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Benito Mussolini's Fascist Government in Italy
By 1921, Mussolini had established the Fascist
Party. Fascist, stressed nationalism and placed the interests of the state above those of individuals. To strengthen the nation, Fascists argued, power must rest with a single strong leader and a small group of devoted party members. -
Mein Kampf
In his book Mein Kampf [My Struggle], Hitler set forth the basic beliefs of Nazism that became the plan of action for the Nazi Party.Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, was “to secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth,” even if this could be accomplished only by “the might of a victorious sword.” -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Due to the fact that the Japanese needed more living space, they launched a surprise attack on Manchuria and within several months Japanese troops controlled the entire province. -
Storm Troopers
Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf, was “to secure for the German people the land and soil to which they are entitled on this earth,” even if this could be accomplished only by “the might of a victorious sword.” -
Adolf Hitler's rise to power in German
Hitler also wanted to enforce racial “purification” at home. Hitler became prime minister. The Great Depression helped the Nazis come to power. Because of war debts and dependence on American loans and investments, Germany’s economy was hit hard. By 1932, some 6 million Germans were unemployed. Many men who were out of work joined Hitler’s private army, the storm troopers (or Brown Shirts). The German people were desperate and turned to Hitler as their last hope. -
Third Reich
Third Reich, or Third German Empire. According to Hitler, the Third Reich would be a “Thousand-Year Reich”—it would last for a thousand years -
Hitler's military built-up in Germany
Germany was pulled out ot the League of Nations by Hitler. His military build up was in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Mussolini's invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini invaded Ethiopia and the League of Nations did little to stop Italy. They "helped" by implementing an ineffective boycott. -
Hitler invades the Rhineland
Hitler invaded the Rhineland which was a German region boarding France and Belgium. The region was demilitarized because of the Treaty of Versailles. -
Francisco Franco
Francisco, the leader of Spanish army, who rebelled against the Spanish Republic, Because the war aroused so much passion, 3000 Americans formed the Abraham Lincoln Battalion to fight against him. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
An alliance formed by German and Italian dictators. -
Hitler's Anschluss
Hitler's troops marched into Austria unopposed to unify with Germany. -
Munich Agreement
Munich Agreement gave the Sudetenland to Germany without a protest. -
Joseph Stalin's Totalitarian Government
By 1939, Stalin had firmly established a totalitarian government that tried to exert complete control over its citizens. In a totalitarian state, individuals have
no rights, and the government suppresses all opposition. -
Non Aggression Pact
Germany and Communist Russia agreed to never attack each other. -
Blitzkrieg
Lighting war that used advanced military technology to eliminate Poland forces. -
Britain and Germany declare war on France
War was declared and tactics worked perfectly. Fighting was over in 3 weeks time. -
Phony War
French and German troops sat watching each other sit, without advancing. -
Hitler's invasion of Denmark
Stating the invasion was to protect the country's freedom, was only a hoax, Hitler's true plan was to build bases along the coast to strike Great Britain. -
Germany's and Italy's invasion of France
Italians invaded from the south and Germans from the north -
Marshal Philippe Petain
a Nazi-controlled puppet government, headed
by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy -
The battle of Britan
Germans began to assemble an invasion fleet along the French coast. The Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Hitler had 2,600 planes at his disposal. On a single day 2,000 German planes ranged over Britain. Every night for two solid months, bombers pounded London. With the help of a new technological device called radar, British pilots accurately plotted the flight paths of German planes, even in darkness. the RAF shot down over 185 German planes. War off 6 weeks later. -
Hitler's invasion of the Netherlands
Hitler continues his invasion of Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. -
Office of Price Administration
. The OPA fought inflation by freezing prices on most goods. Congress also raised income tax rates and extended the tax to millions of people who had never paid it before. The higher taxes reduced consumer demand on scarce goods by leaving workers with less to spend. the government encouraged Americans to use their extra cash to buy war bonds. As a result of these measures, inflation remained below 30 percent—about half that of World War I—for the entire period of World War II. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Japanese warplanes bomb the largest US naval base. The guns did not stop for an hour and a half. In less than two hours, the Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. The surprise raid had sunk or damaged 21 ships, including 8 battleships—nearly the whole U.S. Pacific fleet. More than 300 aircraft were severely damaged or destroyed. -
