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Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the Nazi Party
Many Germans were angry about the outcome of World War I and the heave reparation payments forced on them. Hitler rose to power by telling other Germans that they were the 'master race' destined to rule over Slavs,Gypsies, and others. He believed that they had been betrayed in World War I by Jews and other "traitors". Germans appealed to this idea because they wanted someone else to blame for their loss. -
Benito Mussolini appointed Prime Minister of Italy
Mussolini promised to restore order through strong leadership, and threatened to overthrow the government. The kind then appointed Mussolini prime minister. Mussolini believed that he could restore the Roman Empire. -
Josef Stalin sole dictator of the Soviet Union (USSR)
Stalin took brutal measures to control and modernize industry and agriculture. He ordered peasants to give crops, animals, and land to government-run farms. Millions of peasants who resisted were executed or sentenced to labor camps. -
Japan's army seizes Manchuria, China
Recently the world was put into an economic recession, and Japan was suffering from that, so they looked to their military for help. The military then took control of the government and invaded Manchuria, China, which was a area rich in minerals. The League of Nations told Japan to stop and retreat back into Japan, but Japan didn't listen. -
Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
The Great Depression increased Hitler's popularity, and in 1933 was named Chancellor, where he quickly created a totalitarian state. All other parties were outlawed, and Hitler's secret police force enforced strict loyalty. -
Neutrality Acts passed by US Congress
The Neutrality Acts were passed in order to limit America's further involvement in wars and were made because of the belief that loans and trades brought America into the first World War -
Italy invades Ethiopia in Africa
Although Ethiopians fought bravely, but their cavalry and outdated riles were no match for Italy's modern tanks and airplanes. Ethiopia appealed to the League of Nations, but the League responded weakly because they were afraid of starting another war. -
Militarists take control of Japanese Government
Because of the worldwide recession, Japan's economy was doing pretty bad, but their military was doing fine, so they looked to them for help. The military then took control of the government, but still made it look like the Prime Minister ruled, when in reality he had almost no power at all. The Japanese also preached racism, claiming that Japanese were better than all other Asians. -
Hitler sends troops into Rhineland of Germany in violation of the Versailles treat
Hitler vowed to create an empire that united all German-speaking people, including those outside Germany. Hitler began to send troops in Rhineland, without the European democracies doing anything to stop him. -
Japan's army pillages Nanjing, China; massacre of a quarter of a million people
Japan stepped up its aggression in China. For six weeks, Japanese forces pillaged the Chinese city of Nanjing, killing more than a quarter of a million people, including civilians. -
Munich Pact signed giving the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia to Germany
France and Britain protested when Hitler threatened to invade Germany. They met along with other European leaders in the German city of Munich, where they created the Munich Pact, which allowed Germany to have the Sudetenland, which was largely populated by Germans, as long as they didn't invade Czechoslovakia. -
Nazis begin rounding up Jews for labor camps
Hitler thought that Germans were the master race and that they lost World War I because of betrayals by the Jews. He started passing Anti-Semitic laws, banning jews from public schools and from professions such as medicine and law. In 1938, troops began to round up Jews and sent them to slave labor camps. -
Nazi-Soviet Pact signed by Hitler and Stalin
Hitler and Stalin secretly signed a Pact stating that they would not invade each others countries, and would split up Poland after Germany took it over. Germany later broke that pact and invaded the Soviet Union. -
Nazis invade Poland; Britain and France declare war on Germany
On September 1st, 1939, Nazi troops invaded Poland, and sixteen days later, the Soviet Union seized eastern Poland, along with Finland, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia. Britain and France later declared war on Germany. -
Nazis invade Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Belgium- take control
In the early days of war, Hitler's army seemed unstoppable. In April 1940, they moved north, seizing Denmark and Norway. In May, they marched west to conquer the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium. They then moved into France. -
Battle of Britain begins- Royal Air Force defeats German Air Force to prevent invasion of their island
Hitler ordered an air assault on Britain. Day after day, German planes attacked British cities. The raids took tens of thousands of lives, yet the British spirit never broke. By night, Londoners slept in subway stations. By day, they cleared the wreckage, buried the dead, and tried to carry on. Overhead, the British air force fought invading planes. The Battle of Britain continued through the summer and into the fall. By then, Hitler had abandoned all plans to invade Britain. -
Germany invades France and forces it to surrender
Britain sent troops to help France resist the Assault. The British and French, however, were quickly overpowered. By May, the Germans had forced them to retreat to Dunkirk, a French port on the English Channel. Unhindered, German armies entered France and marched on to Paris, the French Capital. On July 14, barely six weeks later, Hitler accepted the surrender of France. -
First time Peacetime Draft in US
