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The Nuremburg Laws Part 1
The Nuremberg Race Laws deprived German Jews of their rights of citizenship, giving them the status of "subjects." The Nuremberg Laws resulted in some confusion over who was actually as "full Jew." In response, The Nazis settled on defining a "full Jew" as a person with three Jewish grandparents. These laws led to the cause of a multitide of other discriminations toward Jews as well. -
Nuremburg Laws Part 2
The Nuremburg Laws were the very start of the Holocaust and even further, a step toward's Hitler's plan of complete extermination. -
Germany Invades Poland
The German invasion of Poland was the beginning of Hitler's plan to wage war. Hitler and his forces used a war strategy called "blitzkrieg," which means "lightning war." Germany used extensive bombing early on to destroy the enemy's air capacity, railroads, and communication lines. Germans troops then sent in massive amounts of fast-moving airplanes and tanks. This event marked the offical beginning of WWII. -
Battle of Britian
The Battle of Britain was waged in the skies over the English Channel and England's eastern and southern coast. The main combatants were the United Kingdom and Germany. The German plan was to unfold in several phases, but all efforts toward that end ultimately failed.Hope for American isolationism came to an end with the Battle of Britain. By the end of 1940, most Americans had come to realize that war was inevitable. -
Germany Invades the Soviet Union Part 1
On June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union under the codename Operation "Barbarossa." Hitler believed that the country would collapse quickly, after a display of German force. The German attack caught the Soviet military completely off guard, and its forces were not positioned to respond effectively to the attacks. -
Germany Invades Soviet Union Part 2
On July 3, Stalin ordered the Soviet army to implement a scorched-earth policy which was effective and hindered the advancing German armies. This invasion would eventually lead to the Battle of Stalingrad. -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the United States in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. More than 350 Japanese aircraft attacked the naval base, dropping armor-piercing bombs, and launching torpedoes toward U.S. battleships and cruisers. The U.S. forces were unprepared, scrambling to defend themselves. 2,400 Americans were killed and 1,250 were injured. After the attack, Japan officially declared war on the United States. -
Battle of Midway Part 1
Battle of Midway Video
Japanese Fleet commander Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto moved on Midway in an effort to draw out and destroy the U.S. Pacific Fleet's aircraft carrier striking forces. He planned to quickly knock down Midway's defenses, and then invade two small islands and establish a Japanese air base there. -
Battle of Midway Part 2
Yamamoto's intended surprise was halted by American communications intelligence, which stopped his scheme well before battle was joined. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, had his carriers ready and waiting for the Japanese. -
Battle of Stalingrad Part 1
This battle is considered a turning point in the war on the Eastern Front and one of the most crucial engagements of World War II. The Germans saw the battle of Stalingrad as essential to their campaign in southern Russia. On September 3, 1942, the German Army reached the outskirts of Stalingrad, expecting to take the city in short order, however the Russians had built up their defenses. -
Battle of Stalingrad Part 2
In mid-November, the Germans were running short of men and resources and as winter set in it became evident that starving and freezing German troops would not be able to reach their rescuers.On February 2, 1943, German General Paulus surrendered, and the Germans lost the battle of stalingrad. -
D-Day Part 1
During World War II, the Battle of Normandy resulted in the Allied liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany’s control. Codenamed "Operation Overlord," American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along coast of France’s Normandy region. The invasion was one of the largest amphibious military assaults in history and required extensive planning.By late August 1944, all of northern France had been destoryed, and soon after the Allies had defeated the Germans. -
D-Day Part 2
The Normandy landings are considered to be the beginning of the end of war in Europe. -
Hitler Dies, Germany Surrenders
By early 1945, Germany's military situation was on the verge of total collapse. This ultimitley led Adolf Hitler to commit suicide by gunshot on 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin. After Hitler's death Germany surrendered and the Nazi party was removed from power.The nation of Germany was split into East and West Germany. East Germany was put under soviet control until the fall of the Berlin Wall and West Germany was put under the control of the non-communist allies. -
USA Creates Atomic Bomb, Japanese Surrender Part 1
During the summer of 1945, American scientists succeeded in completing a working atomic bomb. Shortly after the July test, the Truman administration began seriously to consider using the bomb against Japan. Eventually deciding to do so, Truman felt that it would ultimately save both U.S. military and Japanese civilian casualties that would inevitably result from a ground invasion of Japan. -
USA Creates Atomic Bomb and Japanese Surrender
The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated eventually leading to Japan surrendering on September 2nd, 1945.
