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The Great Depression Begins
The Great Depression was the largest world-wide economic decline in our history. It was caused by over inflation of stock, people relying too much on loans, and the failed intervention by the U.S. government at the time. Vast amounts of the population were without jobs, money, food, or shelter. -
Japan Conquers Manchuria In Northern China
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Hitler Becomes Chancellor Of Germany
The Nazi Party’s Adolf Hitler is named Chancellor of Germany with the promise of restoring their economy and country to its former glory. President Paul von Hindenburg was greatly intimidated by the vast popularity of the Nazi Party and caved into Hitler’s demands. -
Roosevelt First Elected President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected the 32nd president of the United States. He will lead the U.S. into WW2 and bring our country out victorious on both fronts. Also he created the “New Deal” policies that led America out of the great depression. -
Nuremberg Laws
The Nuremberg Laws were a series of anti-Semitism legislation created by the Nazis. These laws stripped the Jews of their rights as citizens and were the start of their brutal suffering. This increased Germans hatred for Jews who blamed them for their economic struggles. -
Hitler & Mussolini Form The Rome-Berlin Axis
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Japan Joins The Axis Powers
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Japan Invades China
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Germany Invades Austria
With Germany's new found friendship with Italy, Austria was left defenseless to a German invasion. Soon later the Austrian Chancellor and Cabinet resigned and Hitler invaded to welcoming country. This was a violation of the Treaty of Versailles, but Germany was not stopped. -
Britain’s Appeasement Of Germany
Hitler met with Britain’s Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in Munich, Germany. There they reached an agreement that Germany can take control of the Sudetenland in exchange that they stop seeking anymore land. This was appeasement because they met German demands to avoid war and to keep world peace. -
Kristallnacht
Krisrallnacht, which literally translates to “night of broken glass” was an anti-Jewish pogrom that occurred across the country of Germany. Hundreds of synagogues were attack, vandalized, looted, and destroyed, many set ablaze. Jewish shops were also plundered and store front windows were smashed. 91 Jews died in this pogrom. -
Germany & Soviet Union Have A Nonaggression Pact
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Germany Invades Poland
Violating the past Munich Agreement Germany invaded Poland, starting WW2. German forces implemented a new method of warfare called blitzkrieg, which stressed speed and surprise in the use of tanks, troops, and planes. -
Period: to
WW2
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Germany Invades Denmark And Norway
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Germany Invades Belgium And France
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German Air Force (Luftwaffe) Bombs London And Other Civilian Targets In The Battle Of Britain
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Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act allowed the U.S. to lend weapons and supplies to the allies. This allowed the U.S. to support the allies without officially declaring war. A total of $51.1 billion worth of supplies were sent to the war effort. -
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American pilots that fought during WW2. They were the first of their kind and paved the way for racial equality in the U.S. military. There were 966 men in total. -
Germany Invades The Soviet Union
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Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a top secret U.S. project that built the atomic bomb. The program took three years to construct the weapon and was led by Robert Oppenheimer. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was surprised attacked by Imperial Japanese forces. 353 planes bombed the base in two separate waves. The U.S. ended losing this battle with a staggering loss of 2,402 service men and woman. This event led America into WW2, declaring war only four days later. -
The Nazis Implement The “Final Solution”
The “Final Solution” refers to the Nazi plan to annihilate the entire Jewish population. They set up concentration camps across Nazi controlled Europe, slaughtering around 13 million souls, 6 million being Jews. Gypsies, Russian POWs, the mentally and physically disabled, and homosexuals were also included in the genocide. -
Japanese-American Incarceration
After the attack on Pearl Harbor American’s became paranoid about anyone of Japanese origin. As a result of this paranoia hundreds of thousands of Japanese-Americans were incarcerated and put into detention camps. They were forced to leave their homes, jobs, businesses, and possessions which were most often vandalized, stolen or sold without their consent. -
Bataan Death March
After surrendering to the Japanese at Bataan Peninsula, around 75,000 Filipino and American troops were forced to march to a prison camp near Cabanatuan. During this trek the prisoners marched 85 miles in six. When the march ended hundreds of Americans had died from fatigue or shots from the Japanese guards. -
Battle Of Midway
The Battle of Midway is known as the most important naval battle of the Pacific Campaign. American forces ambushed the occupation of the Midway Islands, turning the tide on the Japanese advance and inflicted irreparable damage on their navy. The Japanese took over ten times more casualties then the U.S. -
British Forces Stop The German Advance At El Alamein
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German Forces Surrender At Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was the turning point of WW2 in Europe. German forces attacked the Russian city and were faced with fierce opposition. Soon winter closed in and the fighting continued. Soviet troops then launched a counter attack and trapped the Nazis, cutting off their food and supplies. Surrender came soon after. -
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal was the first major U.S. land battle won against the Japanese. The battle took six months of bitter fighting until victory was claimed. Navajo Indians played a crucial role in this victory serving as code talkers, transmitting U.S. intelligence through the Navajo language. -
Rosie The Riveter (approx.)
