World War II Comprehension Pack PDF

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Word War II Text focus: Information Text The Build Up Wars don’t happen overnight. They also don’t start without a reason. We might not always agree with each other on whether the reason is a good one or not, but there are always circumstances that lead up to a war starting. Worl...

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Word War II Text focus: Information Text The Build Up Wars don’t happen overnight. They also don’t start without a reason. We might not always agree with each other on whether the reason is a good one or not, but there are always circumstances that lead up to a war starting. World War II was no different. In fact, many of the reasons began at the end of World War I. After World War I, most of Europe wanted to make sure a war like this never happened again. They imposed strict rules on Germany and massive fines. This was called the Treaty of Versailles. They also took lots of land away from Germany and gave it to other countries. Most of this was land that contained iron and coal mines. These had been a big source of income for Germany. Many European countries had spent an eye-watering amount of money on World War I, and Germany was no different. It was very poor, and the country was in pieces. Cities had been bombed, and millions of young men had been killed. Even without losing the iron and coal and incurring the massive fines, it would have struggled to build back. Once you added those in, there was no way that the country could begin to heal, and the German people were fed up. The leader of Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II, had fled towards the end of World War I. The Social Democratic Party took over power. They didn’t agree with the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, but they were powerless to do anything about it. They were threatened with a new war if they didn’t accept it. The people in power were branded traitors by the German people. The nationalist parties (the parties that believed Germany should be all-powerful) were particularly annoyed. One of the newest members of these parties was a man named Adolf Hitler. Myths and rumours began to spread across Germany, called the Stab-in-the-Back myth. Believers in the conspiracy said that Germany hadn’t actually lost the war on the ba lefield. They argued that they had been stabbed in the back by Jews along with socialists and communists (two different types of political systems). The German public was so beaten down and angry that they began to believe these lies. This caused lots of people to begin to hate Jews in Rea e um http://www.literacyshedplus.com C u r r ic ul Th all resources ©2024 Literacy Shed A ding ro und particular. Over the next decade or so, people like Adolf Hitler stoked hatred and anger in Germany. Politicians and journalists at the time seemed to be fascinated with his anger, but they didn’t take him seriously. This allowed him to rise to the most powerful position in Germany and take control of the country. Once this happened, war became almost inevitable. By the time Hitler became the leader of Germany, he had convinced most of the people that he could lead them to freedom from the Treaty and make them rich again. By 1938, Jews were being persecuted and killed, and he was openly flaunting the rules set out in the Treaty. When he finally invaded Poland on the 1st of September, 1939, it was too late to stop him. 1. What are “circumstances”? VOCABULARY FOCUS 2. What is a “treaty”? 3. If you “impose” rules on somebody, what does it mean? 4. What do you think happened from the phrase “branded traitors”? 5. Which word tells you that journalists were interested in Hitler’s anger? E R R S VIPERS QUESTIONS What do you think the purpose of the first paragraph is? Which important person from World War II began to gain fame during the time leading up to the war? Which religious group quickly became the target of people’s anger? Summarise two key points from the text that led to World War II starting. all resources ©2024 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com