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Jews Seek Refuge
Jews in Germany numbered some 523,000, or less than 1 percent of the total population. Over the next six years, Nazi persecution forced nearly 300,000 to flee their homeland. Jewish refugees included more than 9,000 children evacuated to Britian through the Kindertransport program of 1938-40. -
Nanking Massacre
In late 1937, over a period of six weeks, Imperial Japanese Army forces brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of people. The horrific events are known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanking, between 20,000 and 80,000 women were sexually assaulted. There are no official numbers for the death toll in the Nanking Massacre, though it is estimated to be from 200,000 to 300,000 people. -
Nazi Expansion
Beginning in 1936, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's desire for the German race to expand. Hitler annexed Austria and pressured Britain to yield to his territorial demands in Czechoslovakia. His invasion of Poland in September 1939 led both France and Britain to declare war on Germany, setting the stage for World War 11. -
War Propaganda
Every country involved in World War 11 used some form of propaganda to promote its own cause and attack of its opponents. The U.S government had various mediums including films, photographs, and ads. Many of whuch were stereotypes of the enemy. -
Lend-Lease Act
Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act giving the president the authority to "selllease,lend, or dispose of any defense article. President Roosevelt committed his government to aiding the enemies of fascism. The act was passed March 1941 the U.S remained neutrality by claming that loans were made in the interest of national defense. -
The Kamikaze
In the months following the Pearl Harbor attacks, Japan quickly gained supremacy in the air with its "Zeo" fighter planes. The Japanese changed tactics forming a squad of kamikaze pilots who flew planes loaded with explosives directly into enemy vessels. Volunteer pilots were known as Special Attack Corps, americans appropriated the Japanese word kmikaze, meaning "divine wind" to the corps suicide attacks. -
Bombing of Peral Harbor
The United States was bombed at Pearl Harbor, on December 7,1941. The attack killed 2,400 Americans and wwas of the worst tragedies of World War 11. Today the ship Arizona still stands in the waters of the Harbor as a memorial to those who lost their life. -
Rationing
Before America's entry into Worla War 11, the U.S government made plans to ration goods considered essential to the war effort. Weeks after Pearl Harbor Presdient Roosevelt signed a bill expanding the powers of the Office of Price Adjustment. Gasoline, food and supplies were ratoned. -
D-Day
"Operation Overload", the Allied invasion of Western Europe that began on D-Day (June 6, 1944) was the largest amphibious assault in history. 150,000 troops and 5,000 vehicles landing along a 50-mile stretch of the Northern French Coast. This mission would not been possible if not for the private ship bulider Andrew Higgins. -
The Atomic Bomb
In early August 1945, U.S forces dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing more than 100,000 people and exposing tens of thousands more to deadly radiation. On August 15, Emperor Hirohito announced Japan's surrender, citing the devasting power of "a new and most cruel bomb." Enola Gay dropped a 9,700 pound uranium bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.
