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This date begins the Great Depression, where thousands of banks close and stock prices drop to being almost worthless. This also helps start WWII, as Germany is hit especially hard by it and looks for a scapegoat in the Jews.
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Adolf Hitler becomes the German Chancellor on this date. He overthrows the constitution and takes total government control immediately.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt was inaugurated as president of the U.S. on this day. He will serve for president until 1945, through the Great Depression and through WWII.
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These laws were the beginning anti-Jewish laws in Germany. The two passed on this date prohibited marriage between Jews and prevented Jews from having German citizenship.
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This event led to Austria being annexed by Germany. Germany then spreads its anti-Jewish legislation to Austria.
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Neville Chamberlain meets with Hitler in Munich to meet his demands of control over the Sudetenland to avoid war.
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A night of anti-Jewish violence in Austria and Germany in which the storefronts and windows of Jews were smashed. It lasted through the 9th and into the 10th
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Germany begins WWII by invading Poland using lightning warfare, or blitzkrieg. They heavily bomb the country.
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This was a group of distinguished African-American pilots in the U.S. Military. They experienced racial discrimination in and out of the military.
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This act was signed in by FDR and allowed the U.S. to lend weapons and supplies to its allies.
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This was the day that Germany sent out killing squads in their invasion of the Soviet Union to kill Jews. It was followed up by the construction of concentration camps, as the “Final Solution” was to kill the Jews
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Japanese aircraft attack the U.S. base of Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. This begins the war between the U.S. and Japan, eventually dragging the U.S. into war with the Axis powers. FDR describes it as a day that will live in infamy.
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Led by J. Robert Oppenheimer, this top-secret project was meant to create an atomic bomb. A notable physicist involved in it, and my personal favorite, was Richard Feynman.
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Rosie was the mascot for the women workforce in WWII, as they took over the jobs typically held by men. Women were typically discouraged from taking these jobs, as people wanted them to stay in their place in society.
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FDR orders the incarceration of Japanese-Americans in Executive Order 9066. This was due to general racism and due to fear that they were part of the “5th column.”
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After the Battle of Bataan, 60,000-80,000 American and Filipino soldiers were forced to walk over 65 miles to a camp by Japanese soldiers. Those who couldn’t take it were killed. About 10,000 died over the journey.
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This naval battle was a turning point for the U.S. in the war in the Pacific. 4 Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk along with 1 American one.
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Soldiers marched onto the island on this day and the fighting lasted 6 months before the Americans won. It was the first major land victory for the U.S. in the war in the Pacific.
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After months of fighting, Germany finally surrenders at Stalingrad due to being overwhelmed by the sheer number of Soviet soldiers. This was a key event in putting Germany on the defensive.
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British, U.S., and Canadian soldiers stormed beaches in France after planes had bombed the coastline. This was meant as a last-ditch effort to win the war, to invade Germany from the English Channel.
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This was a major German offensive battle in Belgium as an attempt to stop the allied forces from reaching Germany.
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This was a conference held by the big three of WWII (Roosevelt, Chamberlain, and Stalin) to determine the guidelines for a post-war Europe held in Yalta of the Soviet Union.
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The U.S. wanted to bomb Japan, but needed bases closer to Japan. Iwo Jima was one of the places they chose.
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This was the second island the U.S. invaded to set up bases near Japan. The U.S. successfully invaded it in June. The total cost for invading the two islands was around 18,000 U.S. men died, but about120,000 Japanese soldiers died, too.
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After Hitler commits suicide and Berlin is surrounded by the allied forces, they sign a surrender to the western allied on the 7th and one to the Soviets on the 9th.
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50 nations met in San Francisco to discuss a new peacekeeping organization to replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations a month earlier. All 50 nations ratified the charter, a new international peacekeeping body known as the United Nations. President Roosevelt had urged Americans not to turn their backs on the world again. Unlike the League of Nations, the U.S. is a member of the U.N.
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Allies held the Potsdam Conference to plan the war’s end. The decision was made to put the Nazi war criminals on trial. It lasted through August of 1945.
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The U.S. threatened to reduce Japan to a wasteland if they didn’t surrender, but Japan ignored them. The first bomb was dropped on the 6th, and Japan still didn’t surrender after that. So the U.S. dropped the second bomb on the 8th. Japan surrendered about a week later.
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There were 24 defendants, including some of Hitler’s top official. Hermann Goering was the creator and head of Gestapo (secret police). He was charged with crimes against humanity. 19 found guilty, 12 sentenced to death. People are responsible for their actions, even in wartime. The trials lasted for just under a year.
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Congress approved Secretary of State George Marshall’s plan to help boost European economies. The U.S. gave more than $13,000,000 to help the nations of European get back on their feet.