ITALY had a king， but the real rulerf the cuntry was nt the king but a dictatr named Musslini. He became dictatr sme years after the endf Wrld War I. It was Musslini wh led Italy int war with Ethipia.
D yu remember the stryf Cincinnatus in the daysf ancient Rme， and hw he was made a dictatr and saved Rme？ And after the enemy was defeated hw he gave up being a dictatr and went back t being a simple farmer again？
Well， Musslini was a dictatr quite different frm Cincinnatus. He did nt give up being a dictatr. Musslini made himself mre and mre pwerful all the time.
Nw， the peplef a cuntry run by a dictatr are seldm really happy because they have t d whatever the dictatr tells them t d whether they like itr nt. What the peple think， they must nt say fr fearf saying smething the dictatr might nt like. Peple may be imprisned withut a trial. They cannt read abut bth sidesf a questin in their newspapers， fr the newspapersnly print what the dictatr wants them t print. Peple are always afraid in a dictatrship， fr the dictatr"s spies are always listening and watching and waiting fr smene t make a slip-t say smething against the dictatrr d smething he might nt like. It"s then gdbye t that persn.
The shrt twenty yearsf peace after Wrld War I were lng enugh fr several dictatrs t cme t pwer in Eurpe.
Musslini was bad enugh. He tk away the libertiesf the peple in Italy. He made warn the Ethipians just because he wanted their cuntry.
But Musslini was "small ptates" t anther dictatr wh als came t pwer in Eurpe. This was Adlf Hitler， wh became the dictatrf Germany. Hitler"s gang called themselves Nazis. The wrd NAZI was made upf the initial lettersf the German wrds fr Natinal Scialist German Wrkers" Party， but mst peple think NASTY wuld be a better way t spell it. Yu might think when yu hear the wrd party that it had smething t d with a gd time like a birthday party. But the partyf the Nazis meant a scietyr grupf peple wh were the fllwersf Hitler， Hitler"s gang.
The Nazis were brutal and cruel. They did hrrible things that even Alaric and his Gths，r Attila and his Huns， wuld nt have dne. I think the Nazigang was wrse than the Gthsr the Huns because the Gths and the Huns were living at a time in histry when almst the whle wrld was ignrant and mre primitive. The Nazis lived in a civilized Christian cuntry， with schls and universities and churches， amid the science and knwledge and rulesf gd behavirf the twentieth century.
The Nazis were against all Jews. They began t persecute the Jewsf Germany. Smef the Jews escaped tther cuntries， but thse wh culd nt get away were put in cncentratin camps where mstf them were trtured and killed. The Nazis built large gas chambers， which were big rms int which pisn gas culd be piped. They wuld crwd the Jews-men， wmen， and children-int these chambers and turnn the gas. In this way the Nazis murdered millinsf Jews.
Ntnly Jews but thusandsfther peple in Germany wh were thught t be against the Nazis were put in the cncentratin camps， where manyf them died.
Hitler became chancellr and dictatrf Germany in 1933. He was a pwerful speaker and by his speeches he culd mve his listeners t d anything he wanted. He did nt dependnlyn his speeches. His Nazi spies were everywhere and whever said a wrd against him was apt t be arrested by the Nazi secret plice.
Hitler planned t make Germany the mst pwerful natin in the wrld. T d this he started t build a huge army. Everyne in Germany was suppsed t help make the Germans a warlike natin. Even bys and girls belnged t Nazi clubs and learned t drill and wrk fr the natin. Thse men wh weren"t in the armyr navyr air frce were put in labr battalins t build frts and military rads and fighting equipment.
I tld yu that the Treatyf Versailles did nt allw the Germans t have a big armyr an air frce. Hw abut that？ But Hitler said that Germany was nt bund by the Treatyf Versailles， even thugh it had been signed by the German gvernment. Befre lng the Germans had a huge army and air frce. Then the Germans started t take lands that were nt theirs. Their army marched int Austria and made Austria a partf Germany. Then they began seizingther piecesf land arund them.
