Nazi Germany is a reference for the twelve-year period in German history (1933-1945) during the totalitarian dictatorship of Adolf Hitler through the Nazi Party, which was founded in 1919 as the German Workers’ Party. On 30 April 1945, Hitler took his own life in his bunker underneath the Reich chancellery. In February 1943, Von Paulus surrendered the remaining starving and ragged German forces in Stalingrad. [23] However, these plots did not succeed. No declaration of war was issued by Britain and France against the Soviet Union. The Battle of Stalingrad, fought by the Soviet Union and German forces, was a decisive victory for the USSR that turned the war's tide in the Allies' favor. The Nazis aimed their attacks at three key targets, the Ukraine in the south, Moscow in the middle, and Leningrad in the north.  These supply lines hindered the German advance, and eventually led to a huge lack of supplies on the front line. This pact suited both countries territorial aims. Despite General Paulus repeatedly requesting permission to surrender or retreat from Hitler, this was denied. Göring, who had ordered the initial attack, persuaded Hitler to retaliate and order a mass bombing of London. How did Hitler become the Dictator and Fuhrer of Germany? Originally designed and developed by the London Jewish Cultural Centre. In June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. The main German land campaign followed, moving north from Oslo with relative ease over the next two months. The city was reduced to rubble with air attacks by the Luftwaffe. The Lend-Lease programme was an American policy of giving aid in various forms to the Allies prior to and following the American entry into the Second World War. The reaction to the sheer devastation caused was immediate. What happened at the "Big Three" conferences between the Allies during World War II? The Luftwaffe initiated the first attack as part of the Battle of Britain on the 10 July 1940. In late 1941, the Soviets launched a counterattack on the German troops outside Moscow, pushing the Germans back into a defensive battle. The German defeat had been devastating. Hitler’s determination to capture Stalingrad meant that he dispatched the 6th army on a mission that was unlikely to achieve its objectives and placed it at great risk. Stalingrad was one of the most important battles in WW II, if not in entire human history. Following the invasion and occupation of Poland, German soldiers hoist the Nazi Flag over Krakow castle in 1939. The invasion took the Soviets by surprise. The German defences were extremely well integrated into the mountainside, and, following large losses, the Allies pulled back on the 11 February. The oil was essential for the German war machine. It was reminiscent of the early days of Barbarossa. Why did Hitler want to win the Battle of Stalingrad despite its costs? This is because between the Allied declaration of war and the German invasion of France and the Low Countries there was little real action, with just one small land operation (when the French invaded Germany’s Saar district) in the whole of western Europe. How did Hitler’s Mistakes change the course of the Battle of Stalingrad? The USA had not joined the League of Nations, and had passed several Neutrality Acts in 1938 which avoided financial and political war-related deals. He let his generals do the fighting and draw up the strategies needed to beat the Germans. This section will give a brief overview of the main events in the Second World War. Whilst a temporary economic recovery appeared between 1924-1929, Germany remained politically and economically fragile. Amazingly, German intelligence did not spot the massive build-up of Soviet divisions. However, due to the German defences above, passing along the Monte Cassino route was impossible without first defeating the German troops on the mountain. At the same time, to coincide with D-Day, the Soviet Union launched an attack codenamed Operation Bagration in Soviet Byelorussia. On 30 April 1945, Hitler took his own life in his bunker underneath the Reich chancellery in Berlin. The Soviet Union took the eastern section. The first challenge for the Nazis was to destroy the British Royal Air Force (more commonly known as the RAF). In August of 1942, the Germans fought their way into the city, which was first lightly defended. They were being defeated and pushed back towards Germany, slowly, by both fronts. In total, under the lendlease programme Britain received thirty-one billion dollars of aid, and the Soviet Union received eleven billion dollars. On the 14 September 1940, Hitler recognised that invading Britain was, at that moment, impossible. The responsibility for the cataclysmic defeat was Hitler's. Ships carrying Allied troops start to land on Normandy beaches during the Invasion of Normandy. This section will explore the primary causes which led to the outbreak of war in 1939. Following the failure of the Battle of Britain, the Nazis turned their focus towards their ideological enemy, the Soviet Union. This undoubtedly aided their success during the D-Day invasions. In the face of this opposition, the Nazis began to step up planning for Operation Sealion – the code name for the invasion of Britain. However, despite the setback, the Germans had a secure hold over much of the western Soviet Union and had laid siege to Leningrad. Einsatzgruppe C covered southeastern Poland (from Krakow east) and western Ukraine. It was a catastrophic defeat for the German army, and they never recovered from the battle. Hitler then ordered the 6th Army to advance towards Stalingrad and take the city, even though it lacked strategic value. Britain in particular felt that the Treaty of Versailles, and its effects on Germany, were harsh.