Internment
internment, or confinement, of 1,444 Japanese Americans, 1 percent of Hawaii’s Japanese-American population. -
War Productions Board
Besides controlling inflation, the government needed to
ensure that the armed forces and war industries received the
resources they needed to win the war. The WPB decided which companies would convert from
peacetime to wartime production and allocated raw materials
to key industries. The WPB also organized drives to collect
scrap iron, tin cans, paper, rags, and cooking fat for
recycling into war goods. Across America, children scoured
attics, cellars, garages, vacant lots, and back alleys. -
Battle of the Atlantic
The German wanted to prevent any supplies from reaching GB and the Soviet Union. In the first four months of 1942, the Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic shore. Seven months into the year, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic. Something had to be done or the war at sea would be lost. The Allies responded by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. -
Unconditional Surrender
enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. -
Women's Auxiliary Army Corps
Under this bill, women volunteers would serve in noncombat positions. -
Battle of Stalingrad
By the end of September, they controlled nine-tenths of the city—or what was left of it. Then another winter set in. The Soviets saw the cold as an opportunity to roll fresh tanks across the frozen landscape and begin a massive counterattack. The Soviet army closed around Stalingrad, trapping the Germans in and around the city and cutting off their supplies. In defending Stalingrad, the Soviets lost a total of 1,100,000 soldiers—more
than all American deaths during the entire war. -
Manhattan project
Hoping to shorten that time, the OSRD set
up an intensive program in 1942 to develop a bomb as quickly as possible. Because
much of the early research was performed at Columbia University in Manhattan,
the Manhattan Project became the code name for research work that extended across the country -
Operation Torch
That is, enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. The two leaders also discussed where to strike next. The Americans argued that the best approach to victory was to assemble a massive invasion fleet in Britain
and to launch it across the English Channel, through France, and into the heart of Germany. Churchill, however, thought it would be safer to first attack Italy. -
US Convoy System
. Convoyswere groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in the First World War. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped with sonar for detecting submarines underwater. They were also accompanied by airplanes that used radar to spot U-boats on the ocean’s surface. -
Bloody Anzio
Hitler was determined to stop the Allies in Italy rather than fight on German soil. One of the hardest battles the Allies encountered in Europe was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. This battle, “Bloody Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. -
Korematsu V. the US
In 1944, the Supreme Court decided, in Korematsu v. United States, that the government’s policy of evacuating Japanese Americans to camps was justified on the basis of “military necessity.” Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) pushed the government to compensate those sent to the camps for their lost property. -
Lend- Lease Act
Under this plan, the president would lend or lease arms and other supplies to “any country whose defense was vital to the United States.” -
Death of Hitler
On April 29, he married Eva Braun, his longtime companion. The same day, he wrote out his last address to the German people. In it he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his generals for losing it. Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. the two bodies were carried outside, soaked
with gasoline, and burned. -
D-Day
the first day of the invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down behind German lines. They were followed in the early morning hours by thousands upon thousands of seaborne soldiers—the largest land-sea-air operation in army history. -
The Battle of the Bulge
eight German tank divisions broke through weak American
defenses along an 80-mile front. Hitler hoped that a victory
would split American and British forces and break up Allied
supply lines. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory,
creating a bulge in the lines that gave this desperate last ditch
offensive its name, the Battle of the Bulge. The Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes -
Harry S. Truman
President Roosevelt did not live to see V-E Day. On April 12, 1945, while posing for a portrait in Warm Springs, Georgia, the president had a stroke and died. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation’s 33rd president -
V-E Day
Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over.
