Hi! Welcome back to another blog post!

What I know about WW2?

World War 2 lasted from 1939 to 1945. It all started when Adolf Hitler, the leader of Nazi Germany, invaded Poland in 1939. As a result, Britain and France declared war on Germany, officially starting WW2. In 1940, Germany took over much of Europe, including all of France. From 1940 to 1941, Britain stood alone against Germany in the Battle of Britain. In 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, and later that year, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, bringing the U.S. into the war. During this time, Hitler and the Nazis carried out the Holocaust, the mass murder of six million Jewish people and millions of others. The Nazis forced Jews into ghettos and concentration camps, where many were killed or died from starvation and disease. In 1944, the Allies invaded Normandy, France (D-Day), beginning the liberation of Europe. In 1945, Hitler died as Germany surrendered in May, marking the end of the war in Europe.

Connections to VMVs

I have a few goals for learning about WW2, I want to ask more questions when I have them, connecting to my VMVs I’ve wanted to be more open about raising my hand, I also want to have a deep understanding of the specific part of the war that we are working on, if I understand the topic well then it will improve my work for my VMVs I wrote that I need to take responsibility for my own work as studying and understanding will improve this.

My connection to WW2 

Dads side:

At only 15 years old, my grandpa Jock was determined to join the navy during World War 2. Even though the age requirement was 17, he lied about his age so he could enlist. He grew up in Glasgow which was under attack during the war, when he joined the Navy he was assigned to a Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB), to assist the merchant convoys from North America to the UK. The merchant convoys brought needed supplies to help the war effort but were under attack by German submarines called UBoats. My grandfathers job was to hunt For the UBoats. While doing his job the fighting was fierce and twice during his service his boat was blow up. Miraculously he survived both but to his dying days he would never go passed his knees when he went in the water.   

Mums side:

My grandmothers family were all from Hungary, they were displaced by the Russians at the end of WW2. They had to escape Hungary on foot through to Austria, where they were in a refugee camp waiting for another country to accept them, they got accepted in Brazil however Brazil would not allow children. The only country to accept them was Australia they were shipped by boat to an immigration camp in the outback. During WW2 my great great grandmother hid a lot of different people in Budapest, some were hiding from the Russians and others from the Germans. My great grandfather was captured while trying to find food on the streets of Budapest and sent to a Russian Gulag. He survived however he was 75lbs in weight when he got

I’m looking forward to learning more about WW2.

Thanks!