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Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht also known as the “Night of Broken Glass” took place from November 9-10 1938. It was an event that took place out of rage with Hitler supporters being riled up. Nazis destroyed thousands of Jewish businesses, homes, schools, and synagogues. During this event nearly 100 Jews died and around 30 000 Jewish men were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. After Kristallnacht the way Jews were treated by Nazis only got worse and over 6 million Jews were murdered in World War 2. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The Battle of the Atlantic was a fight to win conquer the Atlantic Ocean. it was also the longest continuous military war lasting from September 1939 to 1945. Technology played an effective role in this battle. The allied powers needed supplies during the battle going between North America and Europe but the German u-boats started sinking all the allied powers' supplies. This effected all the soldiers who went to war because there were countless fatalities, injuries and much more. -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg meant "lightning war " and was a very successful military tactic used by the Germans in World War 2. Blitzkrieg was based on speed and surprise with a concentration on firepower and offensive weapons. They used this tactic in 1939 in Poland, and then went on to use it in 1940 for the invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France. It worked very well saving a lot of German lives and lessened the amount they spent on artillery, so it was very effective for them in World War 2. -
The S.S. St. Louis
The SS St. Louis was a ship full 937 refugees mostly Jewish that were trying to escape the conditions in Germany. The ship left Hamburg,Germany, on 13 May 1939 for Cuba. They were held at the port on May 27 1939 and they were not allowed to enter other than 28 people that got new documents and one person that was hospitalized. They tried to dock in Canada but they were not allowed to enter there either. The ship went back to Europe on June 17 with many passengers sent to concentration camps. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk
The evacuation of Dunkirk was when the allied powers were stuck in Dunkirk with no recourses. After the axis powered invaded Denmark and Norway they escape across English cannel to Britain. They were stuck on an island but luckily the axis did not bomb the 300000+ men that were stuck. This was an advantage for the allied powers because many of their men were saved when they could have been killed. This effected the war because the men who were saved were prepared to fight in other battles. -
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain took place from July-October 1940, it was fought mainly in air. The Luftwaffe bombed Britain in attempts to invade, also known as The Blitz. The Luftwaffe mainly targeted the English Channel, ports, and other places of defence. The RAF and RCAF tried to stop the German planes and saved England from invasion, as the Luftwaffe had began to target London and urban centres. In May 1941 Hitler stopped attacking. About 23,000 people were killed, majority were British civilians. -
Operation Barbarossa
Hitler invaded the Soviet Union and broke their non-aggression pact. The soviets were unprepared but they pushed back until Moscow. The Germans were unprepared for the very cold winters and were also low on supplies. The soviets eventually pushed the germans back to germany. -
Japanese Canadians Internment
The Japanese Canadians were sent to camps in beginning of the pearl harbor attack( Dec. 7) till 1949. Although, the Japanese civilians living in Canada had nothing to do with Japan joining the axis powers, the Canadian Government believed that they were more loyal to japan. they sent them to internment camps where they had tasks to preform . This effected all Japanese people living in Canada because they were ripped apart from their homes and businesses to be sent to internment camps. -
Pearl Harbour
Pearl harbour is a naval base in the U.S. near Honolulu,Hawaii. The Japanese forces attacked pearl harbour on December,7,1941. They attacked because they thought war with the United States was inevitable and they would have a better chance of defeating them with a surprise attack.The attack destroyed almost 20 American naval vessels,300 airplanes ,2400 Americans died ,and 1000 injured. After the attack President Roosevelt declared war on Japan which brought the United States into World War 2. -
Battle Of Hong Kong
Eight hours after the Pearl Harbor attack, Japanese troops went into the border in Hong Kong where British and commonwealth troops dug in along Gin Drinker's Line.Japanese troops mounted a massed attack on the western portion of the defensive line.The Japanese demanded surrender after receiving rejection, Japanese conducted an intense bombardment on Hong Kong Island. They then massacred nuns and members of the medical staff and tortured and killed over 60 injured soldiers, nurses, and doctors -
