All dates of the Second World War 1939 1945. Beginning of the Second World War

The Second World War is considered the largest in human history. It began and ended on September 2, 1945. During this time, sixty-two countries took part in it, representing eighty percent of the planet's population. Three continents and four oceans experienced hostilities, and atomic weapons were also used. It was the most terrible war. It started quickly and took many people from this world. We will talk about this and much more today.

Prerequisites for the war

Many historians consider the main prerequisite for the outbreak of World War II to be the outcome of the first armed conflict in the world. The peace treaty that ended the First World War put the countries that were defeated in it in a powerless position. Germany lost a lot of its lands, it had to stop developing its weapons system and military industry, and abandon its armed forces. In addition, it had to pay compensation to the affected countries. All this depressed the German government, and a thirst arose to take revenge. Dissatisfaction in the country with the low standard of living made it possible for A. Hitler to come to power.

Policy of reconciliation

What happened on September 1, 1939, we already know. But shortly before this, the USSR, which appeared during the First World War, worried many European politicians, since they in every possible way prevented the spread of socialism in the world. Therefore, the second reason for the start of the war was opposition to the popularization of communism. This gave impetus to the development of fascism in many countries. England and France, which had initially restricted Germany, subsequently lifted all restrictions and ignored the many violations by the German state of the Treaty of Versailles. There was no reaction to the fact that Germany annexed Austria, increasing its military power. The Munich Treaty also approved the annexation of part of Czechoslovakia to Germany. All this was done in order to direct the country's aggression towards the USSR. Europe's politicians began to worry when Germany expanded its annexation without asking anyone. But it was too late, because the plan for a new military conflict was drawn up and began to be implemented.

Role of Italy

Together with Germany, Italy also began to pursue an aggressive foreign policy. In 1935, she invaded Ethiopia, to which the world community reacted negatively. However, fascist Italy a year later annexed all Ethiopian territories and proclaimed itself an empire. The deterioration of relations with Western countries contributed to its rapprochement with Germany. Mussolini allows Hitler to take over Austria. In 1936, the Third Reich and Japan entered into an agreement to jointly fight communism. A year later, Italy joined them.

Collapse of the Versailles-Washington system

The outbreaks of World War II formed gradually, so the outbreak of hostilities could have been prevented. Let's consider the main stages of the collapse of the Versailles-Washington system:

1. In 1931, Japan occupied Northeast China.
2. In 1935, Hitler began to deploy the Wehrmacht in Germany, violating the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
3. In 1937, Japan conquered all of China.
4. 1938 - Germany captured Austria and part of Czechoslovakia.
5. 1939 - Hitler captured all of Czechoslovakia. In August, Germany and the USSR signed a non-aggression treaty and division of spheres of influence in the world.
6. September 1, 1939 - German attack on Poland.

Armed intervention in Poland

Germany has set itself the task of expanding space to the East. At the same time, Poland must be captured as soon as possible. In August, the USSR and Germany signed a non-aggression pact against each other. In the same month, Germans dressed in Polish uniforms attacked a radio station in Gleiwitz. German and Slovak troops advance on Poland. England, France and other countries that were allied with Poland declare war on the Nazis. At half past five in the morning, German dive bombers made their first flight to the control points of Tczew. The first Polish plane was shot down. At four hours and forty-five minutes in the morning, a German battleship opened fire on the Polish fortifications located on Westerplatte. Mussolini put forward a proposal for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, but Hitler refused, citing the incident in Gleiwitz.

In the USSR, military mobilization was introduced. In a short period of time, the army reached five million people.

Fascist strategy

Poland and Germany have long had claims against each other regarding territories. The main clashes began near the city of Danzig, which the Nazis had long claimed. But Poland did not meet the Germans halfway. This did not upset the latter, since they had long ago had the Weiss plan ready to capture Poland. 1 September 1939 Poland should have become part of Germany. A plan was developed to quickly seize its territory and destroy all infrastructure. To achieve the goal, Hitler planned to use aviation, infantry and tank troops. The Weiss plan was designed down to the smallest detail. Hitler hoped that England and France would not begin military operations, but considered the possibility of opening a second front, sending troops to the borders with the Netherlands, France and Belgium.

Preparedness for military conflict

Attack on Poland September 1, 1939 year was obvious, as was the outcome of the fascist operation. The German army was much larger than the Polish one, as was its technical equipment. In addition, the Nazis organized a rapid mobilization, about which Poland knew nothing. The Polish government concentrated all its forces along the entire border, which contributed to the weakening of the troops before the powerful attack of the Nazis. The Nazi offensive went according to plan. The Polish troops turned out to be weak in front of the enemy, especially in front of his tank formations. In addition, the President of Poland left the capital. The government followed four days later. The Anglo-French troops did not take any action to help the Poles. Only two days later they, along with New Zealand and Australia, declared war on Hitler. A few days later they were joined by Nepal, Canada, the Union of South Africa and Newfoundland. On September 3, at sea, a Nazi submarine attacked an English liner without warning. During the war, Hitler hoped to the last that Poland's allies would not enter into an armed conflict, everything would happen the same as with Munich. Adolf Hitler was shocked when Britain gave him an ultimatum, demanding the withdrawal of troops from Polish territory.

Germany

Nazi Germany made several diplomatic steps in order to expand the circle of states that were involved in the division of Polish territory. Ribbentrop proposed that Hungary annex part of Polish Ukraine, but Budapest avoided these questions. Germany offered Lithuania to conquer the Vilnius region, but the latter declared neutrality for the year. From the first days of the war, the leader of the OUN was in Berlin, to whom the German side promised the formation of the so-called independent Ukraine in southeastern Poland. A little later, he was informed about the possibility of forming a Western Ukrainian state on the border with Soviet Russia.

In the summer of 1939, when the OUN was preparing for military action in Poland, a unit of Galicians called the VVN was formed in Slovakia. It was part of a German-Slovak unit that attacked from the territory of Slovakia. Hitler wanted to create states on the border with the USSR that would be subordinate to the Third Reich: Ukraine, the so-called Polish pseudo-state and Lithuania. Ribbentrop pointed out that it was necessary to destroy the Poles and Jews with the help of the VVN. At the end of September, Ukrainian nationalists launched uprisings, during which military personnel and civilians were killed. At this time, actions were taken in Germany against the USSR. Ribbentrop invites Hitler to discuss the issue of the entry of Russian troops into the lands of Poland to occupy that part that is included in the circle of interests of the USSR, according to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Moscow refused such a proposal, indicating that the time had not yet come. Molotov indicated that the intervention of the Soviet Union could be a reaction to the advance of the Nazis, to protect Ukrainians and Belarusians from the Nazis.

The Union was officially notified that the outbreak had begun in Europe. war, September 1, 1939. The border troops were ordered to strengthen the security of the Soviet-Polish border, military mobilization was introduced, the number of vehicles, horses, tractors, etc. in the army was increased. Ribbentrop calls on the Union to completely defeat Poland within two or three weeks. Molotov argued that the USSR did not want to take part in the war, ensuring its security. Stalin said that there was a war going on in the world between two camps (rich and poor) for the redivision of the world. But the Union will watch from the side as they weaken each other well. He claimed that the communists were against the war. But in the meantime, the SIC directive stated that the Union could not defend fascist Poland. A little later, the Soviet press indicated that the German-Polish war was becoming threatening, so reserves were being called up. A large number of army groups were created. On September 17, the Red Army advanced to Poland. Polish troops offered no resistance. The division of Poland between the Union and Germany ended on September 28. Western Belarus and Western Ukraine went to the USSR, which later merged with the Ukrainian SSR and BSSR.

The mood for war with Germany, which had existed in the Union since 1935, lost its meaning, but mobilization continued. About two hundred thousand conscripts continued to serve, according to the new conscription law that was created September 1, 1939 (event what happened on this day is familiar to us).

Poland's reaction

Having learned about the crossing of the Polish border by the Soviet army, the Polish command sent an ambassador with the question of how the Soviet army crossed their border. He was presented with a fait accompli, although the Polish government believed that the Red Army was brought in to limit the Nazi occupation zone. It was ordered to retreat to Romania and Hungary and not to conduct military operations.

Germany's reaction

For the management of the German armed forces, the advance of the Soviet army into Poland came as a surprise. An emergency meeting was convened to discuss options for further actions by the Nazis. At the same time, armed clashes with the Red Army were considered inappropriate.

France and England

When September 1, 1939 World War II began with the invasion of Poland, England and France remained on the sidelines. After the USSR invaded Poland, these two states did not focus on Soviet intervention in the Polish-German war. They tried to find out what position the Union took in this conflict. There were rumors in these countries that the Red Army in Poland opposed German troops. In mid-September, the British government decided that England would defend Poland only from Germany, so the USSR did not send a protest, thereby recognizing the Soviet action in Poland.

