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Adolf Hitler established total control over Germany between 1933 and 1934 by dismantling democratic institutions, using the Reichstag Fire Decree to abolish civil liberties, and passing the Enabling Act to rule by decree. Upon President Hindenburg's death in 1934, he merged the chancellery and presidency, becoming the absolute Führer of the Third Reich, enforcing his will through terror (Gestapo, SS), propaganda, and the nazification of all state institutions
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Hitler established total control over Germany between 1933 and 1934 by dismantling democratic institutions, merging the chancellorship and presidency into the role of Führer, and eliminating opposition through terror (Gestapo/SS), propaganda, and legal maneuvering like the Enabling Act. His dictatorship demanded absolute obedience, utilizing a "leadership principle" where his will became the highest law.
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Japan launched a full-scale invasion of China on July 7, 1937, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, marking the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. This followed an earlier invasion of Manchuria in September 1931.
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The Anschluss was the annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany on March 12, 1938, marking a key step in Adolf Hitler’s expansionist policy. Following intense pressure and threats of invasion, German troops crossed the border unopposed, effectively ending Austrian independence.
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The German invasion of Poland, beginning September 1, 1939, was the catalyst for World War II, employing "blitzkrieg" tactics (lightning war) to swiftly overwhelm Polish defenses.
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World War II, or the Second World War, was 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
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World War II or the Second World War was 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
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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 the combat zones
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The Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France, during the Second World War, was the German invasion of the Low Countries and France. The plan for the invasion of the Low Countries and France was called Fall Gelb.
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The Battle of Britain was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force and the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe.
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The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was 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.
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The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was 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.
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In July 1941, the United States imposed a total oil embargo on Japan, freezing all assets and stopping nearly 88% of its imported oil. Initiated as a response to Japanese military expansion into French Indochina, this action was intended to halt Japanese aggression in Asia.
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The Empire of Japan launched a surprise military strike on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the time, the U.S. was a neutral country in World War II
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The Bataan Death March was a brutal forced march of ~75,000 American and Filipino POWs by the Imperial Japanese Army in April 1942, following the Battle of Bataan in WWII, characterized by severe abuse, starvation, dehydration, and summary executions, resulting in thousands of deaths during the ~65-mile trek from Bataan to Camp O'Donnell in the Philippines
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The Battle of Midway (June 4–7, 1942) was a decisive U.S. naval victory against Japan, turning the tide of World War II in the Pacific. By intercepting Japanese codes, the U.S. Pacific Fleet ambushed the Japanese navy, sinking four of their key aircraft carriers—Akagi, Kaga, Soryu, and Hiryu—and eliminating numerous expert pilots.
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The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, beginning when Nazi Germany and its Axis allies attacked and became locked in a protracted struggle with the Soviet Union for control over the Soviet city of Stalingrad in southern Russia.
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Operation Overlord was the massive Allied invasion of Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), marking the start of the liberation of Western Europe during World War II. Led by Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower, over 156,000 U.S., British, and Canadian troops landed on five beaches—Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword—supported by extensive air and naval forces.
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The Yalta Conference, held 4–11 February 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe.
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Victory in Europe (V-E) Day was celebrated on May 8, 1945, marking the formal, unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany to Allied forces and the end of World War II in Europe. It triggered massive global celebrations, particularly in London and Paris, though the war continued in the Pacific.
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On August 6, 1945, the U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan, killing approximately 70,000–80,000 people instantly. The 8:15 a.m. blast, equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT, destroyed 5 square miles of the city. By year-end, radiation and injuries brought the death toll to over 100,000.
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On August 9, 1945, the United States dropped a plutonium-based implosion-type 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 destroyed the Urakami Valley. It caused roughly 40,000 immediate deaths, ultimately leading to Japan's surrender.
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a Soviet-led Warsaw Pact military operation that crushed the "Prague Spring," a period of liberal reforms under communist leader Alexander Dubček, reimposing strict Soviet control and halting political and economic liberalization through force, with troops and tanks suppressing protests and ending the brief taste of freedom for Czechs and Slovaks
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