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German Parliament Passes the Enabling Act
The Enabling Act was a bill passed by the German Parliament after the Reichstag fire. This granted the government the right to decree laws without any parliamentary control for the following 4 years. This gave Hitler full power. It was the end of democracy and political parties. It was passed directly after the day of Potsdam on March 23, 1933. -
The Gestapo is Born
The Gestapo is the abbreviation for Geheime Staatspolizei, which was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and German-occupied Europe. The Gestapo implemented a fear of speaking out against Hitler. The Gestapo had the powers to arrest, interrogation and incarnation. The goal was to get rid of people that were considered a threat to Hitler and Germany. Members of the Gestapo numbered up to 50,000 by 1945. The members were responsible for over 10 million people. -
Nuremberg Laws Announced
Two Anti-semitic Laws announced at a rally in Nuremberg passed in Nazi Germany. The Reich Citizenship Law required that all citizens have German “blood”. Therefore, Jews can't be German citizens. The second law was the Law for the Protection of German Blood and Honor, which forbade Jews from having sexual relations with a German citizen. Institutionalized the anti-semitic attitudes of the Nazi Party. Leads to the racial segregation of the Jews in Germany and eventually the Wannsee Conference. -
Rome Berlin Axis Announced
A coalition between Italy’s Benito Mussolini and Germany’s Adolf Hitler (and then eventually Japan). It increased the feeling of security between Italy and Germany which in turn, rose Hitler's confidence to invade Poland. The pact helped secure each country's own specific expansionist interest. The axis set the stage for WWII division in Europe and the sides that would fight each other. -
Japan Invades China
The Second Sino-Japanese War began after a clash between Japanese and Chinese troops in the outskirts of Beijing, This was known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The Japanese government used this as an excuse to occupy Beijing. China refused to relent to Japanese imperialist aggression. A war broke out between China and Japan. The Chinese fought Japan with aid from the Soviet Union and the United States. Some historians say this was the beginning of WWII. -
Germany's Anschluss With Austria
The annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany. Hitler wanted to annex Austria because of its large population of Germans, working towards his goal of a "Greater Germany". Although this annexation was Hitler's idea, it had support from both sides, not just from Germans. The idea behind this annexation was the Nazi desire to bring ethenic Germans from outside of Germany in, uniting them. -
Munich Agreement Signed
Agreement between Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy. This agreement allowed for the German Annexation of Sudetenland, part of Western Czechoslovakia. Adolf Hitler wanted to annex Sudetenland into Germany because of his plan to occupy Czechoslovakia, and Sudetenland was his window into the country. Sudentland was also home to around three million people of German origin, which was motivating to Hitler because of his goals to unite "Greater Germany". -
Kristallnacht
Anti-Jew demonstration that took place across Germany, Austria, and Sudetenland. This event was caused by the death of the German foreign official Ernst vom Rath, who was shot and killed by a seventeen-year-old Polish Jew distraught over his family's recent deportation from Germany. Violent riots broke out by those who supported Nazi Germany and destroyed over 7,500 Jewish-owned homes, schools, and businesses. No action was taken by the police to stop these riots. -
Non-Aggression Pact
The Pact is an agreement between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union to take no military action against each other for the next 10 years. Stalin saw the pact as a way to keep the USSR on peaceful terms with Germany and would give him more time to build his army. Hitler saw the pact as a chance to invade Poland unopposed. The Soviet Union was the only power large enough to stop Hitler. The Pact also contained how the Soviets and Germans would later divide up Eastern Europe. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invaded Poland, stating that Poland was planning to dismember Greater Germany and prosecute ethnic Germans in the process and that this attack was preventative. This was untrue, and Poland fought back against the attack. Although Poland did cause many German fatalities, their efforts were useless, and they were defeated within a matter of weeks. Eastern Poland was then attacked on September 17, 1939, seventeen days after the initial attack. Poland stopped resisting on October 9, 1939. -
Great Britain and France Declare War on Germany
Great Britain and France declared war on Germany following Germany's attack on Poland on September 1, 1939. War was declared two days after the attack because Great Britain and France were both major allies of Poland, and they knew Poland could not defeat Germany alone. The war lasted for 24 days, and although Poland had Great Britain and France on their side, they still could not defeat Germany. The war ended in Poland and its allies surrendering on September 27, 1939. -
Poland Surrenders to Germany
Poland was outnumbered and had mobilized too late in the attack from Germany. The Poles surrendered after more than 3,000 German tanks and planes attacked on Warsaw. After Poland surrendered, Germany began the Extraordinary Pacification Action where they executed members of Poland’s upper classes and targeted the Roman Catholic Church. Germany then directly annexed former Polish territories along their eastern border and began to occupy Polish territory west of Bug River. -
Yellow Stars are Required to be Worn by Polish Jews Over the Age of 10
The governor of the General Government (the part of Poland directly occupied by Germany), Hans Frank, ordered that all Jews over the age of 10 had to wear a “Jewish Star”. The badge was used to stigmatize, humiliate, segregate and control the movements of Jews. The badge was part of the Nazi's plan to deport Jews to killing centers in German-occupied eastern Europe and eventually destroy the Jewish population in Europe. -
