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Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party
The Nazi PartyHitler did not want the chairmanship. Drexler offered it him on a number of occasions. But Hitler refused.” When the NSDAP was going to join the German Socialist Hitler said he would resign from the NSDAP they compromised and named him chairman. -
Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy
On October 28, armed squads of Blackshirts marched on Rome. The men were badly organized and poorly armed. The parliamentary monarchy of King Victor Emmanuel III was confused. Mussolini, who had stayed behind in Milan, received an offer from the king to form a joined government. Mussolini then proceeded to the capital supported by 300,000 men and wearing a black shirt. On October 31, 1922, at the age of 39, Mussolini was sworn in as prime minister of Italy. -
Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR)
Josef Stalin Mini BiographyBorn into poverty, in his early years Stalin was involved in criminal activities and revolutionary politics. After Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924) died, Stalin outmaneuvered his rivals for control of the party. -
Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China
The Mukden Incident lead to this event. On this date there was an explosion on a railway section near Mukden. The Japanese (owners of the railway) blamed the Chinese for this and attacked Manchuria. Some said that it was planted by the Japanese, so they could attack. -
Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
Hitler rose to this position during 1932. Germans were still mad about the defeat of the Great War, so Hitler used his charasmatic speaking to get lots of support for the Nazi Party. He told the people what they wanted to hear. General Kurt von Schleicher was named chancellor before Hilter, but when Communist gained more power in November elections, powerful people in Germany now really wanted Hitler to become chancellor. Ex-Chancellor Franz von Papen convinced Hindenburg to elect Hitler. -
Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress
Our government in the 1930's made a series of laws. These were made to prevent the U.S. from being involved in a foreign war by stating the neutrality of the U.S. We became a growing isolationism after the first World War. The first Neutrality act was passed on this date prohibiting the export of “arms, ammunition, and implements of war” from the United States to foreign nations at war, Also requiring arms manufacturers in the United States to apply for an export license. -
Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa
Benito Mussolini invaded Ethiopia. This was becasue Benito had taken to Hitler's idea. Hitler's idea was that Germany should expand its territories by taking over all territories that were considered German. Mussolini wanted also to invade Ethiopia to boost Italian national prestige. It would boost it because Ethipoia had defeated Italian forces in the Battle of Adowa. -
Militarist take control of Japanese government
The Great Depression was undermining the faith in democracy in Japan too. The civilain government was pressured by Military leaders to take control of nearby countries. Militarists said that the island of Japan needed space and raw materials for their booming industries. In 1936, the Japanese preached racism. The Japanese said they were superior to other Asains and non-Asains. -
Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles Treaty
Rhineland was a demilitarized zone along the Rhine River in western Germany. The Treaty of Versallies said that Germany's military forces were suppose to be reduced and Rhineland was suppose to be demilitarized. -
Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre a quarter of a million people.
Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek took out all of the soldiers. He said no one could evacuate and left the city defenseless. Chinese soldiers were hunted down and killed. Entire families were killed and the elderly and babies were targeted to kill. There was a Nanking Safe Zone. After the initail killing,the Japanese said that they were done and dismanteled the saftey zone. Then they continued on killing the people that were in the saftey zone. -
Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps
Anti-Sematic laws were passed in Germany. These laws were prejudice against jews. Jews were now banned from public schools and proffessions (like medicine and law0. Then the communities that Jews live in were attacked. These camps were slave camps. -
Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany
British prime iminster Neville Chamberlin and French prime minister Edouard Daladier sign with Adolf Hitleron the Munich Pact. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin
This guarenteed that the two countries would not attack each other. Germany had protected itself from having to fight a two-front war in the soon-to-begin World War II; the Soviet Union was awarded land, including parts of Poland and the Baltic States. Germany broke the pact when they attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941(less than two years later). -
Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany
In August 1939 Hitler and Satin signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact. By doing this when Germany attacked Poland sixteen days later Soviet Union siezed eastern Poland. -
