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Great Depression Begins
October 1929-1945, U.S stock market crashes. Affected millions of others around the globe, Many European countries had borrowed money from the U.S banks to rebuild after WWI, their economy failed also. -
Period: to
WWII
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Britian's appeasement
1930: The Munich Agreement was part of the British and French policy of appeasement, meeting Germany’s demands in order to avoid war. Hitler will not stop with the Sudetenland. -
Japan conquers Manchuria in northern China
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Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
Elections in 1932, He overthrew the constitution and took control of the government. -
Roosevelt first elected president
March 4th 1933 Democratic president who created the new deal to counter the effects of the Great Depression. FDR created the New Deal which lasts from 1933-1935 to fight the depression. (Relief, recovery and reform) He did fireside chats, a series of radio talks in which he explained his policies in a warm, casual style. He launched a second new deal which lasted until 1935-1937. Social Security Act—dedicated largely to important social issues such as unemployment and retirement -
Nuremberg Laws
Laws that restricted everything about Jew’s lives on September 15th 1935
Reich citizenships and prohibited them from marrying or having sexual relations with persons with persons of German or German related blood. -
o Hitler & Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis
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Japan invades China
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Germany invades Austria
1938, home to mostly German-speaking people, many residents of Austria and Germany welcomed the unification. After taking over Austria, Hitler set his sights on the Sudetenland, a region of Czechoslovakia where many people of German descent lived. They did not want to give up their region, however France and the Soviet Union pledge their support to them if Germany attacked. -
Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
Germany & Soviet Union have a nonaggression pact
August 1939 -
Germany invades Poland
September 1st 1939, German forces drove deep into Poland using a new method of warfare called blitzkrieg which stressed speed and surprise in the use of tanks, troops, and planes. In less than a month, Poland fell. In April 1940, Hitler conquered Denmark and overran Norway. Next, Germany launched a blitzkrieg against Belgium and the Netherlands. -
Japan joins the Axis Powers
Japan joins with Germany and Italy -
Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France
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German air force (Luftwaffe) bombs London
German air force (Luftwaffe) bombs London and other civilian targets in the Battle of Britain
1940 -
Germany invades the Soviet Union
Germany invades the Soviet Union
1941 -
Lend-Lease Act
1941, the act allowed the U.S to lend or lease resources and equipment to the Allies. The U.S sent Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and other Allies about $50 billion worth of goods -
Pearl Harbor
On December 7th 1941, Japanese warplanes bombed the huge American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The attack came as a complete surprise. About 2,400 Americans—both servicemen and civilians—died. Many U.S warplanes and ships were destroyed or damaged, leaving the U.S fleet devastated. -
Death march
April 1942, more than 70,000 Filipino and American troops surrendered to the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula in Philippines. From there, the Japanese marched the soldiers over 65 miles to a prison camp. On the way, about 10,000 prisoners died from shootings, beatings, or starvation. -
Tuskegee Airmen
1942 famous segregated unit of African-American pilots One million AA served in armed services. AA pilots and crew members who served with honor in North Africa and Europe -
Rosie the Riverter
1943 an image of a strong woman hard at work at an arms factory—as its symbol for its new group of wage earners, more than 300,000 women served in the U.S armed forces. Many worked for the Women’s Army Corps as mechanics, drivers, and clerks. Other joined the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. Thousands of women performed important noncombat duties in the U.S Navy and Coast Guard. -
Manhattan Project
1942, this was a top-secret program to build an atomic bomb. Led by American physicist J. Robert Oppenherimer, the project team worked for 3 years to construct the weapon. -
Battle of Midway
June 1942, turning point of war
