WWII Timeline Project

  • Benito Mussolini Comes To Power

    Mussolini replaces King Emmanual III as the leader of Italy. A fascist government is established.
  • Adolf Hitler

    Hitler comes to power in 1933. The Nazi Party gains complete control over Germany and Hitler's rule over Germany officially begins.
  • Hitler Gains Czechoslavakia and the Sudetenland

    Hitler and Neville Chamberlain sign the Munich Pact, which gives Hitler control over Czechoslavakia and the Sudentenland. Chamberlain practices a policy of appeasement to prevent war and achieve "peace in our time."
  • Neutrality Act of 1939

    Fearing U.S. involvement in a European war, Congress signs the Neutrality Act of 1939. The United States will not take action in foreign wars.
  • Winston Churchill and the Battle of Britain

    The Battle of Britain begins and Germany begins its invasion of Britain. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill encourages British citizens to continue to fight on and refuse to let Germany take Britain.
  • Lend-Lease Act

    The United States passes the Lend-Lease Act, which allows the U.S. to lend supplies to any nation vital to U.S. security. America takes its first steps towards entering WWII.
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    The Holocaust

    Hitler creates his final solution to end the Jewish people. Jews all throughout Europe are sent to concentration camps where they are forced to work. Over 6 million die at the camps.
  • D-Day and Dwight Eisenhower

    The Allies begin their invasion of Normandy, led by U.S. Gereral Dwight D. Eisenhower. Many German and Allied lives are lost.
  • The Atlantic Charter

    President Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet to outline their plans for a post-war world. The meeting shows a sense of unity between the U.S. and Britain and America's increasing involvement in the war.
  • The Attack on Pearl Harbor

    The Japanese attack the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor. American citizens are angered by the attack and America is officially drawn into the war.
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    The Manhattan Project

    A secret U.S. organization dedicated to creating a nuclear weapon in fear that Germany would create one first. The atomic bomb is eventually created and used against Japan to end the war.
  • The Battle of Midway

    The Japanese launch an attack on the island of Midway, hoping to push Allied forces back to the Californian coast so they can continue their expansion into the Pacific. The Allies are able to push the Japanese back, ending Japanese expansion in the Pacific.
  • The First Atomic Bomb is Dropped on Hiroshima

    With the advice of U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, President Truman decides to drop the first ever atomic bomb on Hiroshima to bring a quicker end to the war. Thousands of Japanese citizens are killed.
  • The United Nations is Formed

    The United Nations is formed and provides an alliance among many of the world's major superpowers. The UN takes the place of the League of Nations in the hope of providing a safe post-war world.