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Japan Seizes Manchuria
Flustered by an economic depression, the Japanese people started to lose faith in their democratic government. Many people began to identify as militarists and promoted acts of aggression on other nations, breaking the promise that Japan had made to stop military aggression and war when they signed the Kellogg-Briand Act in 1928. On September 18, 1931, however, the Japanese army launched an attack on China, without their current government's consent, and seized its territory of Manchuria. -
Hitler Comes to Power
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hilter, the leader of the new Nazi Party in Germany, was appointed Germany's Chancellor. A well-spoken leader, Hilter managed to persuade Germans that it was the Jews' fault that Germany had lost the first World War and had to pay large reparations to the Allies, decrease their army size, and was now experiencing an economic depression. Hilter promised to rebuild the once powerful Germany and punish the Jews, who he believed had weakened it. -
The Munich Pact is Signed
In 1938, Adolf Hitler, the dictator of Germany, began formulating plans to conquer Czechoslovakia, in order to please the cries of the German-speakers living in the region of Sudeten, who asked to have a closer connection to Germany. On September 30, 1938, after meeting with several other Euporean leaders in Munich, Germany, the French and British leaders chose to appease Hilter and signed the Munich Pact, which allowed Germany to seize only the region of Sudeten, and stopped a potential war. -
Kristallnacht
On November 9, 1938, members of the Nazi Party assembled at sundown in Germany to avenge a German diplomat, who had been shot and killed by a Jewish man two days before. Over the course of the night, Nazis looted Jewish businesses, homes, and synagogues, and arrested thousands of Jews, shipping them off to concentration camps. -
Hitler and Stalin Invade Poland
Germany's dictator, Adolf Hilter, and the Soviet Union's ruler, Josef Stalin, secretly decided to work together to invade Poland and to divide it evenly amongst their two nations. On September 1, 1939, German forces invaded Poland and the Soviet Union forces came to Germany's aid in fighting, about two weeks later. They successfully conquered Poland together and divided up its land. Due to this aggression, Britain and France declared war on Germany, officially starting World War II. -
France Surrenders
After conquering Belgium and Holland, Nazi troops were feeling unstoppable. Nazi soldiers quickly invaded France and found weak opposition with British and French troops there, who they forced to retreat to a French port, causing them to be trapped. No match for the strong Nazi army, France watched helplessly as Nazi soldiers advanced farther into their nation and into their capital city of Paris and eventually gave up fighting on June 22, 1940, officially surrendering to Germany. -
Germany Bombs Britain
After France's surrender, Britain was the only force that still threatened Nazi Germany. On July 10, 1940, Hilter ordered his Nazi army to bomb Britain, beginning a long air battle between the two countries. At the beginning of the battle, Germany had the upper hand, yet as the battle wore on, Britain's advanced aircraft weakened the Nazis. Finally, after over three months of fighting, Hitler called off his troops and ceased the bombing of Britain, deciding to wait before invading the nation. -
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
On June 22, 1941, Hitler broke the pact he had made with Josef Stalin, the Soviet Union's dictator, in which he had promised not to invade the Soviet Union. On this day, German troops marched into the Soviet Union, surprising Stalin and his army. During the first few months of the invasion, Germany advanced far into the nation, but the approaching winter slowed their journey. The Soviet Union, however, was only starting their couterattack and fended off Germany. The German's mission had failed. -
Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, a quiet Sunday morning on the Hawaiian island of Oahu was interrupted by the sounds of bombs blowing up and damaging many battleships and aircraft vessels at the American Pearl Harbor military base. These bombs, sent by the Japanese, came in two waves, surprising the American army and killing over 2,000 Americans. It was due to this attack that American president, Franklin D. Roosevelt declared war on Japan later that day, entering the U.S. into World War II. -
Japanese Americans are Interned
On February 19, 1942, two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, American President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. This controversial order stated that all Japanese Americans would be forced to leave their homes and most of their possessions behind and enter internment camps on the West Coast. In these camps, guards constantly watched over the Japanese and forced them to help grow crops and complete other tasks to help the American war effort. -
America Defeats Japan at Midway
In the early 1942's, the American Army began intercepting and decoding numerous communication codes that were being sent between different Japanese Army fleets. After decoding one message that called for a Japanese attack on the U.S. military base on the island of Midway, American forces were ready on June 4, 1942, when the first Japanese bombs exploded on the island. The U.S. Army destroyed 322 Japanese aircraft and 4 aircraft carriers, winning the battle to stop Japan from ruling the Pacific. -
Germany Attacks Northern Africa
German- Italian forces had been quickly moving through Northern Africa, after winning several battles against the British army, but their success would soon end as the troops met fierce opposition by British forces on October 23, 1942. After ten days of battle at El Alamein, Egypt, Britain's army's surplus amount of tanks and soldiers proved to outpower the German- Italian army, who were forced to retreat to Tunisia and ultimately give up on their mission in Africa. -
Italy Surrenders
In July 1943, American and British troops in Tunisia crossed the Mediterranean Sea and landed on the island of Sicily. After quickly taking over this island, these troops moved northward through the Italian Peninsula, fighting German and Italian forces along the way. Meanwhile, the Italian king fired Italy's harsh prime minister, Benito Mussolini, and appointed a new prime minister. Under this new administration, Italy surrendered on September 8, 1943, and quickly joined the side of the Allies. -
D-Day
Almost four years after Germany's invasion of France, the Allie troops were finally prepared to take down the German forces occupying France. On June 6, 1944, British, American, and Canadian troops landed on five separate coasts at Normandy, facing dangerous obstacles and gunfire as soon as they landed. The Allies persevered, however, and freed France from German rule about two months later. -
The Secret Annex is Found
Once Hilter began instructing his soldiers to find Jews and send them to concentration camps, in order to punish them for costing Germany the war, hundreds of Jews went into hiding. Among these Jews was a 13-year-old girl named Anne Frank, who went into hiding with her family and family friends in a tiny annex above her father's business. While in hiding, Anne Frank kept a detailed diary of her tough, yet hopeful life in the annex. Nazis found the family and their friends on August 4, 1944. -
President Roosevelt Dies
On April 12, 1945, beloved American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt passed away of a stroke, while in his fourth term in office. Americans were heartbroken and wondered if their new president, Roosevelt's vice president, Harry Truman, would help lead the American army to victory. -
Japan Surrenders
Hoping to quickly force the Japanese to surrender, American President Truman chose to use an atomic bomb that had been tested in New Mexico to bomb Japan. On August 6, 1945, this atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing thousands. Despite all the destruction and death, Japan still refused to surrender. Three days later, America released a second atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki, killing thousands more. Finally, on August 14, Japan surrendered, ending World War II.
