-
Winston Churchill was a prime minister during most of World War 2. Winston Churchill rallied the British people and led the country from the brink of defeat to victory. He shaped Allied strategy in the war, and in the war’s latter stages he alerted the West to the expansionist threat of the Soviet Union.
-
From 1928 until his death in 1953, Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union as a dictator, transforming the country from an agrarian peasant society into a global superpower. The cost was tremendous, however, he was responsible for the deaths of millions of Soviet citizens.
-
Roosevelt was elected as the United States’ 32nd president in 1932 and served until 1945. He is the only U.S. president to have ever served more than 2 terms. He would go on to work with the Allied powers, help plan the Normandy Invasion, and attended the Yalta Conference with the Big Three during World War 2.
-
Benito Mussolini was the less dominant half of the Rome-Berlin axis, formalized by the 1939 Pact of Steel between Adolf Hitler and himself. World War II broke out between Germany and the rest of Europe later that year, but Italy, its resources already stretched thin by preexisting economic issues and Mussolini’s Ethiopian conquest in 1935, was hesitant to join. Anxious that he would lose claim to conquered European lands as Hitler advanced, Mussolini, entered the war in 1940.
-
Truman was elected as the 33rd president of the United States in 1945. He took his place in the White House after Roosevelt passed away. Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan, which ended World War 2.
-
Hitler was of great historical importance, but not in a positive way. He was responsible for starting World War 2, which resulted in over 50 million deaths. Hitler had an overriding ambition for territorial expansion, which was largely driven by his desire to reunify the German peoples and his pursuit of Lebensraum. Hitler soon committed suicide on April 30, 1945, in his underground bunker.
-
By the end of the 19th century, a strong army became a necessity. Although the Treaty of Versailles prohibited Germany from having a large military, Hitler started building his own in secret. He created a new air force and began a military draft that expanded his army from 100,000 to 550,000. In 1936, he created an alliance with Italy and Japan, forming the Axis Powers. He also created the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact in 1939 with Stalin of the Soviet Union, so the two can't attack each other.
-
Japan decided to launch a surprise attack on the United States and European colonies in Asia. They feared that their expansion plan was threatened by the US military. Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in 1941 and WWII started in Asia.
-
Japan invaded China in search of natural resources for its factories to resolve problems from the economic depression. Japan occupied China and Korea along with invading other southeast countries. They wanted to continue invading South East Asia but they risked cutting resources such as oil that the US provided. The US criticized Japan’s plan and was concerned about its territories in Asia such as the Philippines.
-
Was the emperor of Japan from 1926 until his death in 1989. He was the longest-reigning monarch in Japan’s history. Hirohito generally gave his assent to policies formulated by his ministers and advisers. When Japan’s leaders were divided between surrendering and mounting a desperate defense against the allied powers, Hirohito wanted peace.
-
Following World War I, the Allied Powers formed the Treaty of Versailles which Germany was forced to sign. The treaty limited Germany’s military power: Germany lost some its territory and were prohibited from having a large military. Adolf Hiter thought this was unfair though, and violated the treaty many times. For example, he secretly built his military and air force which is a direct violation of the Treaty of Versailles.
-
After the stock market crash in October 1929, the world fell into a severe economic depression. The depression was marked by mass unemployment, a rise in rates of poverty, a shutdown of companies, a decline in prices (deflation), banking panics, and many more consequences. During the depression, the people looked for a leader to turn to; in 1933, Adolf Hitler became the leader of Germany and promised to restore the nation’s wealth and power.
-
Great Britain and France practiced the policy of appeasement: the European states would satisfy the reasonable demands of the dissatisfied (Germany), achieving peace and stability in Europe. Britain and France allowed Germany to annex parts of Czechoslovakia, but Germany had to promise not to go further nor invade other countries. However, Germany broke this promise and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia, taking the two nations by surprise and unable to take action.
-
On September 1, 1939, German forces invaded western Poland after making the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact. Britain and France declared war on Germany immediately two days later and World War II has started in Europe.
-
The war demanded development in the field of science and technology. The major advances impacted the way war was fought and the outcome. One of the new pieces of technology created and utilized at the time were the radar, aircraft carriers, secret codes, etc. However, the most notable technological advancement made during World War II was the atomic bomb, which was used by the U.S. to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It caused a massive explosion using nuclear reactions.
-
Hitler decided to take control of the air in order for his invasion of Britain to succeed. The Luftwaffe, the German air force, started bombing British bases, harbors, communication centers, etc., but Britain was able to fight back using radars. Nevertheless, the British suffered critical losses. Soon after, Hitler started massive bombings of British cities, but the British were able to inflict major losses on Luftwaffe bombers, which led to Hitler postponing the invasion indefinitely.
