Jehovah s Witnesses Were subject to intense persecution under the regime JW s were unwilling to accept the authority of the state because of their international connections and because they were strongly against war and organized government Bavaria and Prussia governments initiated aggressive steps against JW s Breaking up their meetings ransacking and then occupying their local offices They were unwilling to give the Nazi salute didn t let their children join Nazi youth refused to partake in elections unwillingness to adorn their homes with Nazi Flags Special Gestapo unit compiled a registry of all persons believed to be JW s In 1935 compulsory military was re introduced JW s refused to be drafted or perform military related work continued to meet illegally JW s were arrested and placed in prisons and camps By 1939 6000 JW s were detained in camps and prisons In camps they were marked by purple triangle patches Nazi camp officers often used JW s as domestic servants German Action ending Western Appeasement Invasion of Poland 1939 After the Munich conference Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia Britain and France renounced appeasement and pledged to defend Poland s sovereignty Madagascar Plan Idea of removing Jews from Europe to Madagascar French Colony rapid conquest of France allowed Germans to do what they like concerning them Bristish sinking of the French Fleet On June 24 France and Germany signed an armistice Part of that agreement was the French could keep their ships but Germany would gain control over items such as passports and tickets Hitler treaded lightly concerning the ships and did not push for full ownership He feared such aggression would inspire the French to keep fighting Hitler s concerns were not known to England However on July 1 Churchill was finally able to get the backing of the War Cabinet to sink the ships if they would not be surrendered On July 3 1940 the British surrounded the French Fleet at the port of Mers el Kebir right outside Oran Algeria Churchill s message was clear sail to Britain sail to the USA or scuttle your ships in the next six hours At first the French refused to speak to negotiators Two hours later the French showed the British an order they had received from Admiral Darlan instructing them to sail the ships to the USA if the Germans broke the armistice and demanded the ships Phony War Nick name given by the press for the time period of no fighting for 6 months even though war had been declared September 1939 April 1940 Nazi Euthanasia Referred to the systematic killing of the institutionalized mentally and physically handicapped unbeknownst to their families Planning for the euthanasia program is thought to have began July 1939 October 1939 Hitler signed a secret authorization in order to protect participating physicians medical staff and administrators from prosecution this authorization was backdated to September 1st 1939 Secret operation was rode named T4 in reference to the street address Tiergartenstrasse 4 of the programs coordinating office in Berlin Six gassing installations were eventually established as part of the Euthanasia program Bernburg Brandenburg Grafeneck Hadmar Hartheim and Sonnenstein Euthanasia developed out of the regimes Sterilization Laws It is the beginning of the Final Solution Director of Euthanasia Program Karl Brandt Physician Euthanasia reveals the radical essence of National Socialism Those unable to assist Nazi power would be destroyed The program is the beginning of Nazi Mass Murder what some consider the beginning of the Holocaust Operation Barbarossa Code name for Nazi Germany s invasion of the Soviet Union June 22nd 1941 Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union Over 3 million German soldiers 150 divisions 3000 tanks Invasion covered a front from North Cape to the Black Sea 2k miles Crucial turning point for WW2 Its failure forced Nazi Germany to fight a two front war Anglo German Naval Agreement June 18 1935 Naval Agreement between Britain and Germany regulating the size of the Kriegsmarine in relation to the Royal Navy Fixed a ratio whereby Germans were to be 35 of the total tonnage of the Royal Navy on a permanent basis Adolf Hitler renounced this agreement on April 28th 1939 German Soviet Non Aggression Pact August 23rd 1939 Signed by Hitler and Stalin State that Germans and Soviets wouldn t fight each other invade each other for 10 years This pact allowed Germany to invade Poland without worrying about fighting Russia The pact also had a secret agreement in which the Soviets and Nazis agreed how they would later divide Eastern Europe This pact fell through June 1941 when Nazi forces invaded the Soviet Union Munich Conference September 1938 Settlement permitting Nazi Germany s annexation of portions of Czechoslovakia along the country s border mainly inhabited by German speakers Sudetenland Failed act of appeasement toward Germany Agreement was signed by Germany France UK and Italy Sudetenland was vital to Czechoslovakia as most of its border defenses were situated there many of its banks and heavy industries were located there as well Ernst Vom Rath German diplomat in France Nov 1938 shot to death by Jewish polish youth in Paris Goebbles originally intended to use the trial into Nazi propaganda about Jewish conspiracy but accusations that Rath was gay threatened to humiliate Nazis Count Claus Von Stauffenberg German army officer One of the leading members of the failed 20 July 1944 to assassinate Hitler and remove Nazi party from power Operation Valkyrie Central Figures of German resistance The consolidation of Power 1938 1ST Consolidation was Night of the Long Knives in which Hitler got rid of obstacles within government Nazi alliance with big business the conservatives and military 1 Hitler assumes leadership over the army Keitel replaces Blomberg 2 Ribbentrop replaces Von Neurath at the foreign office 3 Funk replaces Schacht at the economics ministry German Blitzkreig A German term for lighting war A military tactic designed to create disorganization among enemy forces through the use of mobile forces and locally concentrated firepower It s successful execution results in short military campaigns which preserves human lives and limits the expenditure of artillery Blitzkrieg was used in 1939 Poland successfully before employing it in the invasions of Belgium France and the Netherlands in 1940 Attacking force spearheaded by a dense concentration of armored and