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World War II

Germany Invades Poland

Germany Invades Poland
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 6 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   7.74

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    non-aggression, ultimatum, worsen, further, invasion, inferior, ally, military, blitzkrieg, camps, pact, concentration, agreement, superior, leader, deals
     content words:    Adolf Hitler, World War I., Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, On September, Great Britain, World War II, United States, New Zealand, Polish Jews

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Germany Invades Poland
By Sharon Fabian 		  
1     In 1939, the Nazis ruled Germany. Adolf Hitler, the Nazi leader of Germany, said that Germans were a superior race. He said that Germans had the right to conquer inferior groups such as the Slavs of Poland. He wanted to invade and take over Poland. However, the Nazis wanted to be sure that, if their invasion started another war, Germany would win this time. They did not want a repeat of World War I.
 
2     So, they made careful preparations.
 
3     They made an agreement, known as the "pact of steel" with their ally Italy. Germany and Italy agreed to support each other in the event of war.
 
4     Germany also made a secret agreement with the Soviet Union. This was known as a "non-aggression pact." It was an agreement between the two countries not to go to war against each other. This was important to Germany because it did not want to fight a war on two fronts as it had before. However, the Nazi-Soviet pact went further than that. It also included secret deals in which Germany and the Soviet Union decided how they would divide up Poland between their two countries.
 
5     With this agreement in place, Nazi Germany could invade Poland without fear of losing. On September 1, 1939, the invasion began. Germany attacked Poland from the West, beginning with a blitzkrieg, the famous Nazi "lightning war," which was a massive air attack. German pilots bombed targets in Poland including military posts, airfields, railroad depots, factories, and cities. That initial attack was followed up within hours by a huge invasion of tanks and troops. The troops moved in from the North and the South to surround the Polish forces.

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