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Invasion Of Poland
Germany demanded its lands back from Poland, which in turn broke the Munich Agreement. In response Britain and France threatened to wage war on Germany if Germany invaded Poland. Germany invaded Poland swiftly, winning many of the battles due to improved techniques and weaponry.
Poland is ethnically Slavic and many Jews had resided in Poland. Hitler and his infamous hatred for jews spurred this as he believed that the pure Aryans must "cleanse" the country of its culture. -
Invasion of Soviet Union
Germany had created an alliance earlier in 1939 with the Soviet Union called the Nazi-Soviet Pact. Two years later Hitler invades Russia, breaking the alliance. The Russian army, not anticipating the attacks, was severely damaged but the harsh Russian winter had stopped the Germans from a swift victory, giving time for the Soviets to bounce back from this surprise. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan and America had formed an alliance and talks of peace had been floating around but all this changed when Japan sent bomber planes to attack the US Navy in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This prompted America to join in the fighting. America's contribution would give the Allies a leg up on the war. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Germans had not prepared for a long battle, instead ensured in their own ability to swiftly take over Russia. The tides had turned at the Battle of Stalingrad, where ten months of fighting achieved the Soviet Union its first major win. From then on, the Russians kept on pushing back Germany until the German troops where finally back in Germany. -
D-Day
Britain, Canada, and America invaded a portion of Nazi controlled France in the north called Normandy. The allies were able to push back the Nazi's back into Germany territories, successfully taking back France from the regiment. -
Yalta and Potsdam Conference
Stalin, Churchill, and Roosevelt meet in Yalta, Soviet Union, to discuss how Europe would be shaped after the war ended. Stalin had promised that the Soviet Union would allow democratic elections to be held in the European nations that had been conquered by the Soviet Union.
At the Potsdam Conference Stalin went back on his words, saying that these nations, also known as the Eastern Bloc, would be communist regiments instead. This sparked the Cold War. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
AS the Allies moved in from the West and East, they had stopped the concentration camps from furthering operating, liberating the POW's and innocent people trapped in the encampments. -
V-E Day
This was the day that Germany had finally surrendered to the Allies. Hitler had gone into hiding and would shortly commit suicide to escape capture and persecution for his multitude of crimes. -
Nuremberg Trials
These trails where held against 20 Nazi leaders. 17 were found guilty. Of those 17, 10 had been executed and the last 7 had life in prison. 3 where found not guilty. This trial was monumental as it was the first time the winners of a war had put the losers of the war on trial. -
Division of Germany
After the war ended, Germany was divided into 4 parts. France, Britain and America would eventually come together in 1949 to form Western Germany out of their own separate parts but the Soviet Union refused to join, preferring a communist government rather than a democratic one. Berlin had been separated into East Berlin and West Berlin.
