World War Two was the most devastating conflict in human history. Britain played a crucial role, standing alone against Nazi Germany for over a year before America joined the war.
Causes
- **Treaty of Versailles** - Harsh terms on Germany after WWI
- **Rise of Adolf Hitler** - Nazi Party came to power in Germany (1933)
- **Appeasement failed** - Hitler invaded Poland on 1 September 1939
- **Britain declared war** - 3 September 1939
Key Events
1940 - **Dunkirk** - 338,000 Allied troops evacuated from France - **Battle of Britain** - RAF defended against German air attacks - **The Blitz** - German bombing of British cities
1941 - **Germany invades Soviet Union** (June) - **Japan attacks Pearl Harbor** - USA enters war (December)
1944 - **D-Day** (6 June 1944) - Allied invasion of Normandy
1945 - **Victory in Europe (VE Day)** - 8 May 1945 - **Victory over Japan (VJ Day)** - 15 August 1945
Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940. His leadership and speeches inspired the nation: - "We shall fight on the beaches..." - "This was their finest hour" - "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few" (about the RAF)
The Home Front
- **Evacuation** - Children moved from cities to the countryside
- **Rationing** - Food, clothing, and fuel were rationed
- **Women** - Worked in factories, farms, and the armed services
- **Blackouts** - Lights covered to prevent German bombers finding targets
Legacy
- Around 450,000 British people died
- The British Empire began to decline
- Welfare state created (NHS, free education)
- United Nations founded
- Europe was divided between West and Soviet East (Cold War)