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Treaty of Versailles
This treaty was signed to mark the end of WWI and stop war between all countries. This plays a role in WWII because when Hitler rises to power, he breaks this treaty. Breaking this treaty meant that he could start war between other countries which will ultimately lead to the start of WWII. -
Hitler becomes Führer
President of Germany, Paul von Hindenburg, passes away. Shortly after, Hitler declares himself Führer and abolishes the office of presidency in Germany. This event is important because it marks the the start of Hitler's solo reign and domination of Europe. Because of Hitler's need for power, he invaded many countries causing many to declare war. This was the start of the downfall of Europe. -
Non-Aggressive Pact
This pact was created in 1939 between Russia and Germany to prevent fighting between the two, however this didn't last long. Germany broke it in 1941 by surprise attacking Russia. Shortly after the Soviet Union was no longer an ally of Germany, This later backfires for Germany because Russia ends up driving them back and plays a major role in ending the world. That why this date is so important. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germany
When Hitler started invading countries throughout Europe, Britain and France decided to make a deal with him called the Munich Pact
in 1938. This stated that Germany could only take part of Czechoslovakia. Hitler ended up breaking this agreement and further taking Poland which caused Britain and France to declare war. This event is important because these were the first countries to declare war during WWII. Essentially marking the start of it. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
Japan launched an attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. They were hoping that that this would prevent any military from intervening with them considering Hawaii was a lot closer. This day is important because there were 2,300 American lives lost along with many ships and air crafts. This upset the US causing them to want to seek revenge. The very next day, the US declared war on Japan which would later affect many of the Japanese-Americans living in the US at the time. -
Executive Order 9066
Since the US was going to War with Japan, they didn't want any family of the enemy to possibly help out the other side. With this problem, the US set up internment camps for anyone related to the Japanese. This event is important because it affected Japanese Americans for the rest of their lives. When they were initially put into camps, they had all their belongings taken and had bad living conditions. This order affected the lives of so many innocent people forever. -
Battle of Stalingrad
This battle started in 1942 when the Germans tried to invade Russia and expand east. The Soviets had a victory by a landslide even though they fought alone. Because of this defeat that Germany had to face, they were no longer able to expand East. This is important because this is when Germany started to slow down in there conquering of Europe. They could no longer expand East meaning they were running out of area to go and grow. This would later help the allies with beating them in battle -
Operation Overlord
On this day, allied forces launched an assault on Germany all across Normandy, France. They were here to liberate France from German control. This battle is where the downfall of Germany starts and where they start to realize they are losing land and the War. August 25th is when they officially lost occupation of France. This is when Hitler had to start moving back. -
Hitler Dies
Hitler spent his remaining hours in a bunker while the Soviets were storming the city. Him and his wife both committed suicide in the bunker before the Soviets could reach them. This event is important because Hitler was one of the main reasons the War started and now he was dead. This was the mark of the fall of Nazism and Hitler himself. Many places were looted and homes were destroyed leaving Germany a mess. They even surrendered to the Allies later in May of that same year. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
The US had the choice to invade Japan and force them to surrender or launch the first atomic bomb towards them. They chose to launch the bomb so the US wouldn't have to face more loses. The first attacked Hiroshima and Nagasaki a couple days later. The reason this is important is because a few days later Japan unconditionally surrendered to the US, leaving the US to take charge for a little and put an end to the fighting.