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Great Depression begins
It ended in 1941 because of WWII when a lot of jobs opened up for people who had been jobless before. People had been mad that some minority races had taken some of the few jobs available. (not exact date) -
Japan conquers Manchuria in northern China
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Roosevelt first elected president
Created the New Deal to stop the Great Depression. Convinced Congress to pass the Lend-Lease Act. (not exact date) -
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
In 1932 Hitler's Nazi party won 37% of the vote and Hitler demanded to become Chancellor but he didn't until later. He supported the Nazi party and preached German racial superiority. He wanted a “pure race” and tried to eliminate all Jewish and other minority people. He overthrew the constitution and took control of the government calling himself der Fuhrer or “the leader.” -
Nuremberg Laws
The first law (the Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honor) prohibited Jews from marrying. The second law (The Reich Citizenship Law) took away Jews German citizenship. (not exact date) -
Hitler & Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis
Their alliance became known as the Axis. Italy Germany and Japan formed this alliance. -
Japan invades China
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Germany invades Austria
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Kristallnacht
Lasted from November 9-10. The Kristallnacht which was also known as the “Night of Broken Glass” was anti-Jew programs throughout Germany, annexed Austria, and some places in Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. -
Britain’s appeasement of Germany
Great Britain and France met Germany’s demands in order to avoid war. Neville Chamberlain the Prime Minister of Germany said that he had achieved “peace in our time” But others, like Winston Churchill didn’t agree with appeasement. Picture shows leader of Britain shaking hands with Hitler to avoid war by agreeing to some of his demands. (not exact date) -
Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
Then Germany invaded Poland. Two days later Great Britain and France declared war on Germany and World War II began. (not exact date) -
Germany invades Poland - blitzkrieg (start of WWII)
Germany used a new method of warfare called blitzkrieg or “lightning war” because they used speed and surprise using tanks, troops, and planes. In less than a month Poland fell.The picture was taken right after the surrender of Poland. -
The Nazis implement the “Final Solution”
The "Final Solution" started a little after WWII started in September of 1939 but the exact date is unsure. Adolf Hitler was the leader of the Holocaust. In the “Final Solution” Nazi leaders set out to murder every Jew in Germany. The Germans built huge ghettos or concentration camps (like Auschwitz) and stuffed Jews into boxcars to send to the camps. At the camp the able-bodied ones were sent to work in horrifying conditions while all the others were sent unknowingly to their death. -
Japan joins the Axis Powers
Japan, Italy, and Germany were all seeking new territory. Dictators in Europe and Japan in the 1930s seized territory and threatened democratic governments. -
Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France (Vichy France)
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German air force (Luftwaffe) bombs London and other civilian targets in the Battle of Britain
A three month battle fought over Britain. There were bombing raids on London and other cities. This was Hitler’s first defeat. -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
Hitler was partnered with Stalin but he still feared his ambitions in Europe. He wanted the Soviet Union’s wheat and oil fields to help sustain his military machines. When his troops invaded they inflicted heavy casualties on the Soviet Union troops until the winter weather stopped the Nazis advance. (not exact date) -
Lend-Lease Act
Roosevelt supported it. It allowed the U.S. to lend resources and equipment to the Allies. The Allies sent about $50 billion worth of goods to Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and other Allies. (not exact date) -
Pearl Harbor
It was a U.S. naval base that was attacked by Japanese airmen who bombed it. The attack was a complete surprise and about 2,400 Americans both servicemen and civilians died. Many U.S. warplanes and ships were destroyed. -
Manhattan Project
This was a top-secret government project of building an atomic bomb that would be dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima or Nagasaki. It was led by an American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. It took three years to construct. (not exact date) -
Japanese-American incarceration
After the attack on Pearl Harbor a lot of Americans directed their anger to people of Japanese ancestry. Roosevelt signed the executive Order 9006 which became known as Japanese-American internment. More than 110,000 Japanese people were sent to prison-like camps, mostly Nisei which were Japanese Americans who were born in America. (not exact date) -
Bataan Death March
More than 70,000 American troops surrendered to the Japanese forces on the Bataan Peninsula and were forced to march 65 miles to a prison camp. On the way there 10,000 prisoners died because of shootings, beatings, or starvation. (not exact date) -
British forces stop the German advance at El Alamein
