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Benito Mussolini became dictator of Italy
Mussolini founded the Fascist Party 1919. In 1922 when he became the dictator of Italy, he outlawed political parties, controlled the press, indoctrined the youth, and also had a secret police. -
Joseph Stalin
Stalin was the head of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. He was a cruel and ruthless leader who in the 1930s had a Red Army that terrorized the people and he was responsible for the death of 10 million people considered to be traitors during the "Great Terror." Stalin ruled the Soviet Union from 1924-1953. -
Mein Kampf (My Struggle) is Published
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Kellogg-Briand Pact
The Kellogg-Briand Pact was a treaty to outlaw war as an instrument of national policy, but in reality it was an unforceable act. -
Adolf Hitler
Hitler was a decorated WWI German soldier. He led the Nazi Party and was anti-semitic. He was appointed Chancellor in 1933 over what became known as the Third Reich. -
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The Neutrality Acts of the 1930s
The Neutrality Acts were passed by the US Congress in the 1930s in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that eventually led to WWII. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following its costly involvement in WWI, and sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts -
Mussolini invades Ethiopia
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The Munich Pact
The Munich Pact was signed by Germany, France, Italy, and Great Britain served appeasement purposes securing Great Britain and France's agreement to Hitler's demands. -
The Non-Aggression Pact
Publicly, Germany and the Soviet Union promised not to attack one another, but privately planned to divide and conquer Poland. -
Blitzkrieg "lightning war" in Poland
The term blitzkrieg was a term coined by journalists after the invasion of Poland. -
FDR's Quarantine Speech
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his Quarantine Speech in Chicago, calling for an international "quarantine of the aggressor nations" as an alternative to the political climate of American neutrality and non-intervention that was prevalent at the time. -
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Battle of Britain
Germany's objective was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force. Britain did not surrender and withstood all of the dropping of the bombs until Hitler eventually stopped, wasting lots of bombs on a nation that wouldn't igve up quite as easilty as expected. -
Selective Training and Service Act
The Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 was the first peacetime conscription in United States history. This Selective Service Act required that men between the ages of 21 and 35 register with local draft boards. 1.2 million troops total were trained. -
FDR's Four Freedoms Speech
FDR proposed four fundamental freedoms that people "everywhere in the world" ought to enjoy - Freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. He also spoke on how these freedoms were being threatened by Nazi and Japanese militarism. -
Lend-Lease Act
Authorized FDR to sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, otherwise dispose of, to any government any defense article whenever he thought was necessary in the interests of the self-defense of America. -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
2500 people were killed when Japanese air fighters attacked Pearl Harbor, a naval base in Hawaii. This attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into WWII. -
Manhattan Project
A program created by F.D.R. to build an atomic bomb. This program cost billions of dollars and employed tens of thousands of people.
J. Robert Oppenheimer was a physicist who ran the scientific aspect of the project. -
Rosie The Riveter
An image of a muscular, determined worker who was a woman. -
War Production Board
The WPB purpose was to regulate the production of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States. The WPB converted and expanded peacetime industries to meet war needs. It rationed such things as gasoline, heating oil, metals, rubber, paper and plastics -
Battle of Midway
An admiral named Chester Nimitz is the commander of the United States Navy in the Pacific. From a message the Navy intercepted they were able to break the code and tell that the Japanese were planning an attack on Midway. Admiral Chester Nimitz sent his available aircraft carriers to defend Midway. The Japanese lost the battle which stopped Janpans advance for conquest and left them defending themselves for the rest of the war. -
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Stalingrad
Hitler sent German troops to capture Stalingrad for the rich caucasus oil fields. When German attacked the Soviet union counterattacked trpping German troops. Many of the German troops became sick, began to starve, and get frostbite. They eventually surrendered in January 31, 1943 -
Womens Army Corps (WAC)
Women who helped by becoming clerical workers, truck drivers, instructers, and lab technicians for the United States Army. -
Casablanca Conference
Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and the General Charles de Gaulle and General Henri Giraud from the free French forces attended this conference. They talked about the specifics of tactical procedures, allocation of resources, and the broader issues of diplomatic policy. -
George Patton
An innovative tank commander who was put in charge of American forces in North Africa. He adavanced his troops from the east and the British came from the wast trappin the Axis forces in Tunisia. 240,000 German and Italian troops surrendered. -
Tehran Conference
A strategy meeting held between Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill.the The commitment to starting a second front against Nazi Germany by the Western Allies. -
G.I. Bill
Granted veterans benifits such as a year of unemployment payments to veterans who were unable to find work, financial aid for those who attended college after the war, and entitlement to government loans for building homes and starting businesses. -
D-Day
Allies hit Germany with force. Sending over 11,000 planes and many troops they took back alot of areas Germany has conquered. -
Korematsu v. US
Korematsu v. US was a landmark United States Supreme Court case concerning the constitutionality of the order that ordered Japanese Americans into internment camps during World War II regardless of citizenship. The Court sided with the government ruling that the exclusion order was constitutional. -
Island Hopping
American troops captured some Japanese islands in a steady path toward Japan. -
Iwo Jima
One of the feircest battles of the Americas Pacific campaign. A 36 day battle that resulted in 23,000 American Casualties. In the end America took the island which is were the famous photo of the American soldiers raising the flag was taken. -
Okinawa
One of the most complex and costly operations of Americas Pacific campaign. With a half a million troops and 1,213 warships they took the island but at a cost of 50,000 casualties.
(Air Drops were used through out World War 2 as a way of ressuplying unaccesable troops by other means.) -
Adolf Hitler Commits Suicide
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Mussolini is Executed
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V-E Day (Victory In Europe)
A holiday celebrated to mark the date when the World War II Allies accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany -
Potsdam Conference
A conference to discuss the establishment of post-war order, peace treaties issues, and countering the effects of the war. -
Atomic Bomb
An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima by a U.S. pilot. -
V-J Day
Allies celebrated V-J (Victory in Japan) Day. -
Nuremberg Trials
Allies prosecuted Nazis for their war crimes. -
Baby Boomer
After the war people started to get married and have families. Between 1940 and 1950 there was a 27% increase in the population. If you had a baby between 1946-1964 you were considerd a baby boomer. -
Levittown
A place in Long Island, New York were thousands of houses were built and sold under $8,000 each. A guy named William Levitt built this place to sell homes cheaply to Veterans of war. -
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Middle Class
The Beats criticize the American Middle Class as crass materialist and conformers.