Batlle of Stalingrad
The Germans went to the city of Stalingrad, Southern Russia to take over their resources. The Soviet Union pushed back Germans back to Germany which gave a greater advantage to the Allies. Stalingrad was where all the Soviet Unions weaponry and military equipment were made. If the Germans took over the land, the Soviet union would have lost all their equipment. This effected the Herman soldiers because they had to fight in cold weather which they were not used to. Many died from the temperature. -
Battle of El Alamein
The Battle of El Alamein marked the peak of World War II. It was the North African Campaign. The Axis army and British army brought tanks which were the main weapon used to fight the battle. After retreating many of the battles, the British were able to defend and defeat the second battle of El Alamein against the axis army. Forcing them to retreat. They wanted the Middle Easts rich oil and resources. This battle was a struggle because they had to fight in a desert and transport goods. -
The Conscription Crisis (Canada)
In World War 2 conscription created chaos in Canada. In World War 1 French speaking Canadians were against the conscription of men. So in 1939 Prime minister King promised there would be no conscription overseas. There was a lot of pressure from English Canada to keep conscription. King introduced NRMA, an act that required eligible men to serve in home defense but this still did not appease English Canada. After the deaths on D-Day King had to reinforce the conscription of men overseas in 1944. -
D Day
D-Day was an invasion during World War 2’s battle of Normandy. D-Day began on June 6 1944 the Allies sent fake tanks and planes to Pas-de-Calais to make the Germans think that was their main invasion target. Thousands of American,British, and Canadian troops attacked early in the morning on five beaches along the coast of France’s Normandy region. On D-day over 4,000 Allied troops died, and thousands more wounded or missing.It ended in Allies liberating Europe from the control of German Nazis. -
Liberation of the Netherlands
Canadian forces were given an important duty to liberate the Netherlands from Nazi occupations. This task was very deadly and and risky. Months after D-Day had happened American and Canadian forces entered southern Netherlands. The allies tried entering Germany but failed multiple times. After many honourable tries they succeeded and finally entered Germany. They saved many cities as well as saving many lives. This impacted the Canadians significantly and showed how brave our soldiers are. -
Yalta Conference
The second wartime meeting of the British, Soviet Union and U.S. leaders. They agreed to demand Germany unconditional surrender and began plans for a post-war world. Another meeting was scheduled for April to create the United Nations. At the time most agreements were kept secret but Yalta became controversial during the cold war, Stalin broke promises and Americans believed Roosevelt (died 2 months after conference) had "sold out" to the Soviets at Yalta. -
Death Of Hitler
Warned by officers that the Russians were only a day from overtaking the chancellery and urged to escape to Berchtesgarden, a small town in the Bavarian Alps where Hitler owned a home, the dictator instead chose suicide. It is believed that both he and his wife swallowed cyanide capsules. But, he also shot himself with his service pistol. German court didn't declare Hitlers death until 1956. Many people to this day believe Hitler did not die because they believe he could have escaped easily. -
VE Day
German troops throughout Europe finally laid down their arms. The German surrender was realized in a final cease-fire. More surrender documents were signed in Berlin and in eastern Germany. About 1 million Germans attempted a mass escape to the West when the fighting in Czechoslovakia ended, but were stopped by the Russians and taken captive. Meanwhile, more than 13,000 British POWs were released and sent back to Britain -
Potsdam Declaration
Allied leaders gathered at the Potsdam conference to discuss peace settlements 2 months after Germany surrendered. Japan was committed to fight the U.S. president, British Prime Minister and Chinese nationalist leader. The declaration warned Japan to drop their weapons and if not then there would be consequences. Japans Prime Minister quoted 'mokusatsu" meaning 'no comment.' This angered USA and they bombed a city in japan. The city in Japan was ruined USA was once again involved. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
An American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first deployed atomic bomb over Japanese city of Hiroshima. It wiped out 90% of the city, it killed 80,000 immediately and tens of thousands more later from radiation exposure. 3 days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing estimated 40,000. Japan's Emperor Hirohito announced unconditional surrender in a radio address citing the devastating power of the "new and most cruel bomb".
