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WW II Timeline

  • Stalin becomes dictator of USSR

    Stalin becomes dictator of USSR
    In 1922 he became secretary-general of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. As he continued to move up the party ladder, After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin eventually outmaneuvered his rivals and won the power struggle for control of the Communist Party. By the late 1920s, he had become dictator of the Soviet Union.
  • Mussolini’s March on Rome

    Mussolini’s March on Rome
    The March on Rome, which upraised Benito Mussolini coming to power in Italy in late October 1922. The March marked the beginning of fascist rule and the doom of socialists and liberals. In Italy.
  • Hitler writes Mein Kampf

    Hitler writes Mein Kampf
    Mein Kampf is 1925 autobiographical by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideas and future plans for Germany.
  • 1st “five year plan” in USSR

    1st “five year plan” in USSR
    In the Soviet Union, the First Five-Year Plan was accomplished by Joseph Stalin, focused on developing heavy industry and collectivizing agriculture, at the cost of a drastic fall in consumer goods. The first five-year plan was created to start rapid and large-scale industrialization across the USSR.
  • Japan invades Manchuria

    Japan invades Manchuria
    Japan invaded Manchuria without declarations of war because the land was scarce of natural resources. So Japan turned to Manchuria for oil, rubber, and lumber in order to make up for the lack of resources in Japan. This lead to the Japanese occupation of China during World War II. Japan needed a reason to invade/occupy China, but they did not want to outright invade China.
  • Holodomor

    Holodomor
    The Holodomor is also known as the Great Famine was a man-made famine in the Soviet republic of Ukraine from 1932 to 1933. It was considered a crime against humanity and genocide that killed thousands of Ukrainians.
  • Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany

    Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
    In a series of multiple negotiations, ex-Chancellor Franz von Papen, backed by German businessmen and the conservative German National People's Party, convinced Hindenburg to appoint Hitler as chancellor. In doing so Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany in 1933 following a series of electoral victories by the Nazi Party.
  • “Night of the Long Knives” in Germany

    “Night of the Long Knives” in Germany
    Night of the Long Knives, in German history, was a purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler on June 30, 1934. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organization's leaders, including Ernst Röhm. This was a turning point for the German government and it showed the rest of the world how powerful Hitler was.
  • Nuremberg Laws enacted

    Nuremberg Laws enacted
    The Nuremberg Laws were antisemitic and racist laws that were put into law in Nazi Germany on 15 September 1935, at a special meeting during the annual Nuremberg Rally of the Nazi Party.
  • Italian invasion of Ethiopia

    Italian invasion of Ethiopia
    The Italians invaded Ethiopia on In response to Ethiopian appeals, the League of Nations officially declared the Italian invasion in 1935 and voted to impose economic punishment on the attacker. The punishment remained ineffective because of the general lack of support.
  • The Great Purge and gulags

    The Great Purge and gulags
    The Great Purge, also known as the “Great Terror,” was a brutal political campaign led by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to eliminate dissenting members of the Communist Party and anyone else he considered a threat.
  • Spanish civil war

    Spanish civil war
    The Spanish civil war was caused by the failure of the Spanish democracy. This failure resulted from the refusal of the Spanish political parties and groups to compromise and respect the democratic. The Spanish Civil War started by rebellions that were against the Second Republic. A central goal of the rebels was the destruction of left-wing organizations.
  • The Rape of Nanking

    The Rape of Nanking
    In the Rape of Nanking, the Japanese mass murdered an estimated 150,000 male “war prisoners,” massacred an additional 50,000 male civilians, and massed raped at least 20,000 women and girls of all ages, many of whom were killed in the process.
  • Kristallnacht

    Kristallnacht
    The “Kristallnacht” also known as Night of Broken Glass, is when Nazis in Germany torched and vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses and approximately killed up to 100 Jews. Up to 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. After Kristallnacht things for the Jews grew increasingly worse and would eventually lead to the Holocaust.
  • Nazi Germany invades Poland.

    Nazi Germany invades Poland.
    Germany invaded Poland to regain lost territory and ultimately rule their neighbor to the east. German forces under the control of Adolf Hitler bombard Poland on land and from the air. Thus leading to the beginning of World War II.
  • Japan bombs Pearl Harbor

    Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
    Pearl Harbor is a U.S. naval base near Honolulu, Hawaii, where a surprise attack by Japan took place on a Sunday morning. Hundreds of Japanese fighter planes managed to destroy and damage nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight battleships, and over 300 airplanes. There were More than 2,400 American casualties, including civilians, and 1,000 were wounded. The day after, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan.