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Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germeny
In 1919, he joined a struggling group
called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, better known as the Nazi Party. Despite its name, this party had no ties to socialism. Hitler proved to be such a powerful public speaker and organizer that he quickly became the party’s leader. Calling himself Der Führer—“the Leader”—he
promised to bring Germany out of chaos. -
Mein Kampf
In his book Mein Kampf [My Struggle], Hitler set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. Nazism the German brand of fascism, was based on extreme nationalism. Hitler, who had been born in Austria, dreamed of uniting all German-speaking people in a great German empire. -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Mussolini had established the Fascist
Party. Fascism stressed nationalism and
placed the interests of the state above those of individuals.
To strengthen the nation, Fascists argued, power
must rest with a single strong leader and a small group
of devoted party members. (The Latin fasces—a bundle
of rods tied around an ax handle—had been a symbol of
unity and authority in ancient Rome.) -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
Stalinctook control of the country. Stalin focused on creating a model communist state. In so doing, he made both agricultural and industrial growth the prime economic goals of the Soviet Union. Stalin abolished all privately owned farms and replaced them with collectives—large government-owned farms, each worked by hundreds of families. -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Ignoring the protests of more moderate
Japanese officials, the militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. Within several months, Japanese troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas, that was rich in natural resources -
Storm Troopers
By 1932, some 6 million Germans were unemployed. Many men who were out of work joined Hitler’s private army, the storm troopers (or Brown Shirts). -
Third Reich
Once in power, Hitler quickly dismantled Germany’s democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he
established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third Reich would be a “Thousand-Year Reich”—it would last for a thousand years. -
Hitler's military build up in Germany
In 1935, he began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. A year later, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion on Ethiopia
His first target was Ethiopia, one of Africa’s few
remaining independent countries. By the fall of 1935, tens
of thousands of Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on
Ethiopia. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
In 1935, he began a military
buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. A year later, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Francisco Franco
He rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out all over Spain, and the Spanish Civil War began. The war
aroused passions not only in Spain but throughout the
world. About 3,000 Americans formed the Abraham
Lincoln Battalion and traveled to Spain to fight against
Franco. “We knew, we just knew,” recalled Martha
Gellhorn, “that Spain was the place to stop fascism.” -
Rome-Berlin Axis
Although the Soviet Union sent equipment and advisers,
Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco’s forces with troops,
weapons, tanks, and fighter planes. The war forged a close
relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who
signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis -
Hitler's Anschluss
On March 12, 1938, German troops marched into
Austria unopposed. A day later, Germany announced that its
Anschluss, or “union,” with Austria was complete. The United
States and the rest of the world did nothing -
Munich Agreement
On September 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired -
Nonagression Pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, on August 23, 1939 fascist Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. Germany and the Soviet Union also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. With the danger of a two-front war eliminated, the fate of Poland was sealed. -
Blitzkrieg
Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology—such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft—to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
On September 3, two days following the terror
in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany -
Phony war
For the next several months after the fall of Poland,
French and British troops on the Maginot Line, a system of fortifications built along France’s eastern border sat staring into Germany, waiting for something to happen. On the Siegfried Line a few miles away German troops stared back. The blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg
(“sitting war”), and what some newspapers referred to as the
phony war. -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark and Norway
Suddenly, on April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended -
Hitlers invsion on the Netherlands
Hitler planned to build bases along the
coasts to strike at Great Britain. Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony war had ended -
Marshal Philippe Petain
Germans would occupy the northern part of
France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed
by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy,
in southern France -
Germany and Italy's invasion of France
The German offensive trapped almost 400,000 British
and French soldiers as they fled to the beaches of Dunkirk on the French side of the English Channel. In less than a week, a makeshift fleet of fishing trawlers, tugboats,
river barges, pleasure craft—more than 800 vessels in all—ferried about 330,000 British, French, and Belgian troops to safety across the Channel. A few days later, Italy entered the war on the side of Germany and invaded France from the south as the Germans closed in on Paris -
The Battle of Britain
Hitler had 2,600 planes at his disposal. On a single day—August 15—approximately 2,000 German planes ranged over Britain. Every night for two solid months, bombers pounded London. The Battle of Britain raged on through the summer and fall. Night after night, German planes pounded British targets. At first the Luftwaffe concentrated on airfields and aircraft. Next it targeted cities. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
a Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor—
the largest U.S. naval base in the Pacific. The bomber was followed by more than 180 Japanese warplanes
launched from six aircraft carriers. As he first Japanese bombs found their targets, a radio operator flashed this
message: “Air raid on Pearl Harbor. This is not a drill.” -
Battle of the Atlantic
Unprotected American ships proved to be easy targets for the Germans. In the first four months of 1942, the Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic shore.
Seven months into the year, German wolf packs
had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the
Atlantic. Something had to be done or the war at
sea would be lost. -
U.S convoy system
Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in the First World War. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. They were also accompanied by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface. With this improved tracking, the Allies were able to find and destroy German Uboats faster than the Germans could build them -
Battle of Stalingrad
For weeks the Germans pressed in on Stalingrad, conquering it house by house in brutal hand-to-hand combat. By the end of September, they controlled nine-tenths of the city—or what was left of it. Then another winter set in. The
Soviets saw the cold as an opportunity to roll fresh tanks across the frozen landscape and begin a massive counterattack. The Soviet army closed around Stalingrad, trapping the Germans in and around the city and cutting off their supplies. Germany surrendered on Jan 31 -
Operation Torch
An invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by
American General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
In November 1942, some 107,000 Allied troops, the great majority of them Americans, landed in Casablanca, Oran, and Algiers in North Africa. From there they sped eastward, chasing the Afrika Korps led by General Erwin Rommel, the legendary Desert Fox. After months of heavy fighting, the last of the Afrika Korps surrendered in May 1943 -
Uncondtional Surrender
Roosevelt, Churchill, and their commanders met in Casablanca. At this meeting, the two leaders agreed to accept only the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers.
That is, enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. The two leaders also discussed where to strike next. -
Bloody Anzio
One of the hardest battles the Allies encountered
in Europe was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. This battle, “Bloody Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse -
D-Day
D-Day—June 6, 1944, the first day
of the invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions
parachuted down behind German lines. They were followed
in the early morning hours by thousands upon
thousands of seaborne soldiers—the largest land-sea-air
operation in army history. Despite the massive air and sea bombardment by the Allies, German retaliation was brutal, particularly at Omaha Beach. -
The Battle Of the Bulge
Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory,
creating a bulge in the lines that gave this desperate lastditch
offensive its name, the Battle of the Bulge. As the
Germans swept westward, they captured 120 American
GIs near Malmédy. Elite German troops—the SS troopers—herded the prisoners into a large field and mowed
them down with machine guns and pistols. -
Harry S. Truman
President Roosevelt did not live to see V-E Day. On
April 12, 1945, while posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, the president had a stroke and died. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation’s 33rd president. -
Death Of Hitler
Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed
poison. In accordance with Hitler’s orders, the two bodies
were carried outside, soaked with gasoline, and burned. -
V-E Day
On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in
Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over.
