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Holocaust
Who: Adolf Hitler, leader.
What: Mass murders of over 6 million Jews, Gypsies, and homosexuals by the German Nazi regime, during WWII.
Where: Concentration camps in Polland
When: January 30, 1933 – May 8, 1945
Why: Hitler saw these groups as a threat to racial purity. -
Neutrality Act
Who: President Franklin D. Roosevelt
What: A law that would require US vessels to have a license to bare arms, restrict US from sailing on ships from hostile nations, impose an embargo on the sale of arms to nations like Germany and Italy.
Where: CongressWhite House
When: August 31, 1935
Why: In response to Germany no longer honoring the Treaty of Versailles; avoid actions that might lead the US to war. -
German Invasion of Poland
Who: German Troops
What: Massive attack which the Germans bombed Polish airfields, and German warships and U-boats attacked Polish naval forces in the Baltic Sea.
Where: Along Poland border
When: September, 1, 1939
Why: Hitler claimed this was a defensive act, but Britan and France didn't believe it, which lead to WWII. He wanted more living space for Germans. -
Lend-Lease Act
Who: The president and congress alloted the funding
What: This act allowed US militery aide to be provided to foreign nations during WWII. Arms and weapons could be transferred.
Where: With Britain, the Soviet Union, China, Brazil, and other countries the President felft were vital to US defense.
When: The act was propoased in 1940 and passed in March, 1941
Why: This act allowed the US to support war interests without overextending itself in battle. -
Battle of Midway
Who: US Navy & Japanese Navy
What: A counter of Japan's planned airbush, noted as a decisive battle or turning point in WWII; Allowed the US to move into an offensive position. Huge loss for Japan.
Where: The north-central Pacific Ocean
When:
Why: Japan wanted to sink US aircraft carriers that survived Pearl Harbor. -
Pearl Harbor
Who: President Franklin D. Roosevelt; commander in chief at the time.
What: Japanese fighter planes attacked the U.S. base, launching one of the most deadliest attacks in American history. The attact lasted less than two hours, but killed more than 2,500 people. Also destroyed were 18 American ships and about 300 airplanes. The naval battleship USS Arizona was hit four times by the Japanese.
When: December 7, 1941
Where: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii
Why: -
D-Day
Who: American, British and Canadian forces
What: The beginnig of the Battle of Normandy, also known as operation Overload.
Where: Occured along 5 beaches, on the coast of Normandy
When: June 6, 1944
Why: To turn the tide against the Nazis and cause a great psychological blow. Hitler was prevented from sending troops from France to build up his Eastern Front against the advancing Soviets. This caused the surrender of Natzi Germany and freedom of Western Europe. -
Battle of the Bulge
Who:The Germans
What: Also called Operation Mist, was the first major offensive of the war; largest war fought on the western front; 250,000 soldiers
Where: the Ardennes forest
When: December 16, 1944
Why: To push the Allied front line west from northern France to northwestern Belgium. -
YALTA CONFERENCE
Who: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
What: This was the second wartime meeting where these three leaders demanded that Germany surrender and begin post-war discussions. They also agreed to free elections in Europe and enter the Asian war against Japan.
When: February 3, 1945
Where: Held in the Solviet Union, with a follow up meeting in SanFransisco
Why: Promise of the return of lands lost to Japan in the Russo-Japa -
End of Holocaust
When the war in Europe ended. -
Nuremberg Trials
Who: Involed parties included Nazi Party officials, military officers, doctors, lawyers, and German industrialists,
What: Nuremberg trials were a series of 13 trials to prosecute war criminals. These trials were to bring Nazi war criminals to justice.
Where: The trials were held in Nuremberg, Germany
When:The trials were from 1945 to 1949
Why: These trials were to bring justtice to a system that had become corrupt by persecuting German-Jewish people, creating repressive and violent policies.
