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Rape of Nanking
Japanese forces murdered hundreds of thousands of people and also sexually assaulted 20,000 and 80,000 women. The Japanese were afraid of losing them in war, so nationalist leader ordered to remove all Chinese troops from the city so they would be undefended. Chinese soldiers were hunted down and killed. There aren't official numbers for the death toll but it's estimated to be 300,000 people. Nanking was destroyed, and it would take decades for the city to recover. -
Kristallnacht
Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, Jewish homes, schools and businesses. That night approximately 30,000 Jewish men were arrested and taken to concentration camps. The Nazis used the murder of a German diplomat, who was killed by a 17 year old jew, as an excuse to attack. Those who survived went aboard the S.S St. Louis. In the end, it was a horrific night for all jews, and they didn't deserve such harsh treatment for something wasn’t their fault. -
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was the codename for the US project that created the world’s first nuclear weapons. President Truman authorized the use of atom bombs to get Japan to surrender. In the following days due to the bombings, Japan surrendered. Truman believed that dropping an atomic bomb on Japan would shorten the war and save many lives. This was significant because the project originally started as a desperate effort to beat the Nazi’s to the construction of the first atomic bomb. -
S.S St Louis
The SS St. Louis sailed from Hamburg for Havana and aboard were around 900 jews attempting to flee from Germany. After Cuba and then the US denied these refugees entry, the St. Louis was forced to return to Europe, although they had a valid visa. However, with the help of jewish organizations, they were taken into different countries, but soon after Hitler invaded Europe, those passengers were trapped. Some died in concentration camps and some got away. -
BCATP
Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia signed an agreement creating the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The plan's mandate was to train Allied aircrews for WW2, More than 130,000 crewmen and women were trained. The BCATP was successful. By the end of the war, 131,533 pilots, observers, flight engineers had graduated. Canada agreed to provide facilities for airmen. Canada was suited for this because we were far from the war and had lots of land. -
German Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg is a military tactic designed to confuse their opponents; giving them an advantage in the war. Which is exactly what Hitler's plan was. He used this tactic to take over Europe. His ideal plan was to take over quickly, instead of going through a war. The Germans used the blitzkrieg tactics and took control over multiple places. Germany didn't defeat Great Britain, which was protected from Germany. Over all, these unexpected attacks helped Hitler when taking action. -
Dunkirk
Dunkirk was a military operation that took place in Dunkirk. The Germans had used the Blitzkrieg tactic to attack who were there. After the attack the troops were forced to evacuate. The evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops was from the French seaport of Dunkirk to England. They had to use many naval vessels to get to England. The evacuation took 9 days and around 338,000 troops had been saved. The troop had to leave all of their equipment behind. -
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was a code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The Germans failed to defeat Soviet forces. The Barbarossa force had many tanks, artillery pieces, and aircraft. Operation Barbarossa was supposed to be a defensive-offensive operation against the Soviet Union. Hitler knew that the only way to get UK to the peace table was to knock off the USSR. Overall the Soviets defeated the Germans and ruled a part of Germany until the early 1990s when the Soviet Union fell. -
The Final Solution
The Final Solution was a Nazi plan for the extermination of the Jews. They were killed by gassing and shooting. 6 million Jewish men, women, and children were killed during the Holocaust. Before instituting the Final Solution, the Nazi government had abolished the Jews' rights, destroyed and confiscated their property, and confined Jews in concentration camps. Hitler's plans were put to a stop when the allied armies liberated the camps at the end of the war. -
Pearl Harbour
Japan attacked the US base at Pearl Harbor.The attack by the Japanese damaged US equipment and killed 2403 men. The US declared war on Japan. Japan’s allies declared war on US. Japan wanted to extend to China to solve economical issues and capture their stock market. America was against war with China and responded with trade embargoes and economic sanctions. The oil embargo caused issues for Japan because 90% of its oil was imported from America. Without oil Japan’s military could not function. -
Japanese Canada Internment Camps
