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Hitler’s Control
Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933, bringing an end to German democracy. Guided by racist and authoritarian ideas, the Nazis abolished basic freedoms and sought to create a "Volk" community. -
Japan invaded china
Seeking raw materials to fuel its growing industries, Japan invaded the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931. By 1937 Japan controlled large sections of China, and war crimes against the Chinese became commonplace. -
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World War II
World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. -
The fall of france
Between 9 May and 22 June 1940, a remarkable German assault on north-west Europe, known as the Battle of France, resulted in the capture and subjugation of not only France but three other countries – Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium. -
The Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain was a major air campaign fought largely over southern England in the summer and autumn of 1940. -
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The Holocaust
The Holocaust was the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators. Learn more in the Museum’s Holocaust Encyclopedia. -
Battle of Midway Island
fought almost entirely with aircraft, in which the United States destroyed Japan's first-line carrier strength and most of its best trained naval pilots. -
us oil embargo on japan
The oil embargo was an especially strong response because oil was Japan's most crucial import, and more than 80% of Japan's oil came from the United States. -
The attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack killed 2,403 service members and wounded 1,178 more, and sank or destroyed six U.S. ships. -
Battle of Stalingrad
Stalingrad was one of the most decisive battles on the Eastern Front in the Second World War. -
D-Day (Operation Overlord)
The operation, given the codename OVERLORD, delivered five naval assault divisions to the beaches of Normandy, France. -
The Yalta Conference
At Yalta, Roosevelt and Churchill discussed with Stalin the conditions under which the Soviet Union would enter the war against Japan and all three agreed that -
v-e day
Germany unconditionally surrendered its military forces to the Allies, including the United States. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
The Target Committee appointed by President Harry Truman to decide which Japanese cities would receive the Little Boy and Fat Man atomic bombings did not place Nagasaki among their top two choices. -
Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.