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Concentration Camps
In the 1930s Hitler sent thousands of Jews and political opponents to concentration camps. They were sent there mainly for working as a slave. -
Japan Overthrows Manchuria and Eastern China.
One of the earliest invasions by Japan, to seize Manchuria, which would later strengthen their morale to invade China. This would later lead to Japan invading Hawaii. -
Hitler Disobeys the Treaty Of Versailles
Hitler tested the will of the Western world, and thought they were weak. First Germany rebuilt their army, and then invaded the Rhinelands. This is the very beginning of Hitler's control of Nazi Germany. -
Austria Annexed
In March, 1938, Hitler was ready to start the Anschluss, or the union of Austria and Germany. However, Austria's chancellor refused to agree with Hitler. So Hitler sent his army to "preserve order.'
This is important because it shows that Hitler doesn't care about the treaty of Versailles. -
The Holocaust Begins
The Holocaust started in 1939, when the Nazi's first began to start rounding up Jews in their ultimate plan to exterminate them. This long plan would last until 1945. The Holocaust is important, because it would lead to the death of 6 million Jews. -
The Nazi-Soviet Pact
In 1939, Hitler would stun the world by announcing a nonaggression pact with his great enemy, Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator. Publicly, this pact would bind Hitler and Stalin to peaceful relations. This was important, because Hitler would not have to fight two warfronts at the sametime. -
Germany Invades Poland.
A week after the Nazi-soviet pact, German forces would invade Poland. This would provoke Great Britain and France, and start World War Two. This is the beginning of WW2. -
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Key World War 2 Events!
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France Surrenders
While Italian forces invaded from the South, Germany attacked and headed towards the south. France was overrun, and quickly surrendered. This marks the first major battle and invasion of WW2. -
Germany Launches the Blitz
German bombers appear over London on the 7th of September, 1940. Relays of aircraft showered high explosives and firebombs on the capital. This bombing continued for 57 nights in a row and then every so often until May.
It's important because it shows that the Germans are vicious when coming to attack. -
Hitler Fails To Invade Britain
While German planes continued to bomb London on and off until May 1941, they would try to invade Britain. But, they could not gain air superiority over Britain. This failed invasion attempt shows a chink in the Nazi army's power. -
Unstoppable German Army Shows Weakness
In June 1941, Hitler nullified the Nazi-Soviet pact by invading Russia. He unleashed a new blitzkrieg( 3 million soldiers invaded) The Germans caught Stallin unprepared, killing two and a half million Soviets. However, much like Napoleon's Grand Army, they were not prepared for the Great Winter.
This is important because it shows that Hitler can make mistakes, even if it's for a war effort. -
France Becomes Free
On the 25th of August, the Allies entered Paris. Within a month, all of France was liberated.
This is important because it shows that the Germans are defeatable. -
Pearl Harbor
General Tojo ordered a surprise attack. Japanese airplanes bombed the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawai'i. The attack took the lives of about 2400 people, and destroyyed battleships and aircraft. The next day, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan. December 11th, Japan's allies declared war on the U.S.
This is important because it's when the United States join WWII. -
The Bataan Death March
The Japanese gained control of the Philippines, and they kill hundreds of Americans, but the worst for the Americans and the Filipinos alike, is the Baataan Death March. This death march would be considered by one soldier as " a macabre litany of heat, dust, starvation, thirst, flies, filth, stench, murder, torture, corpses, and wholesale brutality that numbs the memory. -
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the rebellion of the Jews located in the Warsaw ghetto. This was the largest uprising of the Jews during WW2, but was easily crushed by the Nazis. This would complete the liquidation of the ghettos. -
Manhattan Project
The manhattan Project was the making of the Atomic bomb. In July 1945, they successfully created the atomic bomb.
This is important because the atomic bomb was the most powerful weapon in WWII. -
Kamikaze's are created
Starting in 1944, some young Japanese men would choose to become kamikazes, or pilots sent on suicide missions to specific targets, with their explosive covered planes. This is important because it would lead to the death of many American warships, and show just how dedicated Japan was to World War 2 -
D-Day
On June 6, 1944, w as the date the invasion of Fance was chosen. Thousands of ships ferried 156,000 troops acros the English Channel. When they got there, they fought their way to shore amid underwater mines and raking machine-gun fire.
This is important because it's the first time the Americans join the war. -
Fighting Towards Germany
When France was liberated, the Allies battled their way to Germany. As the Allies entered Belgium, The Germans launched a massive counterattack. At the Battle of the Bulge, both sides took horrible losses. the Germans were unable to break through -
Yalta Conference
Three leaders agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan within three months of Germany's Surrender. In return, Churchill and Roosevelt promised Stalin that the Soviets would take possession of southern Sakhalin Island, and an occupation zone in Korea. They also agreed that Germany would be divided in four parts.
This is the start of tension between the allies. -
Establishing the United Nations
In Apirl 1945, delegates from 50 nations gather in San Francisco, and form the United Nations. The UN would play a greater role than the League of Nations. This would help the destroyed Earth's economy, peacekeeping, and other affairs. -
Germany Surrenders
Although the war officially ended on the 8th, this is the day Germany surrendered. After just 12 years, Hitler's "thousand-year Reich" was bomb-ravaged and in ruins.
This is important because it is the end of the war. -
Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, an american plane dropped the A-Bomb on Hiroshima. it flattened four square miles and instantly killed 70,000 people. in the months that followed, even more would die from radiation sickness.
This leads to the surrender of Japan. -
Nagasaki
On August 8,1945, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. The Japanese leaders didn't respond. The next day, another A-bomb was dropped on Japan.
This is when the Japanese Emperor Hirohito intervened and forced the government to surrender. -
The Cold War
The Cold War was a state of tension and hostility between the various nations. Nations either sided with the US, or the Soviet Union, but without armed conflict. The Cold War is important because it was betrayal of the Soviet Union to the U.N.