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Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact- named after Soviet foreign minister and Nazi German foreign minister, signed in Moscow, ensured non-involvement of the S.U. in a European War as separating Germany and Japan from forming a military alliance. Remained in effect until June 22, 1941 when G. invaded the Soviet Union -
Great Depression
US stock market crashes; economy plummets and Europe’s economy is affected too. *no money Because countries in Europe were already affected by WWI, they were deeply affected when the Great Depression occurred b/c the economy was in ruins -
Japan conquers Manchuria in northern China
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Roosevelt first elected president
Americans turn on Hoover and then elect Franklin D. Roosevelt; people believed that he would set things straight and it gave them hope; main president during WWII
*not exact day -
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
elected Chancellor b/c they wanted to use his influence on the people and his power to help themselves & decided that they could control him; however he overthrew the constitution and took control of the gov’t which made him even more powerful -
Nuremberg Laws
Stripped away all rights from Jewish descanted people; beginning of the idea of the Final Solution and his conquest to get rid of Jew; used to humiliate the Jews and made their pride go down/mock them; started the Jewish ghettos; Warsaw ghetto uprising -
Hitler & Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis
They became powerful leaders and were now large and extremely powerful allies; became known as the Axis -
Japan Invades China
Japan invades China initiating WWII in the Pacific; significant b/c it signified and started the war in the Pacific -
Germany invades Austria
Austria was mostly a German-speaking country and residents of Austria and Germany welcomed the unification; start of Hitler’s conquest for power and territory/land -
Britain’s appeasement of Germany
The Munich Agreement was part of the British and French policy of appeasement; made it so that Hitler would stop trying to seek more territory; Churchill warned that Hitler would not stop; significant: though they had avoided war and achieved “peace in our time” but Hitler did not stop -
Kristallnacht (Night of Broken Glass)
Night of Brocken Glass; wave of violent anti-Jewish pogroms/riots against the Jewish community of Germany; nationwide program/organization in Germany, annexed Austria and in areas recently occupied by German troops *9th and 10th of November -
Germany invades Poland - blitzkrieg (start of WWII)
Effect: Brit. and Fran. declare war on Germ; signified the start of the second world war. German Blitzkrieg in Poland starts *blitzkrieg-“lightning war” tactics from the G which stressed speed and surprise w/tanks, troops and planes -
Germany Invades Denmark and Norway
Nazis invaded Denmark and Norway- operation Weserübung(Weser Exercise) *code name for the invasion; Denmark- secure communication lines to Norway during operation, naval bases, protect supply of iron-ore from Sweden coming into Germany, Luftwaffe/G. Air forces could use the land for training; land invasion, plan worked perfectly, it was occupied by Germany until the end of the war -
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Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France (Vichy France)
balance of Europe was shifted when France fell to Hitler and the Nazi Germany. Signif:Neutral countries like Canada and US were pulled into war to help Britain when France fell b/c countries were quickly falling into Nazi hands; wall was built to keep Britain out of Germany, Canada became Britain’s strongest ally when France fell; proved Germany was becoming ruthless and was strong/got what he wanted -
Germany invades France and Belgium (Vinchy France)
Nazis invaded France and Belgium- Belgium: air raids from G. Luftwaffe, fought but surrendered, g. divisions, paratroopers, air gliders and soldiers overran Belgium; main attack on France was on May 13; invaded France for G. defeat in WWI, get revenge for Treaty of Versailles, European domination, France was the most powerful -
Japan Joins the Axis Powers
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German air force (Luftwaffe) bombs London and other civilian targets in the Battle of Britain
The Blitz; major raids on 16 British cities, London was attacked 71 times in 267 days (about 37 weeks). August 24, 1940: night bomber aiming for RAF airfields drifted off course and accidently destroyed/dropped bombs on London (homes and killed civilians)London started to get bombed by the Luftwaffe on 9/7/1940 for 57 consecutive nights; more than 40,000 civilians killed, almost ½ in London, caused Churchill to immediately respond and bomb Berlin *wanted to make them surrender -
Lend-Lease Act
Signed by FDR to supply the USSR, China, France and other Allied nations w/material and supplies between 1941-1945; signed 9 months before US entered war in December 1941; significant b/c it ended the US pretense of neutrality; total of 50.1 billion were shipped to the Allies -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
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Tuskegee Airmen *date: Army air corps initiated prog.
