-
Adolf Hitler becomes the leader of the Nazi Party
Hitler was the greatest orator of the Nazi Party. Racism was the core of their beliefs. Hitler told the Nazi's they were destined to rule over Slavs and Gypsies. Adolf hated Jews -
Period: to
World War II
-
Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy
Bonito Mussolini promised to restore order through strong leadership. The king appointed Mussolini prime minister because he threatned to overthrow Italy's elected government. He turned Italy into the world's first Fascist State. He banned all political parties but his own. Children would recit the moto "Mussolini's always right," in schools. -
Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR)
Joseph Stalin was a powerful Communist leader in the early years of the Soviet Union. Stalin turned the Soviet Union into a totalitarian state. He was a dictator who terrorized the population and sent many people to prisons and labour camps. -
Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China
In 1931, the Japanese Kwangtung Army attacked Chinese troops in Manchuria in an event known as the Manchurian Incident. This was an attempt by the Japanese Empire to gain control over the whole province, in order to eventually control all of East Asia. This proved to be one of the causes of World War II. -
Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
Hiter promised germans a new glorious life. He was a very powerful speaker. Hitler quickly created a totalitarian state. He enforced strict loyalty and other parties were outlawed. -
Neutrality Act passed by US Congress
The Neutrality Acts were a series of acts created by the United States Congress that were geared toward keeping the United States out of another war. It was disigned to keep the United States at peace. This act forbade the President from selling arms, makng loans, and giving assistance any nation involved in the war. -
Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa
The Italian invasion on Ethiopia was a brief colonial war that is also remembered in history as the second Italo-Abyssinian war. This also an example of how poorly the League of Nations worked. Ethiopians outdated riffles were no match for Italians modern tanks and airplanes. -
Militarist take control of Japanese Government
Japanese militarists preached racism just like the Nazis in Germany. Military leaders pressured the civilian government to take control of nearby countries. -
Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty
To unite all German speaking people, Hitler vowed to create an Empire. In the violation of the Treaty of Versallies, Adolf began to rebuild Germany's armed forces. He defied the treaty by sending troups to Rhineland Germany. Two years later, the army occupied Austria. -
Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people.
Japan stepped up in aggression in China. Japenese armies treated the chinese horribly. Japenese pillaged Nanjin China for six weeks. A quarter of a million of prisioners and cicillians were massacred as a result, -
Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany
Britain and France agreed to let German leader occupy Studetenland a portion of Czechoslovakia. These people spoke German. Hitler then promised he wouldn't seek any more territory in return. -
Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps
Germany passes Anti-Semitism laws. Jews were banned from public schools and from proffesion such as law and medicine. Troops began rounding up troops in 1938 and sent them to slave labor camps. -
Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany
After Nazi troops invaded Poland, the Soviet Union seized eastern Poland. When Hitler invaded Poland, two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany. That is when World War II had begun. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin
The world was shocked when they found out that Hitler and Stalin signed a nonaggression agreement. These two people were supposed to be sworn and bitter enemies. The two dictators promised not to attack one anothers countries.This was known as the Nazi-Soviet Union Pact. -
First time Peacetime Draft in US
The Peacetime Draft was introduced two days before the Fall of France. Under the Selective Training and Service Act, all males between the ages of 21 to 35 are required to register for the draft. A lottery system determines who will be called into service. -
Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control
Hitlers army was unstoppable and they moved north to seize Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. They took control of these countries in the early days of the war. -
Germany invades France and forces it to surrender
The Germans forced the British and the French to retreat to Dunkirk. The British sent every avalible ship acrross the channel to rescue the trapped soldiers. German armies marched into Paris and Hitler accepted the surrender of France. -
Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island
The Royal Air Force defeated the German Air Force to prevent ivasion on their island. Few thought the island nation stood a chance. German planes kept attacking British cities. The British spirit never broke even though the German raids took tens of thousands of lives. Hitler broke his pact with Stalin and the Soviet Union now fought with the British to defeat their common enemy. -
Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades -USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans
When Hitler broke his pact with Stalin, German forces crossed the border into the Soviet Union. Now the Soviet Union was forced to work with their enemy (England) to defeat their common enemy. -
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy declare war on the US -
Japense nbombers launched a surprise attack on AMerican air, naval and land forces. This did this at Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu. The attack damage 8 battle ships and it destroyed half a of the militaries aircraft. 2,400 American were killed. This attack caught the United States by surprise. They did not expect the Japanese to come as far as Hawaii. -
Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter
The charter outlined Churchill and Roosevelt's goals for the postwar. They agreed that the nations would not gain any territorial land from the war. They also emphasized the right of all people to choose their own form of government. Churchill and Roosevelt wanted to create a new international organization where the League of Nations had failed. -
Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia)
This event finally drew the United States into war. When the Japanese invaded French Indochina, Roosevelt in response, banned American exports of iron and steel to Japan. He also resricted oil. The Japanese Army had a shortage on fuel so that is when they decided on war. -
Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific
Japanese sought to take the island of Midway, a month later after the battle at Coral Sea. This was key to American military base, The Americans sank four Japanese Aircraft Carriers, 322 Japanese Aircraft, and they reduced Japan's supply of highly trained piolets. After this battle, Japanese no longer ruled the Pacific. -
Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps
Roosevelt issued an Executive order on imprisioning 110,000 Japanese Americans for the duration of the war. They were allowed to bring whatever they could carry. The U.S Army then transported them from the West Coast to small remote interment camps enclosed by barbed wire. As the war ended, the government released the internees. -
Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow
-
Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March
Japanese started to bomb airfields in the Philippines, hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most of the planes that could defend the island were destroyed by Japan's Air force. General Douglass MacArthur commanded a filippino American Force because two weeks later a Japan invasion force landed on Luzon. The enemy closed in on Manila and Douglass forced his troops onto Bataan Peninsula. President Roosevelt ordered him to then go to Australia and take command of all the U.S troops there. -
Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA
Young Mexican Americans wore Zoot Suits. In June an attack against the Mexican Americans were set by bands of sailors. The beat and clubbed them on the streets. They even stripped them from their clothes. -
Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Min.
Troops from the U.S and Great Britain crossed the Mediterranean from Tunisia. They soon took control of the Italian island of Sicily.The king dismissed Mussolini from office on September 8, 1943. The allies made the government surrender. But, German troops continued to fight. -
British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa
Erwin Rommel, Germanies general won many quick victories. British troops then defeated by German forces at El Alamein in Egypt, in October 1942. Then, in November American ground troops in combat landed in North Africs. They were under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Rommel's army surrendered in May 1943 when they were hemmed on both sides. -
D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies
Allied forces were ready to undertake the invasions of France. The allies carefully planned the landing, under the command of General Eisenhower. This operation involved massive amounts of shipd and aircraft. On June 6, 1944 known as DDay more than 155,000 American, British, and Canadian crossed the English Channel. In western France they landed on Normandy. On Omaha Beach they met a fierce German defense. -
Paris retaken by Allies Forces
After four years under Nazi rule, French men, women, and children greeted the liberators with joy. -
Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces
The Germans counter attacked Belgium in December, 1944. Bad weather grounded Allied aircraft for the first week of the battle. This allowed the Germans to create a "bulge" in the American lines. They came close, but their attempt to fight off defeat proved to be futile. Germans were short of fuel. Americans had additional troops in the reserve even though both sides lost thousands of men. Americans won this battle. -
US forces return to recapture the Philippines
American secured the city of Luzon after nearly a month of urban warfare. MacArther fulffiled his promise to return to the Philippines. The campaign cost the lives of over 14,000 Americans and 350,000 Japanese, as well as some 100,000 Fillipino civillians. -
FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes President
President Roosevelt died of a stroke on April 16, 1945. Americans were shocked.Vice President, Harry S. Truman became was thrown into office. He had little experience dealing with important policy issues. -
V-E Day, war ends in Europe
Right after Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945 and the Nazi Empire was in ruins, representatives in Germany's and it's armed forces surrendered at Eisenhower's headquarters in France. May 8, was a day that the Allies celebrated V-E Day. -
First Atomic Bombs dropped
President Truman had made plans in invading Japan in autumn. But he was warned that he might cost a half a million casualties. Trumans secret weapon, the atomic bomb had been successfully tested in New Mexico desert. On August 6, 1945 an American plane dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The blast and searing heat killed 130,000 people died. On August 9, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, 35,000 died instantly. Many also died from radiation poisoning. -
V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces
On August 14, 1945 the emperor of Japan announced that the nation would surrender. This day was known as V-J Day. On September 2, Japans surrender was accepted by MacArther aboard the battle ship of Missoouri. Worl War II was over. -
War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
Judges tried Nazi's for plunging the world into war and for the honors of the death camps, in Nuremburg. At the fist trials, 12 defendants were hung. Tokyo and Manila held similar trials to try tleaders of the Japanese war machine.
