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The Holocaust
Between 1933 and 1945, more than 11 million men, women, and children were murdered in the Holocaust. Approximately six million of these were Jews.Young children were targeted by the Nazis to be murdered during the Holocaust. They were a unique threat because if they lived, they would grow up to produce a new generation of Jews. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Four million troops ran over the Russian border. Within one month, over two and half million Russians had been killed, wounded or captured. The Germans made tremendous advances into Russia and into portions of Moscow, Leningrad, and Stalingrad. -
Babi Yar Massacre
The most horrific Holocaust killing took place in at the Babi Yar Ravine just outside of Kiev, Ukraine, where more than 33,000 Jews were killed in just two days. Jews were forced to undress and walk to the ravine’s edge. -
The bombing of pearl habor
It was an average sunday on the day Pearl Harbor happened. The military did catch some planes on the radar, but they thought they were U.S. planes coming back. Japanese fighter planes attacked the U.S. base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, launching one of the deadliest attacks in American history. The assault, which lasted less than two hours, killed more than 2,500 people, wounded 1,000 more and damaged or destroyed 18 American ships and nearly 300 airplanes. Almost half of the casualties. -
U.S. declares war on Japan
The United States formally declared war on Japan on December 8th. Congress, with only one dissapproved vote, approved the resolution in the record time of 33 minutes after President Roosevelt announced his plan to declare war. He personally delivered his message to a joint session of the Senate and House. -
Battle of Midway
Following the attack on Peal Harbor, Japanese armies rolled over Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and the East Indies. The war in the Pacific was fought on land, at sea, and in the air. The turning point in the war in the Pacific came in June, 1942 at the Battle of Midway. In a four day battle fought between aircraft based on giant aircraft carriers, the U.S. destroyed hundreds of Japanese planes and regained control of the Pacific. The Japanese continued to fight on, until the last man standing -
D-Day
On D-Day, General Dwight Eisenhower led U.S. and Allied troops in an invasion of Normandy, France. The armies fought their way through France and Belgium and into Germany while Russian troops fought from the east. On May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered. -
V-E DAY
After the suicide of Hitler on 30 April 1945, it was left to Grand Admiral Donitz, who had been President of the Third Reich for a week, to surrender. Donitz travelled to General Eisenhower's at Reims in France, and, in the presence of officers from Britain, America, Russia and France, surrendered unconditionally to the Western and Russian demands. -
The Atomic Bomb!
The Japanese fought on even after the war in Europe ended. Truman decided to use the newly developed atomic bomb to end the war quickly. The Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, killing about 78,000 people and injuring 100,000 more. On August 9, a second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, killing another 40,000 people. -
V-J Day
On this day, It was announced that Japan had surrendered to the Allies, effectively ending World War II. Since then, both August 14 and August 15 have been known as "Victory over Japan Day," or simply "V-J Day." The term has also been used for September 2, 1945, when Japan's formal surrender took place.
