Nazi officials launched Kristallnacht, "the night of broken glass."

Over two nights, thugs and looters set fire to Jewish synagogues, broke into Jewish stores, and beat and killed Jews. The worst part? This wasn't just a policy carried out by German soldiers—civilians participated in the efforts. It was a government-sanctioned, free-for-all on German Jews. Think: The Purge, but very, very real.

Through this steady erosion of Jewish civil rights, Hitler laid the groundwork for the atrocities committed in concentration camps and genocide of Jews in German-controlled territories.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01a: Taking Sides

We don't know about you, but we're feeling seriously depressed after today's two readings. Before we move onto the activities, we wouldn't blame if you wanted to take a two-minute puppy break. Take some time to recharge and Google photos of adorable puppies to remember everything good in the world.

Aaand we're back.

Let's talk about the Munich Conference. As the still-unresolved crisis over the Sudetenland seemed to signal war, Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain told the British people in a radio broadcast:

How horrible, fantastic, incredible it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas masks here because of a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing. 

Well, that sounds unsympathetic.

Yet some saw things differently. Winston Churchill, a member of Chamberlain's own party, famously denounced the deal at Munich as cowardly and wrong. Duff Cooper, a member of Chamberlain's Cabinet, resigned over Munich. He argued,

The Prime Minister has believed in addressing Herr Hitler through the language of sweet reasonableness. I have believed that he was more open to the language of the mailed fist [i.e. the threat of armed force]… (Source)

Which side do you fall on?

Step One

Imagine that you're a member of the British Parliament in 1938. You've just heard about the agreement at Munich to give the Sudetenland to Hitler.

Take a few minutes to review the lesson's readings and any notes you took. Then, in a Word doc, create the following chart:

In each column, we want you to list at least three arguments supporting or opposing appeasement. In other words, why would people at the time believe I was a strong policy or a weak one?

We'll start you with some examples:

Fill out three more arguments for each side in your chart.

Step Two

Now, based on your understanding of European politics up to the fall of 1938—and no further in history—write a paragraph of at least 150 words to your voters either

a) explaining why the policy of appeasement at Munich represents a success.
b) explaining why appeasement was a failure and how it might influence Hitler's actions in the future.

Remember, you're writing from the perspective of British politician, so give it some political oomph and creativity. You should draw from the arguments you came up with in Step One, as well as facts and details you've learned from the readings to support your argument.

Not sure where to start? Here's how we might start a response in favor of appeasement:

To the British public,

In regards to the deal struck at the Munich Conference, this is a momentous and happy occasion for international politics. Great Britain has evaded the clutches of another world war, while staying out of the muck of continental Europe. I believe appeasement will lead to a new phase of strengthened relations and peace with the Third Reich.

When you're done, upload both your chart and one-paragraph response below.

Sample Lesson - Activity

Activity 1.01b: Morality and Power

Morality and power—two big ideas that some would say are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Even more so when you're talking about systems of government and international relations. To put these issues into perspective though, let's bring it down to a personal level.

Step One

Check out this firsthand account of a Jewish woman who experienced Kristallnacht as a child.

While you're watching the video and reading the summary, think about the government played a role in Kristallnacht and whether a government with absolute power should also be moral.

Step Two

Using the primary source you just watched and information from Reading 1.1b, reflect on absolute or dictatorial power and how government-sanctioned actions can persecute people.

For each question below, write a response of 75 – 125 words. This is your chance to say something important about morality and power, a topic that philosophers and political thinkers have wrestled with for centuries, so make it good.

For example, here's how we might respond to the first question:

Even if people did oppose the Nuremberg Laws and other racist policies, it was probably too dangerous for them to speak up. Hitler was in complete control of the government, so dissidents were at risk for losing their jobs or being imprisoned.