Nw， England had a treatyr agreement with Pland， which was the next cuntry t Germanyn the east. This treaty with Pland said that England wuld prtect the independencef Pland. When Germany threatened t attack Pland， England warned Germany abut the treaty and said it was England"s duty under the treaty t prtect Pland. Hitler went ahead anyway and attacked Pland. First he sent his airplanesver Pland and bmbed the Ples. Then came the German army， and in a few days it was allver fr the Plish army.
S England declared warn Germany. It was in 1939 when this happened and Wrld War II began.
Russia wasn thether sidef Pland， and Russia marched int Pland frm the eastern side. There wasn"t any Pland left.
Next Germany attacked Nrway and Denmark. Nrway was seized by German sldiers， wh were carried by airplanes and were helped by a few traitrs in Nrway.
Then Germany attacked France and Belgium and Hlland. The German airplanes and tanks were t much fr the French， Belgian， and Dutch armies and fr the English army that had been sent t France t help them. As sn as Musslini saw the Germans were winning， he brught Italy int the warn the sidef Germany. Sn Hlland and Belgium and mstf France were taken by the Germans. The German army marched int Paris. Thusandsf Frenchmen were sent t wrk as slaves in Germany， andnly England was left t fight the Nazis.
Yu remember I tld yu that Parliament was the real rulerf England and nt the king. The leaderf Parliament， and the man wh carriesut the laws Parliament makes， is called the prime minister. The prime minister at this timef great danger fr England was Winstn Churchill. Winstn Churchill was a brave and stubbrn man. Althugh England"s army had lst its weapns in France， and there were fewer thanne hundred tanks in all England and the English had fewer airplanes and a much smaller army than the Germans， Churchill refused t give up. Churchill made speechesver the radi t the peple t encurage them t fightn in spitef all thedds against them. Churchill said， "We shall defendur island， whatever the cst may be. We shall fightn the beaches， we shall fightn the landing grunds， we shall fight in the fields and in the streets， we shall fight in the hills： we shall never surrender."Des that remind yuf the answer Lenidas gave t the Persians befre the battlef Thermpylaever tw thusand years ag？ Lenidas said， "Cme and take us." Churchill"s speech was nt shrt and lacnic but it meant the same thing.
