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Great Depression
The Great Depression began after the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Stock Markets crashing led to banks closing and people unable to buy anything. People were fired or in debt because of credit and the Great Depression began. President Hoover was the president in office at the beginning of the crash and eventually Roosevelt took over and fixed some damage but not enough. Only until WWII hit, America and everyone else in the war were in tough times. -
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Japan conqueres Manchuria in northern China
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Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germnay
He led the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, A.K.A. the Nazi Party. They claimed to be Socialists but were in fact fascists and preached about German racial superiority. In 1932, Hitler was the chancellor of Germany and soon overthrew the constitution and became leader of Germany. -
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Roosevelt first elected president
Roosevelt advertised the program called the “New Deal” when running for president. Citizens of America were annoyed when they had to wait for FDR’s inauguration for four months. While waiting to be inaugrated, Roosevelt found solutions for the problems with others -
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws are laws that slowly took away rights of the Jews who were considered not able to be a part of the “Aryan” race. These laws banned Jews from marrying Germans or people with German-related blood. If a German and a Jew were married, their marriage would be invalid. These laws took away their political rights and applied to people with Jewish grandparents even if they themselves were not a Jew. They were not allowed to be treated in hospitals and they lost jobs or were not al -
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Hitler & Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis
Both Germany and Italy were finding new territory and conquering other countries so they became the Rome-Berlin Axis in 1936 or the Axis. -
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Japan invades China
In 1937, Japan invaded China -
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Germnay invades Austria
In 1938, Germany invaded Austria. Instead of resisting, people welcomed the joining of Germany and Austria because Austria had many German-speaking people also. -
Britain’s appeasement of Germany
The Prime Minister of Britain, Neville Chamberlain, met with Hitler to agree that Germany could gain control of Sudetenland but would not invade anymore. This agreement was made in Munich, Germany to help stop wars but many including Winston Churchill spoke out that Hitler would not stop there, which was correctly predicted. -
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Kristallnacht
It is a nationwide pogrom against Jews in Germany that took place on November 9-10, 1938. A pogrom consists of vandalism, killings and other violent things against the Jews. -
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Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
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Germany invades Poland - blitzkrieg (start of WWII)
Hitler use blitzkrieg or “lightning war” which was a strategy of using speed and surprise of the use of tanks, troops, and planes to your advantage. -
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Japan joins the Axis Powers
Later on, Japan, who was also invading countries, joined the Axis in 1940. -
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o Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France (Vichy France)
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o German air force (Luftwaffe) bombs London and other civilian targets in the Battle of Britain
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British forces stop the German advance at El Alamein
The British were defending north Africa so they would not lose control of the important Suez Canal. Eventually Germans started pushing the British to El Alamein but stop the advance and make them retreat. With the help of the Allied troops, they started to attack the German forces. -
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Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act was an act where the U.S. gave resources and equipment on lease to the Allies. It passed in 1941 and the United States -
Pearl Harbor
The American naval base in Hawaii, or Pearl Harbor, was bombed by Japanese warplanes surprising the Americans. Approximately 2400 Americans died and the U.S. fleet was destroyed. This was the main reason why President Roosevelt declared war on Japan and later on led to Japanese Internment -
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Rosie the Riveter
Rosie the Riveter was a fictional character and a form of propaganda. She supported woman and gave an image that woman should work as well as men worked. Women worked hard with production doubling constantly and putting out more every time. -
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Tuskegee Airmen
Many minorities became soldiers in the war but served in segregated units. Tuskegee Airmen was a unit of African-American pilots and crew members who fought in North Africa and Europe. Although trained and were able to fight just as well, the Tuskegee Airmen still faced racism. -
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Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was set up in 1942 by the U.S. They had a mission to build an atomic bomb and were led by the American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. They worked for three-years in this top secret project. -