Battle of Britain – Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island
Hitler knew that if he invaded the skies then he would be able to invade or bomb Britain. Every day Germany would bomb Britain, but Britain did not give up. Then the British force would fight the German fighter planes. This battle continued through the summer and into the fall. Finally, Hitler abbandonded all plans to invade Britain. -
Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium – take control
The troops conquered Denmark in one day when the Danish King, Christain X, told troops to cease fire. On May 10, a month later Hitler invaded Belgium and the Netherlands even though he promised not to. Germany said they were invading because these two countries were dealing with western powers and Germany just wanted to protect the Ruhr region. -
Germany invades France and forces it to surrender
The British sent troops to help France but they were soon overpowered. Then they had to retreat to Dunkirk a French port. The British sent troops to rescue them. Then Germany invaded Paris. Six weeks later France surrenders. -
First time Peacetime Draft in US
By the Selective Training and Service Act, all men between 21-35 had to register for military draft. Then a lottery like system would determine who was picked. -
Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia)
Japan already had complete control of China's ports. They had also cut off China's supplies by cutting off sea transportation. Japan invaded the French Indochina to completely take China out of the war. This would now cut off supply routes from here to China. Japan successfully completed it's goal. -
Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin’s Russia and invades - USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans
Germany had signed a Non- Aggression act with the Soviet Union. On December 18, 1940, Hitler signed Directive 21 (code-named Operation "Barbarossa"), the first operational order for the invasion of the Soviet Union. This attack happened less than two years after the Non- Aggression pact was signed. Three army groups were on Germany's side including Germany's allies Finland and Romania. On December 16 1941 the Soviet Union launched a major counterattack but Germany still kept going. -
Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter
Electing to meet at Ship Harbour, Placentia Bay in Newfoundland, the FDR and Churchill both used cover stories for their protection when traveling to the conference. During the conference the leaders came up with eight common principles. Neither of the two leaders were happy with the outcome. They both wanted the United States to enter the war but the American opinion was to still not intervene. -
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Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, US declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy declare war on the US
The Japanese had sent a letter to the U.S. declaring war, although the US was not able to translate the letter in time so it ended up looking like the Japanese had attacked without a declaration of war. Japanese spies in Hawaii helped the Japanese with the surprise attack. US became prodigious after the attack against all Japanese on the island even if they were US citizens. The U.S. was caught off guard. They were not prepared for defense against an aerial attack. -
Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps
Over 127,000 United States citizens were imprisoned because they had Japanese ancestry. People feared that they would stay true to their heritage and not the place where they lived right now. President Roosevelt had to decide what to do about this situation so he signed an executive order saying that all Japanese had to be relocated to concentration camps. Many of these relocators had to sell their belongings because they weren't sure that their life would be there when they returned. -
Philippines fall to Japanese – Bataan Death March
The Filipino Americans fought the Japanese. Then after a couple of months of fighting they surrendered. Then they were taken prisoner and had to go on a 60 mile walk. Many of the people died along the journey because of the lack of food and water and necessities. When they would pass out on the road the Japanese would shoot them down. Once they arrived at their location they put all of the sick in a abandoned building. They then feed only the people closest to the gate with rice. -
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Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto against Admiral Chester Nimit. Yamamoto wanted to draw the US out so he could attack them but Nimit figured out the messages that Yamamoto was sending so he could now counterattack. US aircraft flying from USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, and USS Yorktown attacked and sunk four Japanese carriers, forcing Yamamoto to withdrawal. -
Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow
Hitler believed that if he seized the oil fields in the southern part of Russia (the Caucasus) then that would defeat Russia's war machine. He also believed that if he seized Stalingard along with it this would be a fatal blow to Russia. Hitler was running out of troops so he asked his allies for some but they were inexperienced. Things were going well at first but when Hitler decided to turn his troops around and attack Stalingard this gave Stalingard enough time to make a defense. -