The Nazis gt ready t invade England.
They brught mre than three thusand barges t the castf Eurpeppsite England. These were t carry the Nazi sldiers acrss the English Channel. But first Hitler wanted t defeat the English air frce， s his trps culd land in England mre easily. Nazi planes were sentver in great fleets t bmb the English airfields and seaprts.
Then Hitler met his first defeat. The English had many fewer planes， but they were able tutfight the Nazi planes. This was called the Battlef Britain. In the first ten daysf this air battle， the English sht dwn 697 planes and lstnly 153 themselves！
Eurpe in Wrld War II ( 第二次世界大战时的欧洲 )When Hitler fund his planes culd nt destry the English air frce， he sent fleetsf airplanes day and night t bmb Lndn. Thusands and thusandsf Lndn civilians were killed by these German bmbs. Hwever， the English piltsf the Ryal Air Frce kept shting dwn s many German planes that at last the Germans were afraid t send planesver England except at night. All during the war these night raidsn English cities kept up， but Hitler had lst his best chance t invade England. The English had had a few mre mnths t get sme weapns and build up their army. Prime Minister Churchill saidf the English airplane pilts， "Never in the fieldf human cnflict was s muchwed by s many t s few."【中文阅读】
意大利有个国王，但是这个国家真正的统治者并不是国王而是一个名叫墨索里 尼的独裁者。第一次世界大战结束之后几年他就成了独裁者。正是墨索里尼带领意 大利发动了对埃塞俄比亚的战争。
你还记得古罗马时期辛辛纳图斯的故事吗？还记得他是怎样被推举为独裁官并 拯救罗马的吗？还记得敌人被击败之后，他是怎样放弃做独裁官，解甲归田吗？
然而，墨索里尼是一个和辛辛纳图斯截然不同的独裁者。他才不会放弃独裁者 的位置呢。墨索里尼始终都在谋求越来越大的权力。
在由独裁者统治的国家里，人民很少真正快乐，因为不论他们是否愿意，他们 都必须按独裁者说的去做。人们真正的想法决不能说出来，担心有什么话会触犯独裁者。人们可以不经过审判就被关押。因为报纸只刊登独裁者要发表的观点，人们 在报纸上读不到一个问题的两个方面。在专制统治下人们总是担惊受怕，因为独裁 者的密探时刻在窥听、窥伺着，等着有人犯错--说了反对独裁者的话或者做了触 怒他的事。这样的话，就得和那人告别了。
第一次世界大战后的和平时期虽然只有短短的二十年，但是足以让几个独裁者 在欧洲利用这段时间，登台掌权了。
墨索里尼是够坏的了。他剥夺了意大利人民的自由。他对埃塞俄比亚发动战争 只是因为他想得到这个国家。
