-
The Holocaust
The Holocaust started in January 30th 1933- May 8th, 1945. The Holocaust was the Nazi attempt to kill all Jews under their control. It was a direct result of racist Nazi ideology that considered Aryans superior to others. Hitler's persecution of the Jews was immediate. The Nurember Kaws denied German citizenship to Jews. banned marriage of Jews and non-Jews, and segregated Jews at every level of society. There were millions murdered in death camps. The biggest death camp was Auschwitz. -
The Final Solution
In 1933 Hitler opened his first concentraion camp, where members of specially designated groupds are confined. Some early camped included Dachau, Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald, and Ravensbruck (female prisoners). In theory the camps were designed not to kill the prisoners, but to turn them into üseful members"of the Third Reich. Nazi also imprisoned political prisoners and anyone who spoke out against Hitler. Today we would call Hitler's "Final Solution"genocide. The willful annihilation of racials. -
The Battle of Britain
In the Battle of Britain, France had fallen in 35 days. There was a plan called Operation Sea Lion. This operation was Germany's Luftwaffe (aerial warfare, branch of Germany) would attack the Royal Air Force.In July, 1940 Germany had attacked. The UK lost 1,000 planes, but Germany had lost 1,700. Germany had bombed everything they could. The UK used radar to figure out where they would be attacked. The radae saved the UK from falling to Germany. -
Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor was US Navy's main Pacific base. JApan sent 6 aircraft carriers, 360 airplanes ( 28 ships in all and several subs). Japan had attacked in two waves. The first wave was the main attack, included ahips and airfield. The second attack would finish off whatever was left. They had attacked aircraft carriers and battleships first. The objective was to prevent US from influencing Japan's war effort in Southeast Asia. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway took play on June 4th-7th of 1942. Midway was an American naval base in the Cnetral Pacific, vital to the defense of Hawii. Losing Midway would force American defenses back to the California Coast. Admiral Chester Nimitz new the Japanese plans for Midway and concentrated his forces there. US dealt Japan a decisive defeat. Sinking four aircraft carriers, and 250 planes, which had some of Japan's best pilots. US lost one. The Battle of Midway was the turing point of the war of -
Battle of Stalingrad
The battle of Stalingrad began in July 1942 and the struggle lasted in to the winter of 1943. The Germans managed to enter the city but could not hold it Hitler refused to allow his army to surrender. The winter was brutal and the Germans were starving and sic. 91,000 surrendered in January of 1943, only 5,000 would ever return to Germany. Stalingrad was the turning point of the war in Europe. It had ended any realistic plans of Hitler domination Europe. -
The Manhattan Project
In the early 1930's scientists learned how to split the nuclei of certain elements. Early in the war Albert Einstein signed a letter then altered FDR about the need to proceed with atomic development. In 1942 FDR gives the development of an atomic bomb top priority. The Manhattan Project was the codename gived to the atomic bomb project. The two primary leaders were General Leslie Groves ( in charge of building the facilities) and J Robert Oppenheimer (in charge of the scientific aspects). -
D-Day Invasion of Normandy
The Allies had a plan called Operation Overlord which involved the most experienced Allied officers in Europe (Gen. Dwight D Eisenhower, Gen. Bernard Montgomery, and Gen. Omar Bradley). Overlordinvolved landing 21 American divisions and 26 British, Polish, and Canadian divisions on a 50-mile stretch beaches in Normandy, France. The plan called for stricking five beaches. which were codenamed: Utah, Juno, Omaha, Cold and Sword, and also involved an elaborate deception. -
The Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was Hitler's counterattack. Almost succeeded. Germans caught the Allies by surprise, created a bulge in the American line, and captured several key towns. Bastogne was a town in Belgium where Americans held the line despite frost bite and brutal German assaults. In December 23rd the skies cleared and Allied bombers attacked and steadily pushed the Germans out of France. The Battle of Bugle was a desperate attempt to drive a wedge between British and American forces. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On August 6th, 1945 US pilots dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. This bomb was called Little Boy. Ut exploded at 9:14am, within two minutes 60,000 of Hiroshima's 344,000 residents were killed. Over the next three days Japan debated wheater or not to surrender. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan on August, 9th and invaded Manchuria. Then the US dropped a second atomic bomb ( called Fat Man) on Nagasaki killing an additional 35,000 residents.