Roosevelt’s Order resulted in the relocation of 112,000 Japanese Americans into internment camps in Canada. There were concerns that Japanese American citizens may pose a threat to national security. They had to sell their homes/businesses for much less. In the aftermath, young Japanese Americans went on to become among the best educated Americans, earning salaries more than 1/3 above the average. The Civil Liberties Act of 1988 provided financial redress of $20,000 for each surviving detainee. -
Battle of El Alamein
Battle of El Alamein was a battle that was fought between the axis, and the allies. With the allies being victorious, this stopped Germany from getting any further into Egypt. The allies had a bit of an advantage because they had 300 tanks shipped to Egypt from the USA. The Nazi's goal was to take over Egypt but after this loss, those goals were no longer possible. This battle was significant because it ended the long fight for the Western Desert, and was the only land battle won by the British. -
Liberation of Italy
When it became clear that Italy was going to lose in the war, they decided to surrender to the allies. With Mussolini out of power it became easier for Italy to switch sides. When Germany found out about this they responded quickly. The allies aimed for Italy because they were a part of the Axis, alongside Germany, and separating Germany and Italy would give them an advantage. Germany knowing this didn't hold back, they soon began to sabotage everything useful to the Allies, like naval vessels. -
Conscription Crisis
The Conscription Crisis was a political and military crisis. It was mainly caused by disagreement on whether men should be conscripted to fight in the war. The National Service Act made men between the ages of 18-41 liable for conscription. It was decided that single men would be called to war before married men. Not everyone agreed with this, which is why there was a debate. The National Resources Mobilization Act was changed so that conscription would only be used if necessary. -
Liberation of the Neatherlands
In the final months of the war, Canadian forces were given the important and deadly task of liberating the Netherlands from Nazi occupation. A couple months after the D-Day landings, Canadian and American troops had entered the Southern Netherlands. The Allies attempted entering Germany though the Netherlands, but happened to fail, slowing them down. After a few more attempts, when they finally made it into Germany, they were greeted as heroes as they liberated many cities and saved many people. -
D-day
The Battle of Normandy was code named Operation Overlord and also known as D-day, when 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches in Normandy. By the end of August 1944, Paris was liberated and the Germans had been removed from France, concluding the Battle of Normandy. The point of this invasion was to take over Europe from Germany. D-Day forced the Germans to fight a two front war again. D-day was the beginning of the end of the Germans and also Hitler. -
Liberation of Concentration Camps
Near the end of the war, the Allies defeated Germany and liberated the camps. Soviet soldiers were the first to liberate concentration camp prisoners.They marched through Europe and encountered tens of thousands of concentration camps, who had starving and infected people. Luckily those of who were still alive, got saved, but not the six million jews that had been brutally killed. The Germans had destroyed most of the warehouses in the camp. The concentration camps were finally put to rest. -
Hitlers Death
Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany, and his wife consumed cyanide capsules, then he shot himself in the head with a pistol. He lived 55 feet under his headquarters where he had his own water and electrical supply, so he rarely left his bunker. He was warned by officers that the Russians were only a day away from taking over the chancellery, but instead he choose suicide. With Soviet troops occupying Berlin, Germany surrendered on all fronts on May 7, 1945, bringing the war in Europe to a close. -
VE Day
Victory in Europe Day, is simply a celebration/holiday due to Germany surrendering. In cities and towns in Canada, the nation expressed its joy and relief at the news. The first Canadians to celebrate were the sailors on naval and merchant ships, and soldiers and airmen based in Europe. Canadians were cheered and welcomed as heroes. In Canada, massive crowds filled the city streets. People were celebrating due to Germany surrendering but also due to Hitler’s death. -
Atomic Bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An American bomber dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. On August 9, about 80,000 people died after the United States dropped a second bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. A total of 210,000 civilians died in the two atomic blasts Truman made decisions based on his belief that the bombings would shorten the war and save the lives of tens of hundreds of thousands of people.
