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WW2 build up and outbreak
What were Hitler's motivations for war? What were the major events in the build up to WW2 and what were the initial manoeuvres on each side?
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Nazi/Soviet non-aggression pact
In the early hours of 24 August 1939, Joachim von Ribbentrop and Vyacheslav Molotov, the Foreign Ministers of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union, signed a pact of non-aggression between their two countries. Click here to read more in 'Nazi/Soviet non-aggression pact'.
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Germans invade the Low Countries
German Army Group B attacked Holland and Belgium at 5.35am on 10 May. But it was the surprising, simultaneous breakthrough of Army Group A, through the forest of the Ardennes, that was to cause the Allies the greatest problem. Click here to read more in 'Germans invade the Low Countries'.
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German invasion of Poland
Just before 5am on 1 September the Germans invaded Poland from the west as part of ‘Plan White’. Click here to read more in 'German invasion of Poland'.
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Britain and France declare war
At 11.15 in the morning of 3 September, the British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, announced that after the Nazi invasion of Poland two days before, ‘this country is at war with Germany’. A few hours later the French also declared war on Germany. Click here to read more in 'Britain and France declare war'.
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The Road to War
What was the road to war?
An examination of the reasons for the conflict – from the settlement at the end of the First World War to the infamous Munich Agreement in September 1938. Click here to read more in 'The Road to War'. -
Hitler’s War
Why did Hitler want war?
Hitler, according to Professor Richard Evans, wanted to ‘create in eastern Europe what he thought of as the equivalent of the American West.’ This film examines the barbarity of Hitler’s ‘vision’ and why it meant war. Click here to read more in 'Hitler’s War'.