-
The Holocaust was historically used to describe a sacrificial offering burned on an altar. To Adolf Hitler, Jews were an inferior race, an alien threat to German racial purity and community. After years of Nazi rule in Germany, during which jews were consistently persecuted, Hitler’s final solution was the Holocaust. It caused approximately six million Jews and 5 million others, targeted for racial, political, ideological, and behavioral reasons, to die in concentration camps and gas chambers.
-
Pearl Harbor is a U.S. Naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, that was the scene of a devastating surprise attack by Japanese forces on December 7, 1941. Just before 8 a.m, Japanese fighter planes descended on the base where they managed to destroy or damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. Many Americans died, and the day after the assault, President Franklin asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
-
The U.S. knew that the Japanese planned to attack because U.S. Navy cryptanalysts were able to break Japanese communication codes and confirm Midway as their target location. On the day of the attack, Japanese aircrafts severely damaged the Midway base, but the U.S. had planes east of the island and were ready for battle. Only one Japanese carrier, Hiryu, survived the United States' attack and responded with two bombings. On June 4, they were able to find Hiryu, attacking and sinking the plane.
-
The battle lasted months as Hitler set his sights on Stalingrad because it produced goods for the country’s troops. Stalin shipped grains and cattle out but did not evacuate residents to inspire his troops. At first, Russian forces successfully held off Germans troops, but by the Fall of 1942, Stalingrad was in ruins. However, Stalin ordered his troops not to retreat saying, “Not a step back!” With less than 20,000 troops in the city, Stalin sent in reinforcements.
-
Cont.-Brutal winters began, giving Germans a disadvantage to be fighting in conditions they weren’t accustomed to. The Soviets took advantage and repositioned themselves to cut off the German from supplies. Hitler refused to surrender, which caused nearly 100,000 German soldiers to be captured. Most died as a result of disease or starvation. Finally, Hitler acknowledged the defeat, marking what is considered the turning point in the war.
-
It was another battle between the forces of Hitler and Stalin. Hitler wanted to regain power by attacking the Soviet front line by the Russian city of Kursk. However, knowing that the front line was a major target, the Soviets were prepared. They had set up defenses like tank traps and mines. This battle is often considered one of the biggest tank battles in history. By winning at Kursk, the Soviets solidified their supremacy over Hitler.
-
The Normandy landings were the largest seaborne invasion in history. On June 6, 1944, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Allied forces landed on Normandy beach. They battled through underwater mines and barbed wire, but Germany thought that the battle was just a distraction and responded slowly. This gave the Allied forces time to set up a beachhead and landed 2 million men onshore. With this power, they pushed inland and broke through Germany’s defense line.
-
The conference was a meeting for the Big Three allies: President Roosevelt of the U.S., Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Britain, and Soviet Premier, Joseph Stalin. They met in Yalta to discuss the fate of defeated Germany and the rest of Europe, the terms of Soviet entry into the Pacific War against Japan, and the formation and operation of the United Nations. The discussion of the division of Germany led to a severe split between the Soviets and Americans due to the issue of free elections.
-
The Potsdam Conference was the last meeting of World War II that was held by the “Big Three”, featuring American President Harry S. Tubman, Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain. The conference was held near Berlin from July 17 to August 2. They primarily focused on postwar Europe. The leaders agreed on the German economy, punishment for war criminals, and land boundaries.
-
The US had begun attacking Japan by the new US B-29 Superfortresses in 1944. By 1945, industries were destroyed along with half of its dwellings. On August 6, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was dropped over the Japanese city, Hiroshima. Tens of thousands were killed because of this. A few days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped in Nagasaki, killing an estimate of 40,000 more citizens. Japan’s emperor announced their unconditional surrender on August 15.
-
The battle lasted for a month, starting when the Soviets attacked along the Oder River near Berlin. They easily defeated the German forces and entered the city. The Soviets began bombing and surrounding Berlin. Hitler started to realize that he was about to lose, so he tried to bring a German army from western Germany into Berlin in order to save it. With the city in ruins, streets full of rubble, and fighting becoming fiercer, Hitler surrendered and committed suicide with his wife.
-
On May 8, 1945, German troops surrendered to the Soviets. Millions of people all around the world, particularly the ones located in the United States, Great Britain, and formerly occupied cities in Western Europe, celebrated Victory in Europe Day by putting up flags/banners and rejoicing in the defeat of Nazi Germany. After six years of war and millions of lives lost, VE-Day marks the end of World War II in Europe.
-
President Harry Truman announced from the White House that Japan had surrendered to the Allies by meeting the terms laid down at the Potsdam Conference for unconditional surrender. This marked the end of World War II. People all around the world erupted in celebration on August 14 and 15, which has since been labeled V-J Day (Victory over Japan Day).
-
The League of Nations was an organization formed in 1919 to maintain world peace. All countries were supposed to become members but not all the countries joined the league. If there were disputes between countries, they would solve them peacefully by negotiation rather than force. But ultimately, the League of Nations was a failure. An example of its failure is when Japan invaded China and China contacted the league, but in the end, Japan was still invaded and occupied by Japan.
