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Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party.
Germany was in the grip of the Great Depression with a population suffering from poverty, misery, and uncertainty, amid increasing political instability. For Hitler, was a master speech maker. He would find in this downtrodden people, an audience very willing to listen. In his speeches, Hitler offered the Germans what they needed most, encouragement. He gave them heaps of vague promises while avoiding the details.
http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/elect.htm -
Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy
Turned Italy into the world's first Fascist state.
Fascism- a political system based on militarism, extreme nationalism, and blind loyalty to the state and it's leader. -
Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union(USSR)
Turned Soviet Union into a Totalitarian State.
Totalitarian state- a government that subordinates the individual to the state and strictly controls all aspects of life by coercive measures. -
Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China
From the great depression and militarists want for more space + raw materials to support the booming industry, the Japanese army seized Manchuria China without the approval of Japan's elected government. -
Hitler is named chancellor of Germany
Was elected because of his convincing speeches and not specifying his plans. He was and extreme nationalist who had become the leader of the small group known as the national socialist, or Nazi party. Nazism is a form of fascism where racism lay at the core of its beliefs. -
Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa
Ethiopia called on the united nations to help, but they took no actions to stop Italy. -
Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress
The first of several acts designed to keep the United States at peace.
What it did: Forbade the president from selling arms, making loans, or giving any other kind of assistance to any nation involved in war. -
Militarist take control of Japanese Government
Like the Nazis in Germany the Japanese militarists preached racism and believe that the Japanese were superior to other Asioans as wella s non-Asians. -
Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany
This violated the Treaty of Versailles. Although, Hitler did vow to create an empire that united all German speaking people. Rhineland was a place where almost everyone spoke German because it use to be a part of Germany. -
Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people.
Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing, then the capital of the Chinese republic led by Chiang Kai-shek and went on a six-week campaign of carnage and slaughter that would be forever remembered as the “Rape of Nanjing.” -
Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany
Britain and France agreed to let Germany occupy Sudetenland of Hitler's agreement to seek no further territory. -
Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps
Hitler thought that Jews and other races were "Non-superior" and that they were superior to all. -
Nazi-soviet pact signed by Hitler and Stalin.
Sworn enemies agreed privately to split up Poland and the two dictators agreed not to attrack one another's country. -
Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany
Britain and France agreed to come to aid of Poland if Germany was to attack them because they made the policy of appeasement. Two days after hitler's invasion of Poland, France and Britian declared war on Germany. World war 2 had begun. -
Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium - take control
In the early days of the war Germany seemed unstoppable. -
Germany invades France and forces them to surrender
Britian sent troops to help resist. However they were quickly overpowered. Barely six weeks after the nazis marched into Paris, France surrendered. -
July 10 Battle of Britain begins
Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island. -
First time Peacetime Draft in US
Congress approved more spending for the army and navy. More than 15 million volunteers and draftees would wear the American uniform during WW2. Men, women, from many ethnic and religious groups served. Organized an African American unit under the command of black officers- Tuskegee Airmen. -
Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades
USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans.Hitler had expected The soviet Union to collapse swiftly in the face of his assault. They didn't.. -
Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter
The Atlantic Charter was a joint declaration released by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on August 14, 1941 following a meeting of the two heads of state in Newfoundland. The Atlantic Charter provided a broad statement of U.S. and British war aims. -
Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia)
In response Roosevelt banned American exports and steel scrap to Japan. He also restricted the sale of oil to Japan. Facing a shortage of fuel for their navy, Japanese leaders decided on war and plans for attack on the United States were soon underway. -
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan,
After that, Germany and Italy declare war on the US - Dec. 9
The US was so unprepared for this attack. They Japanesse completely caught the U.S. off guard and bombed several battleships and grounded planes. 2,403 people were killed including marines, navy, army, and civilian personnel. -
Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps
At the start of the war about 300,000 japanese-Americans were in the US. After the attack on pearl harbor, many Americans had the fear that some of these people were acting as spies to help the enemy. These intense anti-Jap fears lead FDR to issue executive order 9066 in February 1942. They interned some 110,000 Japanese Americans throughout the duration of the war. Intern means to temporarily imprison. -
Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March
Surrounded on the Bataan peninsula the defenders were forced to surrender to the Japanese. At Bataan nearly 70,000 American and Filipino soldiers were captured. Already weak from hunger when forced to walk 65 mile many prisoners died of starvation, diseases, or violence. This was known at the Bataan Death March. -
Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow
Under the harsh Russian winter conditions the Soviet Union was able to stop the advancing Nazis at Stalingrad. This was a major turning point in favor of the allied powers. -
1942, June 4-7 Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific
The Japanese sought to take the island of Midway which was home to a key military base. The Americans sank 41 Japanese aircraft carriers, destroyed 322 aircrafts, and reduced Japan's supply of highly trained pilots. -
British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa
In November, Operation Torch brought in thousands of British and American forces. They landed across western North Africa, and joined the attack, eventually helping force the surrender of all remaining Axis troops in Tunisia in May of 1943 and ending the Campaign for North Africa. -
Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA
Racial riots against Mexican American in the streets, beatings with clubs. These Latinos wore "Zoot Suits" setting them apart -
Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min.