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The Nazis implement the “Final Solution”
The Final Solution was created after the Nazis decided that only the Aryan race should live. What started as separating the Jewish in other camps became killing them in death camps. The Nazis used gas chambers to implement the “Final Solution” and killed women, children, elderly and people who could work no longer -
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Japanese-American incarceration
Japanese-American incarceration occurred after Pearl Harbor from fear that the Nisei (Japanese-Americans) were spies for their Japanese and would turn on the Americans. The Japanese and Japanese Americans who lived on the Pacific Coast were removed from their homes after President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 in February 1942. More than 110000 Japanese Americans were put into these camps regardless of gender of age. -
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Bataan Death March
After the 70,000 Filipino and American troops surrendered, the Japanese made the soldiers march over 65 miles to a prison camp. They surrendered on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines and about 10,000 died on the way from shootings, beatings and starvation. -
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Battle of Midway
After many losses against the Japanese, the U.S. Navy and Japanese forces fought off the island of Midway. While America only lost one carrier and 150 planes, Japan lost four carriers and at least 250 planes. -
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Guadalcanal
With a group of Navajo Indians, America beat the Japanese in this fight on the island of Guadalcanal. This battle took about six months and was the first major land victory against the Japanese. -
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German forces surrender at Stalingrad
Germans attacked Stalingrad but the Soviets guarded the city very well. Hitler refused to retreat and the forces continued to fight until Soviets surrounded them and cut them off of food and supplies. Eventually, after the deaths of many Nazi soldiers, the German troops surrendered. -
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D-Day
In June 1944, the Allied forces invaded France in the largest land-sea-air operation of history. This attacked surprised the Germans but there were many Allied casualties. The Allies secured the beaches in D-Day and started to move toward Paris. -
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Battle of the Bulge
The final assault by the Germans, in December 1944, was called the Battle of the Bulge. Germans managed to push back the Allies, but soon the Allies defeated them in a battle that had about 120,000 German casualties and 80,000 American casualties. -
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Yallta Conference
The Yalta Conference was the conference where the three major Allies leaders met. They met in the Soviet resort of Yalta and discussed the end of the war and what Europe would become. -
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Iwo Jima
The Marines invaded Iwo Jima and put the U.S. flag on top of Mount Suribachi days before they stopped fighting, showing their victory. -
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Okinawa
The Marines also invaded Okinawa and in the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, 16,000 U.S. men died while Japanese deaths counted up to 120,000. -
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Roosevelt dies, Truman becomes president
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Allied forces advance on Berlin, Germany surrenders
After the Russians reach Berlin in April 1945, Adolf Hitler commits suicide. Soon after on May 2, the Soviets capture Berlin and the Germans surrender 5 days after. Victory in Europe occurred on May 8 and the war in Europe ended. -
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Formation of the UN
April 25, 1945-50 nations met in San Fran. To discuss a new peacekeeping organization to replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations
June 26, 1945- all 50 nations ratified the charter creating a new international peacekeeping body known as the United Nations
President Roosevelt had urged Americans not to turn their backs on the world again
Unlike the League of Nations, U.S. is part of the U.N. -
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Potsdam Conference
Allies held the Potsdam Conference to plan the war’s end
Decision was made to put Nazi war criminals on trials -
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Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
The U.S. dropped two atomic bombs after Japan refused to surrender. The first explosion on Hiroshima destroyed five square miles and killed more than 75,000 people. Japan refused to surrender until the next bomb drop on Nagasaki that killed 40,000. -
Japanese officials sign an official letter of surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri, ending World War II
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Nuremburg Trials
24 defendants, including some of Hitler’s top officials
Hermann Goring-creator & head of Gestapo (secret police)
Charged with crimes against humanity
19 found guilty, 12 sentenced to death
People are responsible for their actions, even in wartime -
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Marshall Plan
April 25, 1945-50 nations met in San Fran. To discuss a new peacekeeping organization to replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations
June 26, 1945- all 50 nations ratified the charter creating a new international peacekeeping body known as the United Nations
President Roosevelt had urged Americans not to turn their backs on the world again
Unlike the League of Nations, U.S. is part of the U.N.
