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Nuremberg Race Laws
At the annual Nazi Party Rally in Nuremberg, Germany, leaders announcd new laws persecuting the Jewish race. Jews were no longer allowed German citizenship, nor could they intermarry Germans. They also had to self-identify by wearing the Star of David. This was the begining of Hitler's "pure" Aryan Race causing him to desire new lands for his superior race and ultimately causing the start of World War II. -
Kristallnacht
The Nazi party, the SA and the Hitler Yourh take part in a violent destruction of Jewish property. Nazis burned and rampaged hundreds of synagogues and 7,500 Jewish businesses, homes and schools. Due to the glass shards from thousands of shattered windows, the horrific event became known as "The Night of Broken Glass." Throughout the 48 hour riot, 91 Jews were murdered and 30,000 Jewish men were taken to concentration camps. The seeds of prejudice were growing and would soon alter the world. -
VIDEO - Victim Johanna Gerecther - Kristallnacht
Survivors Describe Kristallnacht Survivor Johanna Gerecther Neumann describes Kristallnacht in a video archived in the United Sstates Holocaust Memorial Museum. (Date Nov. 10, 1938 is a place-holder. Interview was published June 21, 2012. Original film date not given.) -
Germany Invades Poland
Hitler desired the Polish Corrider which was a strip of Polish land between East Prussia and Germany. He wanted the land for Lebensraum or "living space" for his new superior race and German nation. When Poland wouldn't voluntarily give up the land, German military invaded Poland, taking it by force. Polish troops put up a brave fight, but the German army quickly advanced and took the Polish capital of Warsaw by September 27, 1939. -
Britain and France Declare War on Germnay
In the late 1930's Hilter was becoming an aggressor and an increasing threat to neighboring countries. Both Britain and France swore support to Poland. They sent an ultimatum to Hilter, saying a state of war would exist if Germany invaded Poland. On September 3, 1939 Prime Minister Chamberlain announced on the radio that Germany had ignored the ultimatum, and Britain was now at war with Germany. The nightmare of World War II had officially begun. -
Evacuation of Dunkirk, France
May 10, 1940 marked the Fall of France as Germans swept across France. The British Expeditionary Forces and Allies found themselves trapped against the sea. Over a 7 day period 338,226 men were rescued from Dunkirk beaches by 222 naval vessels and 665 civilian crafts called the "little ships." They included fishing vessels, lifeboats, tug boats, trawlers, river cruisers, ferrying the English Channel under fire. Military disaster had been averted and spirits soared, despite the loss of France. -
Battle of Britain Begins
The air battle over Britain raged from 7/10 - 10/31/1940. The outnumbered, young RAF pilots faced a formidable Nazi opponent. The RAF in Spitfires and Hurricanes fought aerial dogfights against the German Luftwaffe for control of Britain. Britain suffered heavily, but won control of the air. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill stated, "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few." -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
"A date which will live in infamy," U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed of the surprise, unprovoked air and naval attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii by the Empire of Japan. The deliberate attack destroyed 19 ships and killed 2,403 sailors and U.S. military personel. The following day, December 8th, 1941, the United States Congress declared war on Japan and three days later on Germany. The U.S. had now entered WWII. -
"Final Solution" Begins, Auschwitz
The "Final Solution" was the Nazi's systematic killing and extermination of all Jews, homosexuals, communists, political prisoners and society's "undesirables." Auschwitz Camp in Poland was one of 8 extermination camps, where at its height, 6,000 Jews were gassed with Zyklon B daily, usually upon immediate arrival to the camp. During the Holocaust more than six million Jews were murdered. Auschwitz was liberated in January, 1945. See Photograph of Auschwitz gas chamber. -
D-Day, Normandy Invasion
On this morning the Allied invasion of France, Operation Overlord, began. 150,000 U.S., British, Canadian (& 9 other nations) troops landed on 5 Normandy, code-named, beaches: Omaha, Utah, Sword, Juno and Gold. By nightfall, after fierce battle and thousands of casualties, the beachheads were secure for trucks, tanks and troops to enter France the next day. Liberation of thousands of square miles of Nazi occupied land had finally begun. -
Battle of the Bulge
Marked as Hitler's last major military offensive. Deep in the snow of the Belgium Ardennes Mountains, Hitler tried to split British & American forces in northern France. His offensive created a bulge-shaped line. The fighting was fierce, bitterly cold and deadly. On Dec. 26th General George S. Patton's Third Army battled & relieved surrounded Bastogne. Germans lost 74,000 soldiers, significant weapons & tanks, ruining its army. The German offensive ultimately brought about the end of WW II. -
VE - Victory in Europe - Day
World War II Allies officially accept the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, bringing WW II to an end. Millions of people across the world, including London, Paris, and New York City, celebrated in the streets with ticker-tape parades. The events that immediately preceded VE Day were Adolf Hitler commited suicide on April 30th and Germany unconditionally surrendered on May 7th, 1945. -
Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
"Little Boy" the first atomic bomb used in military combat was dropped on this day on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later on Aug. 9th, "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. More then 200,000 people were killed by both bombs. Cancer and death from radiation would continue for decades. The Empire of Japan announced surrender August 15th, 1945. The world's long nightmare was over.
