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WWII Began
When Germany invaded Poland (which initiated WWII in Europe) -
Britain and France declared war on Germany
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The Soviet Union invaded Poland from the East
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Battle of Britain began
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Tripartite Pact
Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact -
The Blitz
Daylight and night bombing raids on Britain (The Blitz) by the Luftwaffe were abandoned. Hitler also delayed and later abandoned plans to invade Britain. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
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US declares war on Japan, entering WWII
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War declared on US!
Nazi Germany and its Axis partners declare war on US -
Concentration Camps
The SS Inspectorate of Concentration Camps establishes the Herzogenbusch concentration camp in Vught, the Netherlands. -
First allied bombing raid on German cities
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Residence Camp
German authorities establish a “residence camp” at Bergen-Belsen for Jews suitable for prisoner exchanges with the western Allies. The SS Inspectorate of Concentration Camps later designates the “residence camp” as a concentration camp, where over 36,000 prisoners, mostly Jews, die. -
End of Spring
By the end of spring, German SS and police and military unites have killed at least 1,340,000 Jews and many other partisans, Roma, and officials of the Soviet State -
Allies control Sicily
US and British troops land on Sicily. By mid-August, the Allies control Sicily. -
Death of remaining Jews
German authorities kill the remaining 3,000-6,000 Jews of the Minsk ghetto in mobile gas vans and in shooting operations at the Maly Trostinec killing site -
Operation Harvest Festival
SS and police units implement Aktion Erntefest (Operation Harvest Festival), the murder of the Jewish laborers in concentration camp Lublin/Majdanek and the forced-labor camps Trawniki and Poniatowa. During this, SS and police units kill at least 42,000 Jews at Majdanek, Trawniki, and Poniatowa. -
D-Day
British and US troops land on the Normandy beaches of France, opening a “Second Front” against the Germans -
US troops land in the Philippines
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Battle of the Bulge
The Germans launch a final offensive in the west, known as the Battle of the Bulge, in an attempt to re-conquer Belgium and split the Allied forces along the German border. By January 1, 1945, the Germans are in retreat. -
Hitler commits suicide
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July Bomb Plot failed attempt to assassinate Hitler
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Hiroshima
US drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima -
Nagasaki
US drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki -
End of WWII
Japan agrees to unconditional surrender which soon ends WWII. -
Nuremberg war crimes trial began
