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Great Depression begins
• An economic recession that began on October 29, 1929, following the crash of the U.S. stock market.• The Great Depression originated in the United States, but quickly spread to Europe and the rest of the world.• Lasting nearly a decade, the Depression caused massive levels of poverty, hunger, unemployment and political unrest. -
Japan conquers Manchuria in northern China
• September 13th, 1931 -
Roosevelt first elected president
• Assuming the Presidency at the depth of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt helped the American people regain faith in themselves • Roosevelt brought hope as he promised prompt, vigorous action, and asserted in his Inaugural Address • He was elected November 8th, 1932 -
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
• On this day in January 30th 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, as chancellor of Germany• Hitler's emergence as chancellor on January 30, 1933, marked a crucial turning point for Germany and, ultimately, for the world.• His plan, embraced by much of the German population, was to do away with politics and make Germany a powerful, unified one-party state. -
Nuremberg Laws
• At the annual party rally held in Nuremberg in September 15th,1935, the Nazis announced new laws which made many of the racial theories • The laws excluded German Jews from Reich citizenship and prohibited them from marrying with persons of "German or related blood” • The laws deprived Jews most of their political rights -
Hitler & Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis
• October 21st, 1936 -
Japan joins the Axis Powers
• November 25th, 1936 -
Britain’s appeasement of Germany
• Neville Chamberlain became Prime Minister of Britain on 28th May, 1937• Over the next two years Chamberlain's Conservative government became associated with the foreign policy that later became known as appeasement.• He also thought that by agreeing to some of the demands being made by Adolf Hitler of Germany and Benito Mussolini of Italy, he could avoid a European war -
Japan invades China
• July 7th, 1937 -
Germany invades Austria
• On March 13, 1938 Germany invaded Austria and took complete control, this was after Hitler had sent the Austrian chancellor a list of 10 demands• One demand was to give Germany control of the Austrian police• However the Austrian chancellor had a different idea and this just angered Hitler -
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Kristallnacht
• Happened during November 9th, 1938 – 10th, 1938 • That night in Germany, thousands upon thousands of Jews were subject to terror and violence by the Nazis• The events of this night were exploited and manipulated by the Nazis to begin the total annihilation of the Jews in Europe -
Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
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Germany invades Poland
• On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland• The Polish army was defeated within weeks of the invasion• Poland remained under German occupation until January 1945 -
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Manhattan Project
• On October 11, 1939, President Roosevelt received a letter from Albert Einstein, it told of a new field of physics that was showing that the element uranium could undergo nuclear fission resulting in a great deal of energy• President Harry Truman learns the full details of the Manhattan Project, on the day April 24th, 1945• The first bomb was exploded over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and a second was dropped on Nagasaki on August 8 -
Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France
• April 9th, 1940 -
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German air force (Luftwaffe) bombs London and other civilian targets in the Battle of Britain
• June 18th, 1940 – December 29th, 1940 -
Lend-Lease Act
• The Lend-Lease Act was signed into law on March 11, 1941• It allowed Roosevelt to authorize the transfer of military materials to Britain• To administer the program, Roosevelt created the Office of Lend-Lease Administration under the leadership of Edward R. Stettinius -
Germany invades Soviet Union
• June 22nd, 1941 -
The Nazis implement the “Final Solution”
• June 22, 1941, killing squads accompany German invasion of the soviet union• December 8, 1941, first killing center begins operation• J20, 1942 Wannsee conference and the "Final solution" -
Tuskegee Airmen
• Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site commemorates and interprets the heroic actions of the Tuskegee Airmen from World War II• It involved the recruitment of African American men and women to train and fight in the Army Air Corps in World War II• On July 19, 1941, the first class of pilots began rigorous training in such advanced subjects as meteorology, navigation, and instruments -
Pearl Harbor