Withdrawal of German troops

On September 20, Hitler gave the order to withdraw troops to the west. He demanded an immediate end to the fighting. But this order did not take into account the fact that there were a large number of wounded, prisoners and equipment on Polish territory. It was planned to leave the wounded in place, providing them with medical personnel. All trophies that could not be evacuated were left to the Russian soldiers. The Germans left military equipment in place for further removal. Damaged tanks made using new technologies were ordered to be destroyed so that it would not be possible to identify them.

Negotiations between Germany and the USSR were scheduled for September 27-28. Stalin made a proposal to transfer Lithuania to the Union in exchange for part of the Warsaw and Lublin voivodeships. Stalin was afraid of the division of the Polish population, so he left the entire ethnic territory of the country to Germany, as well as part of the Augustow forests. Hitler approved this version of the division of Poland. On September 29, the Treaty of Friendship and Border between the Soviet Union and Germany was signed. Thus, the basis of peace in Europe for a long time was created. The elimination of the impending war between Germany, England and France ensured the interests of many nations.

Anglo-French reaction

England was satisfied with this course of events. She informed the Union that she wanted Poland to be smaller, so the question of returning the territories captured by the USSR to it could not arise. France and England informed the Polish President not to declare war on the Soviet Union. Churchill said that Russian troops needed to enter Poland in order to ensure security against the threat from the Nazis.

Results of the operation

Poland ceased to exist as a state. As a result of its division, the USSR received a territory of about two hundred thousand square kilometers, which is half the area of ​​the country, and a population of thirteen million people. The territory of the Vilnius region was transferred to Lithuania. Germany received the entire ethnic territory of Poland. Some lands went to Slovakia. The lands that did not join Germany became part of the General Government, which was ruled by the Nazis. Krakow became its capital. The Third Reich lost about twenty thousand people, thirty thousand people were wounded. The Polish army lost sixty-six thousand people, two hundred thousand were wounded, and seven hundred thousand were captured. The Slovak army lost eighteen people, forty-six people were wounded.

Year 1939... September 1 - beginning of World War II. Poland was the first to take the blow, as a result of which it was divided between the Soviet Union and Germany. In the territories that became part of the USSR, Soviet power was established and industry was nationalized. Repressions and deportations of representatives of the bourgeoisie, rich peasants, intelligentsia, and so on were carried out. In the territories that became part of Germany, a so-called racial policy was carried out; the population was divided according to rights, depending on their nationality. At the same time, Gypsies and Jews were destroyed. In the General Government there was more aggression against the Polish and Jewish population. No one suspected then that this was just the beginning of the war, that it would take six long years and end with the defeat of Nazi Germany. Most of the world's population took part in military conflict.

In the early morning of September 1, 1939, German troops invaded Poland. Goebbels’s propaganda presented this event as a response to the previous “seizure by Polish soldiers” of a radio station in the German border town of Gleiwitz (it later turned out that the German security service staged the attack in Gleiwitz, using German death row prisoners dressed in Polish military uniforms). Germany sent 57 divisions against Poland.

Great Britain and France, bound by allied obligations with Poland, after some hesitation, declared war on Germany on September 3. But the opponents were in no hurry to get involved in active struggle. According to Hitler's instructions, German troops were to adhere to defensive tactics on the Western Front during this period in order to “sparing their forces as much as possible, to create the preconditions for the successful completion of the operation against Poland.” The Western powers did not launch an offensive either. 110 French and 5 British divisions stood against 23 German ones, without taking serious military action. It is no coincidence that this confrontation was called a “strange war.”

Left without help, Poland, despite the desperate resistance of its soldiers and officers to the invaders in Gdansk (Danzig), on the Baltic coast in the Westerplatte region, in Silesia and other places, could not hold back the onslaught of the German armies.

On September 6, the Germans approached Warsaw. The Polish government and diplomatic corps left the capital. But the remnants of the garrison and the population defended the city until the end of September. The defense of Warsaw became one of the heroic pages in the history of the struggle against the occupiers.

At the height of the tragic events for Poland on September 17, 1939, units of the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border and occupied the border territories. In this regard, the Soviet note said that they “took under protection the lives and property of the population of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus.” On September 28, 1939, Germany and the USSR, having practically divided the territory of Poland, entered into a friendship and border treaty. In a statement on this occasion, representatives of the two countries emphasized that “thereby they created a solid foundation for lasting peace in Eastern Europe.” Having thus secured new borders in the east, Hitler turned to the west.

On April 9, 1940, German troops invaded Denmark and Norway. On May 10, they crossed the borders of Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg and began an attack on France. The balance of forces was approximately equal. But the German shock armies, with their strong tank formations and aviation, managed to break through the Allied front. Some of the defeated Allied troops retreated to the English Channel coast. Their remnants were evacuated from Dunkirk at the beginning of June. By mid-June, the Germans had captured the northern part of French territory.

The French government declared Paris an "open city." On June 14, it was surrendered to the Germans without a fight. Hero of the First World War, 84-year-old Marshal A.F. Petain spoke on the radio with an appeal to the French: “With pain in my heart, I tell you today that we must stop the fight. Tonight I turned to the enemy to ask him if he is ready to seek with me ... a means to put an end to hostilities.” However, not all French supported this position. On June 18, 1940, in a broadcast from the London BBC radio station, General Charles de Gaulle stated:

“Has the last word been said? Is there no more hope? Has the final defeat been dealt? No! France is not alone! ...This war is not limited only to the long-suffering territory of our country. The outcome of this war is not decided by the Battle of France. This is a world war... I, General de Gaulle, currently in London, appeal to the French officers and soldiers who are on British territory... with an appeal to establish contact with me... Whatever happens, the flame of the French resistance should not go out and will not go out.”

On June 22, 1940, in the Compiègne forest (in the same place and in the same carriage as in 1918), a Franco-German truce was concluded, this time meaning the defeat of France. In the remaining unoccupied territory of France, a government was created headed by A.F. Petain, which expressed its readiness to cooperate with the German authorities (it was located in the small town of Vichy). On the same day, Charles de Gaulle announced the creation of the Free France Committee, the purpose of which was to organize the fight against the occupiers.

After the surrender of France, Germany invited Great Britain to begin peace negotiations. The British government, headed at that moment by a supporter of decisive anti-German actions, W. Churchill, refused. In response, Germany strengthened the naval blockade of the British Isles, and massive German bomber raids began on English cities. Great Britain, for its part, signed an agreement with the United States in September 1940 on the transfer of several dozen American warships to the British fleet. Germany failed to achieve its intended goals in the “Battle of Britain.”

Back in the summer of 1940, the strategic direction of further actions was determined in the leadership circles of Germany. The Chief of the General Staff F. Halder then wrote in his official diary: “Eyes are turned to the East.” Hitler at one of the military meetings said: “Russia must be liquidated. The deadline is spring 1941.”

In preparation for this task, Germany was interested in expanding and strengthening the anti-Soviet coalition. In September 1940, Germany, Italy and Japan concluded a military-political alliance for a period of 10 years - the Tripartite Pact. It was soon joined by Hungary, Romania and the self-proclaimed Slovak state, and a few months later by Bulgaria. A German-Finnish agreement on military cooperation was also concluded. Where it was not possible to establish an alliance on a contractual basis, they acted by force. In October 1940, Italy attacked Greece. In April 1941, German troops occupied Yugoslavia and Greece. Croatia became a separate state - a satellite of Germany. By the summer of 1941, almost all of Central and Western Europe was under the rule of Germany and its allies.

1941

In December 1940, Hitler approved the Barbarossa plan, which provided for the defeat of the Soviet Union. This was the plan for blitzkrieg (lightning war). Three army groups - “North”, “Center” and “South” were supposed to break through the Soviet front and capture vital centers: the Baltic states and Leningrad, Moscow, Ukraine, Donbass. The breakthrough was ensured by powerful tank formations and aviation. Before the onset of winter, it was planned to reach the Arkhangelsk - Volga - Astrakhan line.

On June 22, 1941, the armies of Germany and its allies attacked the USSR. A new stage of the Second World War began. Its main front was the Soviet-German front, the most important component was the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the invaders. First of all, these are the battles that thwarted the German plan for a lightning war. In their ranks one can name many battles - from the desperate resistance of border guards, the Battle of Smolensk to the defense of Kyiv, Odessa, Sevastopol, besieged but never surrendered Leningrad.

The largest event of not only military but also political significance was the battle of Moscow. The offensives of the German Army Group Center, launched on September 30 and November 15-16, 1941, did not achieve their goal. It was not possible to take Moscow. And on December 5-6, the counter-offensive of the Soviet troops began, as a result of which the enemy was thrown back from the capital 100-250 km, 38 German divisions were defeated. The victory of the Red Army near Moscow became possible thanks to the steadfastness and heroism of its defenders and the skill of its commanders (the fronts were commanded by I. S. Konev, G. K. Zhukov, S. K. Timoshenko). This was Germany's first major defeat in World War II. In this regard, W. Churchill stated: “The Russian resistance broke the back of the German armies.”

The balance of forces at the beginning of the counter-offensive of Soviet troops in Moscow

Important events occurred at this time in the Pacific Ocean. Back in the summer and autumn of 1940, Japan, taking advantage of the defeat of France, seized its possessions in Indochina. Now it has decided to strike at the strongholds of other Western powers, primarily its main rival in the struggle for influence in Southeast Asia - the United States. On December 7, 1941, more than 350 Japanese naval aircraft attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor (in the Hawaiian Islands).

