World War II

Hitler comes to power

1933

In 1933, Hitler became Chancellor. This was during the depression and he said he could make everything better. He made an amendment called the Enabling Act which allowed him to pass laws without congress. This is when Hitler came to power.

Hitler builds military

Mar 9, 1935

Hitler was rising to power. He started to build up his military. He started by creating an air force. He then instituted a draft and shortly after that he sent troops to Rhineland.

Rape of Nanjing

1937

Japan had invaded China at this point and were at war with them. But the Chinese government was so focused on what was happening in Europe and communism that they dismissed the Japanese. Japan moved south and captured the Capital. They raped and killed many Chinese. Chaing, trying to defeat the Japanese, broke the Yellow River Dam killing millions of Chinese and flooding the city.

Kristallnacht

1938

The Night of Broken Glass. Nazi soldiers raided and destroyed Jewish towns and synagogues. They burned Jewish books and took Jews to what was called the ghettos.

Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

1939

Hitler was terrified of a 2 front war. He knew if the Soviets got involved it was over for him. So in order to avoid this he made an agreement with Stalin to not fight each other.

The Battle of Britain

1940

Hitler wanted to take out Britain. He needed air control before he could invade. He attacked vital military targets. Britain suffered and started to bomb Berlin. Hitler changed his strategy and started bombing civilians. This gave the RAF enough time to rebuild. Britain had radar and blackouts which ultimately helped them win the war. On September 1940, Hitler postponed his invasion.

The invasion of the Soviet Union

Jun 22, 1941

Hitler was having problems in the Balkins and he thought he could take over the Soviet Union. So on June 22 1941 Hitler invaded the Soviet Union braking their agreement. He was able to push the Soviet back to their capital and took 2 million captive. However the Nazis weren’t prepared for the cold so they were halted and Stalin was mad.

Pearl Harbor

Dec 7, 1941

Japan bombed a US naval base. They were trying to take out our naval forces but most ships were out on training missions. This is when the US officially joined the war.

The Battle of Stalingrad

1942

This was considered the turning point for the war in the USSR. The Nazis made an advance but were then surrounded by the Soviets. Their supplies were cut off and they were starved until they surrendered.

Death camps

1942

Death camps were a huge part of the Holocaust. They were created for the mass murder of Jews. They used gas chambers, starvation, overworking, and firing squads to kill people.

D-Day

Jun 6, 1944

D-Day was an invasion of the Normandy beaches. The Allies were trying to create a second front. 4,427 died on the first day.

Yalta Conference

1945

The Yalta Conference was where the United Nations was created. Germany was split into 4 sections. And Stalin wanted buffer communist states. This is when cold war tension started.

Liberation of the Death Camps

Jan 27, 1945

Auschwitz was the first death camp liberated. This was when people started to realized what the Nazis were up to.

Dropping of the Atomic bombs

Sep 9, 1945

Truman made the final decision to drop the bombs. The first bomb was little boy and it was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6. 3 days later, He dropped Fat Boy on Nagasaki. This led to Japan accepting unconditional surrender.