• On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the American Army and Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy• The attack came as a surprise to the American Army and Navy• This lead to great losses of life and equipmnt -
Japanese-American incarceration
• In February 19, 1942, the lives of thousands of Japanese Americans were dramatically changed because of Executive Order 9066 • This order led to the assembly and evacuation and relocation of nearly 122,000 men, women, and children of Japanese ancestry• Japanese Americans in Hawaii were not incarcerated because they made up nearly 40% of the population and a large portion of the skilled workforce -
Bataan Death March
• The Battle of Bataan ended on April 9, 1942, when U.S. General Edward P. King surrendered to Japanese General Masaharu Homma• Once the surrender went into effect, the Japanese rounded up the American and Filipino soldiers and gathered them into groups of 100 on the only paved road that ran down the Bataan peninsula.• As the emaciated men proceeded north up the highway in the blistering heat, the Japanese guards summarily shot or bayoneted any man who fell, attempted to escape, or stopped to -
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British forces stop the German advance at El Alamein
• July 1st, 1942 – July 27th, 1942 -
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Battle of Midway
• Battle of Midway June 4th, 1942 – June 7th, 1942• The Battle of Midway, fought near the Central Pacific island of Midway, is considered the decisive battle of the war in the Pacific• After Midway, the Americans and their Allies took the offensive in the Pacific -
Guadalcanal
• The Battle of Guadalcanal took place on August 7th, 1942• The Japanese defeat at the Battle of Midway had forced planners in the Imperial Army to reconsider their plans of expansion • The victory at Midway was also a turning point for the Americans as after this battle -
German forces surrender at Stalingrad
• February 2nd, 1943 the last of the German forces fighting at Stalingrad surrender• However Hitler did say, "Surrender is out of the question. The troops will defend themselves to the last!"• The Battle of Stalingrad began in the summer of 1942 -
Rosie the Riveter
• Rosie the Riveter campaign stressed the patriotic need for women to enter the work force• On May 29, 1943, The Saturday Evening Post published a cover image• The image was portraying Rosie with a flag in the background and a copy of Adolf Hitler's racist tract (Mein Kampf) under her feet -
D-Day
• On June 6th, 1944 Americans celebrated D-day• It was the end of Hitler’s dream of Nazi domination• It was the largest air, land, and sea operation undertaken before or since June 6, 1944 -
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Battle of Buldge
• The Battle of the Bulge started on December 16th 1944.• Hitler had convinced himself that the alliance between Britain, France and America was not strong and that a major attack and defeat would break up the alliance• The Germans began to withdraw from the Bulge on January 8, 1945 -
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Yalta Conference
• On February 4th, 1945 – February 11th, 1945 Yalta Conference • It was between British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin• The Yalta conferees confirmed the policy adopted at the Casablanca Conference of demanding Germany's unconditional surrender -
Iwo Jima
• On February 19, 1945 about 70,000 marines invaded the small Pacific Island of Iwo Jima• Iwo Jima was secured March 26th, 1945• By capturing the island, the Allied Forces would not only prevent attacks from the island but it would also give them a base -
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Okinawa
• The Battle of Okinawa took place during April 1st, 1945 – June 22nd, 1945• The capture of Okinawa was part of a three-point plan the Americans had for winning the war in the Far East• Okinawa was to prove a bloody battle even by the standards of the war in the Far East but it was to be one of the major battles of World War Two -
Roosevelt dies, Truman becomes president
• April 12th, 1945 -
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Allied forces advance on Berlin, Germany surrenders
• On April 30th, 1945 as the Battle of Berlin raged above him, realizing that all was lost German dictator Adolf Hitler committed suicide• The Battle of Berlin ended on May 2nd, 1945• On that date the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, unconditionally surrendered the city to the general of the Soviet army -
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Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki
• The first bomb was exploded over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945• The second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 8, 1945• After the two bombs were dropped Japan announced unconditional surrender -
Japanese officials sign an official letter of surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri, ending World War II
• September 2nd, 1945
