Lecture 26: Circles of Hell: 1938-1945
History 5 - Spring 2008: The Making of Modern Europe, 1453 to the Present
Intro: The era of “Appeasement”: Hitler’s “Anschluss” of Austria, Mar. 1938; the Munich accord vs. Czechoslovakia, Sept. 1938; German entry into Prague, Mar. 1939; Nazi-Soviet-Pact Aug. 1939; Partition of Poland, Sept. 1939. “Their Finest Hour:” Battle of Britain, 1939-40 and the Blitz. Turning Points: June 1941 Operation Barbarossa - Germany invades Soviet Union; Dec. 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Air War in the Western Theater. Stalingrad on the Eastern Front. The “Final Solution” to the Jewish “Question:” explanations. The logic of hypernationalism generates complicity: Waffen-SS gets volunteers from every European nationality except Poles. An epidemic of ethnic cleansing: Ukrainians slaughter Poles; Red Army slaughters Ukrainians; Croatian Ustasha and Bosnian Muslims liquidate Serbs and Jews (Jasenovac = Auschwitz for Serbs). 1945: retribution and refugees.