In two hours, most of the warships and aircraft of the American Pacific Fleet were destroyed or disabled, the number of Americans killed was more than 2,400 people, and more than 1,100 people were wounded. The Japanese lost several dozen people. The next day, the US Congress decided to start a war against Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.

The defeat of German troops near Moscow and the entry of the United States of America into the war accelerated the formation of the anti-Hitler coalition.

Dates and events

• July 12, 1941- signing of the Anglo-Soviet agreement on joint actions against Germany.
• August 14- F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill issued a joint declaration on the goals of the war, support for democratic principles in international relations - the Atlantic Charter; in September the USSR joined it.
• September 29 - October 1- British-American-Soviet conference in Moscow, a program for mutual supplies of weapons, military materials and raw materials was adopted.
• November 7- the law on Lend-Lease (transfer by the United States of America of weapons and other materials to opponents of Germany) was extended to the USSR.
• January 1, 1942- The Declaration of 26 states - “united nations” fighting against the fascist bloc was signed in Washington.

On the fronts of the world war

War in Africa. Back in 1940, the war spread beyond Europe. That summer, Italy, eager to make the Mediterranean its “inland sea,” attempted to seize the British colonies in North Africa. Italian troops occupied British Somalia, parts of Kenya and Sudan, and then invaded Egypt. However, by the spring of 1941, British armed forces not only drove the Italians out of the territories they had captured, but also entered Ethiopia, occupied by Italy in 1935. Italian possessions in Libya were also under threat.

At the request of Italy, Germany intervened in military operations in North Africa. In the spring of 1941, the German corps under the command of General E. Rommel, together with the Italians, began to oust the British from Libya and blocked the Tobruk fortress. Then Egypt became the target of the German-Italian offensive. In the summer of 1942, General Rommel, nicknamed the “Desert Fox,” captured Tobruk and broke through with his troops to El Alamein.

The Western powers were faced with a choice. They promised the leadership of the Soviet Union to open a second front in Europe in 1942. In April 1942, F. Roosevelt wrote to W. Churchill: “Your and my people demand the creation of a second front in order to remove the burden from the Russians. Our peoples cannot help but see that the Russians are killing more Germans and destroying more enemy equipment than the United States and England combined.” But these promises were at odds with the political interests of Western countries. Churchill cabled Roosevelt: “Don’t let North Africa out of your sight.” The Allies announced that the opening of a second front in Europe was forced to be postponed until 1943.

In October 1942, British troops under the command of General B. Montgomery launched an offensive in Egypt. They defeated the enemy at El Alamein (about 10 thousand Germans and 20 thousand Italians were captured). Most of Rommel's army retreated to Tunisia. In November, American and British troops (numbering 110 thousand people) under the command of General D. Eisenhower landed in Morocco and Algeria. The German-Italian army group, squeezed in Tunisia by British and American troops advancing from the east and west, capitulated in the spring of 1943. According to various estimates, from 130 thousand to 252 thousand people were captured (in total, 12-14 people fought in North Africa Italian and German divisions, while over 200 divisions of Germany and its allies fought on the Soviet-German front).

Fighting in the Pacific Ocean. In the summer of 1942, the American naval forces defeated the Japanese in the battle of Midway Island (4 large aircraft carriers, 1 cruiser were sunk, 332 aircraft were destroyed). Later, American units occupied and defended the island of Guadalcanal. The balance of forces in this combat area changed in favor of the Western powers. By the end of 1942, Germany and its allies were forced to suspend the advance of their troops on all fronts.

"New order"

In the Nazi plans for the conquest of the world, the fate of many peoples and states was predetermined.

Hitler, in his secret notes, which became known after the war, provided for the following: the Soviet Union would “disappear from the face of the earth”, within 30 years its territory would become part of the “Greater German Reich”; after the “final victory of Germany” there will be reconciliation with England, a treaty of friendship will be concluded with it; the Reich will include the countries of Scandinavia, the Iberian Peninsula and other European states; The United States of America will be “permanently excluded from world politics”, it will undergo “complete re-education of the racially inferior population”, and the population “with German blood” will be given military training and “re-education in the national spirit”, after which America will “become a German state” .

Already in 1940, directives and instructions “on the Eastern Question” began to be developed, and a comprehensive program for the conquest of the peoples of Eastern Europe was outlined in the “Ost” master plan (December 1941). The general guidelines were as follows: “The highest goal of all activities carried out in the East should be to strengthen the military potential of the Reich. The task is to remove the largest amount of agricultural products, raw materials, and labor from the new eastern regions,” “the occupied regions will provide everything necessary... even if the consequence of this is the starvation of millions of people.” Part of the population of the occupied territories was to be destroyed on the spot, a significant part was to be resettled in Siberia (it was planned to destroy 5-6 million Jews in the “eastern regions”, evict 46-51 million people, and reduce the remaining 14 million people to the level of a semi-literate labor force, education limited to a four-year school).

In the conquered countries of Europe, the Nazis methodically implemented their plans. In the occupied territories, a “cleansing” of the population was carried out - Jews and communists were exterminated. Prisoners of war and part of the civilian population were sent to concentration camps. A network of more than 30 death camps has engulfed Europe. The terrible memory of millions of tortured people is associated among the war and post-war generations with the names Buchenwald, Dachau, Ravensbrück, Auschwitz, Treblinka, etc. In only two of them - Auschwitz and Majdanek - more than 5.5 million people were exterminated. Those who arrived at the camp underwent “selection” (selection), the weak, primarily the elderly and children, were sent to the gas chambers and then burned in the ovens of the crematoria.

From the testimony of an Auschwitz prisoner, Frenchwoman Vaillant-Couturier, presented at the Nuremberg trials:

“There were eight cremation ovens at Auschwitz. But since 1944 this number has become insufficient. The SS forced the prisoners to dig colossal ditches in which they set fire to brushwood doused with gasoline. The corpses were thrown into these ditches. We saw from our block how, about 45 minutes to an hour after the arrival of the party of prisoners, large flames began to burst out of the crematorium ovens, and a glow appeared in the sky, rising above the ditches. One night we were awakened by a terrible scream, and the next morning we learned from people who worked in the Sonderkommando (the team that serviced the gas chambers) that the day before there was not enough gas and therefore children were thrown into the furnaces of cremation furnaces while still alive.”

At the beginning of 1942, Nazi leaders adopted a directive on the “final solution to the Jewish question,” that is, on the systematic destruction of an entire people. During the war years, 6 million Jews were killed - one in three. This tragedy was called the Holocaust, which translated from Greek means “burnt offering.” The orders of the German command to identify and transport the Jewish population to concentration camps were perceived differently in the occupied countries of Europe. In France, the Vichy police helped the Germans. Even the Pope did not dare to condemn the removal of Jews from Italy by the Germans in 1943 for subsequent extermination. And in Denmark, the population hid Jews from the Nazis and helped 8 thousand people move to neutral Sweden. After the war, an alley was laid out in Jerusalem in honor of the Righteous Among the Nations - people who risked their lives and the lives of their loved ones to save at least one innocent person sentenced to imprisonment and death.

For residents of occupied countries who were not immediately subjected to extermination or deportation, the “new order” meant strict regulation in all spheres of life. The occupation authorities and German industrialists seized a dominant position in the economy with the help of "Aryanization" laws. Small enterprises closed, and large ones switched to military production. Some agricultural areas were subject to Germanization, and their population was forcibly evicted to other areas. Thus, about 450 thousand residents were evicted from the territories of the Czech Republic bordering Germany, and about 280 thousand people from Slovenia. Mandatory supplies of agricultural products were introduced for peasants. Along with control over economic activities, the new authorities pursued a policy of restrictions in the field of education and culture. In many countries, representatives of the intelligentsia - scientists, engineers, teachers, doctors, etc. - were persecuted. In Poland, for example, the Nazis carried out a targeted curtailment of the education system. Classes at universities and high schools were prohibited. (Why do you think, why was this done?) Some teachers, risking their lives, continued to teach students illegally. During the war years, the occupiers killed about 12.5 thousand teachers of higher educational institutions and teachers in Poland.

The authorities of Germany's allied states - Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, as well as the newly proclaimed states - Croatia and Slovakia, also pursued a tough policy towards the population. In Croatia, the Ustasha government (participants of the nationalist movement that came to power in 1941), under the slogan of creating a “purely national state,” encouraged the mass expulsion and extermination of Serbs.

The forced removal of the working population, especially young people, from the occupied countries of Eastern Europe to work in Germany took on a wide scale. General Commissioner “for the use of labor” Sauckel set the task of “completely exhausting all human reserves available in the Soviet regions.” Trains with thousands of young men and women forcibly driven away from their homes reached the Reich. By the end of 1942, German industry and agriculture employed the labor of about 7 million “Eastern workers” and prisoners of war. In 1943, another 2 million people were added to them.