Congress approved greater spending in the army and navy in order to prepare for a possible entry into the war. In September, it passed a law that set up the first peacetime draft in American history. -
Hitler breaks Pact with Stalin's Russia and invades- USSR which now joins England in fighting the Germans
On June 22, 1941, Hitler broke his pact with Stalin. A huge German force crossed into the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union, which had remained out of the early days of the war, now joined Britain in fighting the Germans. Although Churchill and Stalin deeply mistrusted each other, they were now forced to work together to defeat their common enemy. -
Japanese invade French Indochina (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia)
In July 1941, Japan invaded the French Colony of Indochina (present day Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). In response, Roosevelt banned American exports of iron and steel scrap to Japan. He also restricted the sale of oil to Japan. -
Churchill and FDR issue the Atlantic Charter
In August, Roosevelt and Churchill issued the Atlantic Charter, outlining their goals for the postwar world. They agreed that their nations would seek no territorial gain from the war and emphasized the right of all people to choose their own government. They also called for a new international organization that might succeed where the League of Nations had failed. -
Pearl Harbor in Hawaii attacked by Japanese Naval and Air Forces, US declares war on Japan, Germany and Italy declare war on the US
On December 7, 1941, Japanese bombers launched a surprise attack on American naval ,air, and ground forces at Pearl Harbor, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The attack destroyed nearly half of the island's 400 military aircraft and damaged 8 battleships, two beyond repair. About 2,400 Americans were killed. Later that day, Congress declared war on Japan. Japan's allies, Germany and Italy, then declared war on the United States. -
Philippines fall to Japanese- Bataan Death March
Hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese aircraft bombed airfields in the Philippines, the island chain governed by the United States. Later, a Japanese invasion force landed on Luzon.As the enemy closed in on Manila, the capital city, the U.S withdrew their forces onto the Bataan peninsula. The defenders of Bataan finally surrendered on April 9th. At Bataan, the Japanese captured nearly 70,000 soldiers. Already week from hunger, they were forced to walk 65 miles to a prison camp. -
Japanese Americans interned in isolation camps
The intense anti-Japanese fears led President Roosevelt to issue Executive Order 9066. The order was used to intern, or temporarily imprison, some 110,000 Japanese Americans for the duration of the war. -
Russians stop Nazi advance at Stalingrad save Moscow
Hitler had expected the Soviet Union to collapse swiftly in the face of his ferocious assault. But in December 1941, Soviet troops-assisted by the brutal Russian winter-halted the German advance just miles from Moscow. The Germans mounted another offensive in mid-1942. A major battle took place in and around the Russian city of Stalingrad. Months of bitter fighting ended in a clear Soviet victory. From then on, the Soviets slowly drove the Germans back westward. -
Battle of Midway, turning point of war in the Pacific
This battle was the first time that opposing ships did not see one another. Both sides suffered heavy losses, but the United States halted the Japanese drive to New Guinea. -
British and US forces defeat German and Italian armies in North Africa
British troops defeated German forces at El Alameinin Egypt, and slowly drove the Germans out of North Africa, -
Zoot Suit Riots- Los Angeles, CA
Young Mexican Americans in Los Angeles often dressed in "zoot suits". Their clothing and language set them apart. In June 1943, bands of sailors on shore leave attacked young Mexican Americans, beating them and clubbing them on the streets. The incident sparked several days of rioting. -
Italy surrenders- Mussolini dismissed as Prime Minister.
The king of Italy dismissed Mussolini from office. On September 8, 1943, the new government surrendered to the allies. Even so, German troops in Italy continued to fight. The Allies would face a long struggle before they finally controlled Italy. -
D-Day invasion of France at Normandy by Allies
On June 6, 1944-known as D-Day- more than 155,000 American, British, and Canadian troops crossed the English Channel. They landed on five beaches at Normandy, in western France. Troops at four of the beaches quickly overcame German opposition. -
Paris Retaken by Allied Forces
On August 25, 1944, the Allies entered Paris. After four years of Nazi rule, French men, women, and children greeted their liberators with joy. -
Battle of the Bulge: last German offensive
On December 16, Germans counterattacked in Belgium. Hitler poured his remaining reserves into the attack. Germans came close to breaking through Allied lines, but in the end, their attempt to fight off defeat proved futile. Germany now lays wide open from both the east and west. -
US forces return to reclaim the Phillippines
In January, army units landed on Luzon in the Philippines, and then advanced on to Manila. MacArthur had fulfilled his promise to return to the philippines. -
FDR dies- Harry S. Truman becomes president.
FDR's death shattered Americans. At a critical moment, Vice President Harry S. Truman was suddenly thrust into the highest office in the country. -
VE Day, war ends in Europe
Hitler took shelter in a bunker beneath the streets of Berlin, where he committed suicide on April 30, 1945. A week later, representatives of Germany's armed forces unconditionally surrendered at Eisenhower's headquarters in France. -
First Atomic Bombs dropped
In August, An american plane dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing 130,000 people
