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Hitler named Natzi leader
By early 1921, Adolf Hitler was becoming highly effective at speaking in front of ever larger crowds. In February, Hitler spoke before a crowd of nearly six thousand in Munich. To publicize the meeting, he sent out two truckloads of Party supporters to drive around with swastikas, cause a big commotion, and throw out leaflets, the first time this tactic was used by the Nazis. Hitler was now gaining notoriety outside of the Nazi Party for his rowdy, at times hysterical tirades against the Treat -
First concentration camp opened
Dachau concentration camp (German: Konzentrationslager Dachau or KZ-Dachau) was the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany, located on the grounds of an abandoned munitions factory near the medieval town of Dachau, about 16 km (10 miles) northwest of Munich in the state of Bavaria which is located in southern Germany. Opened in March 1933, it was the first regular concentration camp established by the coalition government of National Socialist Party (Nazi Party) and the German National -
Pearl Harbor
Just before 8 a.m. on December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels -
United States enters the War on Germany
On this day, Adolf Hitler declares war on the United States, bringing America, which had been neutral, into the European conflict. The bombing of Pearl Harbor surprised even Germany. Although Hitler had made an oral agreement with his Axis partner Japan that Germany would join a war against the United States, he was uncertain as to how the war would be engaged. Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor answered that question. On December 8, Japanese Ambassador Oshima went to German Foreign Minister von Ri -
The Creaters
Scientists ALBERT EINSTEIN, who fled Nazi persecution, and ENRICO FERMI, who escaped Fascist Italy, were now living in the United States. They agreed that the President must be informed of the dangers of atomic technology in the hands of the Axis powers. Fermi traveled to Washington in March to express his concerns on government officials. But few shared his uneasiness. -
Secret Project
created in 1942 to produce the first US nuclear weapon. Fears that Nazi Germany would build and use a nuclear weapon during World War II triggered the start of the Manhattan Project, US physicist Robert Oppenheimer and General Leslie R. Groves served as directors of this project, which recruited some of the best US scientists, engineers and mathematicians. A number of European scientists, including Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, and Leo Szilard, also participated in the Manhattan Project. -
War in the pacific
Two days after attacking Pearl Harbor, they seized Guam, and two weeks after that they captured WAKE ISLAND. Before 1941 came to a close, the Philippines came under attack. Led by GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR, the Americans were confident they could hold the islands. A fierce Japanese strike proved otherwise. After retreating to strongholds at BATAAN AND CORREGIDOR, the United States had no choice but to surrender the Philippines. Before being summoned away by President Roosevelt, General MacArthu -
Oak Ridge site in eastern Tennessee
When President Roosevelt in December 1942 authorized the Manhattan Project, the Oak Ridge site in eastern Tennessee had already been obtained and plans laid for an air-cooled experimental pile, a pilot chemical separation plant, and support facilities. The X-10 Graphite Reactor, designed and built in ten months, went into operation on November 4, 1943. The X-10 used neutrons emitted in the fission of uranium-235 to convert uranium-238 into a new element, plutonium-239. -
Truman sworn into office
Several hours after learning of Roosevelt’s death, a stunned Truman was given the oath of office in the White House by Chief Justice Harlan Stone (1872-1946). The new president later told reporters, “I don’t know if you fellas ever had a load of hay fall on you, but when they told me what happened yesterday, I felt like the moon, the stars and all the planets had fallen on me.” -
FDR dies
On this day in 1945, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passes away after four momentous terms in office, leaving Vice President Harry S. Truman in charge of a country still fighting the Second World War and in possession of a weapon of unprecedented and terrifying power. -
German agrees to unconditional surrender, ending the War In Europe
On this day in 1945, the German High Command, in the person of General Alfred Jodl, signs the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in northwestern France. -
Test
By the summer of 1945, Oppenheimer was ready to test the first bomb. On July 16, 1945, at TRINITY SITE near ALAMOGORDO, NEW MEXICO, scientists of the Manhattan Project readied themselves to watch the detonation of the world's first atomic bomb. The device was affixed to a 100-foot tower and discharged just before dawn. No one was properly prepared for the result. -
attack on Japan-Hiroshimna
The first atomic bomb to be used as a weapon is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, at approximately 8:15 a.m. Nicknamed Little Boy, the bomb is released from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber piloted by Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets. It explodes 2,000 feet above ground, killing 80,000 people instantly. One of the main arguments for use of the bomb by U.S. officials is that it would force Japan to surrender unconditionally. -
Attack on Japan- Nagasaki
An atomic bomb is dropped over Nagasaki, Japan, by a B-29 bomber piloted by Maj. Charles Sweeney. It explodes 1,540 feet above the ground. The original target for the bomb, nicknamed Fat Man, is Kokura, Japan. Due to cloud cover, the bomb is instead detonated over Nagasaki, the alternate location. It is estimated that 75,000 people are killed immediately. -
Truman speaks about A-bomb drop
Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, President Truman speaks to the nation in a radio address: The world will note that the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, a military base. By this time, the United States had already dropped its second bomb on Nagasaki. -
Japan Surrenders
Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II. By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. At the end of June, the Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion of the main Japanese home i