Any insubordination, and especially resistance to the occupation authorities, was mercilessly punished. One of the terrible examples of the Nazis’ reprisal against civilians was the destruction of the Czech village of Lidice in the summer of 1942. It was carried out as an “act of retaliation” for the murder of a major Nazi official, “Protector of Bohemia and Moravia” Heydrich, committed the day before by members of a sabotage group.

The village was surrounded by German soldiers. The entire male population over 16 years of age (172 people) was shot (the residents who were absent that day - 19 people - were captured later and also shot). 195 women were sent to the Ravensbrück concentration camp (four pregnant women were taken to maternity hospitals in Prague, after giving birth they were also sent to the camp, and newborn children were killed). 90 children from Lidice were taken from their mothers and sent to Poland, and then to Germany, where their traces were lost. All houses and buildings of the village were burned to the ground. Lidice disappeared from the face of the earth. German cameramen carefully filmed the entire “operation” - “for the edification” of contemporaries and descendants.

Turning point in the war

By mid-1942, it became obvious that Germany and its allies had failed to carry out their original war plans on any front. In subsequent military actions it was necessary to decide which side would have the advantage. The outcome of the entire war depended mainly on events in Europe, on the Soviet-German front. In the summer of 1942, the German armies launched a major offensive in the southern direction, approached Stalingrad and reached the foothills of the Caucasus.

Battles for Stalingrad lasted more than 3 months. The city was defended by the 62nd and 64th armies under the command of V.I. Chuikov and M.S. Shumilov. Hitler, who had no doubt about victory, declared: “Stalingrad is already in our hands.” But the counteroffensive of Soviet troops that began on November 19, 1942 (front commanders N.F. Vatutin, K.K. Rokossovsky, A.I. Eremenko) ended in the encirclement of German armies (numbering over 300 thousand people), their subsequent defeat and capture , including commander Field Marshal F. Paulus.

During the Soviet offensive, the losses of the armies of Germany and its allies amounted to 800 thousand people. In total, in the Battle of Stalingrad they lost up to 1.5 million soldiers and officers - approximately a quarter of the forces then operating on the Soviet-German front.

Battle of Kursk. In the summer of 1943, an attempt by a German attack on Kursk from the Orel and Belgorod areas ended in a crushing defeat. On the German side, over 50 divisions (including 16 tank and motorized) took part in the operation. A special role was given to powerful artillery and tank strikes. On July 12, the largest tank battle of World War II took place on a field near the village of Prokhorovka, in which about 1,200 tanks and self-propelled artillery units collided. At the beginning of August, Soviet troops liberated Oryol and Belgorod. 30 enemy divisions were defeated. The losses of the German army in this battle amounted to 500 thousand soldiers and officers, 1.5 thousand tanks. After the Battle of Kursk, the offensive of Soviet troops unfolded along the entire front. In the summer and autumn of 1943, Smolensk, Gomel, Left Bank Ukraine and Kyiv were liberated. The strategic initiative on the Soviet-German front passed to the Red Army.

In the summer of 1943, the Western powers began fighting in Europe. But they did not open, as expected, a second front against Germany, but struck in the south, against Italy. In July, British and American troops landed on the island of Sicily. Soon a coup d'état took place in Italy. Representatives of the army elite removed Mussolini from power and arrested him. A new government was created headed by Marshal P. Badoglio. On September 3, it concluded an armistice agreement with the British-American command. On September 8, the surrender of Italy was announced, and troops of Western powers landed in the south of the country. In response, 10 German divisions entered Italy from the north and captured Rome. On the newly formed Italian front, British-American troops with difficulty, slowly, but still pushed back the enemy (in the summer of 1944 they occupied Rome).

The turning point in the course of the war immediately affected the positions of other countries - allies of Germany. After the Battle of Stalingrad, representatives of Romania and Hungary began to explore the possibility of concluding a separate peace with the Western powers. The Francoist government of Spain issued statements of neutrality.

On November 28 - December 1, 1943, a meeting of the leaders of the three countries took place in Tehran- members of the anti-Hitler coalition: USSR, USA and Great Britain. I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill discussed mainly the question of the second front, as well as some questions of the structure of the post-war world. US and British leaders promised to open a second front in Europe in May 1944, launching the landing of Allied troops in France.

Resistance movement

Since the establishment of the Nazi regime in Germany, and then the occupation regimes in European countries, the Resistance movement to the “new order” began. It was attended by people of different beliefs and political affiliations: communists, social democrats, supporters of bourgeois parties and non-party people. German anti-fascists were among the first to join the fight in the pre-war years. Thus, at the end of the 1930s, an underground anti-Nazi group arose in Germany, led by H. Schulze-Boysen and A. Harnack. In the early 1940s, it was already a strong organization with an extensive network of secret groups (in total, up to 600 people participated in its work). The underground carried out propaganda and intelligence work, maintaining contact with Soviet intelligence. In the summer of 1942, the Gestapo discovered the organization. The scale of its activities amazed the investigators themselves, who called this group the “Red Chapel.” After interrogation and torture, the leaders and many members of the group were sentenced to death. In his last word at the trial, H. Schulze-Boysen said: “Today you judge us, but tomorrow we will be the judges.”

In a number of European countries, immediately after their occupation, an armed struggle began against the invaders. In Yugoslavia, the communists became the initiators of nationwide resistance to the enemy. Already in the summer of 1941, they created the Main Headquarters of the people's liberation partisan detachments (it was headed by I. Broz Tito) and decided on an armed uprising. By the fall of 1941, partisan detachments numbering up to 70 thousand people were operating in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1942, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (PLJA) was created, and by the end of the year it practically controlled a fifth of the country's territory. In the same year, representatives of organizations participating in the Resistance formed the Anti-Fascist Assembly of People's Liberation of Yugoslavia (AVNOJ). In November 1943, the veche proclaimed itself the temporary supreme body of legislative and executive power. By this time, half of the country’s territory was already under his control. A declaration was adopted that defined the foundations of the new Yugoslav state. National committees were created in the liberated territory, and the confiscation of enterprises and lands of fascists and collaborators (people who collaborated with the occupiers) began.

The Resistance movement in Poland consisted of many groups with different political orientations. In February 1942, part of the underground armed forces united into the Home Army (AK), led by representatives of the Polish émigré government, which was located in London. “Peasant battalions” were created in the villages. Detachments of the Army of the People (AL) organized by the communists began to operate.

Guerrilla groups carried out sabotage on transport (over 1,200 military trains were blown up and about the same number set on fire), at military enterprises, and attacked police and gendarmerie stations. The underground members produced leaflets telling about the situation at the fronts and warning the population about the actions of the occupation authorities. In 1943-1944. partisan groups began to unite into large detachments that successfully fought against significant enemy forces, and as the Soviet-German front approached Poland, they interacted with Soviet partisan detachments and army units and carried out joint combat operations.

The defeat of the armies of Germany and its allies at Stalingrad had a particular impact on the mood of people in the warring and occupied countries. The German security service reported on the “state of mind” in the Reich: “The belief has become universal that Stalingrad marks a turning point in the war... Unstable citizens see Stalingrad as the beginning of the end.”

In Germany, in January 1943, total (general) mobilization into the army was announced. The working day increased to 12 hours. But simultaneously with the desire of the Hitler regime to gather the forces of the nation into an “iron fist,” rejection of his policies grew among different groups of the population. Thus, one of the youth circles issued a leaflet with the appeal: “Students! Students! The German people are looking at us! They expect us to be liberated from Nazi terror... Those who died at Stalingrad call on us: rise up, people, the flames are burning!”

After the turning point in the fighting on the fronts, the number of underground groups and armed detachments fighting against the invaders and their accomplices in the occupied countries increased significantly. In France, the Maquis became more active - partisans who carried out sabotage on railways, attacked German posts, warehouses, etc.

One of the leaders of the French Resistance movement, Charles de Gaulle, wrote in his memoirs:

“Until the end of 1942, there were few Maquis detachments and their actions were not particularly effective. But then hope increased, and with it the number of those who wanted to fight increased. In addition, compulsory “labor conscription,” which in a few months mobilized half a million young men, mostly workers, for use in Germany, and the dissolution of the “armistice army,” prompted many dissenters to go underground. The number of more or less significant Resistance groups increased, and they waged a guerrilla war, which played a primary role in wearing out the enemy, and later in the ensuing Battle of France.”

Figures and facts

Number of participants in the Resistance movement (1944):

• France - over 400 thousand people;
• Italy - 500 thousand people;
• Yugoslavia - 600 thousand people;
• Greece - 75 thousand people.

By mid-1944, leading bodies of the Resistance movement had formed in many countries, uniting different movements and groups - from communists to Catholics. For example, in France, the National Council of the Resistance included representatives of 16 organizations. The most determined and active participants in the Resistance were the communists. For the sacrifices made in the fight against the occupiers, they were called the “party of those executed.” In Italy, communists, socialists, Christian Democrats, liberals, members of the Action Party and the Democracy of Labor party participated in the work of national liberation committees.

