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Hitler ordered all "non-Aryans" to be removed from government jobs. This was one of the first events that led to the Holocaust-the systematic murder of 6 million jews across Europe.
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Hitler met secretly with his top military advisers to declare that to grow and prosper Germany they had to get more land. He decided that he needed to absorb Austria and Czechoslovakia.
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Hitler went after Austria first. German troops marched into Austria, and the next day Germany announced that their "union" with Austria was complete.
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Edouard Daladier and Neville Chamberlain signed the Munich agreement, which turned the Sudetenland (western border regions of Czechoslovakia) over to Germany without a single shot fired.
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Nazi storn troopers attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues across Germany and Austria. Around 100 Jews were killed, and hundreds more were injured. About 30,000 Jews were arrested.
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German troops poured into what remained of Czechoslovakia. After that Hitler gloated, "Czechoslovakia has ceased to exist."
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Fascist Germany and Communist Russia now committed to never attack each other after Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them.
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The German air force roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. German tanks races across the Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion. This was the first test of Germany's newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg.
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Britain and France declared war on Germany. Major fighting was over in three weeks. In the last week of fighting, the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, grabbing some of its territory. By the end of the month, Poland had ceased to exist and World War II had begun.
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Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order "to protect freedom and independence." But he actually planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain.
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Britain's Royal Air Force shot down over 185 German planes. Six weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain.
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Germany, Italy, and Japan had signed a mutual defense treaty. They were known as the Axis Powers. They aimed at keeping the United States out of the war.
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Randolph called on African Americans everywhere to come to the capital and march under the banner "We Loyal Colored Americans Demand the Right to Work and Fight for Our Country."
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The prime minister of Japan, Hideki Tojo, ordered the Japanese navy to prepare for an attack on the United States. The U.S. military learned that Japan was preparing for a strike. They waited for Japan to make the first move.
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Roosevelt received a decoded message that instructed Japan's peace envoy to reject all American peace proposals. "This means war," declared Roosevelt.
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The Japanese threw their bombs all over Pearl Harbor. The Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wonded 1,178 more. Congress approved Roosevelt's request for war against Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the United States.
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Prime Minister Churchill arrived at the White House and spent the next three weeks working out war plans with President Roosevelt. Churchill convinced Roosevelt to strike first against Hitler.
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The bill establishing the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps became law. Women volunteers would now serve in noncombat positions.
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The German commander surrendered. Two days later, his starving troops also surrendered.
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The first group of African American pilots trained at the Tuskegee institute arrived in North Africa. They fought in Italy and had many strategic strikes against the German forces.
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King Victor Emmanuel III summoned II Duceto his palace, stripped him of power, and had him arrested. Italians began celebrating the end of the war.
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The first day of the invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down behind German lines.Many people died and were injured on that day.
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General Omar Bradley unleashed massive air and land bombardment against the enemy at St. Lo, providing a gap in the German line of defense through which General George Patton and his Third Army could advance.
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Eight German tank divisions broke through weak American defenses along an 80-mile front. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines.
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70,000 marines converged on the tiny, Japanese-controlled island of Iwo Jima. Four days later, they had captured Mount Suribachi, the island's highest point, but the battle for Iwo Jima would rage on for four more weeks.
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While posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, the president had a stroke and died. Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation's 33rd president.
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The Soviet army had stormed Berlin. As Soviet shells burst overhead, the city panicked.
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Hitler married Eva Braun because he knew the end was near. The same day he wrote out his last address to the German people. The next day he shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison.
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The Allies celebrate Victory in Europe day. The war in Europe was finally over.
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The fighting ended. More than 7,600 Americans had died. 110,000 Japanese died defending Okinawa.
