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World War I began with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war was between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire) and the Allied Powers (Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy and Japan). The United States joined the Allies after 1917. The Central Powers were defeated.
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Hitler was appointed as chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg. Hitler's plans to make Germany a powerful, united, one-party state, and to get rid of politics had begun and were being run by the Nazi Party.
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Hitler decides to invade Poland as a part of his wish to ultimately rule all lost territory.The invasion was the beginning of the "blitzkrieg" strategy, which included extensive bombings and a massive land invasion.
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The declaration of war on Germany was a response to the German invasion of Poland. The British were under orders not to harm German civillians while bombing German ships, and the French tried to begin an offensive against Germany's western border.
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Auschwitz was the largest and most notorius concentration camp during the Holocaust. It was located in southern Poland and was the death place of more than 1 million people. It was abandoned in January 1945.
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This marked the massive German invasion of the Soviet Union. There were over 3 million German soldiers, but the Germans underestimated the Soviets. Operation Barbarossa failed and it was a major turning point in the war, in favor of the Allied Powers.
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All Jews over the age of 6 in German territory were required to wear a badge that identified them. This was so that Nazis would be able to easily spot them and take them to concentration camps or to kill them. The stars were yellow and were to be worn on the left side of the person's coat.
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The Allied Nations issue a declaration stating that the Germans have been invlolved in a mass extermination of European Jews and that "those responsible for this 'bestial policy of cold-blooded extermination' would 'not escape retribution.'"
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Germany surrenders to the Allied Powers. The surrender papers wre signed by General Alfred Jodl and was the end of the war in the west. The surrender was unconditional and was demanded by General Eisenhower to be the surrender of all German forces.
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WWII ended with the surrender of Japan. This happened at the Postdam Conference where the terms of the Postdam Declaration were discussed, and on September 2nd, Japan officially accepted the terms and surrendered to General Douglas MacArthur on the USS Missouri at Tokyo Bay.
