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Benito Mussolini's fascist gov in Italy
Mussolini was establishing a totalitarian regime in
Italy, where unemployment and inflation produced bitter strikes, some communist-led. Mussolini knew how to appeal to Italy’s wounded national pride. He played on the fears of economic collapse and communism. In this way, he won the support
of many discontented Italians. In October, Mussolini marched on Rome with thousands of his followers, crushing all opposition and by making Italy a totalitarian state -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Nationalistic military leaders were trying to take control of the imperial gov of Japan. Leaders shared in common with Hitler a belief for more living space for a growing population. Ignoring the protests of more moderate Japanese officials, militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. Within several months, Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas, that was rich in natural resources -
Adolf Hitler rise to power in Germany
promised to bring Germany out of chaos.
Hitler also wanted to enforce racial “purification” by deeming only Aryans to be superior. for Germany to thrive, it needed more or living space.The Great Depression helped the Nazis come to power. By 1932, some 6 million Germans were unemployed.German people were desperate and turned to Hitler as their last hope. By mid 1932, the Nazis had become the strongest political party in Germany. In January 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor (prime minister). -
Mein Kampf
One of the Nazis’ aims, as Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, was “to secure for the German people the and and soil to which they are entitled on this earth,” even if this could be accomplished only by “the might of a victorious sword.” -
Storm Troopers
Many men who were out of work joined Hitler’s private army, the storm troopers (or Brown Shirts) -
Third Reich
Once in power, Hitler quickly dismantled Germany’s democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third Reich would be a “Thousand-Year Reich”—it would last for a thousand years. -
Hitlers rise in military power in Germany
In 1933, Hitler pulled Germany out of the League. In 1935, he began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. A year later, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
His first target was Ethiopia. 1935, Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on Ethiopia. The League of Nations reacted with brave talk of “collective resistance to all acts of unprovoked aggression.”
League’s response was an ineffective economic boycott. By May 1936, Ethiopia had fallen. In desperation, Haile Selassie, the ousted Ethiopian emperor, appealed to the League for assistance. Nothing
was done. “It is us today,” he told them. “It will be you
tomorrow.” -
HItler invades Rhineland
he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Francisco Franco
In 1936, a group of Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco,rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out all
over Spain, and the Spanish Civil War began. The war aroused passions not only in Spain but throughout the world. About 3,000 Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Battalion and traveled to Spain to fight against Franco. Among the volunteers were African Americans still bitter about Mussolini’s invasion of Ethiopia the year before. -
Hitler's Anschluss
Austria was Hitler’s first target. The Paris Peace Conference following World War I had created the relatively small nation of Austria out of what was left of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The majority of Austria’s 6 million people were Germans who favored unification with Germany. On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. The United States and the rest of the world did nothing -
Munich Agreement
On September 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian gov in the Soviet Union
he made both agricultural and industrial growth the prime economic goals of the Soviet Union. Stalin abolished all privately owned farms and replaced them with collectives—large government-owned farms, each worked by hundreds of families. By 1939, Stalin had firmly established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition. -
Rome- Berlin Axis
The Western democracies remained neutral. Although the Soviet Union sent equipment and advisers, Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco’s forces with troops, weapons, tanks, and fighter planes. The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. After a loss of almost 500,000 lives, Franco’s victory in 1939 established him as Spain’s fascist dictator. Once again a
totalitarian government ruled in Europe -
Nonaggression Pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, on August 23, 1939 fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. With the danger of a two-front war eliminated, the
fate of Poland was sealed. -
Blitzkrieg
As day broke on September 1, 1939, the German Luftwaffe, or German air force, roared over Poland, raining bombs. German tanks raced across Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion. This invasion was the first test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war.
Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology—such as fast tanks and aircraft to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany
On Sep 3, Britain&France declared war on Germany. The blitzkrieg tactics worked perfectly. Soviet Union attacked Poland, grabbing some of its territory, Poland ceased to exist. French and British troops on Maginot Line, a system of fortifications built along France’s eastern border, sat staring into Germany. On the Siegfried Line, German troops stared back. The blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg (sitting war), and what some newspapers referred to as the phony war. -
Phony War
For the next several months after the fall of Poland, French and British troops on the Maginot Line, a system of fortifications built along France’s eastern border, sat staring into Germany, waiting for something to happen. On the Siegfried Line a few miles away German troops stared back. The blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg (sitting war), and what some newspapers referred to as the phony war. -
Hitlers Invasion of the Denmark and Norway
Suddenly, on April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion
of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Hitlers Invasion of the Netherlands
But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended. -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
The German offensive trapped 400,000 British and French soldiers. Italy entered war with Germany, and invaded France from the south as the Germans came from the north. On June 22, at Compiègne, Hitler handed French officers terms of surrender. Germans occupied N. France. Nazi-controlled government would be set up at Vichy. De Gaulle, a french general proclaimed defiantly, “France has lost a battle, but France has not lost the war.” -
Marshal Philippe Petain
A Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
The Battle of Britain
Germans assembled an invasion along French coast and launched an air war at the same time. Its goal was to gain total control of the skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force. Hitler had 2,600 planes. On August 15, 2000 German planes ranged over
Britain. The Battle of Britain raged on through summer and
fall. German planes pounded British targets. At first the Luftwaffe concentrated on airfields and aircraft. Next it targeted cities. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
A Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific. The bomber was followed by more than 180 Japanese warplanes launched from six aircraft carriers. As the first Japanese bombs found their targets, a radio operator flashed this message: “Air raid on Pearl Harbor.This is not a drill.” For an hour and a half, the Japanese planes were barely disturbed by U.S. antiaircraft guns and blasted target after target. -
Manhattan Project
Roosevelt responded by creating an Advisory Committee on Uranium to study the new discovery. In 1941, the committee reported that it would take from three to five years to build an atomic bomb. Hoping to shorten that time, the OSRD set up an intensive program in 1942 to develop a bomb as quickly as possible. Because much of the early research was performed at Columbia University in Manhattan, the Manhattan Project became the code name for research work that extended across the country -
Lend-Lease Act
Britain had no more cash to spend in the arsenal of democracy. Under this plan, the gov would lend or lease arms and other supplies to any country whose defense was vital to the
United States. He asserted that this was the only sensible thing to do to prevent the fire from spreading to your own property. Isolationists argued bitterly
against the plan, but most Americans favored it, and Congress passed the Lend-Lease Act in March 1941. -
Internment
To remove them would have destroyed the islands’ economy
and hindered U.S. military operations there. However, he was eventually forced to order the internment, or confinement, of 1,444 Japanese Americans, 1 percent of Hawaii’s Japanese-American population -
Battle of Atlantic
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along America’s east coast. The German
aim was to prevent food and war materials from Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Hitler knew Britain would be starved into submission. In the first four months of 1942, the Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic shore. Seven months into the year, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic. Something had to be done or the war at sea would be lost -
Battle of Stalingrad
1942, G army approached Stalingrad in August 1942. Every wooden building in Stalingrad was set ablaze. The situation looked so desperate that Soviet officers in Stalingrad recommended blowing up the city’s factories and abandon the city. Stalin ordered to defend his city no matter what the cost. G's in Stalingrad, conquered it by hand combat. Soviets then closed around Stalingrad, trapping the G's in the city and cutting off their supplies. German commander surrendered in 1943. -
Operation Stalingrad
While the Battle of Stalingrad raged, Stalin pressured Britain and America to open a “second front” in Western Europe. He argued
that an invasion across the English Channel would force Hitler to divert troops from the Soviet front. Churchill and Roosevelt didn’t think the Allies had enough troops to attempt an invasion on European soil. Instead, they launched Operation Torch, an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
Under this bill, women volunteers would serve in noncombat positions. WAAC became law on May 15, 1942. The law gave the WAACs an official status and salary but few of the benefits granted to male soldiers. In July 1943, after thousands of women had enlisted, the U.S. Army dropped the “auxiliary” status, and granted
WACs full U.S. Army benefits. WACs worked as nurses, ambulance drivers, radio operators, electricians, and pilots—nearly every duty not involving direct combat -
Office of Price Administration
Roosevelt responded to this threat by creating the OPA, fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress also raised income tax rates and extended the tax to mils of people who had never paid it before. Higher taxes reduced consumer demand on scarce goods by leaving workers with less to spend. government encouraged Americans to use extra cash for war bonds. inflation remained below 30 percent—about half that of World
War I—for the entire period of World War II -
War Productions Board
they assumed that responsibility. The WPB decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production and allocated raw materials to key industries. The WPB also organized drives to collect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. Across America, children scoured attics, cellars, garages, vacant lots, and back alleys, looking for useful junk. -
US Convoy System
The Allies responded by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in WWI. convoys were escorted across Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater and airplanes using radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface. With improved tracking, Allies were able to find and destroy German U boats. -
Unconditional Surrender
Roosevelt, Churchill, and commanders met in Casablanca.The leaders agreed to accept the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. Enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. The leaders discussed where to strike next. Americans argued the best approach to victory was to assemble an invasion in Britain and launch it across the English Channel, through France, and into the heart of Germany. Churchill, however, thought it would be safer to first attack Italy. -
Korematsu VS United States
Japanese Americans fought for justice, both in the courts and in Congress. In 1944, the Supreme Court decided in Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese Americans to camps was justified as military necessity. JACL pushed the government to compensate those sent to the camps for their lost property. In 1965, Congress authorized the spending of $38 million for that purpose—less than a tenth of Japanese Americans’ actual losses. -
Bloody Anzio
Hitler was determined to stop the Allies in Italy rather than fight on German soil. One of the hardest battles the Allies encountered in Europe was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. This battle, “Bloody Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse -
D-Day
The Allied invasion, code-named Operation Overlord, was originally set for June 5, but bad weather forced a delay. Banking on a forecast for clearing skies, Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for D-Day—June 6, 1944, the first day of the invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down behind German lines. They were followed in the early morning hours by thousands upon
thousands of seaborne soldiers, largest operation in army history. German retaliation was brutal, at Omaha Beach. -
The Battle of the Bulge
On Dec. 16, eight German tank divisions broke through American defenses along an 80-mile front. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines that gave its name. Germans swept westward, they captured 120 Americans. The battle raged for a month.Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes in the Battle of the Bulge soldiers and weapons they could not replace. From that point on, the Nazis could do little but retreat -
Death of Hitler
In his underground headquarters in Berlin, Hitler prepared for the end. He wrote out his last address to the German people. He blamed Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. “I die with a happy heart aware of the immeasurable deeds of our soldiers at the front. I myself and my wife choose to die in order to escape the disgrace of capitulation. Hitler shot himself, his wife, Eva Braun swallowed poison. In accordance to Hitler’s orders the bodies were soaked with gas and burned. -
V-E Day
A week later, General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over -
Harry S Truman
President Roosevelt did not live to see V-E Day. On
April 12, 1945, while posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, the president had a stroke and died. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation’s 33rd president.