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Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany
President Paul Von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader or fuhrer of the National Socialist German Workers Party as the Chancellor of Germany. This is the beginning of Nazi Germany. -
Neutrality Act
The Neutrality Acts were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930's in response to the growing threats and wars that led to World War II. -
Roosevelt Quarantines War
President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers a speech in which he calls for peace-loving nations to act together to "quarantine" aggressors to protect the world from the "disease" of war. -
Attack on the Panay
The USS Panay incident was a Japanese attack on the American gunboat Panay while it was anchored in the Yangtze River outside Nanking, China. -
St. Louis Refusal
Most of the ship’s 937 passengers were Jews trying to escape Nazi Germany. Though World War II had not yet begun, the groundwork for the Holocaust was already being laid in Germany -
Germany Invades Poland
German troops invade Poland on the ground while Hitler's air force bombs Polish cities from the sky. -
Roosevelt Increases Defense Spending
In a speech to Congress, President Franklin D. Roosevelt requests new defense spending, an enlarged army, and an expanded air fleet. Public opinion favors the new defense program. -
U.S. Seizes Axis Ships
President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Coast Guard to seize German ships that sail into American ports. 65 Axis ships are held in "protective custody." -
Germany Invades Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union violating the Non Aggression Pact. U.S. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson estimates that it would take Hitler less than three months to conquer the Soviet Union. -
D-Day
D-Day: The first of nearly 3 million Allied soldiers arrive and storm the beaches of Normandy.
