1939 – the start of the Second World War
We chose 1939 as a significant date because it marked the start of the Second World War.
On 1st September 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Allies gave them three days to withdraw or the Allies would declare war on Germany. The reason that the invasion happened was because Hitler wanted Poland’s only port, which had once belonged to Germany, he also wanted to start expanding their land. Another reason for invading Poland was that many of Europe’s Jews (whom he wanted to destroy) lived there. Hitler had already got away with taking land from other countries, such as Czechoslovakia, so he thought he could get away with invading Poland.
For invading Poland, Hitler used a tactic call Blitzkrieg which means “lightning war”. This is where tanks smashed through Poland’s defences, followed by fast moving troops and air strikes by the German Luftwaffe.
This is an important date in history because the Second World War was the worst war the world has ever seen. It killed 50 million people.