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Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany
At the end of World War I, Hitler had been
a jobless soldier drifting around Germany. In 1919, he joined a group
called the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, better known as the Nazi
Party. Despite its name, this party had no ties to socialism.
Hitler proved to be such a powerful public speaker and organizer that he
quickly became the party’s leader and he
promised to bring Germany out of chaos. -
Benito Mussolini's fascist government in Italy
Benito Mussolini was establishing a totalitarian regime in
Italy. The middle and upper classes demanded
stronger leadership.
Mussolini knew how to appeal to Italy’s wounded national pride. He played on
the fears of economic collapse and communism winning the support
of many discontented Italians. Fascism stressed nationalism and
placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. -
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf, German for "my struggle", is a book written by Adolf Hitler, in which he set forth the basic beliefs of
Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party. Nazism
the German brand of fascism, was based on extreme nationalism. -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Nationalistic
military leaders were trying to take control of the imperial government of
Japan. These leaders shared in common with Hitler a belief in the need for more
living space for a growing population. The militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of
the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. Within several months, Japanese
troops controlled the entire province, a large region about twice the size of Texas,
that was rich in natural resources. -
Storm Troopers
The Storm Troopers, or brown shirts, were Hitler's private army. Germany's economy was hit hard, by 1932, 6 million Germans were unemployed, many of the men joined Hitler's Storm Troopers. -
Third Reich
In 1932, the Nazis had become the strongest political party in Germany and in January 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor. Once in power,
he quickly dismantled Germany’s democratic Weimar Republic. In its place he
established the Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third
Reich would be a “Thousand-Year Reich”—it would last for a thousand years. -
Hitler's military build up in Germany
In
1933, Hitler pulled Germany out of the League. In 1935, he began a military
buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. A year later, he sent troops into
the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized
as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
Hitler sent troops into
the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demilitarized
as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini's first target was Ethiopia, one of Africa’s few
remaining independent countries. In 1935, tens
of thousands of Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on
Ethiopia. -
Francisco Franco
In 1936, a group of
Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco,
rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out all
over Spain, and the Spanish Civil War began. The war
aroused passions not only in Spain but throughout the
world. About 3,000 Americans formed the Abraham
Lincoln Battalion and traveled to Spain to fight against
Franco. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
The civil war in spain forged a close
relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who
signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. -
Hitler's Anshcluss
This was the annexation of austria into Nazi germany in March -
Munich Agreement
On
September 30, 1938, they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the
Sudetenland over to Germany without a single shot being fired -
Joseph Stalin's totalitarian government in the Soviet Union
In 1939, Stalin had firmly established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition. -
War productions board
The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in August 1939, with Executive Order 9024. -
Nonagression Pact
As tensions rose over Poland, Stalin surprised everyone by signing a
nonaggression pact with Hitler. Once bitter enemies, on August 23, 1939 fascist
Germany and communist Russia now committed never to attack each other. -
Blitzkreig
September 1, 1939, the German
Luftwaffe, or German air force, roared over Poland, raining bombs on military
bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. At the same time, German tanks raced across
the Polish countryside, spreading terror and confusion. This invasion was the first
test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, lightning war -
Britain and France declare war on Germany
On September 3, two days following the terror
in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. -
hitlers invasion of the netherlands
The invasion, based on blitzkrieg, was swift and devastating. Holland surrendered just six days later. -
Phony war
For the next several months after the fall of Poland,
French and British troops on the Maginot Line, a system of fortifications
built along France’s eastern border (see map on p. 538), sat
staring into Germany, waiting for something to happen. On the
Siegfried Line a few miles away German troops stared back. The
blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg
(“sitting war”), and what some newspapers referred to as the
phony war. -
Hitlers invasion of denmark and norway
The German invasion of Denmark was the fighting that followed the German army crossing the ... cities in Germany. Additionally, the Norwegian fjords also provided excellent bases for German submarines to attack in the North Atlantic. -
germany and italys invasion of france
The Italian invasion of France was the first major Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
A Nazi-controlled puppet government, was headed
by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy,
in southern France. -
The battle of britain
In the summer of 1940, the
Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the
French coast. Because its naval power could not compete
with that of Britain, Germany also launched an air war at
the same time. This is the battle of britain -
lend lease act
In 1940, Britain had no more cash to
spend in the arsenal of democracy. Roosevelt tried to help by suggesting a new
plan that he called a lend-lease policy. Under this plan, the president would lend
or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the
United States.” -
office of price administration
The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money (price controls) and rents after the outbreak of World War II. -
battle of stalingard
The Germans had been fighting in the Soviet
Union since June 1941. In November 1941, the bitter cold had stopped them in
their tracks outside the Soviet cities of Moscow and Leningrad. When spring
came, the German tanks were ready to roll. -
Pearl harbour attack
a Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor—
the largest U.S. naval base in the
Pacific. The bomber was followed by
more than 180 Japanese warplanes
launched from six aircraft carriers. As
the first Japanese bombs found their
targets, a radio operator flashed this
message: “Air raid on Pearl Harbor.
This is not a drill.” -
Internment
General Delos Emmons, the military governor
of Hawaii, resisted the order because 37 percent of the people in Hawaii were
Japanese Americans. To remove them would have destroyed the islands’ economy
and hindered U.S. military operations there. However, he was eventually forced
to order the internment, or confinement, of 1,444 Japanese Americans, 1 percent
of Hawaii’s Japanese-American population. -
Battle of the Atlantic
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hitler
ordered submarine raids against ships along America’s east coast. The German
aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from
reaching Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Britain depended on supplies from
the sea. -
Manhattan project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. -
operation torch
Operation Torch, an invasion of Axis-controlled North Africa, commanded by
American General Dwight D. Eisenhower. -
US convoy system
Convoys
were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done
in the First World War. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers
equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. they were also accompanied by airplanes -
unconditional surrender
the unconditional surrender enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies
dictated. The two leaders also discussed where to strike next. -
Korematsu v. United States
Japanese Americans fought for justice, both in the courts and in Congress.
The initial results were discouraging. In 1944, the Supreme Court decided, in
Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese
Americans to camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity.” -
Bloody Anzio
Hitler was determined to stop the Allies in Italy
rather than fight on German soil. One of the hardest battles the Allies encountered
in Europe was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. This battle, “Bloody
Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000
Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties -
D day
The Allied invasion, code-named Operation Overlord,
was originally set for June 5, but bad weather forced a
delay. Banking on a forecast for clearing skies, Eisenhower
gave the go-ahead for D-Day—June 6, 1944, the first day
of the invasion. -
The battle of the bulge
In October 1944,
Americans captured their first German town, Aachen.
Hitler responded with a desperate last-gasp offensive. He
ordered his troops to break through the Allied lines and to
recapture the Belgian port of Antwerp. This bold move,
the Führer hoped, would disrupt the enemy’s supply lines
and demoralize the Allies. -
Harry S Truman
on aapril 12th 1945 Vice President Harry S. Truman
became the nation’s 33rd president. -
Womens auxiliary army corps
The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established to work with the Army -
Death of hitler
Hitler shot himself
while his new wife swallowed
poison. -
V E Day `
May 8th. Europe victory day is called VE day