British and American troops crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia and took control of the Italian island of Sicily. Later they fought their way north along the Italian Peninsula. The king dismissed Mussolini as Prime minister and the new government surrendered to Italy. -
D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies
More than 155,000 American, British, and Canadian troops crossed the English Channel into. They landed on five beaches at Normandy, in western France. Troops at 4/5 beaches quickly overcame German opposition. On Omaha beach americans met a fierce German defense, and by the end of the day 2,500 Americans lay dead. However, the Allies succeeded in their mission and within a month, they stormed Ashore. After 4 years under Natzi rule the Allies regained Paris, France on August 25, 1944. -
Paris retaken by Allies Forces
On August 25, 1944 the Allies entered Paris and after 4 years under Natzi control France was back with the Allies. -
Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces
Hitler pulled together his remaining reserves into a counterattack in Belgium as the Allied forces pushed Eastward. Bad weather grounded Allied aircrafts the first week of the battle allowing German troops to create a "bulge" in the American lines.The Germans couldn't push through the American defense and they were running out of soldiers.They fought through Europe's coldest winter in 40 years, and American forces won the battle of the Bulge. Germany lay wide open in both the east and the west. -
US forces return to recapture the Philippines
In January of 1945 Allied army units landed on Luzon in the Philippines and then advanced on Manila. After around a month of Urban warfare, the Americans secured the city. -
FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes President
Franklin D. Roosevelt died of a stroke, and his death shattered Americans. Harry S. Truman was the vice president thrust into office, and he had little experience dealing with important policy issues. -
V-E Day, war ends in Europe
Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945, in a bunker beneath city streets when Soviet troops began an assault on Berlin. A week later, representatives of Germany's armed forces surrendered at Eisenhower's headquarters in France. The allies celebrated Victory in Europe day (V-E day) on May 8. -
First Atomic Bombs dropped
The first was dropped upon Hiroshima and the second upon Nagasaki. Instant casualties like this had never been seen before. -
V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces
Island hoppers last two stops were in Japan (Iwo Jima & Okinawa). Many many Americans died- 6,000-Iwo Jima & 12,000-Okinawa.Only 1 percent of Iwo Jima's defenders survived.On Okinawa, Japanese soldiers jumped off cliffs rather than be captured. In the last days of war Japanese forces practiced Kamikaze more than ever, suicide pilots crashed their planes into American ships. After Atomic bombs dropped, MacArthur formally accepted Japan's surrender on the USS missouri(Tokyo bay). The war was over. -
War Crimes Trials held in Nuremberg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
War crimes- Are wartime acts of cruelty and brutality that are judged to be beyond the accepted rules of war and human behavior. Germany- Allied judges tried prominent Nazis for plunging the world into war, and for the horrors of death camps. 12 defendants were sentenced to death by hanging.
Similar trials were held in Manila and Tokyo to try the leaders of the Japanese war machine.
