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League of Nations Founded
On January 10, 1920, the League of Nations was founded after World War I to settle disputes between nations in hopes that another World War would not happen. At this time, the Treaty of Versailles also went into effect and set strict rules on Germany, making sure that they could not contribute to or start another war. Unfortunately, this did not work, and the treaty would be ignored later by Adolf Hitler. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
Adolf Hitler was sworn in as the Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, and would bring popularity to his Nazi party. Hitler was not directly elected as Chancellor, but when he came into office, he immediately dismantled the democratic institutions to change Germany's government to a dictatorship. This caused Hitler to quickly gain power over the government and the Nazi party's popularity increased and corrupted Europe. -
Germany Occupies Rhineland
On March 7, 1936, Hitler broke the agreement of the Treaty of Versailles, which was signed after World War I. This treaty prohibited Germany from having a large army and from stationing troops on the border of France, Belgium, and parts of the Netherlands. Hitler marched German troops into the Rhineland and took over this war front, creating the first public display of Germany's new power. -
Munich Conference
The Munich Conference was held on September 30, 1938, to discuss whether Germany, led by Hitler, should be able to take over the Sudetenland, a region in Czechoslovakia. The leaders from Britain, France, and Italy ended up agreeing to allow Germany into Czechoslovakia in hopes that this would be the last demand Hitler would make. -
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Nazi-Soviet Pact Starts and Ends
The Nazi-Soviet Pact started on August 23, 1939, and ended about 10 years later after Hitler violated the pact by invading the Soviet Union. This pact was originally an agreement that stated Germany and the Soviet Union wouldn't attack each other. This also meant that these powerful nations could not support another nation's attack on the other if there were to be one. A common misconception was that Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler were friends, but it was the exact opposite. -
German Invasion of Poland
Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939. This event brought more attention to Hitler's motives and ultimately led to World War II. His massive army, which he wasn't allowed to create, made other nations concerned and brought them together. Hitler ended up invading Poland by using Blitzkrieg tactics to secure his victory after 3 days, he sent about 1.5 million soldiers, and large amounts of tanks, aircraft, and guns. Ultimately, this was a power move for Hitler. -
German invasion of France
After Germany's success in invading Poland by using Blitzkrieg tactics, on May 10, 1940, Hitler used the same strategy to invade France. He created coordinated attacks using tanks, aircraft, and heavy artillery that pushed through the dense Ardennes Forest, which forced France into surrender. Germany quickly defeated France by attacking it at their weakest point, and it was soon occupied by the German government. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
On December 7, 194, Japan launched a surprise attack at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. Hundreds of Japanese aircraft soared past Pearl Harbour while dropping bombs on top of it, which damaged 20 U.S. naval vessels, 8 battleships, and all the aircraft on these ships. Unfortunately, 2,400 Americans were killed in the surprise attack, and after this event, the United States would publicly state its entry into World War II against the Axis powers. -
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project started on August 8, 1942. This was a top-secret government plan started by President Roosevelt that aimed to construct the first nuclear bomb before another nation could. Because this was a top-secret government project, after President Franklin D. Roosevelt died, President Harry Truman was not briefed or aware of the Manhattan Project until he was sworn into office. The Manhattan Project was disbanded in August 1947, 2 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. -
Los Alamos Laboratory Is Established
Los Alamos was a top-secret location for scientists and their families to contribute to the creation of the first atomic bomb. J. Robert. Oppenheimer led the scientists at Los Alamos and created experiments, implosion designs, and the first successful nuclear bomb test. Because this was a top-secret project, the scientists were barely briefed on why the government needed a nuclear bomb. The scientists families also needed to move with them to Los Alamos to make sure everything stayed top-secret. -
Germany Surrendered WWII
On May 7, 1945, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies by signing a legal document. Germany surrendered because it was under an insane amount of pressure from the Allied forces on 2 fronts. Hitler ended up committing suicide almost a week earlier on April 30, 1945, which destabilized the German leadership. -
First Nuclear Bomb Testing At Los Alamos
Even though Germany surrendered, the war was not over, and Japan was still a threat. Because Japan refused to back down, the U.S. pushed to make the nuclear bomb before Japan could. On July 16, 1945, the Trinity bomb was tested and succeeded. This bomb had a plutonium core and had an implosion design that would create a fission chain reaction. This bomb was much smaller than the one dropped on Japan, but the explosion was enough to be documented as the first successful nuclear bomb. -
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, the U.S. would launch flares to warn the citizens of Hiroshima to get out before a nuclear bomb would be dropped and cause widespread destruction. 80,000-135,000 people were killed in Hiroshima, the blast radius destroyed buildings, and the radiation from the bomb caused survivors to suffer. This event increased cancer risk and caused many genetic effects due to the radiation. After this, Japan did not surrender, and it would lead to the second bombing on Nagasaki. -
Nagasaki
3 days after the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan continued to refuse surrender, and the U.S. dropped the second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki. About 60-000 to 80,000 people died in Nagasaki, others suffered burns, broken limbs, and radiation poisoning. Just like Hiroshima, there was a higher risk of cancer due to the radiation, and genetic factors were also at a higher risk. This event ended World War II due to Japan's unconditional surrender and the loss of its two biggest cities. -
United Nations Founded
After the unfortunate events of World War II, the United Nations was founded on October 24, 1945, and had the same motives as the League of Nations to prevent future global conflicts. The goal was to maintain international peace and develop friendly relations among nations.