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Adolf Hitler established absolute control over Germany between 1933 and 1934 by dismantling democratic institutions, using the "Reichstag Fire Decree" to suspend civil liberties and the "Enabling Act" to pass laws without parliament. He transformed the nation into a totalitarian dictatorship through terror, propaganda, the "Führerprinzip" (leader principle), and the systematic elimination of opposition.
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Japan's full-scale invasion of China began on July 7, 1937, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, initiating the eight-year Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). This conflict, which merged into World War II, was preceded by the 1931 invasion of Manchuria. It was a brutal, major Asian conflict that ended with Japan's surrender in 1945.
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Nazi Germany's annexation of Austria on March 12, 1938, a "joining" or "connection" (German: Anschluss) that fulfilled Hitler's long-held dream of uniting German-speaking peoples into a Greater Germany, violating post-WWI treaties, and marked a key step in Nazi expansion, met with little international resistance and widespread, though coerced, Austrian support in a manipulated referendum. -
Nazi Germany invaded and occupied the remaining Czech provinces of Bohemia and Moravia, violating the Munich Pact. Following the forced annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938, this action aimed to secure vital resources, industrial capacity, and military equipment, establishing a "Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia" while creating a puppet state in Slovakia. -
A joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak Republic, and the Soviet Union marked the beginning of World War II.
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A global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising their resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of over 60 million people.
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Signed by FDR on November 4, 1939, the Neutrality Act of 1939 repealed the 1930s arms embargo, allowing belligerent nations to purchase U.S. weapons through "cash-and-carry". This aimed to aid Allies (Britain and France) against Germany while keeping the U.S. technically neutral, avoiding credit risks, and prohibiting U.S. ships from entering combat zones. -
The Fall of France (May 10 – June 25, 1940) was the rapid defeat of France by Nazi Germany in just six weeks, marking a turning point in WWII. Utilizing Blitzkrieg tactics, Germany bypassed the Maginot Line through the Ardennes, forcing a surrender that left a German-occupied north and a collaborationist Vichy regime.
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The Battle of Britain (July 10 – October 31, 1940) was a crucial World War II air campaign where the Royal Air Force (RAF) successfully defended the UK against the German Luftwaffe, forcing Hitler to abandon plans for an invasion (Operation Sea Lion). It was the first major battle fought entirely in the air.
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The United States, alongside Britain and the Netherlands, imposed a total oil embargo on Japan by freezing its assets and halting oil exports, cutting off nearly 90% of Japan's supply. This move, prompted by Japanese expansion into Indochina, aimed to stop Japan's war in China but forced Japan to either abandon its conquests or seize oil fields in Southeast Asia, leading directly to the decision to attack Pearl Harbor. -
The genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. The murders were committed primarily through mass shootings across Eastern Europe and poison gas chambers in extermination camps, chiefly Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, and Chełmno in occupied Poland.
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Japan launched a surprise military strike on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, destroying or damaging nearly 20 naval vessels—including eight battleships—and over 300 aircraft, while killing over 2,400 Americans. This "day of infamy" prompted the U.S. to abandon isolationism and enter World War II the following day. -
The forcible transfer by the Imperial Japanese Army of around 72,000 to 78,000 Filipino (about 66,000) and American (about 12,000) prisoners of war (POWs) from the municipalities of Bagac and Mariveles on the Bataan Peninsula to Camp O'Donnell via San Fernando.
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The Battle of Midway (June 4–7, 1942) was a pivotal World War II naval battle, occurring six months after Pearl Harbor, where the U.S. Navy achieved a decisive victory against the Imperial Japanese Navy. By intercepting Japanese codes, U.S. forces ambushed and sank four Japanese carriers, ending Japan's Pacific expansion and turning the tide of the war.
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The Battle of Stalingrad (Aug 1942–Feb 1943) was a decisive World War II battle where Soviet forces defeated Nazi Germany, turning the tide against the Axis in Europe. It was one of the deadliest battles in history, with roughly 2 million casualties. The battle was won through brutal, close-quarters urban warfare, followed by a massive Soviet encirclement (Operation Uranus) that trapped the German 6th Army.
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On June 6, 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord (D-Day), the largest amphibious invasion in history, targeting German-occupied Normandy, France. Led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, nearly 160,000 troops from the US, UK, and Canada crossed the Channel, successfully securing five beachheads (Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, Sword) and establishing a crucial Western Front, directly leading to the liberation of France and the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. -
The Yalta Conference (Feb. 4–11, 1945) was a critical WWII meeting where U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (the "Big Three") met in the Crimea to plan the final defeat of Germany, shape the postwar world order, and secure Soviet participation in the war against Japan.
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"VA Day" in the context of WW2 usually refers to Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, celebrated on May 8, 1945, marking Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender and the end of the war in Europe, though some sources (like the fictional Man in the High Castle) use "VA Day" for a Nazi victory in America. The actual V-E Day saw massive celebrations in Allied countries, but with caution, as the war against Japan continued. -
The WWII Hiroshima bombing on August 6, 1945, was the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare, when the U.S. dropped the uranium bomb "Little Boy" from the B-29 bomber Enola Gay, instantly killing tens of thousands, destroying most of the city, and leading to Japan's surrender after a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later, effectively ending the war. -
On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a plutonium-core atomic bomb nicknamed "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, Japan, from the B-29 bomber Bockscar. Detonated at 11:02 a.m. at 1,650 feet, the 21-kiloton blast killed an estimated 40,000 to 80,000 people instantly or within months. The bombing, occurring three days after Hiroshima, led to Japan's surrender.