但是比起另一个登台掌权的欧洲独裁者来，墨索里尼真是"小巫见大巫"了。 这个人就是成为德国独裁者的阿道夫 希特勒。希特勒这帮人称自己为"纳粹党 人"。"纳粹"这个词是"德国国家社会主义工人党"的简称，但是现在大多数人 认为 NAZI（纳粹）还不如拼成 NASTY（龌龊）。当你听到"party"（党）这个词， 你可能会把它和 birthday party（生日聚会）那样的美好时光联系在一起。但是"纳 粹党"的意思是由希特勒的追随者组成的团体或一帮人，即希特勒的党徒。
纳粹党人既野蛮又残忍。他们的所作所为骇人听闻，就连阿拉里克和他率领的 哥特人，或者阿提拉和他率领的匈奴都不会这么做。我认为纳粹党比哥特人或匈奴 人更坏，因为哥特人和匈奴人生活在那样一个历史时期，当时几乎整个世界都处于 蒙昧无知的状态，相对来说也更原始。而纳粹党人生活在文明的基督教国家，有学 校、大学和教堂，人们充分了解 20 世纪的科学、知识和良好行为的准则。
纳粹党人反对所有的犹太人。他们开始迫害德国的犹太人。有些犹太人逃到了其他国家，但是那些没有逃走的人都被关进了集中营，大部分人在那里都遭到折磨 并被杀害。纳粹党人建了许多大型毒气室，这些毒气室是一个个大房间，毒气通过 管道可以输送进去。他们把成群的犹太人--包括男人、女人和孩子--塞进这些 毒气室，然后打开毒气。纳粹党人用这种方式屠杀了数百万犹太人。
除了犹太人，还有成千上万被认为是反纳粹的德国人被送进了集中营，其中多 数人都死在那里。
1933 年希特勒成了德国总理和独裁者。他的演讲极富煽动性，通过这些演讲， 他可以鼓动听众按他的意愿去做。他靠的不只是演讲。到处都有他的纳粹密探，谁 要是说一句反对他的话，往往会被纳粹的秘密警察逮捕。
希特勒打算使德国成为世界上最强大的国家。为实现这个目标他开始组建一支 庞大的军队。每个德国人都应努力使整个国民成为一个好战的民族。甚至连男孩子 和女孩子都是纳粹俱乐部的成员，学习操练和懂得为国效劳。那些没有加入陆军、 海军或空军的男人被组成劳工营去建造堡垒、军用公路和作战的装备。
我介绍过《凡尔赛和约》禁止德国人拥有大规模的陆军或空军。那又怎样呢？ 但是希特勒说尽管德国政府签署了《凡尔赛合约》，德国也不能受其约束。不久以后 德国就拥有了大规模的陆军和空军部队。然后德国人开始攻占别国的土地。他们的 军队进入奥地利，让奥地利成为德国的一部分。接着他们开始占领周边的其他小国。
英国和德国东边的邻国波兰订立了一项条约或者说达成协议。这项与波兰的条约规定英国要保护波兰的独立。当德国威胁要进攻波兰时，英国就警告说英国和波 兰订立了条约，这项条约规定英国有保护波兰的义务。希特勒才不管呢，进攻了波 兰。首先他派出飞机到达波兰上空，向波兰人扔炸弹。随后德国陆军入侵，几天之 内波兰陆军就覆没了。于是英国对德国宣战。这件事情发生在 1939 年，第二次世界 大战由此开始。
俄国在波兰的另一边，俄国从东边入侵波兰。整个波兰都被瓜分了。 接下来德国进攻挪威和丹麦。挪威被德国兵攻占，这些德国兵是由飞机运去的，还得到一些挪威卖国贼的帮助。 然后德国进攻法国、比利时和荷兰。德国飞机和坦克让法国、比利时和荷兰的军队招架不住，也让被派往法国前去助阵的英国军队招架不住。墨索里尼一看到德 国正节节取胜，就带领意大利加入战争中，支持德国。不久荷兰、比利时和法国大 部分地区都被德国人占领了。德国军队开进巴黎。成千上万的法国人被当成奴隶运 送到德国做苦工，现在只剩下英国和纳粹作战了。
你记得我告诉过你英国真正的统治者是议会而不是国王。议会的领导者，也就 是按议会制定的法律去实行的那个人被称为首相。在英国处于极度危险的时候，担 任英国首相的是温斯顿 丘吉尔。温斯顿 丘吉尔是个勇敢倔强的人。尽管英国军队 在法国损失了武器，整个英国现有的坦克还不足一百辆，飞机数量也比德国少，陆 军兵力更是远不如法国。但是丘吉尔拒绝认输。丘吉尔多次向英国人民发表广播演 讲，鼓励他们不管有多大的困难也要继续战斗下去。 他说："我们将不惜任何代价保 卫我国本土，我们将在海滩上作战，我们将在陆地上作战，我们将在田野、在街头 作战，我们将在山上作战：我们绝不投降。"这是不是让你想起两千多年前列奥尼达在温泉关战役之前给波斯人的答复？列 奥尼达说："来抓我们吧。"丘吉尔的演讲没有像斯巴达人那样言语简练，但是表达了 相同的意思。
纳粹做好了侵略英国的准备。 他们将三千多条驳船运到英国对面的欧洲海岸。这些驳船是用来载运纳粹士兵渡过英吉利海峡的。但是希特勒打算先击败英国空军，这样他的部队就可以更容易 在英国登陆。大批纳粹飞机被派飞过海峡去轰炸英国机场和海港。
这时希特勒遭遇了第一次失败。德国的飞机数量虽远超英国空军，英国空军以 高超的战术，打败了纳粹的飞机。这一时期的空战被称为"不列颠战役"。在这场空 战的头十天，英国人击落德军 697 架战机，而自己仅损失了 153 架！
当希特勒发现他的战机无法摧毁英国空军后，他就派出一批又一批战机队不分昼夜地轰炸伦敦。成千上万的伦敦市民被德国炸弹炸死。但是，英国皇家空军的飞 行员也在不断地击落大量德国飞机，最后，德国人被打怕了，除了在夜里，再也不 敢派飞机到英国上空了。在整个战争期间德国对英国城市的夜间空袭从未停止，但 是希特勒已经失去了入侵英国的最佳时机。英国人赢得几个月的时间去购买武器， 增强了陆军。丘吉尔首相谈到英国飞行员时说："在人类战争史上，从未发生过这样 的事：这么少的人保卫了这么多的人，立下了这么卓著的功劳。"