Germany Attacks France
Germany attacked Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. Opposing forces were positioned on the Franco-Belgian border because British and French commanders assumed that Germany would attack through central Belgium. But Germany went through the Ardennes Forest and broke through French defensive lines. Paris fell on June 14. An armistice was signed between France and Germany on June 22. Germany occupied northern France and all of France’s Atlantic coastline down to the Spanish border. -
Italy Enters WWII
Mussolini had been wary of war because of Italy’s lack of resources and Britain and France’s bribes in exchange for neutrality. Mussolini’s ego was too big to let his Axis partner (Hitler) conquer the continent on his own. The Allies (Britain, US, China, and the Soviet Union) reaction to the declaration was immediate. In London, all Italians who had lived in Britain for less than 20 years and who were between the ages of 16 and 70 were confined as prisoners. -
Germany Defeats France
France was defeated by Germany in the Battle of France, also known as the Fall of France on June 25, 1940. This attack on France followed Germany's attack on Poland. Great Britain and Belgium ally France in this Battle, but Germany's power was too strong. This battle ended in an armistice, stating France's defeat and Germany's victory. After their defeat, France's government and France's army fell. -
Battle of Britain Begins
The battle between Great Britain and Germany. This battle began with the first of many German bomb raids on Britain and was the beginning of a strong three and a half months of fighting. This attack took place shortly after the Battle of France; the battle between France and Germany, which also started with an attack by Germany. Great Britain had helped France fight against Germany in the Battle of France, so they knew an attack by Germany in their own country was coming soon. -
Tripartite Pact Signed
Also known as the Berlin Pact due to it's signing in Berlin, the Tripartite Pact was an agreement made between Germany, Italy, and Japan that created a defensive military alliance. This alliance was also joined by Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Slovakia, although Yugoslavia was eventually eradicated from the pact. The main goal for the alliance was for attack on the United States, but due to not all countries in the pact declaring war on the U.S., the pact eventually fell through. -
Battle of Britain Ends
After three and a half months of fighting between Germany and Great Britain, the Battle of Britain finally came to an end. The Battle of Britain was war largely fought in the air, and 1,547 aircrafts were lost over its course. This battle was won by GB and is considered to be the first major defeat of Germany's military forces. GB's superiority is seen as their key to victory, and although Germany carried out many strong attacks against GB, Germany was not strong enough to defeat. -
Operation Barbarossa Begins
On June 22, 1942, Hitler began his army’s march to invade the Soviet Union. The Germans’ main goals were to enslave the Slavic population and exterminate the Jews. Hitler also felt that he could not wait to complete the subjugation of western Europe, as he has originally planned, before dealing with the Soviet Union. The Germans managed to reach deep into the Soviet territory. Ultimately, however, they were inadequately prepared for the invasion. -
Battle of Moscow
The battle that took place between Germany and the Soviet Union. The battle began after Germany's attack on the Soviet Union in Moscow, the Soviet Union's capital and largest city. This was an extremely high-casualty war, equating to about 400,000 German casualties and about 650,000 Soviet Union casualties. Although this was a German attack, the Soviet Union had the power to defeat Germany due to Germany's failed Operation Barbossa, and the Soviet Union claimed victory on April 20, 1942. -
Operation Barbarossa Ends
The Germans had underestimated the size of the Soviet Union. Their supplies ran low throughout the operation. Heavy rains halted their progress because it turned the roads to mud. The brutal Russian winter deteriorated the German army, as they did not have adequate clothes or supplies. The Germans’ inability to defeat the Soviet Union was a significant setback. This was also a turning point in the war, from then on Nazi Germany would be fighting a two-front war against the USSR and France. -
Pearl Harbor Attacked
Pearl Harbor was an attack by Japanese Aircraft on the United States. It was a naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii. Before this, the US was neutral in the war but had implemented an oil embargo and economic sanctions against Japan. The strike by Japan was a preventative action. They believed it would give them time to get other nations in South-East Asia before America attacked. The attack is what brought the U.S. into WWII. -
U.S. Declares War on Japan
The day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, America ended its neutrality to join the Allies in fighting against Nazi Germany and Japan. On both the Pacific and Atlantic coast, civilian defense groups were mobilized. Japanese nationals were transported to Ellis Island and held in custody indefinitely and anti-aircraft batteries were set up on Long Beach and the Hollywood Hills. Spy reports on Japanese Americans flooded Washington. Many were interned, seen as necessary then but bigoted later on. -
The U.S. Begins "Island Hopping"
Island Hopping was a WWII strategy of conquering certain Pacific islands that were important to the advance toward Japan. The US took control of numerous Pacific islands to get close enough to Japan to attack. Proposed by Douglas MacArthur, the goal of the campaign was to recapture some Japanese held islands while passing others. This strategy led the US to find a Japanese airbase on Guadalcanal. -
Wannasse Conference
