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Signing of the Treaty of Versailles June 28, 1919
The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I. The provisions of the treaty contained significant punishments for Germany, including military and economic limitations, loss of territory, and the cost-bearing of the entire war.
The Treaty was an important cause of World War II because it created an atmosphere of resentment and anger in Germany. This led to the conditions necessary for Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party to seize power. -
Adolf Hitler becomes leader of National Socialist (Nazi) Party.
Hitler was extremely devastated by the the loss of the war on Germany in WWI. Hitler emerged as a public speaker and had been gaining new members who support him. Hitler becoming a leader of National Socialist Party is important because important things were about to happen with him being a leader. -
Adolf Hitler becomes President of Germany.
In January 1933, Hitler was named chancellor of Germany. But that was not enough for Hitler either. In February 1933, Hitler blamed a devastating Reichstag fire on the communists (its true cause remains a mystery) and convinced President Hindenburg to sign a decree suspending individual and civil liberties, a decree Hitler used to silence his political enemies with false arrests.
Hitler becoming president of Germany is important because this stirs up all kinds of trouble. -
Nuremberg Race Laws
The laws excluded German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons of "German or related blood." Ancillary ordinances to the laws disenfranchised Jews and deprived them of most political rights.The Nuremberg Race Laws are important because this is how the biggest mark on history happened. -
German Annexation of Austria
On March 12, 1938, German troops march into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. In early 1938, Austrian Nazis conspired for the second time in four years to seize the Austrian government by force and unite their nation with Nazi Germany.
The German Annexation of Austria was important because this was one of the most important events in WWII. -
Munich Agreement
Hitler had recently annexed Austria into Germany, and the conquest of Czechoslovakia was the next step in his plan of creating a “greater Germany.” The Czechoslovak government hoped that Britain and France would come to its assistance in the event of German invasion, but British Prime Minister Chamberlain was intent on averting war.
This was important because it was one of the most important events that happened in history. -
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, literally, "Night of Crystal," is often referred to as the "Night of Broken Glass." The name refers to the wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms which took place on November 9 and 10, 1938. This wave of violence took place throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and in areas of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia recently occupied by German troops.
This was important because it was the time the Jews were persecuted for being Jewish. -
First Kindertransport Arrives in Great Britain
In desperation, thousands of Jewish parents send their unaccompanied children abroad, hoping they would find refuge from Nazi persecution. Kindertransport (Children's Transport) was the name of a series of rescue efforts (organized by Jewish communal groups in Germany and Austria which brought thousands of refugee Jewish children to Great Britain.
This is important because many parents wanted to save their kids from harm of the Nazi persecution. -
German Invasion of Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion. From East Prussia and Germany in the north and Silesia and Slovakia in the south, German units, with more than 2,000 tanks and over 1,000 planes, broke through Polish defenses along the border and advanced on Warsaw in a massive encirclement attack.
This was important because they targeted them and that is how the Germans were close to taking over the world. -
Britain and France Declare War
On this day in 1939, in response to Hitler’s invasion of Poland, Britain and France, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on Germany. The first casualty of that declaration was not German—but the British ocean liner Athenia, which was sunk by a German U-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent.
This was important because Britain and France made an alliance to go against Germany. -
Auschwitz Camp Established
The Auschwitz concentration camp complex was the largest of its kind established by the Nazi regime. It included three main camps. All three camps used prisoners for forced labor. One of them also functioned for an extended period as a killing center. The camps were located approximately 37 miles west of Krakow.
This was important because Many Jews were tortured and through means of genocide. -
Operation Barbarossa
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler launched his armies eastward in a massive invasion of the Soviet Union: three great army groups with over three million German soldiers, 150 divisions, and three thousand tanks smashed across the frontier into Soviet territory. The invasion covered a front from the North Cape to the Black Sea, a distance of two thousand miles.
This was important because that when Hitler went to invade Russia and many soldiers. -
Jewish Badge
Jewish people were to wear yellow Star of David on their outer clothing in public at all times. The word "Jew" is to be inscribed inside the star in German or the local language. During the Nazi era, German authorities reintroduced the Jewish badge as a key element of their larger plan to persecute and eventually to annihilate the Jewish population of Europe.
This is important because the Jewish wore stars so that they were easily found by the Germans. -
Operation Reinhard
The General Government, because here transportation does not pose a real problem nor would the deployment of a labor force interfere with the process of this operation. Jews should be removed from the area of the General Government as quickly as possible, because it is here that the Jew represents a serious danger as a carrier of epidemics.
This is important because it was a very dangerous situation. -
Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japan bombarded the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, putting the United States into World War II.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was important because it made a huge mark on history. History Powerpoint -
United States Declares War on Japan
On this day, as America’s Pacific fleet lay in ruins at Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt requests, and receives, a declaration of war against Japan. Leaning heavily on the arm of his son James, a Marine captain, FDR walked haltingly into the House of Representatives at noon to request a declaration of war from the House and address the nation via radio.
This was important because American said they were not going to war with them, but they did anyway.
