- 
  
  
- Series of violent attacks on Jews by paramilitary forces and non-Jewish citizens.
 - 'Kristallnacht' refers to the broken glas that littered the streets after Jewish-owned businesses had their windows smashed.
 - German authorities did not intervene.
 - The riots began after Herschel Grynszpan shot diplomat Ernest vom Rath in protest of Jews being expelled from Germany.
 - Jews in concentration camps were killed by the other prisoners.
 
 - 
  
  
- Germany signed a nonaggression pact with Poland to avoid a French-Polish union.
 - The German people did not support the pact.
 - The German-Soviet Pact allowed Germany to attack Poland without fear of Soviet interaction.
 - Warsaw surrendered on September 27.
 - Britain and France declared war on Germany.
 
 - 
  
  
- Successful German invasion of France.
 - The battle consisted of Case Red and Case Yellow.
 - German military forces overwhelmed the French.
 - An armistice between France and Germany was signed on June 22.
 - Germany got the north and west parts of France.
 
 - 
  
  
- First major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces.
 - The Germans wanted to gain air superiority.
 - Coastal shipping convoys were the main targets.
 - The name is derived from a pre-war speech by Winston Churchill.
 - Eventually, Luftwaffe moved to bombing factories and politically significant areas.
 
 - 
  
  
- Surprise military attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy
 - The attack led to the US entry into World War II.
 - Eight US warships were damaged, four sunk.
 - 353 Japanese fighter planes, bombers, and torpedo planes were launched from aircraft carriers.
 - 2,403 Americans were killed.
 
 - 
  
  
- Nazi Germany vs the Soviet Union for control of Stalingrad.
 - Largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare.
 - Hitler directed the summer attacks to the southern parts of the Soviet Union.
 - Stalin expected the German attacks to be directed to Mosow.
 - Hitler planned to kill all male civilians and deport all women and children after Stalingrad had been captured.
 
 - 
  
  
- The Allies take Sicily from Italy and Nazi Germany.
 - It was an operation that worked in the air and on the ocean.
 - Benito Mussolini was pushed from power in Italy.
 - The land forces were from American, British, and Canadian forces.
 - The battle ended on August 17.
 
 - 
  
  
- American, British, and Canandian forces land on five beaches along France's Normandy coast.
 - One of the largest military invasions.
 - By spring, the Allies had defeated the Germans.
 - Beginning of the end of war in Europe.
 - More than 4,000 Allied troops lost their lives.
 
 - 
  
  
- Auschwitz was built to hold Polish political prisoners.
 - It was run by the Third Reich.
 - When Soviet troops started marching towards Auschwitz, prisoners were evacuated and sent on a death march.
 - Remaining prisoners were freed.
 - Survivors wrote memoirs of their time at the camp.
 
 - 
  
  
- US becomes the first and only nation to use atomic bombs during wartime.
 - Albert Einstein warned the US that Germany was conducting research into atomic bombs.
 - Germany had already be defeated by the time the US had conducted the first successful test.
 - The blast killed more than 80,000 people.
 - Japan surrendered a few days later.