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Mao Zedong, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, had to run from the Nationalists that controlled China. This journey through nearly all of China killed many Communists.
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The German Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, aim to take over Europe. After annexing Austria, the Germans invade Poland. Seeing that they cannot avoid war any longer, the British and French declare war on the Germans.
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The Japanese launch a suprise attack on the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. Attacking the boats with torpedoes from planes, the Japanese cripple the American defeat and drags the United States into the war.
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The Nazis surrender after they are overwhelmed by the Allied forces. Hitler commits suicide.
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To end the war in the Pacific, the Allies developed highly destructive atomic bombs. The Japanese were warned of the bombs, but they did not surrender. The bombs were dropped on the ship building cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and over 200,000 people were killed in each.
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The United Nations were formed after WWII to ensure peace, unlike the League of Nations. All nations were given an equal vote.