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In March 1933, immediately after Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.
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Over 26,000 Jewish men forced into concentration camps and over 50,000 prisoners in concentration camps
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Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany.
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Happened when the trapped British army evacuates to England from Dunkirk, France, surviving to fight another day
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Italy invades southern France on June 21.
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The air war ends in defeat for Nazi Germany
Lasted from July 10, 1940–October 31, 1940 -
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact.
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Nazi Germany and its Axis partners (except Bulgaria) invade the Soviet Union. (June 1941 First “euthanasia” murders of weak and ill prisoners)
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First mass gassing of Soviet POWs in a concentration camp
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The United States enters the war after Japan attacks Pearl Harbor
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Hitler and Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on America
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First gas chambers established at Auschwitz-Birkenau; also start of regular “selections” of Jews on arrival in Auschwitz Spring/summer of 1942
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Wannsee conference to coordinate the “Final Solution” to get rid of Jews
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The British bomb Cologne starting a bombing campaign that brings the war home to Germany.
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Mass deportations of Gypsies to Auschwitz begin
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The Germans launch a massive tank offensive near Kursk in the Soviet Union. The Soviets blunt the attack within a week and begin an offensive initiative of their own.
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Dora underground camp starts operating. About 224,000 prisoners in concentration camps
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Allied forces invade northern France with landing at Normandy beachhead and head eastward towards Paris..known as D-Day. (Summer/Autumn, 1944 Mass deportations of Jews to concentration camps deep inside Germany-- 524,286 prisoners in concentration camps)
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Allied forces land in southern France near Nice and advance rapidly towards the Rhine River to the northeast.
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The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of the Bulge, in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border.
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By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat. (EARLY 1945 Prisoner numbers reach over 700,000)
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Soviet forces capture Vienna. April 16, 1945 The Soviets launch their final offensive, encircling Berlin.
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Germany signs an unconditional surrender at the headquarters of US General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander of Allied forces in northwest Europe, at Reims on May 7. The surrender takes effect on May 8
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The United States drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
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The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
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The Japanese delegation formally signs the instrument of surrender on board the USS Missouri.