World War 2

World War 2 Begins in Europe

Sep 1, 1939

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. They did this, claiming that the Poles had sabotaged German targets. A couple days later, an British ultimatum calling for the end of fighting was ignored by the Germans, and Britain and France declared war.

Carl Vinson

Mar 6, 1940

https://ss8h9.wordpress.com/carl-vinson-2/ Carl Vinson understood the threat from Europe, and wanted a larger navy. He helped obtain a larger budget increase the navy's size by 70%. President Roosevelt agreed with Vinson's belief of the need for more military might.

Brunswick Shipyard

Mar 6, 1941

https://ss8h9.wordpress.com/coast/brunswick-and-savannah-shipyards/The Brunswick Shipyard was one of the two shipyards in Gerogia tasked with building "liberty boats" for the war effort in Europe, the other being the Savannah Shipyard. J. A. Jones Construction was in charge of the construction in Brunswick. The creating of the Libety Boats attracted famous people to Brunswick.

Richard Russell

Mar 8, 1941

https://ss8h9.wordpress.com/regions-of-georgia/piedmont/richard-b-russell-jr/
He was a Georgia governor and a U.S. senator. He was one of the youngest people to ever be elected to the senate. He helped bring 15 military bases to Georgia, and helped prepare for WW2 in general.

Lend-Lease Program Created

Mar 11, 1941

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/lend-lease-act
This allowed the United States to help other countries fight World War 2. It brought the United States closer to entering the war. Isolationists disliked this program because they wanted to stay away from the war.

Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor
Japanese fighter planes attacked the Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. The attack lasted only two hours, but it devastated the U.S. navy. The next day, the U.S. declared war on Japan.

The Savannah Shipyard

Mar 6, 1942

https://ss8h9.wordpress.com/coast/brunswick-and-savannah-shipyards/
President Roosevelt passed the Emergency Shipbuilding Act in January, 1941. This called for the creation of cargo vessels that would help the war effort in Europe. The Savanah Shipyard was one of the two shipyards in Georgia tasked with the creation of "liberty boats". They were only required to make 36, but ended up making a total of 88 boats.

Bell Aircraft

Mar 30, 1942

https://ss8h9.wordpress.com/regions-of-georgia/piedmont/bell-aircraft/
The Bell Aircraft plant in Marietta, Georgia created over 600 B-29 bomber planes. Production started after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, as a means to fight in World War 2. The United States government wanted a new production plant for aircraft that was away from the coast, and Marietta was near railroads and an airport.

D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/d-day
Around 150,000 Ally soldiers landed on the beaches of Normandy. By late August of the same year, northern France had been freed from German control. This day is also known as the beginning of the end of the war.

The Yalta Conference

Feb 4, 1945

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/yalta-conference
Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin D. Roosevelt met. They wanted Germany's unconditional surrender and they began to prepare for the end of World War 2. Stalin agreed to hold free elections, but broke this promise later.

Adolf Hitler's Death

Apr 30, 1945

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-commits-suicide-in-his-underground-bunker
Hitler and his wife Eva Braun killed themselves as the end of the war neared. Hitler shot himself in the head with his own pistol, as well as took a cyanide pill. Braun killed herself with just a cyanide capsule. Their bodies were burned, as per Hitler's orders.

The Holocaust

May 8, 1945

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust
Hitler used Jews as a scapegoat for everything that went wrong in Germany after World War 1. He then went on to try to kill all Jews, despite being half-Jew himself. He eventually managed to kill over 6 million Jews in concentration camps.

The Bombing of Hiroshima

Aug 6, 1945

http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
Starting before World War 2, a group of scientists became concerned with Germany's nuclear program. Thus, the Manhattan Project was started to research nuclear warfare. By the time they were finished with the atomic bomb, Japan had sworn that they would continue fighting, so the United States dropped a bomb on Hiroshima.

The Bombing of Nagasaki

Aug 9, 1945

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/world-war-two/the-pacific-war-1941-to-1945/the-bombing-of-nagasaki/
This was the second of two bombings resulting from Japan's refusal to surrender. It killed around 60,000 to 80,000 people. This did force Japan's unconditional surrender, although another bomb was planned in case Japan did no surrender.

Formation of the United Nations

Oct 24, 1945

https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/un
The United Nations was formed to keep the peace better than the League of Nations could. World War 2 forced the U.S., Britain, and the USSR to make plans for the United Nations. Its foundation was laid at the San Francisco Conference, on April 25, 1945. The United Nations Charter became effective on October 24, 1945.

Start of the Cold War

Mar 12, 1947

http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/cold-war-history
Even though the Soviet Union and the United States were allies during World War 2, there was tension between them. President Truman announced in 1947 that it was the United States' duty "to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation…by outside pressures." This began the Cold War.