12 cadets and one officer (Captain Benjamin O. Davis); signified that African-Americans were also American and would fight for their country and proved to other Americans that they were equally important -
Pearl Harbor
It was a secret invasion of war planes from the Japanese and they bombed Pearl Harbor which was a large and important US naval base. It is significant b/c it made the Americans join WWII and signified that they were no longer neutral; left the US fleet devastated -
Rosie the Riveter 1941-1945 *not exact date
represented real women workers during WWII and women should start working even if it is a men’s job, women held up the work force and jobs during WWII when all the men were out on war, helped the war effort a lot and kept the economy and working industry going, built war ships, etc, when the war ended and the men came back they had to leave to make room for the soldiers that were coming back, many left and were unhappy; changed the traditional role of women. -
The Nazis implement the “Final Solution”
Involved 11 million European Jews, including those from non-occupied countries like Ireland, Sweden, GB... The German railways transported millions of people, some were not even Jews, to killing centers in Poland (occupied) They were killed in gas chambers or worked to their death. Many died of exhaustion, starvation, disease, murder (gas), and exposure. *genocide and euphimism -
Japanese-American incarceration
FDR signed Executive Order 9066. It led to the assembly and evacuation of over 122,000 Jap-Am. All over the west coast of the US. It was signed and put into use about 2 months after Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Everyone believed that the Japanese-Americans were not loyal anymore and were spies. -
Bataan Death March
US and Filipinos surrendered and were forced to march 65 miles from Mariveles to San Fernando,captors were brutal. Thousands died of disease, mistreatment, starvation, or died while they were marching. The US avenged its defeat by invading the island of Leyte on Oct. 1944 -
Manhattan Project
Carried out in 3 secret scientific cities: Hanford, WA; Oak Ridge, TN; and Los Alamos, NM; 1st atomic bomb built in NM
July 16, 1945- world entered the nuclear age
Neither side had produced a working atomic weapon
Two bombs=transported to use against Japan to bomb them; Significant: signified the beginning of an era of nuclear weapons and scientific discovery -
Battle of Midway
from 4-7 of June 1942. Fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway, decisive battle of the war in the Pacific, US Pacific Fleet surprised the Jap. First attack was on June 4th, Japanese lost 4 carriers and US lost one. Significance=balance of sea power in the Pacific shifted from the Japan to an equity between US and Japan -
Guadalcanal Aug. 1942-Feb 1943
*not exact date; Turning point in the war, air base was imp. To control the sea lines of communication between US and Australia. Everything went wrong and then got better, end of battle was on Feb. 9, 1943; Jap lose was the decimation of their elite group of naval aviators; both sides heavily lost ships -
British forces stop the German advance at El Alamein
Oct. 23-Nov. 5, 1942; Second El Alamein saw British forces under Lt. Gen. Bernard Montgomery attack and break through Axis positions. -
German forces surrender at Stalingrad
Nazi forces surrender at Stalingrad; very last of the German forces fighting at Stalingrad surrendered even though Hitler said that “Surrender is out of the question” Battle began in the summer of 1942 -
D-Day
Allied invasion of France- largest seaborne invasion in history(land-sea-air operation), 850,000 allied troops had poured into France; Hitler was unprepared and surprised b/c he thought that the would attack Calais, called Operation Overload- Allies gained ground; signified that the Allies were turning the war -
Battle of the Bulge *not exact day
final German assault in Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg; US underestimated the battle and were outnumbered; one of the last and biggest battles in Europe, signified that they had underestimated Germany and Hitler’s plans; bloody, deadly, and huge -
Yalta Conference *not exact day
conference where Allies planned the post-war world; Big three-Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin; plans for the end of the war and future of Europe; establish postwar int. peace keeping organization; signified that the war was going to end soon and that they should start thinking about the future -
Iwo Jima
Operation Detachment; major battle in which the US Armed Forces fought; helped the Pacific War for Allies/US; turning point of war
*Feb. 19-Mar. 26 1945 -
Okinawa: April-June 21, 1945
Last and biggest of the Pacific island battles of WWII, Okinawa campaign involved 287,000 troops of the US tenth Army against 130,000 of Jap. 32nd army; at stake=air bases bital to the projected invasion of Japan, used air attacks by plane on one-way “suicide missions”; Japan sent their last big battleship; result was mass bloodletting both on land and at sea for the civilian pop. and military. -
Roosevelt dies, Truman becomes president
FDR died in office after a few months of being sworn into his fourth term. Truman became president right after FDR died. Truman had only been VP for 82 days before he had to become president and FDR passed away -
Mussolini's death
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Formation of the United Nations (still today)
50 naitons met in San Francisco to discuss a new peace keeping organ. to replace the ineffective League of Nations; June 26, 1945:All 50 nations ratified the charter creating a new international peacekeeping body (UN); FDR had ured Americans not to turn their back on the world again; US is a member of the UN -
Hitler's death
as the Battle of Berlin was being fought and he realized that all was lost and killed himself -
Allied forces advance on Berlin, Germany surrenders
Germany fell to Soviet troops and surrendered; Germany was no longer a threat or enemy in the war and that the war was almost over; their biggest threat/enemy was gone -
Postdam Conference
July 17 - Aug. 2, 1945; Allies held the Postdam Conference to plan the war's end; decision was made to put Nazi war criminals on trial (Nuremburg Trials) -
Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
US drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki- effect: Japan surrenders and signifies that WWII is almost and basically done and over -
Japanese officials sign an official letter of surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri, ending World War II
Signified that WWII was finally over and that Japan had surrendered -
Nuremburg Trials
Nov. 20, 1945 - Oct. 1, 1946 (still today): 24 defendents (some of Hitler's top officials), Hermann Goring-creator&head of Gestapo(secret police), charged w/crimes against humanity, 19 guilty&12 sentenced to death; people are responisible for their actions even in wartime -
Mashall Plan *not exact date
George Marshall's plan to boost European economies; US gave more than 13 billion to help nations of Europe to get back up on their feet
