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Hitler Rises to Power
Adolf Hitler became prime minister of Germany. In 1934, he was the director of Nazi Germany and transformed Germany into a totalitarian state. -
Second Sino-Japanese War
Japanese armies overran much of eastern China, starting the Second Sino-Japanese War. -
Anschluss
Germany annexes Austria and Czechoslovakia. -
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Manhattan Project
The secret Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during WWII that produced the first nuclear weapons and successfully tested the first atomic bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico. -
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact
Hitler stunned the world by announcing a nonaggression pact with his great enemy- Joseph Stalin, the Soviet dictator. -
World War II Begins
Nazi Germany invades Poland to start the dreadful six year war known as World War II. -
Neutrality Act
United Stated declared neutrality, prohibiting the export of arms, ammunition and implements of war from the US to foreign nations at war. -
Battle of France
German forces surprised the French and British by attacking through the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, an area that was considered invasion proof. -
Armistice of 22 June 1940
Hitler forced France to sign the surrender documents. -
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The Holocaust
The Holocaust, sometimes known as the Shoah, was a genocide of the European Jews during WWII. Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some 6 million Jews, around two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. -
Invasion of the Soviet Union
Code name Operation Barbarossa, Germany invaded the Soviet Union with a plan to annihilate the Communist nation. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
Japanese airplanes bombed the American fleet at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack took the lives of about 2,400 people and destroyed battleships and aircrafts. -
War is Declared on the US
Germany and Italy, as Japanese allies, declared war on the United States. -
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Battle of the Coral Sea
The Battle of the Coral Sea was a major naval battle between the Imperial Japanese Navy and naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. It took place in the Coral Sea, between Australia, New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The Japanese won this battle. -
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Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a naval battle that took place six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. It took place in Midway Atoll and America won. -
President Roosevelt Responds
President Roosevelt responds to reports of Jewish genocide by establishing the War Refugee Board. -
Invasion of Normandy
156,000 American, British and Canadian troops stormed 50 miles on Normandy and fiercely defended beaches in northern France. This was a major turning point in WWII. -
Planning for the Final Stages
Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin planned for the final stages of the war and for post-war Europe. -
Freeing of Prisoners at Buchenwald
United States forces freed more than 20,000 prisoners at Buchenwald concentration camp, making its inmates the first on German soil to be freed from the Nazis. -
Victory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day is a day celebrating the formal acceptance of the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's surrender of its armed forces. -
Surrender of Japan
Japan formally signed that they surrender from the war and this puts an official end to WWII and the hostilities. -
Establishment of the State of Israel
Jewish leader, David Ben-Gurion, announced establishment of the State of Israel, the site of the ancient Jewish kingdom. U.S. President Harry S. Truman recognized the new nation on the same day.