All participants in the Resistance sought first of all to liberate their countries from occupation and fascism. But on the question of what kind of power should be established after this, the views of representatives of individual movements differed. Some advocated the restoration of pre-war regimes. Others, primarily the communists, sought to establish a new, “people's democratic power.”

Liberation of Europe

The beginning of 1944 was marked by major offensive operations by Soviet troops on the southern and northern sectors of the Soviet-German front. Ukraine and Crimea were liberated, and the 900-day blockade of Leningrad was lifted. In the spring of this year, Soviet troops reached the state border of the USSR for more than 400 km, approaching the borders of Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania. Continuing the defeat of the enemy, they began to liberate the countries of Eastern Europe. Next to the Soviet soldiers, units of the 1st Czechoslovak Brigade under the command of L. Svoboda and the 1st Polish Division, formed during the war on the territory of the USSR, fought for the freedom of their peoples. T. Kosciuszko under the command of Z. Berling.

At this time, the Allies finally opened a second front in Western Europe. On June 6, 1944, American and British troops landed in Normandy, on the northern coast of France.

The bridgehead between the cities of Cherbourg and Caen was occupied by 40 divisions with a total number of up to 1.5 million people. The Allied forces were commanded by American General D. Eisenhower. Two and a half months after the landing, the Allies began advancing deeper into French territory. They were opposed by about 60 understrength German divisions. At the same time, resistance units launched an open struggle against the German army in the occupied territory. On August 19, an uprising began in Paris against the troops of the German garrison. General de Gaulle, who arrived in France with the Allied troops (by that time he had been proclaimed head of the Provisional Government of the French Republic), fearing the “anarchy” of the mass liberation struggle, insisted that Leclerc’s French tank division be sent to Paris. On August 25, 1944, this division entered Paris, which by that time had been practically liberated by the rebels.

Having liberated France and Belgium, where in a number of provinces the Resistance forces also launched armed actions against the occupiers, the Allied troops reached the German border by September 11, 1944.

At that time, a frontal offensive by the Red Army was taking place on the Soviet-German front, as a result of which the countries of Eastern and Central Europe were liberated.

Dates and events

Fighting in the countries of Eastern and Central Europe in 1944-1945.

1944

• July 17 - Soviet troops crossed the border with Poland; Chelm, Lublin liberated; In the liberated territory, the power of the new government, the Polish Committee of National Liberation, began to assert itself.
• August 1 - the beginning of the uprising against the occupiers in Warsaw; this action, prepared and led by the émigré government located in London, was defeated by the beginning of October, despite the heroism of its participants; By order of the German command, the population was expelled from Warsaw, and the city itself was destroyed.
• August 23 - the overthrow of the Antonescu regime in Romania, a week later Soviet troops entered Bucharest.
• August 29 - the beginning of the uprising against the occupiers and the reactionary regime in Slovakia.
• September 8 - Soviet troops entered Bulgarian territory.
• September 9 - anti-fascist uprising in Bulgaria, the government of the Fatherland Front comes to power.
• October 6 - Soviet troops and units of the Czechoslovak Corps entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.
• October 20 - troops of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the Red Army liberated Belgrade.
• October 22 - Red Army units crossed the Norwegian border and occupied the port of Kirkenes on October 25.

1945

• January 17 - troops of the Red Army and the Polish Army liberated Warsaw.
• January 29 - Soviet troops crossed the German border in the Poznan region. February 13 - Red Army troops captured Budapest.
• April 13 - Soviet troops entered Vienna.
• April 16 - The Berlin operation of the Red Army began.
• April 18 - American units entered the territory of Czechoslovakia.
• April 25 - Soviet and American troops met on the Elbe River near the city of Torgau.

Many thousands of Soviet soldiers gave their lives for the liberation of European countries. In Romania, 69 thousand soldiers and officers died, in Poland - about 600 thousand, in Czechoslovakia - more than 140 thousand and about the same in Hungary. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers died in other, including opposing, armies. They fought on opposite sides of the front, but were similar in one thing: no one wanted to die, especially in the last months and days of the war.

During the liberation in the countries of Eastern Europe, the issue of power acquired paramount importance. The pre-war governments of a number of countries were in exile and now sought to return to leadership. But new governments and local authorities appeared in the liberated territories. They were created on the basis of the organizations of the National (People's) Front, which arose during the war years as an association of anti-fascist forces. The organizers and most active participants of the national fronts were communists and social democrats. The programs of the new governments provided not only for the elimination of occupation and reactionary, pro-fascist regimes, but also for broad democratic reforms in political life and socio-economic relations.

Defeat of Germany

In the fall of 1944, troops of the Western powers - participants in the anti-Hitler coalition - approached the borders of Germany. In December of this year, the German command launched a counteroffensive in the Ardennes (Belgium). American and British troops found themselves in a difficult position. D. Eisenhower and W. Churchill turned to I.V. Stalin with a request to speed up the offensive of the Red Army in order to divert German forces from west to east. By Stalin's decision, the offensive along the entire front was launched on January 12, 1945 (8 days earlier than planned). W. Churchill subsequently wrote: “It was a wonderful feat on the part of the Russians to speed up a broad offensive, undoubtedly at the cost of human lives.” On January 29, Soviet troops entered the territory of the German Reich.

On February 4-11, 1945, a conference of the heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain took place in Yalta. I. Stalin, F. Roosevelt and W. Churchill agreed on plans for military operations against Germany and post-war policy towards it: zones and conditions of occupation, actions to destroy the fascist regime, the procedure for collecting reparations, etc. An accession agreement was also signed at the conference The USSR entered the war against Japan 2-3 months after the surrender of Germany.

From the documents of the conference of the leaders of the USSR, Great Britain and the USA in Crimea (Yalta, February 4-11, 1945):

“...Our unyielding goal is the destruction of German militarism and Nazism and the creation of guarantees that Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the world. We are determined to disarm and disband all German armed forces, to destroy once and for all the German General Staff, which has repeatedly contributed to the revival of German militarism, to confiscate or destroy all German military equipment, to liquidate or take control of all German industry that could be used for military purposes. production; subject all war criminals to fair and speedy punishment and exact compensation in kind for the destruction caused by the Germans; wipe out the Nazi Party, Nazi laws, organizations and institutions from the face of the earth; to remove all Nazi and militaristic influence from public institutions, from the cultural and economic life of the German people, and to take together such other measures in Germany as may prove necessary for the future peace and security of the whole world. Our goals do not include the destruction of the German people. Only when Nazism and militarism are eradicated will there be hope for a dignified existence for the German people and a place for them in the community of nations.”

By mid-April 1945, Soviet troops approached the capital of the Reich, and on April 16 the Berlin operation began (front commanders G.K. Zhukov, I.S. Konev, K.K. Rokossovsky). It was distinguished by both the offensive power of the Soviet units and the fierce resistance of the defenders. On April 21, Soviet units entered the city. On April 30, A. Hitler committed suicide in his bunker. The next day, the Red Banner fluttered over the Reichstag building. On May 2, the remnants of the Berlin garrison capitulated.

During the battle for Berlin, the German command issued the order: “Defend the capital to the last man and to the last cartridge.” Teenagers - members of the Hitler Youth - were mobilized into the army. The photo shows one of these soldiers, the last defenders of the Reich, who was captured.

On May 7, 1945, General A. Jodl signed an act of unconditional surrender of German troops at the headquarters of General D. Eisenhower in Reims. Stalin considered such a unilateral capitulation to the Western powers insufficient. In his opinion, surrender had to take place in Berlin and before the high command of all countries of the anti-Hitler coalition. On the night of May 8-9, in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, Field Marshal W. Keitel, in the presence of representatives of the high command of the USSR, USA, Great Britain and France, signed the act of unconditional surrender of Germany.

The last European capital to be liberated was Prague. On May 5, an uprising against the occupiers began in the city. A large group of German troops under the command of Field Marshal F. Scherner, who refused to lay down their arms and broke through to the west, threatened to capture and destroy the capital of Czechoslovakia. In response to the rebels' request for help, units of three Soviet fronts were hastily transferred to Prague. On May 9 they entered Prague. As a result of the Prague operation, about 860 thousand enemy soldiers and officers were captured.

On July 17 - August 2, 1945, a conference of the heads of government of the USSR, USA and Great Britain took place in Potsdam (near Berlin). Those who took part in it were I. Stalin, G. Truman (US President after F. Roosevelt, who died in April 1945), and C. Attlee (who replaced W. Churchill as British Prime Minister) discussed “the principles of the coordinated policy of the allies towards the defeated Germany." A program of democratization, denazification, and demilitarization of Germany was adopted. The total amount of reparations it had to pay was confirmed as $20 billion. Half was intended for the Soviet Union (it was later calculated that the damage inflicted by the Nazis on the Soviet country amounted to about $128 billion). Germany was divided into four occupation zones - Soviet, American, British and French. Liberated by Soviet troops, Berlin and the capital of Austria, Vienna, were placed under the control of the four Allied powers.