Rosie the Riveter represented the woman’s workforce in America during WW2. She is portrayed as a tireless assembly line worker that can do anything a man can do. Thousands of woman joined her in the war effort after hearing her story. -
D-Day
D-Day was the invasion of Nazi controlled France by the Allies. It was the largest land-air-sea operation in history. In the night allied paratrooper landed behind enemy lines and created a distraction. Then in the early morning more than 5,000 ships carrying more than 150,000 troops crossed the Channel and took the beach. Though they caught the Nazis by surprise over 10,000 allied soldiers perished. -
Battle Of The Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler’s final assault in attempt to stop the allied advance. German troops managed to push back U.S. forces in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg. Soon the Americans regrouped and defeated them. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was made up of the “big three”, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. There they planned for a post-war world and the future of Europe. The three leaders also promised to establish an international peacekeeping organization to prevent another war. -
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima and Okinawa were invaded by the U.S. with the purpose of establish bases closer to the Japanese mainland. It took Marines several months to take the islands. In late February, a group of American soldiers placed the Flag at the top Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi, though fighting still continued for some days after. -
Okinawa
Okinawa was one of the largest amphibious War. Like Iwo Jima the same intention of establishing closer bases to Japan was assaults in the Pacific present. The capture of this islands provides a effective point from which American bombers can take off and head for Japan. -
Roosevelt Dies, Truman Becomes President
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Conference to Form U.N.
50 nations met in San Francisco to discuss a new peacekeeping organization to replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations. -
Allied Forces Advance On Berlin, Germany Surrenders
The Russians had reached Berlin and were closing in. Hitler could sense the end was near and committed suicide in his air-raid bunker on April 30. Days later Berlin was captured and an unconditional surrender quickly followed. -
U.N. Is Ratified
All 50 nations ratified the charter, creating a new international peacekeeping body known as the United Nations. President Roosevelt urged Americans not to turn their backs on the world again. Unlike the League of Nations, the United States is a member of the United Nations. -
Potsdam Conference
Allies held the Potsdam Conference to plan the war’s end. There the decision was made to put Nazi war criminals on trial. -
Atomic Bombs Dropped On Hiroshima & Nagasaki
After the Manhattan Project had successfully created the bomb America decided to put it into action. The U.S. threatened Japan to surrender but was rejected. Then the atomic bomb was dropped onto Hiroshima, decimating an entire city in a matter of seconds. They defined again and another bomb was dropped onto Nagasaki. -
Japanese Officials Sign An Official Letter Of Surrender On The U.S.S. Missouri, Ending World War II
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Nuremberg Trials
In the town of Nuremberg 24 defendants, including some of Hitler’s top officials were charged with crimes against humanity. Among these men was Hermann Goring, the creator and head of Gestapo, Germany’s secret police. 19 were found guilty and 12 were sentenced to death. This shows that people are responsible for their actions, even in war time. -
Marshall Plan
Congress approved Secretary of State George Marshall’s plan to help boost European economies. The U.S. gave more than $13 billion to help the nations of Europe get back on their feet.
