-
Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
On January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler was sworn into office as Chancellor of Germany, the leader of Germany. When Hitler was appointed Chancellor there were only two other people in office with him, and they were both part of the same party as him. -
Nanking Massacre
On December 13, 1937, the Japanese invaded Nanking and that was the start of the six week long Nanking Massacre, also known as the raping of Nanking. During the massacre, Japanese troops burned down most of the city as well as killed 200,000 men, 50,000 of them being civilians, and raped at least 20,000 girls and women, and many of them were hurt or killed in the process. -
Nazi-Soviet Non-aggression Pact Signed
The Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact was a pact between Germany and the Soviet Union and was signed because Germany was afraid the Soviet Union would attack them when they invaded Poland. So, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a pact that stated neither country could attack the other for ten years. Although, just two years later Germany broke the pact and invaded the Soviet Union. -
Start of the War
WWII started when Germany, under Adolf Hitler's power, decided to invade Poland. Before Germany could invade Poland, Hitler wanted to make sure the Soviet Union, Poland's neighbor, wouldn't attack Germany if they invaded. That is how the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact was formed. Then, once Germany knew the Soviet Union wouldn't attack them, they continued their plan. But, Poland was allies with France and Britain, so when Germany invaded Poland, France and Britain declared war on Germany. -
Battle of Dunkirk (Miracle at Dunkirk)
The battle of Dunkirk was not a victory for the Allies, but it also wasn't a defeat. At the battle of Dunkirk the Allies decided that the only way they could survive it was if they evacuated. So on May 26, 1940, Operation Dynamo went into action. The British were having success evacuating troops from Dunkirk but when Germany continuously bombed their harbors it made evacuation slow. In the end, they were able to successfully evacuate many, but not all, troops from Dunkirk. -
Battle of Crete
The Battle of Crete started on May 5, 1941, and lasted until June 1, 1941. The battle was initiated by the Germans and was an attack from the air on the Greek island of Crete. The Battle of Crete was the first battle to date that used parachutes to attack. Even though the Allies had lost that battle they counted it as a small victory because they figured out how to decifer German communications. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
On December 7, 1941, Japan surprise attacked Pearl Harbor. The U.S. military had no time to prepare and it took Japan only ninety minutes to destroy nineteen U.S. warships, 300 U.S. aircraft, and kill more than 2,400 U.S. military personal. The Japanese wanted to attack Pearl Harbor because they knew they could take out a large chunk of the U.S. military and the U.S. would then be unavailable to help other countries for a time and in return Japan was able to take over parts of the Middle East. -
Battle of Midway
During WWII the Japanese were wanting to take over Midway because then they would have a better base to attack Pearl Harbor from. So, on June 4, 1942, the Japanese attacked Midway, but little did they know the US knew about the attack and were prepared with a naval force on the island. After six days of attacks, the battle ended with the Japanese retreating. This battle was a critical victory for the US because it stopped the growth of the Japanese in the Pacific. -
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad lasted from July 17, 1942 until February 2, 1943, and was a major turning point for the Allies in the war. The battle started when the Germans invaded Stalingrad, but the Soviet Union was able to successfully defend the city and stop the advance of German forces into the Soviet Union. It was also marked as the greatest battle of the entire war. -
Tehran Conference
The Tehran Conference was a conference between US president Franklin Deleno Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Chrchhill, and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. The Confrence got its name because the three leaders met in Tehran, Iran to discuss their military stratigies agaisnt Germany and Japan. The three leaders also discussed what will happen to Eastern Europe and Germany after the war. -
Battle of Normandy
The Battle of Normandy, also known as D-Day, was an attack from the Allied forces on the Nazis, fought on the beaches of Normandy. D-Day was the largest amphibious attack in military history and was very crucial for the Allies because if they hadn't won the battle it would have taken at least a year to get everything they needed in place for another attack. And, if that would have happened the German army would have had time to continue building up their army as well. Luckily the allies won. -
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was an attack from the Germans to try one last time to turn the tides of the war in the Nazis favor. The battle started not long after D-Day and was a significant contributor to the end of the war in Europe. The Battle of the Bulge lasted 41 days, it started on December 16, 1944 and lasted until January 25, 1945 with over 700,000 allied troops getting involved. But in the end, the Allies won and were a step closer to victory over the Germans. -
Auschwitz is Liberated
On January 27, 1945 Allied troops had made their way to Auschwitz and when they entered the camp they were horrified at what they saw. There were piles of corpses all over and 7,000 people still alive in the barracks. All of the leaders of the camp had left when they heard that the Allies were coming to liberate the camp, and at most camps the prisoners were taken on death marches so that they could not be freed. But, there were 7,000 people still at Auschwitz that the Allies were able to free. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference took place on February 4, 1945 in a Russian resort town. The meeting was between US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin. This conference took place to discuss the future progress of the war and the postwar world.The three leaders went into the meeting knowing that the Allies were more than likely going to win the war in Europe but they weren't as sure about how close the Pacific war to ending. -
The Battle of Berlin
The Battle of Berlin started on April 16, 1945 and was one of the last major battles of the European theater during WWII. The Red Army attacked Berlin from the north, east, and south and then proceeded to take over the entire city during the next week, ending with the Red Army taking over Berlin. During the battle of Berlin Hitler realized his fate and ended up committing suicide on April 10, 1945 in a bunker in Berlin which led to the German surrender. -
Germany Surrenders
On April 25, 1945, Soviet Union forces went into Berlin and after much fighting the Soviets approach the bunker where Hitler was hiding. Then five days later, on April 30, 1945, Hitler commited suicide. Shortly after Hitlers death, Berlin fell to the Soviets and then on May 7, 1945, western Germany surrendered and May 9, 1945, eastern Germany surrendered. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
Even after the Germans surrendered the Japanese did not want to give in and the US figured the only way to get them to surrender is to completely invade and conquer Japan. US intelligence figured out that Japan was still organizing many troops and ready to continue fighting, but the US wanted to end the war as soon as possible so they decided that they would use the first ever atomic bomb. The US dropped the bomb, nicknamed "little boy" on Hiroshima, Japan on the morning of August 6, 1945. -
Bombing of Nagasaki
The US decided to use a second atomic bomb so close to the first because they thought that bombing a second city so close to the first would convince Japan that the US had plenty of bombs and wouldn't stop until Japan surrendered. So, on August 9, 1945, just three days after the first atomic bomb was dropped, the US dropped the second atomic bomb, nicknamed "fat man", on a second Japanese city, Nagasaki. -
Japanese Surrender
After the US dropped their two atomic bombs on the US, Japan decided it was time to accept their defeat and surrender. Along with the devastating loss during the bombings the Japanese were also worried that if they didn't surrender the Soviet Union would invade them not long after. So, on August 14, 1945 Japan decided to surrender and then on September 9, 1945 the official surrender papers were signed marking VJ (Victory in Japan) Day. -
United Nations Founded
At the end of WWII was created as an international organization to promote peace between nations. The United Nations was created to replace the League of Nations which failed to prevent another world war. The United Nations was created by the Allied Powers and every country involved has a voice in the general assembly. There is also a Security Council who holds more power in decision making and those countries are the US, the UK, France, China, and Russia.