At the Potsdam Conference. In the first row from left to right: K. Attlee, G. Truman, I. Stalin

Provision was made for the establishment of an International Military Tribunal to try Nazi war criminals. The border between Germany and Poland was established along the Oder and Neisse rivers. East Prussia went to Poland and partially (the region of Königsberg, now Kaliningrad) to the USSR.

End of the war

In 1944, at a time when the armies of the anti-Hitler coalition countries were conducting a widespread offensive against Germany and its allies in Europe, Japan intensified its actions in Southeast Asia. Its troops launched a massive offensive in China, capturing a territory with a population of over 100 million people by the end of the year.

The strength of the Japanese army at that time reached 5 million people. Its units fought with particular tenacity and fanaticism, defending their positions to the last soldier. In the army and aviation, there were kamikazes - suicide bombers who sacrificed their lives by directing specially equipped aircraft or torpedoes at enemy military targets, blowing themselves up along with enemy soldiers. The American military believed that it would be possible to defeat Japan no earlier than 1947, with losses amounting to at least 1 million people. The participation of the Soviet Union in the war against Japan could, in their opinion, significantly facilitate the achievement of the assigned tasks.

In accordance with the commitment given at the Crimean (Yalta) Conference, the USSR declared war on Japan on August 8, 1945. But the Americans did not want to give up the leading role in the future victory to the Soviet troops, especially since by the summer of 1945 atomic weapons had been created in the United States. On August 6 and 9, 1945, American planes dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Testimony of historians:

“On August 6, a B-29 bomber appeared over Hiroshima. The alarm was not announced, since the appearance of one plane did not seem to pose a serious threat. At 8.15 am the atomic bomb was dropped by parachute. A few moments later, a blinding fireball broke out over the city, the temperature at the epicenter of the explosion reached several million degrees. Fires in the city, built up with light wooden houses, covered an area within a radius of more than 4 km. Japanese authors write: “Hundreds of thousands of people who became victims of atomic explosions died an unusual death - they died after terrible torture. The radiation even penetrated into the bone marrow. People without the slightest scratch, seemingly completely healthy, after a few days or weeks, or even months, their hair suddenly fell out, their gums began to bleed, diarrhea appeared, the skin became covered with dark spots, hemoptysis began, and they died in full consciousness.”

(From the book: Rozanov G. L., Yakovlev N. N. Recent history. 1917-1945)

Hiroshima. 1945

As a result of nuclear explosions in Hiroshima, 247 thousand people died, in Nagasaki there were up to 200 thousand killed and wounded. Later, many thousands of people died from wounds, burns, and radiation sickness, the number of which has not yet been accurately calculated. But politicians didn't think about it. And the cities that were bombed did not constitute important military installations. Those who used the bombs mainly wanted to demonstrate their strength. US President Henry Truman, upon learning that a bomb had been dropped on Hiroshima, exclaimed: “This is the greatest event in history!”

On August 9, troops of three Soviet fronts (over 1 million 700 thousand personnel) and parts of the Mongolian army began an offensive in Manchuria and on the coast of North Korea. A few days later they went 150-200 km into enemy territory in some areas. The Japanese Kwantung Army (numbering about 1 million people) was under threat of defeat. On August 14, the Japanese government announced its agreement with the proposed terms of surrender. But Japanese troops did not stop resisting. Only after August 17 did units of the Kwantung Army begin to lay down their arms.

On September 2, 1945, representatives of the Japanese government signed an act of unconditional surrender of Japan on board the American battleship Missouri.

The Second World War is over. 72 states with a total population of over 1.7 billion people took part in it. The fighting took place on the territory of 40 countries. 110 million people were mobilized into the armed forces. According to updated estimates, up to 62 million people died in the war, including about 27 million Soviet citizens. Thousands of cities and villages were destroyed, innumerable material and cultural values ​​were destroyed. Humanity paid a huge price for the victory over the invaders who sought world domination.

The war, in which atomic weapons were used for the first time, showed that armed conflicts in the modern world threaten to destroy not only an increasing number of people, but also humanity as a whole, all life on earth. The hardships and losses of the war years, as well as examples of human self-sacrifice and heroism, left a memory of themselves in several generations of people. The international and socio-political consequences of the war turned out to be significant.

References:
Aleksashkina L.N. / General History. XX - early XXI centuries.

Page 9 of 10

World War II (1939 - 1945)

By the end of the 30s, a circle of the most aggressive powers had formed, striving to start a big war. These were Japan, which had been making seizures in China since 1931, Italy, which attacked Ethiopia in 1936, and with Hitler coming to power in 1933, Germany took the path of aggression. Hitler immediately announced that he did not consider himself bound by the terms of the Versailles Peace, and began to systematically build up the country's military power. The policy of the Western powers was structured in such a way that for a long time his actions did not meet not only resistance, but also sufficient condemnation.

By the fall of 1939, Hitler was quite confident that Germany was ready to start a big war. The question was where his aggressive aspirations would go. In this extremely confusing and complex situation, in which the political interests and intrigues of many powers were intertwined, the Soviet Union agreed to conclude a non-aggression pact with Germany. It should be noted that both Western countries and the fascist bloc were equally hostile to the USSR, so a situation could well have arisen in which the USSR could find itself in a state of war with Germany, with a fairly favorable attitude towards it from England and France. Assessing from the point of view of subsequent events, we must admit that the conclusion of the non-aggression pact ultimately led to the fact that England and the United States fought with us against Germany and its allies. Hitler obviously did not consider himself able to enter the war against the USSR in 1939 until he had secured his rear and taken possession of the resources of all of Europe.

September 1, 1939 World War II begins with Germany's attack on Poland. France and England, bound by allied obligations with Poland, declare war on Germany, but do not conduct real hostilities; The so-called “strange war” begins on the Western Front, which allows Hitler to throw all his combat-ready units into Poland, where he achieves a quick victory. The Red Army occupies Western Belarus and Western Ukraine, and Hitler turns to the West. Thus, the policy of appeasing the aggressor turned against the countries that carried it out. During 1939 - spring 1941. Germany captured - after Poland - Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, France, Yugoslavia, Greece, German troops landed in North Africa and launched an attack on Egypt. The only European countries, other than Hitler's allies and neutral states, not captured by Germany were Great Britain and the Soviet Union. The war was entering its next phase.

On June 22, 1941, Nazi troops crossed the border of the Soviet Union. The war began without declaration and immediately took an unfavorable turn for our country.

The position of the Soviet Union was aggravated by the fact that industrial areas were located in the occupation zone, where a significant part of military production was concentrated. But Germany failed to end the war in the first campaign, despite the fact that over two million soldiers and commanders of the Red Army were surrounded and captured, and that it lost most of its equipment, which could not yet be compensated for by the production of new ones. At the end of November 1941, the German armies were stopped near Moscow, where on December 5-6 the Red Army counteroffensive began, ending in a retreat and heavy defeat of the aggressor troops. This was the first defeat of the German army in strategic terms since the outbreak of World War II.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese navy and air force launched a surprise attack on the main American naval base in the Pacific Ocean. In the harbor Pearl Harbor The US Pacific Fleet was half destroyed. Thus, Japan begins a war with America, immediately gaining a strategic advantage. The war spread to the Pacific Ocean as a whole. Fierce naval battles took place there until the end of the war.

During 1941 - early 1942, an anti-Hitler coalition took shape consisting of the Soviet Union, Great Britain, the USA and China and other countries.

The turning point in the war came in 1943, when the Red Army inflicted two crushing defeats on the Wehrmacht at Stalingrad, where the best forces of the German army were defeated, surrounded and captured, and at the Kursk Bulge, where the Germans last fought on the Eastern Front during the war. tried to carry out a major offensive operation. After this battle, the Wehrmacht finally switched to strategic defense.

In October 1942, the British managed to defeat Rommel's troops near El Alamein in North Africa, thereby preventing the loss of Egypt. Montgomery's English army launches a counter-offensive, while its actions are supported from the West by Anglo-American troops landing in Morocco. In 1943, North Africa was liberated from Italian-German troops. Favorable preconditions were created for the Allied landing on the European continent, which was done first in Sicily and then in Southern Italy. As a result, Italy withdraws from the war, Germany was forced to occupy the territory of its former ally.

1944 becomes the year of decisive victories of the anti-Hitler coalition. The Red Army, after carrying out a series of grandiose operations, the largest of which was the offensive in Belarus, completely liberates the territory of the Soviet Union and begins to expel German troops from the countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe. By the end of this year, Bulgaria, Romania, and Yugoslavia were completely liberated. Intense battles took place in Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and on the very approaches to Germany. Another German ally, Finland, is leaving the war. Germany's position was complicated by the opening of a second front in Europe. In June 1944, Anglo-American troops landed on the French coast in Normandy, carrying out the largest amphibious operation of the war. But the main forces of the German army were still absorbed by the Eastern Front.