U.S Navy clashed with Japanese forces in the island of Midway in the central Pacific. The U.S navy destroyed 4 Japanese carriers and at least 250 planes. America lost one carrier and about 150 planes. -
Guadalcanal
Gained their first major land victory against the Japanese on the island of Guadalcanal. U.S marines marched ashore in August 1942. Six months of bitter fighting followed. In February 1943, the U.S finally won the battle. Playing a role in this victory—and in many others throughout the Pacific—was a group of Navajo Indians. -
German forces surrender at Stalingrad
In September 1942, German forces attacked the Russian city of Stalingrad, an important industrial center. The Soviet army fiercely defended the city. As winter approached, the German commander begged Hitler to let him retreat, but Hitler refused. Soviets cut of German’s food and supplies, many thousands of Nazi soldiers froze or starved to death. On February 1943, the remaining German troops surrendered. -
D-Day
Allied invasion of France on June 6th 1944
More than 150,000 Allied soldiers crossed the English Channel to the coast of Normandy in the northern France. By the end of the month, 850,000 Allied troops had poured into France -
Battle Bulge
Final German assault in December 1944 in Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg
In December 1944, Hitler launched a final assault, the Battle of the Bulge. German troops pushed back Allied forces in the Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg before U.S forces regrouped and defeated them. The battle’s human toll was costly, with about 120,000 Germans casualties and 80,000 Americans. -
Yalta Conference
Conference where Allies planned the post-war world
In February 1945, Allied leaders met in the Soviet resort of Yalta. Attending the Yalta were the big three as they were called—Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin. During the conference, these leaders made plans for the end of the war and the future of Europe They agreed to establish a postwar international peacekeeping organization. In addition, they discussed the type of government that would set up in Eastern Europe after the war. -
Iwo Jima
By the end of 1944, with Japan’s defenses weakened, the Allies began bombing Japan. They had to establish bases closer to the mainland to succeed. They chose the Japanese-held islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. In February 1945, U.S Marines invaded Iwo Jima’s Mount Suribachi, signaling their victory, though fighting continued for several days afterward. -
Okinawa
In April 1945, they invaded Okinawa. In the several months it took the U.S Marines to conquer both islands, more than 18,000 U.S men died. Japanese deaths exceeded 120,000 -
Truman becomes president
o Roosevelt dies, Truman becomes president
April 1945 -
Formation of the United Nations
April 25, 1945 – 50 nations met in San Francisco to discuss a new peacekeeping organization to replace the weak and ineffective League of Nations
June 26, 1945 – all 50 nations ratified the charter, creating a new international peacekeeping body known as the United Nations
President Roosevelt had 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 -
Germany surrenders
Late April 1945, the Russians reached Berlin. Deep inside his air-raid bunker, Hitler sensed the end was near. On April 30th Hitler committed suicide. On May 2nd, the soviet Army captured Berlin. 5 days later, German leaders officially signed an unconditional surrender at General Eisenhower’s headquarters in France. -
Japanese-American incarceration
After Pearl Harbor, U.S decided to get rid of all Japanese.
The removal of Japanese and Japanese Americans from the Pacific Coast, More than 110,000 men, women and children were rounded up. They were forced to leave their jobs, homes, and possessions and into prison camps. -
Potsdam Conference
July 17 – August 2, 1945
Allies held the Potsdam Conference to plan the war’s end
Decision was made to put Nazi war criminals on trial -
Atomic bombs
Late April 1945, the Russians reached Berlin. Deep inside his air-raid bunker, Hitler sensed the end was near. On April 30th Hitler committed suicide. On May 2nd, the soviet Army captured Berlin. 5 days later, German leaders officially signed an unconditional surrender at General Eisenhower’s headquarters in France. -
Japan surrenders
September 2nd 1945, Japanese officials signed an official letter of surrender. -
Nuremberg trials
November 20, 1945 – October 1, 1946
24 defendants, including some of Hitler’s top officials
Hermann Goering – creator & head of Gestapo (secret police)
Charged with crimes against humanity
19 found guilty, 12 sentenced to death
People are responsible for their actions, even in wartime -
Marshall Plan
1948
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