British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa
Fighting in North Africa started with the Italian declaration of war on June 10, 1940. The British captured the Italian Fort Capuzzo on June 14. There was a lot more counteroffensive attacks back. On Operation Compass, the Italian 10th Army was destroyed. Battles for control of Libya and Egypt went back and forth. After the allies won the Italian Campagin began later. Then the invasion of Sicily was two months later. -
Zoot Suit Riots – Los Angeles, CA
Zoo Suits are latinos who wear wide-brimmed hats, broad-shouldered long coats, high-waisted peg-legged trousers and long dangling chains. They were called pachucos. On June 4, a group of about 200 sailors, were bored and fired up with bigotry, hired a group of cabs and went into East Los Angeles to beat up and strip the clothing off any young Latino male they could find. Navy and Army commanders said Los Angeles be declared off-limits to military personnel. -
Italy surrenders, Mussolini dismissed as Prime Minister
Mussolini had supposedly stepped down. The King became the leader of the army. Marshal Pietro Badoglio became the new prime minister. The resignation of Mussolini, who is Adolf Hitler's junior partner, is seen as a blow to the Axis coming right after the Allies' invasion of Sicily. -
D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower Was leading the American troops onto Normandy. More than 5,000 Ships and 13,000 aircraft were supporting the allies. More than 9,000 allies passed away or were wounded for the allied cause. Polish forces participated, as well as contingents from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, and the Netherlands all helped in the weeks that followed the initial invasion. -
Paris retaken by Allies Forces
Paris had been ruled by Germany since June 22, 1940 when the Second Compienge Armistice was signed. The liberation started when there was an uprising in Paris by the French Forces of the Interior. Part of General Philippe Leclerc's 2nd French Armoured Division enterted France and a day later Dietrich von Choltitz surrendured France. -
Battle of the Bulge – last offensive of German Forces
While Allied forces ultimately triumphed, it was an absolutely vicious six weeks of fighting, with tens of thousands dead on both sides. This fight was the Battle of the Bulge. Germany needed bad weather for no air support, to capture their fuel, produce a devastating blow, and catch them off guard. By doing this Germany should have been able to beat the allies but they could not accomplish this. -
FDR dies, Harry S. Truman becomes President
At 1 p.m. FDR had complained of back pain and then feel unconsious a little bit later. A doctor was called and said that he had a massive cerebral hemorrage and was given a shot of adrenaline in the heart in an attempt to revive him. At 3:30 p.m. the president was pronounced dead. Truman was now left with a very difficult decision. Wether or not to continue the developement of atomic bombs for he had been left in the shadows of FDR's plans. -
V-E Day, war ends in Europe
Germany was now collapsing. After the Soviet Union started to attack Berlin, Hitler went to an underground bunker. This bunker had been built beneath Berlin's streets. On April 30, 1945 Hitler commited suicide in his bunker. Then, a week after Hitler died, Germany's armed forces under no condition surrendured. They did this to Eisenhower at his headquarters in France. V.E. Day stands for Victory in Europe. -
First Atomic Bombs dropped
There were two atomic bombs dropped by the U.S. on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. President Truman thought that this was a safer way not to risk American casulties. The first atomic bomb that was dropped, was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Then after Japan did not surrender on August 9, 1945 the U.S. dropped the second bomb on Nagasaki. Then on September 2, 1945 Japan declared surrender. More than 129,000 Japanese died because of the bombs. -
V-J Day, Japan surrenders to Allied Forces
The U.S. had already dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese. Finally after these deathly tolls to their population, on August 14 1945, the Japanese surrendured. That was te day known as VJ Day. Only on September 2, 1945 did MacArthur formally accept Japan's surrender. This occured onboard the battleship USS Missouri. -
US forces return to recapture the Philippines
On this day, more than 100,000 American soldiers land on Leyte Island, in the Phillippines. This was in preparation for the invasion by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. This was the bloodiest war in the Pacific and was the beginning of the end for the Japanese. During the two months of battle, the Japanese lost more than 55,000 soldiers. The American victory on land and sea opened the door for General MacArthur's invasion and the recapture of the Philippines. -
War Crimes Trials held in Nuremburg, Germany; Manila, Philippines and Tokyo, Japan.
This was for the first time in history that victors in a war prosecuted leaders of the losing side for war crimes. This new idea was lead by the Allies. The Nazis were judged by the Allies on their putting the world into war and for what they did in the death camps. At the first of the Nuremburg trials, in 1946, 12 defendants were sentenced. They were to be hung. Trials were also held in Manila and Tokyo. These were held to try leaders of the Japanese war machine.
