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Hitler Becomes Fuhrer
After the Nazi Party becomes the most powerful group in Germany, Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany and takes the position of Fuhrer. He took civil rights of citizens and was one step closer to becoming dictator. As the Fuhrer, Hitler was the supreme and totalitarian dictator of Germany. With Hitler as Germany's ruler, he makes decisions that altar the country forever; and his decisions determine the outcome of the war in the years to come. -
The Munich Pact
Germany, Britain, and France all met in Munich, Germany to sign an agreement that stated Hitler couldn't take any more countries in Europe. Hitler agreed, but in the following months, he took back his promise and started annexing more countries. Hitler's false promise in the Munich Pact is crucial to the war because it is the kick start for Britain and France declaring war; they declared war September 4, 1939. -
FDR's Embargo
After Japan destroyed the US's trade in China and created an alliance with Italy and Germany, the US needed to get back at them. US President Franklin D. Roosevelt placed an embargo on aviation fuel, any kind of metals, machine parts, and weapon parts on Japan. FDR also ended all pacts/treaties with Japan. Because we took all of Japan's resources away, Japan wanted to get back at us. Isoroko Yamomoto created the plan to bomb a US military base in Hawaii. -
France Surrenders
After France realized Germany would carry out mass destruction on their country, France surrendered to Germany. France voluntarily gave Paris the the Germany. Because Germany needed to spread out their army into France, the southern portion of France was converted into a "safe zone" for French citizens called Vichy France. Over 1.5 million French officers were disbanded, and over 2 million were taken as POW's. The control of France marked Germany's first major hit to the Allies. -
The Greer Incident
In September, the Germans launched an attack of the destroyer, the USS Greer. A German U-652 torpedoed the Greer and killed 115. After the attack, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the navy to "shoot-on-sight" at and German boat they see. In the following month, German U-boats fired upon two more US destroyers, which highly upset the US. As an effort to get back at the Germans and to strengthen their relationship with the Soviets, the US extended their Lend-Lease Bill to the Soviets. -
The Bombing of Pearl Harbor
On December 7, Japanese planes dropped bombs and torpedoes onto a military base in Honolulu, Hawaii. The US suffered more than 3,400 casualties and 2,300 deaths. Five major US destroyers were sunk and destroyed; and 180 air crafts were destroyed. The day after this attack, the US declared war on Japan on December 8, 1941. War bonds generated $40 billion, 10 million soldiers were drafted, and moral for the war was increasing because women were finally getting involved with the armed forces. -
Executive Order 9066
After Pearl Harbor, the US needed to retaliate to the Japanese. In February of 1942, almost anyone of Japanese descent was placed into internment camps in the US. There were over 120,000 Japanese Americans in these camps; and they were held in the camps for up to four years. People were given less than 48 hours notice to pack anything they could and they were given a questionnaire test to see how "dangerous" they were. This order revealed how barbaric the US could really be to people. -
Operation Overlord
After Rome and Stalingrad were liberated from German control, Hitler was starting to lose his footing with his vast European empire. In June of 1944, over 175,000 US soldiers stormed the beaches of Normandy, France to liberate the country from German control. Over 4,000 Americans were killed; and between 4,000-9,000 German soldiers were killed. This bloodbath was the turning point in WWII because it was the true beginning of the end for Germany. On August 25, 1944, the Allies liberated Paris. -
The End of Hitler's Reign
After every country Hitler had taken was liberated, and he broke every alliance and pact he had, the Soviets decided to put him in his place. In April of 1945, The Soviets invaded Berlin with over 80,000 soldiers. An estimated 120,000 died on both sides in this battle, which led to a Soviet victory. A few months after the great loss of Berlin, Hitler committed suicide on April 30, 1945. A week after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allies, marking the end of the war in Europe. -
The Bombings of Japan
As a last ditch effort to end the war with Japan, the US dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. The first bombing, on August 6, was dropped on a sports stadium and instantly killed 100,000 people. And in the following few days, another 100,000 died. On August 9, the second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, which killed about 70,000. On August 15, Japan surrendered to the US; and the Japan Surrender Treaty was signed on September 2. The long awaited end of WWII had finally come.