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Adolf Hitler becomes leader of Knotsie party
Many Germans were angry over their defeat in World War 1 and the heavy reparation payments forced on them by the allies. Among them was an extreme nationalist, Adolf Hitler. He falsely claimed that Germany had not lost World War 1, but had been betrayed by Jews and other 'traitors'. This idea appealed to Germans eager to find someone whom to blame their problems on. Hitler's popularity increased. -
Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy
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Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR)
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Stock Market Crashed- Great Depression
The Great Depression of te 1930's caused worlwide economic hardships of which conditions set stage for another world war. -
U.S sought to strenghten ties with latin America
In 1930, President Herbert Hoover rejected the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. The United States, he declared, no longer claimed to have the right to intervene with Latin American affairs. Franklin Roosevelt went even further. Under what he called the Good Neighbor Policy, he withdrew American troops from Nicaragua and Haiti. He also cancelled the Platt Amendment, which had limited the independence of Cuba. -
Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China
Acting without approval of Japans' elected government, the Japenese government seized Manchurina in northeastern China. The League of Nations, which had been founded to halt agression, protested but took no action. -
March 21 - Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
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Hitler becomes chancellor, or leader of German Parliament.
Once in power, Hitler quickly created a totalitarian state. All other parties were outlawed. The secrect police enforced strict loyalty. Germany also then passed anti-Semitic laws. Jews were banned from public schools and some professions such as medicine and law. -
Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress
In 1935, Congress passed the Neutrality Act. It was the first of several laws designed to keep the U.S at peace. The Neutrality Act forbade the President from selling arms, making loans, or giving any other kind of assistance to any nation involved in war. -
Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa
In 1935, Mussinini's armies invaded the African countries of Ethiopia. Though the Ethiopians fought bravely, their calvary and outdrafter rifles were no match for Italy's modern tanks and airplanes. Ethiopia's emperor, Haile Selassie, appealed to the League of Nations for aid. However, the league of nations responded weakly. Britian and France were caught up in their own economic crises. Without help, Ethiopia fell to the invaders. -
Militarist take control of Japanese Government
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Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty
Hitler vowed to create an empire that united all German-speaking people, including those outside Germany. In defiance of the Treaty of Versailles, he began to rebuild German's armed forces. He further defied the treaty by sending troops into the Rhineland region of western Germany in 1936. -
Militarists take complete control of Japenese Government
Like the Nazis of Germany, militarists preached racism. Milirary leaders argued their island needed more space, as well as raw materials for a booming industry. -
Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people.
After 1937, Japan stepped up its agression in China. Japenese armies treated the Chinese brutality. For six weeks, Japenese forces prillaged the Chinese city of Nanjing. In the assult more than a quater of a million civilian and prisoners were massacred. -
Jews Attacked
Jewish communities were attacked. Troops began rounding Jews up and sending them to slave labor camps. -
German armies occupy Austria
As Hitler predicted, the European democracies did nothing to stop him. -
Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany
Still, France and Britain protested whn Hitler threatened to invade Czechoslovakia. In September 1938, European leaders met in the German city of Munich to ease the crisis. The leaders of France and Britain hoped to appease Hitler. In the Munich Pact, Britain and France agreed to let the German leader occupy the sudetenland, a portion of Czechoslokakia populated largely by people who spoke German. In return, Hitler promised he would seek no further territory. -
Hitler occupies the remainder of Czechoslovakia
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Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin
In late August 1939, the world was shocked to learn that Hitler and Stalin- two sworn and bitter enemies- had signed a nonagression agreement. In the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the dictators swore not to attack one-another's countries. Secrectly, they agreed to divide up Poland. -
Nazis invade Poland
On September 1, 1939, Nazi troops invaded Poland. Sixteen days later, the Soviet Union seized eastern Poland. Stalin's forcez also invaded Finland and later annexed Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. -
Britain and France declare war on Germany; W.W.2 Begins!
Two days after Hitler's invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. World War 2 had begun. -
Roosevelt seeks reelection for a third term of Presidency
Roosevelt promised to continue American neutrality in the war. F.D.R won reelection easily. -
Battle of Britain
Hitler ordered an air assault on Britain. Day after day, German planes attacked British cities. The raids took tens of thousands of lives, yet the British spirit never broke. By night, Londeners slept in subway stations. By day, they cleared the wreckage, buried the dead, and tried to carry on. Overhead, the british air force fought invading planes. The Battle of Britain continued through the summer and into the fall. By then, Hitler had abandoned all plans to invade Britain. -
Hitler's armies moved North seizing Denmark and Norway
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Hitler's armies marched West to conquer the Netherlands, Luxemburg, and Belgium; then moving onto France
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Germany invades France
Britain sent troops to help France resist the assault. The British and French, however, were quickly overpowered. By May, the germans had forced them to retreat to Dunkirk. a french port in the English Channel. In a bold action, the British sent every available ship and boat across the channel to rescue the trapped soldiers. Unhindered, the German soldiers entered France and marched onto Paris, the French capital. -
Germany accepts France's surrender
On June 22, 1940, barely six weeks later, Hitler gladly accpeted the Surrender of France. -
First time Peacetime Draft in US
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Roosevelt orders command under Black Officers
Roosevelt orders the Army Air Corps to organize an African Unit under the command of black officers. A flight training program was set-up at Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. -
British treasury is empty
Selling war supplies to Britain would violate the Neutrality Acts. Still, Roosevelt reached a compromise with Congress. The United Stats could sell supplies to Britain, but Britain had to pay cash for all goods it recieved. However, by the end of 1440, the British treasury was empty. Fearing that Britain would fall to the Nazis, Roosevelt persuaded Congress to pass a law he called 'Lend-Lease'. Isolationists objected that the law would draw the U.S into war. Most Americans favored the plan. -
Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin
’s Russia and invades -USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans ...
A huge German force crossed into the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, which had remained out of the early days of the war, now joined Britain in fighting the Germans. Although Churchhill and Stalin deeply mistrusted each other, they were now forced to work with each other to defeat their common enemy. -
Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia)
Events in Asia, not Europe, finally brought America into war. In response to the invasion of French Indochina, Roosevelt banned exports of iron and steel scrap to Japan. He also restricted the amount sale of oil to Japan. Facing a shortage of fuel for their navy, Japenese leaders decide on war. Plans on a attack for the U.S was soon underway. -
Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter
In August 1941, Roosevelt and Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, outlining their goals for the postwar world. They agreed their nations would seek no territorial gain from the war and emphasized the right of all people to choose their own government. They also called for a new international organization that might succeed where the League of Nations had failed. -
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan
On December 7, 1941, Japenese bombers launched a surpries attack on American naval, air, and ground forces at Pearl Harbor, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The attack destroyed nearly half of the island's 400 military aircraft and damaged eight battleships, two beyond repair. About 2,400 Americans were killed. The assualt caught American military leaders by surprise. Later that day, Congress declared war on Japan. Germany and Italy then declared war on the U.S. -
Germany and Italy declare war on the US
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Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps
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Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March
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Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow
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June 4-7 Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific
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British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa
American and British troops crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisha, swiftly taking control of the island Sicily. By fall, they were fighting their way northward along the italian penninsula. Later, Mussolini was dismissed from office and the young government surrendered to the allies. -
Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA
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Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min.
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D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies
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Paris retaken by Allies Forces
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Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces
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US forces return to recapture the Philippines
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FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes President
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V-E Day, war ends in Europe
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First Atomic Bombs dropped
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V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces
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War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
