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Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
In Germany, Adolf Hitler had followed
a path to power similar to Mussolini’s. At the end of World War I, Hitler had been
a jobless soldier drifting around Germany. 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. -
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 -
Storm troopers
Many men who
were out of work joined Hitler’s private army -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
By 1921, 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. -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
took 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. -
Japanese invasion of Manchuria
gnoring the protests of more moderate Japanese officials, the militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. -
Third Reich
The German Empire that took over the Weimar Republic -
Hitler's military build-up in Germany
In 1933, Hitler pulled Germany out of the League. In 1935, he began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini began building his new Roman Empire. 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. -
Fransisco Franco
n 1936, a group of Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco, rebelled against the Spanish republic. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
A year after rebuilding his army, Hitler sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demili- tarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Hitler's Anschluss
Anschluss, or “union,”. Formed with Austria. -
Munich Agreement
turned the Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired -
Rome-Berlin Axis
The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
On September 3, two days following the ter- ror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. -
Nonagression pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, on August 23, 1939 fas- cist 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. -
Blitzkreig
blitzkrieg, or lightning war. As day broke on September 1, 1939, the German Luftwaffe, or German air force, roared over Poland, raining bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. At the same time, German tanks raced across the Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion. -
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. -
Hitler's Invasion of Denmark and Norway
On April 9, 1940, Hitler launched a surprise invasion
of Denmark and Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom and independence.” -
Hitler's invasion of the Netherlands
Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. -
Marshall Philippe Pitan
Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, head- ed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
The Battle of Britain
n the summer of 1940, the Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. Because its naval power could not compete with that of Britain, Germany also launched an air war at the same time. -
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. 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 from the north. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Early the next morning, 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. -
Lend-Lease Act
Under this plan, the president would lend or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the United States.” -
Internment
Confinement of 1,444 Japanese Americans, 1 per- cent of Hawaii’s Japanese-American population. -
Battle of the Atlantic
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler ordered submarine raids against ships along America’s east coast. The German aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union. -
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 destroy- ers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. -
Battle of Stalingrad
n the summer of 1942, the Germans took the offensive in the southern Soviet Union. Hitler hoped to capture Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus Mountains. He also wanted to wipe out Stalingrad, a major industrial center on the Volga River. -
Operation Torch
An invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
Under this bill, women volunteers would serve in noncombat positions. -
Manhattan Project
A secret committee working to create an atomic bomb in response to Germany's bomb committee. -
Office of Price Administration
he OPA fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress also raised income tax rates and extended the tax to millions of people who had never paid it before. -
War Productions Board
The WPB decided which companies would convert from peacetime to wartime production and allocated raw materi- als to key industries. The WPB also organized drives to col- lect scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for recycling into war goods. -
Unconditional Surrender
Even before the battle in North Africa was won, Roosevelt, Churchill, and their commanders met in Casablanca. At this meeting, the two leaders agreed to accept only the unconditional surrender of the Axis pow- ers. That is, enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. -
Bloody Anzio
Hitler was determined to stop the Allies in Italy rather than fight on German soil. One of the hardest battles the Allies encoun- tered in Europe was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. -
The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler hoped that a victory would split American and British forces and break up Allied supply lines. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in the lines -
Korematsu v. United States
In 1944, the Supreme Court decided, in Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese Americans to camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity.” -
D-Day
Eisenhower planned to attack Normandy in northern France. To keep their plans secret, the Allies set up a huge phantom army with its own headquarters and equipment. In radio messages they knew the Germans could read, Allied commanders sent orders to this make- believe army to attack the French port of Calais—150 miles away—where the English Channel is narrowest. As a result, Hitler ordered his generals to keep a large army at Calais. -
Death of Hitler
n his underground head- quarters in Berlin, Hitler pre- pared for the end. On April 29, he married Eva Braun, his longtime companion. The same day, he wrote out his last address to the German people. Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. -
V-E Day
General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over. -
Harry S. Truman
resident Roosevelt did not live to see V-E Day. On April 12, 1945, while posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, the pres- ident had a stroke and died. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation’s 33rd president.
