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Mein Kampf
Book by HItler, set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. -
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
At the end of WWI, Hitler had been a jobless soldier drifting around Germany. In 1919, he joined the Nazi Party. Aftering proving to be such a powerful public speaker and organizer, he became the leader, promising to bring Germany out of chaos. He believed in fascism (extreme nationalism), forming a "master race" consisting of blue eyed, blonde haired people, and national expansion (living space). The Great Depression helped Nazis come to power. -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Fascism stressed nationalism and placed the interest of the state above those of individuals. They argued that power must rest with a single strong leader and a small group of devoted party members. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
Stalin focused on creating a model communist state. He made both agricultural and industrial growth the prime economic goal of the Soviet Union. Stalin abolished all privately owned farms, each worked by hundreds of families. His totalitarian governments tried to exert complete control over it citizens, giving them no right and suppressing all opposition. -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria. Within several months, Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas, that was rich in natural resources. -
Storm troopers
Unemployed men that joined Hitler's army, turning to him as their last hope. 6 million men -
Third Reich
Hitler dismantled Germany's democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to him, it would last 1,000 years. -
Hitler's military build up in Germany
The failure of the League of Nations to take action against Japan did not escape the notice of European dictators. In 1933, Hitler pulled Germany out of the League. In 1935, Hitler began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini began building his new Roman Empire. His first target was Ethiopia, one of Africa's few remaining independent countries. By the fall of 1935, tens of thousands of Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on Ethiopia. When the invasion began, the League's response was an ineffective economic boycott. By May 1936, Ethiopia had fallen. -
Francisco Franco
General that led a group of Spanish army officers. They rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out all over Spain, and the Spanish Civil War began. He became Spain's fascist dictator in 1939 after his victory. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
A year after the military buildup, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Hitler's Anschluss
Austria was Hitler’s first target. The Paris Peace Conference following World War I had created the relatively small nation of Austria out of what was left of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The majority of Austria’s 6 million people were Germans who favored unification with Germany. On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. The United
States and the rest of the world did nothing. -
Munich Agreement
France and Great Britain promised to protect Czechoslovakia. When war seemed inevitable, Hitler invited Daladier (France) and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to meet with him in Munich. The annexation of the Sudetenland would be his “last territorial demand.” To avoid war, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the
Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
Although the Soviet Union sent equipment and advisers, Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco’s forces with troops,
weapons, tanks, and fighter planes. The war forged a close
relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who
signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis -
Phony war
For the next several months after the fall of Poland,
French and British troops on the Maginot Line, a system of fortifications built along France’s eastern border, sat staring into Germany, waiting for something to happen. On the
Siegfried Line a few miles away German troops stared back. The
blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg
(“sitting war”), and what some newspapers referred to as the
phony war. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, running from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, and was a major part of the Naval history of World War II. The German aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Britain depended on supplies from the sea -
Nonaggression pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a
nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, on August 23, 1939 fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. With the danger of a two-front war eliminated, the fate of Poland was sealed. -
Blitzkreig
Lightning war, made use of advances in military technology—such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft—to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Britain and France declare war
On September 3, two days following the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. Blitzkrieg tactics ended major fighting in 3 weeks, long before France, Britain, and their allies could mount a defense. In the last week of fighting, the Soviet Union attacked Poland from the east, grabbing some of its territory. The portion Germany annexed in western Poland contained 2/3 of Poland’s population. By the end of the month, Poland had
ceased to exist—and World War II had begun. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Hitler's invasion of the Netherlands
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
Italy entered the war on the side of Germany and invaded France from the south as the Germans closed in on Paris from the north. On June 22, 1940, at Compiègne, as William Shirer and the rest of the
world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of
surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
The Battle of Britain
In the summer of 1940, the Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. Because its naval power could not compete with that of Britain, Germany also launched an air war at
the same time. The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Its goal was to gain total control of the
skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). Hitler
had 2,600 planes at his disposal. On a single day—August
15—approximately 2,000 German planes ranged over
Britain. -
Battle of Britain pt 2
Every night for two solid months, bombers pounded London.
