SESSION 1: An introduction to WWII Activity 1 (pre-reading): In groups of four people discuss the following question and write your conclusions down on a paper to share them with the rest of the class: What do you know about World War II? Activity 2 (reading): Read the text and determine whether the following statements are true or false and correct those that are wrong.
INTRODUCTION The instability created in Europe by the First World War (1914-18) set the stage for another international conflict–World War II–which broke out two decades later and would prove even more devastating. Rising to power in an economically and politically unstable Germany, Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi Party) rearmed the nation and signed strategic treaties with Italy and Japan to further his ambitions of world domination. Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, and World War II had begun. Over the next six years, the conflict would take more lives and destroy more land and property around the globe than any previous war. Among the estimated 45-60 million people killed were 6 million Jews murdered in Nazi concentration camps as part of Hitler’s diabolical “Final Solution,” now known as the Holocaust. LEADING UP TO WORLD WAR II The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time) had greatly destabilized Europe, and in many respects World War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party.
After becoming Reich Chancellor in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing himself Führer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the “pure” German race, which he called “Aryan,” Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the necessary “Lebensraum,” or living space, for that race to expand. In the mid-1930s, he began the rearmament of Germany, secretly and in violation of the Versailles Treaty. After signing alliances with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in 1938 and the following year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s open aggression went unchecked, as the United States and Soviet Union were concentrated on internal politics at the time, and neither France nor Britain (the two other nations most devastated by the Great War) were eager for confrontation.
The instability in Europe after WWI set WWII.
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Hitler did not violate the Versailles Treaty.
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Hitler named himself Führer in 1933.
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We now say Holocaust when we refer to the "Final Solution".
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France and England helped Germany with the invasion of Poland.
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Activity 3 (vocabulary): Find a synonym in the text for each of the words below: - world (line 9) - killed (line 10) - supported (line 16) - enthusiastic (line 26)
Activity 4 (listening): Click here and you'll see: http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-iihistory/videos/did-wwi-lead-towwii?m=528e394da93ae&s=undefined&f=1&free=false
Did WWI Lead to WWII? World War II began 21 years after the end of World War I, but many historians believe that the two wars were part of one vast global conflict. 1.Watch the video and take some notes. 2. Write a summary using the notes you have taken (homework). SESSION 2: The causes of WWII Activity 1 (listening) Click here and you'll see: http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=34627 Watch this video about the causes of WWII and answer the following questions: 1. Which causes are mentioned in the video? 2. Which ideologies does the video talk about? 3. How did Germany violate the Treaty of Versailles? 4. Why did England and France let Hitler take a piece of Czechoslovakia?
Activity 2 (reading) Read the following text about the causes of WWII.
CAUSES OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR The treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I between Germany and the Allied Powers. Because Germany had lost the war, the treaty was very harsh against Germany. Germany was forced to "accept the responsibility" of the war damages suffered by the Allies. The treaty required that Germany pay a huge sum of money called reparations. The problem with the treaty is that it left the German economy in ruins. People were starving and the government was in chaos. Japanese Expansion In the period before World War II, Japan was growing rapidly. However, as an island nation they did not have the land or the natural resources to sustain their growth.
Japan began to look to grow their empire in order to gain new resources. They invaded Manchuria in 1931 and China in 1937. Fascism With the economic turmoil left behind by World War 1, some countries were taken over by dictators who formed powerful fascist governments. The first fascist government was Spain which was ruled by the dictator Franco. Then Mussolini took control of Italy. These dictators wanted to expand their empires and began to look for new lands to conquer. Italy invaded and took over Ethiopia in 1935. Adolf Hitler would emulate Mussolini in his takeover of Germany. Hitler and the Nazi Party In Germany, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party rose to power. The Germans were desperate for someone to turn around their economy and restore their national pride. Hitler offered them hope. In 1934, Hitler was proclaimed the "Fuhrer" (leader) and became dictator of Germany. Hitler resented the restrictions put on Germany by the Treaty of Versailles. While talking about peace, Hitler began to rearm Germany. He allied Germany with Mussolini and Italy. Then Hitler looked to restore Germany to power by expanding his empire. He first took over Austria in 1938. When the League of Nations did nothing to stop him, Hitler became bolder and took over Czechoslovakia in 1939. Appeasement After World War 1, the nations of Europe were weary and did not want another war. When countries such as Italy and Germany became aggressive and began to take over their neighbors and build up their armies, countries such as Britain and France hoped to keep peace through "appeasement." This meant that they tried to make Germany and Hitler happy rather than try to stop him. They hoped that by meeting his demands he would be satisfied and there wouldn't be any war. Unfortunately, the policy of appeasement backfired. It only made Hitler bolder. It also gave him time to build up his army. Great Depression The period before World War II was a time of great economic suffering
throughout the world called the Great Depression. Many people were out of work and struggling to survive. This created unstable governments and worldwide turmoil that helped lead to World War II. Are the following statements true or false? Justify your answer: 1. The period before World War II was a time of great economic power. 2. Hitler violated the Treaty of Versailles. 3. When WWI ended, the Allies had to pay a huge sum of money to Germany because of all the damages suffered in the war. 4. The nations of Europe really wanted another war after WWI.
Activity 3 (vocabulary) Match the following words taken from the text with their meanings below.
Harsh
Starve
Growth
Sustain
Pride
Ally
Backfire
Bold
Struggle
Turmoil
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to join (yourself) with another person, group, etc., in order to get or give support.
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the process of growing
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a state of confusion or disorder
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severe or cruel : not kind
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a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people
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to try very hard to do, achieve, or deal with something that is difficult or that causes problems
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to suffer or die from lack of food : to suffer extreme hunger
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not afraid of danger or difficult situations
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to have the opposite result of what was desired or expected
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to provide what is needed for (something or someone) to exist, continue, etc.
SESSION 3: The development of WWII (First stage) Activity 1 (pre-reading activity) Look at the map below. It shows the German annexations just before WWII. What do you think it is going to happen? Discuss in pairs.
Activity 2 (reading activity) Read the following text about the beginning of WWII and answer the questions. OUTBREAK OF WORLD WAR II (1939) In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the GermanSoviet Nonaggression Pact, which incited a frenzy of worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned an invasion of Poland, a nation to which Great Britain and France had guaranteed military support if it was attacked by Germany. The pact with Stalin meant that Hitler would not face a war on two fronts once he invaded Poland, and would have Soviet assistance in conquering and dividing the nation itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II. On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation, according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact. Stalin’s forces then moved to occupy the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and defeated a resistant Finland in the Russo-Finish War. During the six months following the invasion of Poland, the lack of action on the part of
Germany and the Allies in the west led to talk in the news media of a “phony war.� At sea, however, the British and German navies faced off in heated battle, and lethal German U-boat submarines struck at merchant shipping bound for Britain, sinking more than 100 vessels in the first four months of World War II. 1. What was the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact? 2. What do you think a phony war means?
Activity 3 (vocabulary) Look for synonyms in the text for the following words: - deliriousness (line 2) - look toward (line 5) - warm (line 16) - ready (line 17) - ship (line 18)
Activity 4 (listening) Watch the following video about the rise of Nazism and take some notes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2YEUhHFMHY
Activity 5 (writing) For homework write a short summary about the rise of Nazism using the information you have heard on the video.