1945 was the last year of the war. The Allied offensive began in January, and soon hostilities were transferred to the territory of Germany itself. By the end of April, the Red Army takes Berlin, Vienna, and liberates Prague at the beginning of May. On May 8, 1945, the German military command signed an act of unconditional surrender. The war in Europe is over. The territory of Germany is occupied by allied forces, which include Soviet, American, British and French units. Preparations begin for the trial of German war criminals. For the first time in international legal practice, they gathered to judge the leaders of the state that started the war. Among the main war criminals were Goering, Rosenberg, Keitel, Jodl. Hitler, Himler and Goebbels committed suicide during the storming of Berlin.

Immediately after the end of hostilities in Europe, a conference of the victorious powers met in Potsdam, in which the leaders of these countries took part. In addition to the issues of the structure of post-war Europe, it was confirmed that the Soviet Union, having made an appropriate regrouping of troops, would enter the war against Japan, thereby fulfilling its allied obligations to the United States. The American army at that time had already reached the approaches to Japan itself from the Pacific Ocean, but as long as it had a military-industrial base in Manchuria, there was little hope for surrender. And the only force capable of inflicting a quick and decisive defeat on it in this region was the Red Army.

On August 6 and 9, 1945, American planes carried out nuclear bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed most of the inhabitants. Such actions were not caused by military necessity. There was no significant manufacturing in the cities that suffered nuclear attacks; The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki also had no effect on the morale of the population of the rest of Japan, since the government took all measures to ensure that information about these events did not spread throughout the country. The government of Emperor Hirohito itself, as subsequent events showed, did not regard such a demonstration of force as a signal for peace. Only the quick, and for the Japanese command simply stunning, defeat of the most powerful of all its armies, the Kwantung Army, could force Japan to surrender. The campaign lasted 25 days, during which time the Kwantung Army, which had been preparing to fight the USSR for more than five years, ceased to exist. It was this fact, and not the atomic bombing, that forced Japan to surrender. Most likely, the decision to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki, made by American President Truman, should be recognized not as an action during the Second World War, but as a prologue to the Cold War. And it was directed mainly not against Japan, but against the USSR, in order to demonstrate its own power and capabilities.

Thus, the Second World War, which claimed over 50 million human lives, ended. The greatest losses were suffered by the Soviet Union and Germany - the main opponents. The USSR lost about 28 million people, Germany - about 13 million. But if German losses fell mainly on the army - 10 million people, then in the USSR the army lost about 8 million killed, and the rest of the victims were civilians. In this regard, it is necessary to dwell on another thesis that has become widespread lately, that the victory over Germany was achieved with great blood, and for every German killed there were from three to five Red Army soldiers. This point of view contradicts all known facts. The total losses of the Red Army in killed and captured during the war amounted to 11 million people, the losses of the German army and the armies of Germany's allies on April 30, 1945 - over 8 million, while this did not include Germans destroyed and surrendered from May 1 to May 9, 1945 troops numbering at least one and a half million people. The loss ratio turns out to be completely different from that given earlier. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the timing O e distribution of these losses: approximately half of them in our army occurred in 1941 - 1942, the German army during the same period loses no more than 10 - 15% of all deaths. Consequently, the Germans suffered the greatest number of them during the offensive of the Red Army, so the statement that we “overwhelmed the German troops with our corpses” is completely false. It should be noted that an offensive requires a ratio of forces of at least three to one in favor of the attacker, and the Red Army never had such superiority in forces across the entire front during the entire war. If it was achieved anywhere, and even on a large scale, it was only due to more skillful maneuvering, troop control, and an advantage in tempo. It must be said that if there was anything superior, it was in technology: since 1942, Soviet industry produced more and more of it every month than Nazi Germany. Supplies from the allies under Lend-Lease also played a significant role here. For example, the Americans supplied about 400,000 cars to the USSR - the same amount as the entire industry of the Soviet Union produced during the war years. But for the main types of military equipment, supplies did not exceed 10 - 15%. Most of all, aircraft were received.

The “policy of appeasement” pursued by England and France towards Germany and its allies actually led to the outbreak of a new world conflict. By indulging Hitler's territorial ambitions, the Western powers themselves became the first victims of his aggression, paying the price for their inept foreign policy. The beginning of World War II and events in Europe will be discussed in this lesson.

World War II: events in Europe in 1939-1941.

The "policy of appeasement" pursued by Great Britain and France towards Hitler's Germany was unsuccessful. On September 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland, beginning World War II, and by 1941, Germany and its allies dominated the European continent.

Background

After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Germany set a course for the militarization of the country and an aggressive foreign policy. In just a few years, a powerful army was created, equipped with the most modern weapons. The primary foreign policy task of Germany during this period was the annexation of all foreign territories with a significant proportion of the German population, and the global goal was the conquest of living space for the German nation. Before the start of the war, Germany annexed Austria and initiated the division of Czechoslovakia, bringing a significant part of it under control. The largest Western European powers - France and Great Britain - did not object to such actions by Germany, believing that meeting Hitler's demands would help avoid war.

Events

August 23, 1939- Germany and the USSR sign a non-aggression pact, also known as the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact. The agreement was accompanied by a secret additional protocol, in which the parties delimited the spheres of their interests in Europe.

September 1, 1939- having carried out a provocation (see Wikipedia), which in the eyes of the international community should have sanctioned an attack on Poland, Germany begins the invasion. By the end of September, all of Poland was captured. The USSR, in accordance with a secret protocol, occupied the eastern regions of Poland. In Poland and beyond, Germany used the strategy of blitzkrieg - lightning war (see Wikipedia).

September 3, 1939- France and Great Britain, bound by a treaty with Poland, declare war on Germany. There were no active hostilities on land until 1940; this period was called the Strange War.

November 1939- The USSR attacks Finland. As a result of a short but bloody war that ended in March 1940, the USSR annexed the territory of the Karelian Isthmus.

April 1940- Germany invades Denmark and Norway. British troops are defeated in Norway.

May - June 1940- Germany occupies the Netherlands and Belgium to attack Franco-British forces around the Maginot Line and takes over France. The north of France is occupied, a formally independent pro-fascist Vichy regime has been created in the south (named after the city in which the collaborationist government is located). Collaborators are supporters of cooperation with the fascists in the countries they defeated. The French, who could not accept the loss of independence, organized the Free France (Fighting France) movement, led by General Charles de Gaulle, which waged an underground struggle against the occupation.

Summer - autumn 1940- Battle of England. An unsuccessful attempt by Germany to take Britain out of the war with massive air raids. Germany's first major failure in World War II.

June - August 1940- The USSR occupies Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and establishes communist governments in these countries, after which they become part of the USSR and are reformed according to the Soviet model (see Wikipedia). The USSR also seizes Bessarabia and Bukovina from Romania.

April 1941- Germany and Italy, with the participation of Hungary, occupy Yugoslavia and Greece. The stubborn resistance of the Balkan countries, supported by Great Britain, forces Hitler to postpone the planned attack on the Soviet Union for two months.

Conclusion

The outbreak of World War II was a logical continuation of the previous aggressive policy of Hitler's Germany and its strategy of expanding living space. The first stage of the war demonstrated the power of the German military machine built in the 1930s, which none of the European armies could resist. One of the reasons for Germany's military success was an effective system of state propaganda, thanks to which German soldiers and citizens felt a moral right to wage this war.

Abstract

September 1, 1939 Germany attacked Poland using a pre-determined war plan codenamed "Weiss". This event is considered to be the beginning of World War II.

September 3 England and France declared war on Germany, because they were bound by a treaty of mutual assistance with Poland, but did not actually take any military action. Such actions went down in history as “ Strange War" German troops using tactics "blitzkrieg" -lightning war, already on September 16 they broke through the Polish fortifications and reached Warsaw. On September 28, the capital of Poland fell.

After the conquest of its eastern neighbor, Hitler's Germany turned its gaze to the north and west. Bound to the USSR by a non-aggression treaty, it could not develop an offensive against Soviet lands. IN April 1940 Germany captures Denmark and lands troops in Norway, annexing these countries to the Reich. After the defeat of British troops in Norway, British Prime Minister becomes Winston Churchill- supporter of a decisive struggle against Germany.

Without fear for his rear, Hitler deploys his troops to the west, with the goal of conquering France. Throughout the 1930s. on the eastern border of France a fortified " Maginot Line", which the French considered impregnable. Believing that Hitler would attack head-on, this is where the main forces of the French and the British who came to their aid were concentrated. To the north of the line were the independent Benelux countries. The German command, regardless of the sovereignty of the countries, delivers the main blow with its tank forces from the north, bypassing the Maginot Line, and simultaneously capturing Belgium, Holland (the Netherlands) and Luxembourg, and goes to the rear of the French troops.

In June 1940, German troops entered Paris. Government Marshal Pétain was forced to sign a peace treaty with Hitler, according to which the entire north and west of France passed to Germany, and the French government itself was obliged to cooperate with Germany. It is noteworthy that the signing of peace took place in the same trailer in Compiègne forest, in which Germany signed the peace treaty that ended the First World War. The French government, collaborating with Hitler, became a collaborationist, that is, it voluntarily helped Germany. Led the national struggle General Charles de Gaulle, who did not admit defeat and became the head of the created anti-fascist Free France committee.

