French Life During German Occupation

The Second World War began in September of 1939 and was between the Allies and the Axis. It began with Germany’s unprovoked attack and conquest of Poland, and involved Britain and France from the beginning. Its origins lay in German resentment at the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919), the economic crisis of 1929-30, which favored the rise to power of Fascist dictators, the failure of the League of Nations to gain international acceptance for disarmament, and the policy of imperialism adopted by Germany, Italy and Japan as a means of acquiring raw materials and markets. As a part of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany had to accept full responsibility for the First World War, which then led up to the outbreak of the Second. The

As for the World War II, it began in 1939 till 1945. This war went on for 6 years. The war began in Europe after the attack in Poland, Germany. World War II started because Hitler began to take over Europe and Germany. Adolf Hitler and his partnership with Italy and Japan opposed the Soviet Union. The conflict during World War I was between the Axis powers and the Allied powers. The war ended after Japan had finally surrendered in 1945. Over 60 million people

World War II began on September 1, 1939 with Germany’s invasion of Poland a week after the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Officially known as a treaty of non-aggression between the Soviet Union and Germany but secretly containing a protocol in which several European countries were divided into “spheres of influence” between the two powers.

The path to World War II can be followed back to 1919, when the Treaty of Versailles was signed to mark the ending of the First World War. The treaty forced Germany to take responsibility for the war, forcing them into an even deeper economical depression than the rest of the world. They were no longer a world power, and this made Germany weak. Adolf Hitler, a German politician, took the weakness as his chance to spread his radical beliefs and take power. He promised to restore Germany to its former glory and honor, telling them that they were betrayed and sabotaged into losing the war. The citizens, poor and destitute, believed him, and Hitler was able to take the position of German Chancellor in 1933.

World War II began in 1939 when the German armies decided to invade parts of Europe, therefore causing Europeans to retaliate against the Germans (World War 1). World War II began because those countries which were defeated in World War I

The French patrols enforced this belief strongly, as they took away everything many citizens had, but just for Jews. For example, “In the German-controlled zone, Jews were stripped of their jobs, their freedom of movement became restricted, and many were arrested” (Berman). Germany began to create concentration camps and deporting Jews that they had control over. Soon after, Germany started to treat Northern France as a “dumping zone” for Jews. However various small groups were able to save hundreds of Jewish lives, mass murder still occurred throughout France. Many Jewish citizens knew that they were being put on the back burner as well, expressing, “Jews — who have been living in France for 2,000 years and have been full citizens since 1791 — now feel that they are looked upon as second-class citizens” (McAuley). Although split into two very different parts before Germany took over Vichy, France was one of the top three countries in all the countries helping Germany to kill the most Jews throughout the time of the Holocaust. Surrendering to Germany after, one thing France didn’t keep in mind was, “The important thing is that one should not become indifferent to the suffering of others, that one should not stand by and just raise one’s hands and say, “There’s nothing I can do, I’m just a little one person,” because I think what everyone of us does matters” (“Why”). After realizing how powerful Germany could be, France began to collaborate with Germany and their full anti-Semitism

"During the summer of 1941 the civilian population's resistance to our occupation forces intensified perceptibly in every theater of war, with sabotage incidents and attacks on Germany security troops and installations", German Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel recalled the reports that came to his desk during the war. "[A]cts of sabotage became horrifying frequent in France and even in Belgium." The counter the resistance movement, German forces employed a policy to rule by iron fist, including later retribution operations against innocent civilians. The SS also tortured many suspected resistance group members, with them ending up either dead or in a concentration camp. Rarely, entire villages would be razed as deterrence to future acts of sabotage; such was the fate of the village of Oradour-sur-Glane. Adolf Hitler insisted that such draconian measures were necessary to deter the would-be "terrorists", otherwise the situation in France would become out of control. Despite the risks, many fighters continued to wield British-supplied weapons to

WWII began when Germany executed an unprovoked attack on Poland on September 1st, 1939. Germany was controlled by Adolf Hitler, who wanted to take revenge for their defeat in WWI. Hitler and his political party, the Nazis, believed that the Jews were the cause of all evil. They decided that the only solution to solve Germany’s problems was to extirpate the Jews. Hitler and the Nazis began to take more and more rights away from Jews. Eventually, Jews began to be sent to

This war was more brutal than World War I. On September 1, 1939 Hitler had sent his armies into Poland. A few days after Hitler sent his armies into Poland, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. In which this happening World War II had began. The Germans used airplanes to bomb and machine gunned targets in Poland. And later on the war expanded along German borders from Belgium and Switzerland.

World War II was started on September 1, 1939. Germany invaded Poland and France and Britain declared war on Germany. This was the start of the World War II and this fight spread all around the world. Japan also join this war and

As Germany pushed through country after country gaining control and spreading anti-Semitism many countries looked for ways to make the damage less catastrophic. One of those countries, France, searched for was to placate the German invasion. Following the Third Republic of France the Vichy government was formed from July 1940-August 1944 . Many issues arose from the questionable formation of this government.

As shown above, the need to leave Nazi Germany grew eminently, and unfortunately, an innumerable amount of people did not successfully escape the clutches of Nazi hands. Thankfully, some came forth and saved as many lives as possible due to the mistreatment of Jewish and other minority groups, concentration camps, and Kristallnacht. Everyday people realized the importance of saving future generations from Nazi terrorism, which led to the departure of thousands of children from Nazi-occupied Europe.

May 1940, Hitler and his German army invaded France, it would only take a little over a month before France would surrender to Hitler’s Germany and the Nazi Party. The German occupation of France not only expanded the Nazi’s territory, but it also encouraged many French citizens to rise up and go against Hitler and his cruel rule. From young to old, around one hundred-thousand men and women, by 1944, took up arms and fought against the occupation. Not all the resistance fighters were violent though, some helped by just gathering intelligence and spying, but the Maquis were more focused on hunting down the Nazis. After France’s surrender Charles de Gaulle urged the French to keep fighting the Germans.

At the beginning of World War II, the Nazi party was fighting to dominate Europe; however, five years later they were fighting to even exist. In 1918, the German economy was in crisis after World War I. The German Workers Party was founded in 1919 as they promoted German pride, anti-semitism and dissatisfaction towards the treaty of Versailles. The German Workers Party soon evolved into the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or the Nazi Party, and in 1921 Adolf Hitler became it's leader. After years of hard work and determination, Hitler finally became Germany's dictator in 1933, and as a result, the Nazi Party gained full power of Germany. In 1939 Germany invaded Poland, which marked the beginning of World War II [history].

Throughout the time period of 1815 – 1917 there was a vast number of changes. There were good and bad ones. The main principle of this time period was that people were starting to realize that peace should be prevalent throughout Europe. This paper will discuss the relationships between France and Germany during the time period of 1815 – 1917.