15 Nazi leaders met at the Wannsee Conference, held in Berlin, to determine the final solution of the Jewish question. It was led by Reinhard Heydrich. The slaughtering of Jews was already happening in the occupied Soviet Union. The conference was held to formally coordinate collaborators to transport Jews from all over German-occupied Europe. The SS plan originally involved nearly 11 million Jews to be eradicated as part of the Nazi program. -
Battle of Moscow Ends
Hitler considered Moscow the primary military and political objectives for the Axis forces in Operation Barbarossa. The Battle of Moscow was the Soviet defense of Moscow and the subsequent Soviet counter-offensive against Nazi forces. The Soviets were able to successfully prevent the most serious attempt to capture their capital. The battle was one of the largest in the war, with over 1 million casualties. It also marked the last time the Germans would be fighting a 1 front war. -
Battle of Midway
The battle of Midway was between Japan and the US. It was the biggest carrier battle of WWII. The Japanese planned a surprise attack on Americans by attacking and occupying the islands in the Coral Sea and luring the Americans. But cryptographers were able to determine the date and location of the planned attack. This gave the US Navy time to prepare. It was a mostly air battle between fighter planes. They used a lot of dive bombers and torpedo bombers which granted the Americans victory. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle at Stalingrad is known as one of the largest, longest and bloodiest battles in history. This was the first time in the war Hitler attacked head-on. After some initial German success through the air, the battle eventually favored the Soviets. Soviet forces were able to surround the German troops. Hitler ordered them not to surrender. Between the German bloodshed and the costly military errors by Hitler, this battle is the turning point in the Eastern Front of WWII. -
D-Day
On this day some 156,000 American, British, and Canadian forces landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of heavily fortified coast of France’s Normandy region. This was the beginning of the Battle of Normandy, which resulted in the Allied release of Western Europe from German control. The invasion was one of the largest land and water military assaults in history. D-Day has been referred to as the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. -
Allied Troops Free Paris
Supreme Allie Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower, agreed to proceed with the liberation of France from over 4 years of German Control on August 22. They worried about the communist faction of the. Resistance might succeed in liberating Paris and re-establish a democratic government. France swept the west and the US swept the east, meeting in Paris by the 24th. German General Dietrich von Choltitz was arrested on the 25th and signed a document formally surrendering Paris. -
U.S. Troops Land on Philippines
The US landed on Leyte Island in October 1944 as a step towards capturing the Phillippine Islands from the Japanese. The great number of Japanese casualties in the battle at Leyte opened the opportunity for US troops to land on Luzon on January 9th. The US faced little opposition upon landing. The Japanese waited inland for the US to follow the tunnels they had constructed. Once the US reached them, Japan fought aggressively, yet lost the battle and eventually, control over the Philippines. -
U.S. Captures Iwo Jima
The battle took place between US Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan. The island had the potential to serve as a staging center for the invasion of Japan’s mainland. The Battle lasted for five weeks and was one of the bloodiest in WWII. Although the American military declared that Iwo Jima was captured on March 26th, fighting went on among Japanese “holdouts” who refused to surrender for 4 more years. In the end, the US Army nor the US Navy was able to use Iwo Jima as a staging area. -
U.S. Captures Okinawa
This started the Battle of Okinawa, which was codenamed Operation Iceberg. It was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army against the Imperial Japanese Army. The battle lasted 82 days, from April 1, 1945 - June 22, 1945. The United States wanted this island for its use of its airbase, the Kadena Air Base, in their attack on the Japanese main island. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
Since 1943, it was clear that Germany would not win. Germans tried to remove Hitler from power for a more favorable peace but he refused. Their attempts to assassinate him failed as well. When Berlin faced a siege from the Soviets in January, Hitler retreated to a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin where he later committed suicide. He swallowed a cyanide capsule and shot himself in the head. Soon after, Germany surrendered to the Allies. -
VE Day
On this day, German troops throughout Europe laid down their arms. People all over the world partied, danced, and sang in celebration of the victory. They had just come out of 6 years of total war that cost the lived of millions, destroyed homes, families, and cities, and had brought huge suffering to the populations of entire countries. However, the war against Japan did not end until August, and the political, social, and economic consequences of WWII lasted much longer. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Nagasaki
The United States decided to drop the second atomic bomb on Japan after bombing Hiroshima. This occurred in the city of Nagasaki. The bomb was nicknamed Fat Man. This forced the Japanese to surrender. The bombing of Hiroshima was not enough to convince the Japanese War Council to surrender. Nagasaki was a shipbuilding center and a city of 270,000 people. More than 70,000 people were immediately killed. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima
The first atomic bomb ever used was dropped by The United States was in the city of Hiroshima. It was dropped by a US aircraft named Enola Gay. The bomb was nicknamed Little Boy. Hiroshima was a city of 350,000 people and between 70,000-80,000 people died in the attack. The numbers of the deceased from the fall out of radiation climbed to 140,000 by December