The year 1940 is noted in the history of the Second World War as the year of the most brutal bombing of English cities and industrial facilities, called Battle of Britain. Without sufficient naval forces to invade Great Britain, Germany decides on daily bombings that should turn English cities into ruins. The city of Coventry received the most severe damage, the name of which became synonymous with merciless air attacks - bombing.

In 1940, the United States began to help England with weapons and volunteers. The United States did not want Hitler to gain strength and gradually began to abandon its policy of “non-interference” in world affairs. In fact, only US assistance saved England from defeat.

Hitler's ally, the Italian dictator Mussolini, guided by his idea of ​​​​restoring the Roman Empire, began military operations against Greece, but got bogged down in battles there. Germany, to which he turned for help, after a short time occupied all of Greece and the islands, annexing them to itself.

IN Yugoslavia fell in May 1941, which Hitler also decided to annex to his empire.

At the same time, starting in mid-1940, there was an increase in tension in relations between Germany and the USSR, which eventually resulted in a war between these countries.

Thus, June 22, 1941, by the time Germany attacked the Soviet Union, Europe had been conquered by Hitler. The “policy of appeasement” has completely failed.

Bibliography

1. Shubin A.V. General history. Recent history. 9th grade: textbook. For general education institutions. - M.: Moscow textbooks, 2010.
2. Soroko-Tsyupa O.S., Soroko-Tsyupa A.O. General history. Recent history, 9th grade. - M.: Education, 2010.
3. Sergeev E.Yu. General history. Recent history. 9th grade. - M.: Education, 2011.

Homework

1. Read § 11 of A.V. Shubin’s textbook. and answer questions 1-4 on p. 118.
2. How can one explain the behavior of England and France in the first days of the war towards Poland?
3. Why was Hitler's Germany able to conquer almost all of Europe in such a short period of time?

1. Internet portal Army.lv ().
2. Information and news portal armyman.info ().
3. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust ().

Humanity constantly experiences armed conflicts of varying degrees of complexity. The 20th century was no exception. In our article we will talk about the “darkest” stage in the history of this century: World War II 1939-1945.

Prerequisites

The preconditions for this military conflict began to take shape long before the main events: back in 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was concluded, which consolidated the results of the First World War.

Let us list the key reasons that led to the new war:

• Germany's lack of ability to fulfill some of the conditions of the Treaty of Versailles in full (payments to affected countries) and unwillingness to put up with military restrictions;
• Change of power in Germany: Nationalists, led by Adolf Hitler, skillfully exploited the discontent of the German population and the fears of world leaders about communist Russia. Their domestic policy was aimed at establishing a dictatorship and promoting the superiority of the Aryan race;
• External aggression by Germany, Italy, Japan, against which the major powers did not take active action, fearing open confrontation.

Rice. 1. Adolf Hitler.

Initial period

The Germans received military support from Slovakia.

Hitler did not accept the offer to resolve the conflict peacefully. 03.09 Great Britain and France announced the beginning of war with Germany.

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The USSR, which at that time was an ally of Germany, announced on September 16 that it had taken control of the western territories of Belarus and Ukraine, which were part of Poland.

On 06.10, the Polish army finally surrendered, and Hitler offered the British and French peace negotiations, which did not take place due to Germany’s refusal to withdraw troops from Polish territory.

Rice. 2. Invasion of Poland 1939.

The first period of the war (09.1939-06.1941) includes:

• Naval battles of the British and Germans in the Atlantic Ocean in favor of the latter (there were no active clashes between them on land);
• War of the USSR with Finland (11.1939-03.1940): victory of the Russian army, a peace treaty was concluded;
• Germany's seizure of Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium (04-05.1940);
• Italian occupation of the south of France, German seizure of the rest of the territory: a German-French truce was concluded, most of France remains occupied;
• The inclusion of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina into the USSR without military action (08.1940);
• England's refusal to make peace with Germany: as a result of air battles (07-10.1940), the British managed to defend the country;
• Battles of the Italians with the British and representatives of the French liberation movement for African lands (06.1940-04.1941): the advantage is on the side of the latter;
• Victory of Greece over the Italian invaders (11.1940, second attempt in March 1941);
• German capture of Yugoslavia, joint German-Spanish invasion of Greece (04.1941);
• German occupation of Crete (05.1941);
• Japanese capture of southeast China (1939-1941).

During the war years, the composition of the participants in the two opposing alliances changed, but the main ones were:

• Anti-Hitler coalition: Great Britain, France, USSR, USA, Netherlands, China, Greece, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico;
• Axis countries (Nazi bloc): Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania.

France and England went to war because of alliance agreements with Poland. In 1941, Germany attacked the USSR, Japan attacked the USA, thereby changing the balance of power of the warring parties.

Main events

Starting from the second period (06.1941-11.1942), the course of military operations is reflected in the chronological table:

date	Event
	Germany attacked the USSR. Beginning of the Great Patriotic War
	The Germans captured Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Moldova, Belarus, part of Ukraine (Kyiv failed), Smolensk. Anglo-French troops liberate Lebanon, Syria, Ethiopia
August-September 1941	Anglo-Soviet troops occupy Iran
October 1941	Crimea (without Sevastopol), Kharkov, Donbass, Taganrog captured
December 1941	The Germans are losing the battle for Moscow. Japan attacks the American military base at Pearl Harbor and captures Hong Kong.
January-May 1942	Japan takes over Southeast Asia. German-Italian troops are pushing back the British in Libya. Anglo-African troops capture Madagascar. Defeat of Soviet troops near Kharkov
	The American fleet defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Midway Islands
	Sevastopol is lost. The Battle of Stalingrad began (until February 1943). Rostov captured
August-October 1942	The British liberate Egypt and part of Libya. The Germans captured Krasnodar, but lost to Soviet troops in the foothills of the Caucasus, near Novorossiysk. Variable success in the battles for Rzhev
November 1942	The British occupied the western part of Tunisia, the Germans - the eastern. Beginning of the third stage of the war (11.1942-06.1944)
November-December 1942	The second battle of Rzhev was lost by Soviet troops
	Americans defeat Japanese in the Battle of Guadalcanal
February 1943	Soviet victory at Stalingrad
February-May 1943	The British defeated German-Italian troops in Tunisia
July-August 1943	Defeat of the Germans in the Battle of Kursk. Victory of the Allied forces in Sicily. British and American aircraft bomb Germany
November 1943	Allied forces occupy the Japanese island of Tarawa
August-December 1943	A series of victories of Soviet troops in battles on the banks of the Dnieper. Left Bank Ukraine liberated
	The Anglo-American army captured southern Italy and liberated Rome
	The Germans retreated from Right Bank Ukraine
April-May 1944	Crimea liberated
	Allied landings in Normandy. The beginning of the fourth stage of the war (06.1944-05.1945). The Americans occupied the Mariana Islands
June-August 1944	Belarus, south of France, Paris recaptured
August-September 1944	Soviet troops recaptured Finland, Romania, Bulgaria
October 1944	The Japanese lost the naval battle of Leyte to the Americans.
September-November 1944	The Baltic states, part of Belgium, were liberated. Active bombing of Germany resumed
	The northeast of France has been liberated, the western border of Germany has been broken through. Soviet troops liberated Hungary
February-March 1945	West Germany was captured, the crossing of the Rhine began. The Soviet army liberates East Prussia, northern Poland
April 1945	The USSR launches an attack on Berlin. Anglo-Canadian-American troops defeated the Germans in the Ruhr region and met the Soviet army on the Elbe. Italy's last defense broken
	Allied troops captured the north and south of Germany, liberated Denmark and Austria; Americans crossed the Alps and joined the Allies in northern Italy
	Germany surrendered
	The liberation forces of Yugoslavia defeated the remnants of the German army in northern Slovenia
May-September 1945	Fifth final stage of the war
	Indonesia and Indochina recaptured from Japan
August-September 1945	Soviet-Japanese War: The Kwantung Army of Japan is defeated. US drops atomic bombs on Japanese cities (August 6, 9)
	Japan surrendered. End of the war

Rice. 3. Japan's surrender in 1945.

results

Let us summarize the main results of World War II:

• The war affected 62 countries to varying degrees. About 70 million people died. Tens of thousands of settlements were destroyed, of which 1,700 were in Russia alone;
• Germany and its allies were defeated: the seizure of countries and the spread of the Nazi regime stopped;
• World leaders have changed; they became the USSR and the USA. England and France have lost their former greatness;
• The borders of states have changed, new independent countries have emerged;
• War criminals convicted in Germany and Japan;
• The United Nations was created (10/24/1945);
• The military power of the main victorious countries increased.

Historians consider serious armed resistance of the USSR against Germany (Great Patriotic War 1941-1945), American supplies of military equipment (Lend-Lease), and the acquisition of air superiority by the aviation of the Western allies (England, France) as an important contribution to the victory over fascism.

What have we learned?

From the article we learned briefly about the Second World War. This information will help you easily answer questions about when World War II began (1939), who were the main participants in the hostilities, in what year it ended (1945) and with what result.

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