Timeline: World War 2 Era

Jan 30, 1921

Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi party.

Jan 23, 1922

Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy

Jan 23, 1929

Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR)

Jan 23, 1931

Japan’s Army seizes Manchuria, China

Mar 21, 1933

Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany

Jan 23, 1935

Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress

Jan 26, 1935

Italian Army invades Ethiopia in Africa

Jan 26, 1936

Militarist take control of Japanese Government

Feb 2, 1936

Hitler Violates Versailles Treaty

Hitler sends troops to Rhineland of Germany, in violation of the Versailles Treaty.

Feb 2, 1937

Japan’s army pillages Nanjing, China

Massacre of a quarter of a million people.

Jan 2, 1938

Munich Pact signed

The signing of the Munich Pact gave Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany.

Aug 2, 1938

Nazis begin rounding up Jews

The Nazis began to round up Jews, so they could send them off to labor camps.

Feb 2, 1939

Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin

The Nazi-Soviet pact was a surprising non-aggression pact between two declared mortal enemies, Adolf Hitler, leader of Germany and Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union.

Sep 1, 1939

Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany

May 10, 1940

More Nazi invasions

The nazis invade several more countries; Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, taking control of each of them.

Period: May 14, 1940 to Jun 22, 1940

Germany invades France

Hitler sends German troops to France, and on June 22, just 6 weeks after the invasion began, France surrendered to Germany.

Jul 10, 1940

Battle of Britain begins

The Royal Air Force defeats the German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island.

Sep 16, 1940

First time Peacetime draft in U.S.

Feb 8, 1941

Hitler breaks pact with Stalin

Hitler breaks his pact with Stalin's Russia and invades, after which the USSR joins England in fighting the Germans.

Feb 9, 1941

Churchill and FDR issue Atlantic charter

Feb 12, 1941

Japanese invade French Indochina (Viet. Laos, Cambodia)

Dec 7, 1941

Pearl Harbor attack by Japanese

Pearl Harbor in Hawaii is attacked by Japanese Naval and Air forces, after which U.S. declares war on Japan.

Dec 9, 1941

Germany and Italy declare war on the US

Feb 8, 1942

Philippines fall to Japanese-Bataan Death March

Feb 8, 1942

Japanese Americans interned in isolated camps

Period: Jun 4, 1942 to Jun 7, 1942

Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific

Jul 10, 1942

Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad

Russians stop any Nazi advance at Stalingrad, and save Moscow.

Jan 20, 1943

British and U.S. Victory

British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa.

Feb 20, 1943

Zoot Suit Riots

Zoot suits were baggy looking suits that Latinos wore, for the most part. The Zoot suit riots happened after sailors got mad at them for using so much fabric instead of conserving it for the war effort. Rioting lasting a long time, and many Latinos were attacked.

Jul 20, 1943