The Battle of Britain raged on through the summer and
fall. Night after night, German planes pounded British targets. At first the Luftwaffe concentrated on airfields and aircraft. Next it targeted cities. Londoner Len Jones was just 18 years old when bombs fell on his East End neighborhood. The RAF fought back brilliantly. -
Battle of Britain pt 3
With the help of a new technological device called radar, British pilots accurately plotted the flight paths of German planes, even in darkness. On September 15, 1940 the RAF shot down over 185 German planes; at the same time, they lost only 26 aircraft. Six
weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain indefinitely. “Never in the field of human conflict,” said Churchill in praise of the RAF pilots, “was so much owed by so many to so few.” -
Battle of Britain pt 4
Still, German bombers continued to pound Britain’s cities trying to disrupt production and break civilian morale. British pilots also bombed German cities. Civilians in both countries unrelentingly carried on. -
Lend Lease Act
By late 1940, Britain had no more cash to spend in the arsenal of democracy. Roosevelt tried to help by suggesting a new plan that he called a lend-lease policy. Under this plan, the president would lend or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the United States.” Isolationists argued bitterly against the plan, but most Americans favored it, and Congress passed the Lend Lease Act -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor—the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific. The bomber was followed by more than 180 Japanese warplanes launched from 6 aircraft carriers. For an hour and a half, the Japanese planes were barely disturbed by U.S. antiaircraft guns and blasted target after target. By the time the last plane soared off around 9:30 A.M., the devastation was appalling. John Garcia, a pipe fitter’s apprentice, was there. -
War Productions Board
Ensured that the armed forces and war industries received the
resources they needed to win the war. The WPB decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production and allocated raw materials to key industries. It organized drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. Across America, children scoured looking for useful junk. During a 5-month paper drive in Chicago, schoolchildren collected 36 mil lbs of old paper -
Operation Torch
While the Battle of Stalingrad raged, Stalin pressured Britain and America to open a “second front” in Western Europe. He argued
that an invasion across the English Channel would force Hitler to divert troops from the Soviet front. Churchill and Roosevelt didn’t think the Allies had enough troops to attempt an invasion on European soil. Instead, they launched Operation Torch, an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Internment
War Department called for the mass evacuation of all Japanese Americans from Hawaii. General Delos Emmons, the military governor of Hawaii, resisted the order because 37 percent of the people in Hawaii were Japanese Americans. To remove them would have destroyed the islands’ economy and hindered U.S. military operations there. However, he was eventually forced to order the internment, or confinement, of 1,444 Japanese Americans, 1 percent of Hawaii’s Japanese-American population. -
US convoy system
Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in the First World War. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. They were also accompanied by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface.
With this improved tracking, the Allies were able to find and destroy German Uboats faster than the Germans could build them. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Largest confrontation of World War II, in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in Southern Russia. In defending Stalingrad, the Soviets lost a total of 1,100,000 soldiers—more than all American deaths during the entire war. Despite the staggering death toll, the Soviet victory marked a turning point in the war. From that point on, the Soviet army began to move westward toward Germany -
Manhattan Project
In 1941, the committee reported that it would take from three
to five years to build an atomic bomb. Hoping to shorten that time, the OSRD set up an intensive program in 1942 to develop a bomb as quickly as possible. Because much of the early research was performed at Columbia University in Manhattan, the Manhattan Project became the code name for research work that extended
across the country -
Office of Price Administration
The OPA fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress also raised income tax rates and extended the tax to millions of people who had never paid it before. The higher taxes reduced consumer demand on scarce goods by leaving workers with less to spend. In addition, the government encouraged Americans to use their extra cash to buy war bonds. As a result of these measures, inflation remained below 30 percent—about half that of World War I—for the entire period of World War II. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall pushed for the formation of a WAAC, “There are innumerable duties now being performed by soldiers that can be done better by women,”. The law gave the WAACs an official status and salary but few of the benefits granted to male soldiers. In July 1943, after thousands of women had enlisted, the U.S. Army granted WACs full benefits. WACs worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots (non combat positions) -
Unconditional surrender
Enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated -
Bloody Anzio
Hitler was determined to stop the Allies in Italy rather than fight on German soil. One of the hardest battles the Allies encountered in Europe was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. This battle, “Bloody Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse. -
Korematsu v. US
The Supreme Court decided, in Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese Americans to camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity.” -
The Battle of the Bulge
German tank divisions broke through weak American
defenses along an 80-mile front. Hitler hoped that a victory
would split American and British forces and break up Allied
supply lines. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory,
creating a bulge in the lines that gave this desperate last ditch offensive its name, the Battle of the Bulge. A month later, Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes. From that point on, the Nazis could do little but retreat. -
Harry S. Truman
President Roosevelt did not live to see V-E Day. On April 12, 1945, while posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, the president had a stroke and died. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman
became the nation’s 33rd president -
Death of Hitler
On April 29, he married Eva Braun and he wrote out his last address to the German people. In it he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. “I die with a happy heart aware of the immeasurable deeds of our soldiers at the front. I myself and my wife choose to die in order to escape the disgrace of . . . capitulation,” he said. The next day Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. The 2 bodies were carried outside, soaked with gasoline, and burned. -
V-E Day
A week after Hitler's death, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over. -
D-Day
Under Eisenhower’s order in England, the Allies gathered a force of 3 mil British, US, and Canadian troops, with mountains of military equipment and supplies. Despite the massive air and sea bombardment by the Allies, German retaliation was brutal. After 7 days of fighting, the Allies held an 80-mile strip of France. French resistance forces and US troops liberated the French capital from 4 years of German occupation. By September 1944, the Allies had freed France, Belgium, and Luxembourg