World War 2 By raffaela Jan 30, 1921 Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi party Jan 1, 1922 Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy Dec 9, 1929 Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR) Dec 9, 1931 Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China Dec 9, 1933 March 21 - Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany Dec 9, 1935 Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress Dec 9, 1935 Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa Dec 9, 1936 Militarist take control of Japanese Government Dec 9, 1936 Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty Dec 9, 1937 Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people Dec 9, 1938 Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany Sep 1, 1939 Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany Dec 9, 1939 Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps Dec 9, 1939 Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin Dec 9, 1940 Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control Dec 9, 1940 Germany invades France and forces it to surrender Dec 9, 1940 Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island Dec 9, 1940 First time Peacetime Draft in US Dec 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy declare war on the US - Dec. 9 Dec 11, 1941 Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades -USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans Dec 11, 1941 Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter Dec 11, 1941 Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter Dec 11, 1941 Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia) Dec 11, 1942 Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March Dec 11, 1942 Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps Dec 11, 1942 June 4-7 Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific Dec 11, 1942 Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow Jul 11, 1943 July - Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min Dec 11, 1943 British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa Dec 11, 1943 Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA Jun 6, 1944 D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies Aug 11, 1944 Paris retaken by Allies Forces Dec 11, 1944 Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces Jan 11, 1945 US forces return to recapture the Philippines Apr 16, 1945 FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes President May 8, 1945 May 8th - V-E Day, war ends in Europe Aug 14, 1945 Aug. 14th – V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces Aug 20, 1945 Aug. - First Atomic Bombs dropped Dec 20, 1946 War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan