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Election of Adolf Hitler
Hitler's Speech (With Sound)Adolf Hitler was elected as president of Germany. This signaled the start of the Nazi parties rise to power which led to the Holocaust as well as many other tragic events. -
Dachau
Some disturbing footageDachau was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi party and held reletively few Jews, rather it focused on Jehovah's Witnesses, Roma (Gypsies), homosexuals,and criminal offenders. This camp changed throughout the war to hold more Jews as well as gas chambers and more housing. Dachau is significant because it started the idea of internment camps which was what caused so many deaths of Jewish people as well as many others and is also what we connect WWII and the Holocauset with. -
Quarantine Speech
Text and talk of speech This speech was given by Franklin Deleno Roosevelt. This speech was adressing the quarantine of the "evils" in Europe and calling for American's to help find peace by becoming active in the war. This was significant because it was a call for American intervention in the war to control evils in the world and make for a more peaceful time. -
Invasion of Poland
Interview with Leah SilversteinThis event occurred when Germany invaded Poland and took a month to require the entire country. Previously, Russia and Germany had discussed splitting Poland but Germans decided not to give Russia their half which caused Russia to break ties and migrate to the allied side. A woman affected by the bombings in Poland described them; "The screams and, you know, the cries of the children, the women, the, the terrible panic that seized the population. And, and the planes coming down on you." -
Invasion of France
Footage of France during InvasionGermany invaded France in May of 1940 and were forced to sign an armistice with Germany on June 22, 1940. This is significant to the war because France was one of the last countried that had not been taken over and once it was, Britain was the only thing that stood between Germany and supremecy. -
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Battle of Britain
News Coverage of the Battle of BritainThis battle was a series of air attacks on Great Britain in order for Germany to gain total control over Europe. Germany was not successful. This was significant because it kept Germany from gaining superiority over all of Europe. -
The Draft
(View draft cards at bottom of page)The draft was instigated on september 16. It required all men aged 21-45 to register with the selective serivce. If their draft card was picked, they needed to serve at least one year in the armed forces. By the end of the war, 50 million had registered and 10 million had been inducted into the military. -
Lend lease program
The Lend Lease act was propossed in 1940 and passed in '41. This act stated that the U.S could lend money and arms to, "“the government of any country whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States.” We took advantage of this policy when we lended arms to the soviets when Hitler betrayed them. -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
Germany invaded the Societ Union after the Nonagression Act had been made between the two to split Poland in half, but Germany considered this temporary and created a secret plan which included invading the Soviet Union. The issue was they decided to do this in winter which gave Russians the advantage and caused Germany to lose. This is significant because it caused the Societ Union to join the allies and cause for an easier, quicker win to the war. -
Atlantic Charter
(text of the charter)The Atlantic charter was policy created by the Allies that stated the post war goals. This publicaly announced that the US was supporting Britain in the war. One of its 8 main parts was that neither Britain nor the US would gain any territory after the war. -
Pearl Harbor
(pearl harbor video watch with sound)Pearl Harbor was the first international attack on US soil. This was the attack the pulled the united states into the war. This attack was responsible for thousands of American deaths. -
Japanese Internment
(Interview with internment camp victim)In February on 1942, FDR signed an order that stated that Japanese American citizens will be moved to concentration camps in the interior of America. These camps were not the Nazi death camps, but they were cramped, hot, and unsanitary. It took the united states almost 40 years to apologize for the camps. -
Battle of Midway
This battle occurred after Japan began to gain power in the pacific and after Pearl Harbor.In this battle, America had a naval victory which pushed the Japanese back with heavy causualties. This is significant because it gave America power in the pacific and also addressed the Japan issue after Pearl Harbor. -
D-Day
D-Day was when Allied troops arrived on Normandy Beach in order to take France back from Nazi power. This was significant because it was the first time that America had broken their isolitionism ideals and pushed into the war. My great uncle was a paratrooper during D-Day and was dropped off target, he described the situation in a book he wrote; "I watched two planes get hit by anti-aircraft fire and burst into flames. The situation suddenly became very lonely." -
Bombing of Hiroshima
Bombing The bombing of Hiroshima occured after Pearl Harbor and killed tens of thousands of people in the initial explosion and many more in the days passing because of radiation. This was significant because it was the first time that the United States had used a weapon of mass destruction in war which led to the cold war.
