World War II WebQuest

Welcome to the World War II web quest where you will find out more about the historical context of the novel, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas (BiSP). This will provide information that will help you understand  the message of the novel and the writer’s purpose in writing the novel. Before we begin understanding World War II, we need to know some things about World War I. What we need to know is what happened at the * end* of World War I.  World War I ended in 1918 with the defeat of Germany. T he German Army was allowed to remain intact as the French and British were convinced however that Germany would not be a threat again. Now, before we move on, do you know which continent Germany is in?  Click on the image that corresponds with your answer below.   

That's right! Germany is part of Europe. As we learnt on the previous page, World War I ended with the defeat of Germany. And that had a great impact on Hitler’s world view and political beliefs. Hitler was a soldier and found it hard to accept the defeat of the German Empire. Many believed that Germany had not lost the war on the battlefield but due to betrayal from within. Socialists, communists and particularly Jews were blamed. Hitler joined a new extreme party, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (German: N ational S ozialistische D eutsche A rbeiter P artei, NSDAP). He quickly became its strongman because he could inspire people with his speeches. He noticed that propaganda against Jews struck a chord with audiences and voters. He claimed Jews were not only responsible for the unfair German defeat but were also preventing Germany’s recovery. Many people believed him. People were joining the party just to see Hitler make his speeches, which would leave ...

The first thing Hitler did after winning the election was to strengthen his power. He appointed Nazis to government and eliminated all opposition. By 1934, Hitler's power was secured. He had declared himself Führer - the leader of Germany. How to Pronounce  Führer Hitler and the Nazis had firm views on race.  They felt that the German was superior to all others. Hitler was obsessed with racial purity. He used the word 'Aryan' to describe his idea of a pure German race.  The Nazis believed that the Aryans had the most "pure blood" of all the people on earth. The ideal Aryan had pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes.  They believed that certain groups were inferior and were a threat to the purity of the Aryan race. There were many groups who were targeted for persecution but none more so than the Jews. The Nazis used fear and horror against anyone who disapproved of their rule. G roups which were persecuted and killed included: Jews Gypsies...

The Night of Broken Glass (Kristallnach) and other events that followed, were aimed to systematically isolate Jews from society and drive them out of the country. After the September 1939 German invasion of Poland (the beginning of World War II), anti-Jewish policy escalated to the imprisonment and eventual murder of European Jews. The Nazis established ghettos, enclosed areas designed to isolate and control the Jews, and Polish and western European Jews were deported to these ghettos where they lived in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions with inadequate food. Walling-off a street to isolate the Jews. After the June 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Nazis began massive killing operations aimed at entire Jewish communities. By autumn 1941, they introduced mobile gas vans. These paneled trucks had exhaust pipes reconfigured to pump poisonous carbon monoxide gas into sealed spaces, killing those locked within.  On July 31, 1941, General Reinhard Heydr...