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Holocaust Encyclopedia

We’ve been reworking our Holocaust Encyclopedia, and we would love for you to explore the new experience. Click the button at right to start using the new version. The version you are viewing now will remain online until June 30, 2018.

  • Introduction to the Holocaust
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German conquests in Europe, 1939-1942

 

— US Holocaust Memorial Museum

In World War II, Germany sought to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns in Europe. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years. Germany defeated and occupied Poland (attacked in September 1939), Denmark (April 1940), Norway (April 1940), Belgium (May 1940), the Netherlands (May 1940), Luxembourg (May 1940), France (May 1940), Yugoslavia (April 1941), and Greece (April 1941). Yet Germany did not defeat Great Britain, which was protected from German ground attack by the English Channel and the Royal Navy. On June 22, 1941, German forces suddenly invaded the Soviet Union. But Germany proved unable to defeat the Soviet Union, which together with Great Britain and the United States turned the tide of battle and ultimately defeated Germany in May 1945.

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Related Holocaust Encyclopedia Articles

  • Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)
  • France
  • German Invasion of Western Europe, May 1940
  • German Military Oaths
  • Invasion of the Soviet Union, June 1941
  • The German Military and the Holocaust
  • Vittel
  • World War II in Europe
  • World War II in Europe (Abridged Article)
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This page is also available in:

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