How World War Two started
This photograph shows a significant moment in 1938 when the British Prime Minister thought he had secured "peace in our time."
World War II started on the 3rd September 1939 . Neville Chamberlain had given a speech beforehand.
The Second World War started when Germany invaded Poland in 1939. Britain and France had made a decision to declare War on Germany unless they released their troops from Poland; Hitler had refused to abort his invasion which then lead onto fighting.
In 1918 Germany lost World War I. They had to give up some of their land and
were banned from having any armed forces. They were also forced to pay for any damage or destruction made in other countries.
were banned from having any armed forces. They were also forced to pay for any damage or destruction made in other countries.
During 1933, the people in Germany voted for a new leader called Adolf Hitler. Once Hitler was voted he made an army called The National Socialists (also known as The Nazis). Hitler promised the country he would make them powerful again and quickly began to prepare the army and to take land from other countries.
Shortly before 5am on Friday 1st September 1939, the German forces stormed the Polish frontier. Tanks and motorised troops raced the country overground, supported by Stuka dive bombers overhead. A total of 1.25 million German soldiers swept Poland.
Here, Chamberlain addresses the nation.
The peace treaty was signed by Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler so that it would officialy be approved that no country could invade another European country. Once it was agreed, Chamberlain told the U.K that there would be peace in Europe. Although Chamberlain had said that and he and Hitler had agreed, the Nazis invaded Poland despite the pact they had made.
In 1938, the Nazis invaded Austria and on the 15th March 1939 they invaded Czechoslovakia (now called Czech Republic). France and the UK had promised to help the Polish if they were attacked, so they gave Hitler a final warning. They did this by threatening war if his troops did not withdraw by 3rd September. Hitler decided to ignore this threat and so the Second World War started.
A map of Occupied Europe.
A map of Occupied Europe.