General Erwin Rommel (AKA: “The Desert Fox”) pushed through British lines to this Egyptian town he was only 200 miles from the Suez Canal but the British stopped his advance at El Alamein and forced the Germans to retreat. (not exact date) -
Battle of Midway
Off Midway Island in the central Pacific the U.S. had a victory over Japanese that became the turning point of the war. The U.S. Navy destroyed four Japanese carries and lost one. They also destroyed at least 250 Japanese planes and lost about 150. Picture shows U.S. dive bombers about to attack the burning Japanese cruiser "Mikuma" on June 6, 1942 for the third time. (not exact date) -
Tuskegee Airmen
A famous segregated unit of African-American pilots. They served in North Africa and Europe. Over 300,000 Mexican Americans fought in the war as well. (not exact date) -
Guadalcanal
The Americans first major victory of Japanese land (an island). The battle took six months until American troops won. Navajo Indians played a major role in it because they transmitted important messages in their language for the U.S. troops. (date is for when American troops won not exact date) -
German forces surrender at Stalingrad
Thousands of Nazi soldiers froze or starved to death because Soviet troops drove tanks across the frozen landscape then launched a massive counterattack trapping the German and leaving them without food or other supplies. The defeat was the main turning point of the war. German troops were pushed back toward Germany. (not exact date) -
D-Day
An Allied invasion of France. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Within a month 850,000 Allied troops had poured into France. American troops used the strategy of island hopping to conquer less defended islands and then get closer to Japan's inland. -
Battle of the Bulge
The final German assault was in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg where German troops pushed back Allied forces. Then U.S. forces re-grouped and defeated them. There were about 120,000 German casualties and about 80,000 American casualties. (not exact date) -
Rosie the Riveter
Women were 30 % of the workforce about 19 million people. A character symbolizing women in manufacturing (“men’s”) jobs. Many women worked in munitions factories, shipyards, and offices. More than 300,000 women served in armed forces. (not exact date) -
Yalta Conference
It was a conference where the Allies discussed the postwar world. The “Big Three” Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin attended the meeting. Stalin promised to declare war on Japan once Germany surrendered and they discussed the type of government they would set up in Eastern Europe after the war. (not exact date) -
Iwo Jima
U.S. marines invaded Iwo Jima a Japanese held island. They later planted the American flag on top of Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi. (not exact date) -
Okinawa
(not exact date) Okinawa was a Japanese held island and then American troops invaded it. Japanese 120,000 died. American 18,000 died. It took several months to end the battle. -
Roosevelt dies, Truman becomes president
Roosevelt had just been sworn in for his fourth term months before he died. He was able to join the Yalta Conference before he died, though. Truman continued in the war effort after he succeeded Roosevelt. (date is when roosevelt died) -
Formation of the United Nations
April 25, 1945 – 50 nations met in San Francisco to discuss a new peacekeeping organization to replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations.
June 26, 1945 – all 50 nations ratified the charter, creating a new international peacekeeping body known as the United Nations. President Roosevelt had urged Americans not to turn their backs on the world again. Unlike the League of Nations, the United States is a member of the United Nations. -
Allied forces advance on Berlin, Germany surrenders
The soviet army captured Berlin on May 2 1945 and five days later German leaders signed an unconditional surrender. IT was at General Eisenhower’s headquarters in France. The Allies declared May 8th the next day V-E Day which stood for Victory in Europe Day. (not exact date) -
Potsdam Conference
Allies held the Potsdam Conference to plan the war’s end. A Decision was made to put Nazi war criminals on trial. (ended August 2nd) -
Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6th and on Nagasaki on August 9th. August 6th 1945: Dropped on the industrial city of Hiroshima killing more than 75,000 people and turning 5 square miles into a wasteland. August 9th 1945: U.S. dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki and killed another 40,000 people. -
Japanese officials sign an official letter of surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri, ending World War II
JApan surrendered. Because of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan surrendered. Japanese and Allied leaders met aboard the U.S. battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Japanese signed the official letter of surrender there. -
Nuremberg Trials
November 20, 1945 – October 1, 1946. 24 defendants, including some of Hitler’s top officials. Hermann Goring – creator and head of Gestapo (secret police). Charged with crimes against humanity. 19 found guilty, 12 sentenced to death. People are responsible for their actions, even in wartime. -
Marshall Plan
Congress approved Secretary of State George Marshall’s plan to help boost European economies. The U.S. gave more than $13 billion to help the nations of Europe get back on their feet. (not exact date)
