-
nazi germany
Nazi Germany's World War II offensive continued with a German air force bombing raid that destroyed the Basque city of Guernica. The World War II timeline below details this event as well as other important events that took place from November 1, 1936, to July 7, 1937 -
anti-comintern
The anti-comintern pact, which was signed on November 25, 1936, was concluded between the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany. This anti-communist pact was opposed to the ideologies of the Comintern of Communist International. It aims to disintegrate all existing states at its command, as communism tends to endanger the internal peace of nations, as well as their social well-being. Hence, the concept behind communism tends to become a threat to world peace because of the subversive activities invol -
germany
GERMANY, the United Kingdom, France and Italy, taking into consideration the agreement, which has been already reached in principle for the cession to Germany of the Sudeten German territory, have agreed on the following terms and conditions governing the said cession and the measures consequent thereon, and by this agreement they each hold themselves responsible for the steps necessary to secure its fulfilment -
medal
Instituted on 18 October 1938, the medal commemorated the union of the Sudetenland to Germany. The medal was awarded to all German (and as well Sudeten) State officials and members of the German Wehrmacht and SS who marched into Sudetenland. Later it was awarded to military personnel participating in the occupation of the remnants of Czechoslovakia on 15 March 1939 -
german
On this day in 1940, German warships enter major Norwegian ports, from Narvik to Oslo, deploying thousands of German troops and occupying Norway. At the same time, German forces occupy Copenhagen, among other Danish cities -
solvier union
On this day in 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact, stunning the world, given their diametrically opposed ideologies. But the dictators were, despite appearances, both playing to their own political needs -
declaration
The first casualty of that declaration was not German—but the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent. There were more than 1,100 passengers on board, 112 of whom lost their lives. Of those, 28 were Americans, but President Roosevelt was unfazed by the tragedy, declaring that no one was to “thoughtlessly or falsely talk of America sending its armies to European fields.” The United States would remain neutral -
declaration
The first casualty of that declaration was not German—but the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent. There were more than 1,100 passengers on board, 112 of whom lost their lives. Of those, 28 were Americans, but President Roosevelt was unfazed by the tragedy, declaring that no one was to “thoughtlessly or falsely talk of America sending its armies to European fields.” The United States would remain neutral -
solviet forein
On this day in 1939, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov declares that the Polish government has ceased to exist, as the U.S.S.R. exercises the “fine print” of the Hitler-Stalin Non-aggression pact—the invasion and occupation of eastern Poland. -
germany
On this day in 1940, the Germans begin the first in a long series of bombing raids against Great Britain, as the Battle of Britain, which will last three and a half months, begins -
germany
On June 22, 1940, Germany and France signed an armistice in the forest of Compiègne. The treaty provided that hostilities between the two nations would end six hours after the signing of an armistice treaty between France and Italy, Germany’s axis partner. According to the New York Times article, “such procedure, it is predicted, will end the war on the Continent early in the coming week -
germany
The destruction of the Soviet Union by military force, the permanent elimination of the perceived Communist threat to Germany, and the seizure of prime land within Soviet borders for long-term German settlement had been a core policy of the Nazi movement since the 1920s. Adolf Hitler had always regarded the German-Soviet nonaggression pact, signed on August 23, 1939, as a temporary tactical maneuver -
pearl harbor
December 7, 1941, started as a typical Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Fleet Headquarters on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. That is, until shortly before 8 a.m., when Japan launched roughly 200 planes from six aircraft carriers in its first wave of Operation Hawaii—forever to be known by Americans as “the attack on Pearl Harbor” or just “Pearl Harbor -
japan
On this day, as America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan -
w.h
W. H. Auden was admired for his unsurpassed technical virtuosity and ability to write poems in nearly every imaginable verse form; his incorporation of popular culture, current events, and vernacular speech in his work; and also for the vast range of his intellect, which drew easily from an extraordinary variety of literatures, art forms, social and political theories, and scientific and technical information -
germany
On this day in 1940, the Germans begin the first in a long series of bombing raids against Great Britain, as the Battle of Britain, which will last three and a half months, begins
