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Adolf Hitler's Rise to Power in Germany
In 1919, Hitler, "The Leader", joined The National Socialist German Worker's Party (Nazi Party), which had no connection to socialism.Nazism was a German brand of fascism & it was based on extreme nationalism. The Nazis gained power by the Great Depression since it affected Germany's economy because of war debtson American loans and investments. -
Benito Mussolini's Fascist Government in Italy
in 1921, Muaaollini established the Fascist Party, which stressed nationalisim & placed interests of the state above those of individuals. They argued that power must rest w/ a single strong leader & a small group of devoted members to strengthen the nation. In October 1922, he marched w/ followers, whose balck unirfoms gave them the title. "Black Shirts". He achieved control by crushing all opposition & making Italy a totalitarian state. -
Joseph Stalin's Totalitarian Gov't in the Soviet Union
Stalin took control of Russia & created this communist state by making agricultural and industrial growth the economic goals of the S.U. He abloished all privately owned farms & replaced them w/ collectives-large gov't owned farms, each worked by families. In 1928, he outlined the "5 yr. plans" to direct industrialization, & all economic activity waws placed under state management. The next year, he established a totalitarian gov't that exerted control over its citizens. -
Mein Kampf
Hitler wrote a book, "Mein Kampf", which set his beliefs on Nazism and it became his plan for the future of the Nazi Party. -
Japanese Invasion of Manchuria
Nationalistic leaders were trying to take control of Japan. Militarists launched a surprise attack and seized control of Manchuria, which was rich in natural resources. Representatives from the League of Nations were sent to Manchuria to investigate the aggressive act, and their report condemned Japan, who quit the League. Success of the Manchurian invasion put the militarists firmly in control of Japan’s government. -
Storm Troopers
About 6 mil. men were unemployed in 1932, so many of them joined Hitler's private army, the "storm troopers" (Brown Shirts). -
Third Reich
Once Hitler was in power, he took apart the democratic Weimar republic & replaced it w/ the "Third Reich" a.k.a., the Third German Empire. According to him, it would be a "Thousand-Year Reich", which would last for a thousand yrs. -
Hitler's Military Build-up in Germany
Hitler pulled Germany out of the League. In 1935, he began a military buildup in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. A year later, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demili- tarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Mussolini's Invasion of Ethiopia
Mussolini wanted to begin building his Roman Empire by targeting Ethiopia, one of Africa’s few remaining independent countries. By 1935, tens of thousands of Italian soldiers stood ready to advance on Ethiopia. When the invasion began, however, the League’s response was an ineffective economic boycott. By May 1936, Ethiopia had fallen. Haile Selassie, the ousted Ethiopian emperor, appealed to the League for assistance. Nothing was done. “It is us today,” he told them. “It will be you tomorrow". -
Hitler Invades the Rhineland
After Hitler's military buildup in violation to the Treaty of Versailles, he sent troops into the Rhineland, a German region bordering France and Belgium that was demili- tarized as a result of the Treaty of Versailles. The League did nothing to stop Hitler. -
Franciso Franco
A group of Spanish army officers led by General Francisco Franco, rebelled against the Spanish republic. Revolts broke out all over Spain, and the Spanish Civil War began. The war aroused passions not only in Spain but throughout the world. -
Hitler's Anschluss
Austria was Hitler's 1st target. The majority of Austria's 6 million people were Germans who favored unification with Germany. Germany announced that it's Anschluss or "union" with Austria was complete. The United States and the world did nothing. -
Munich Agreement
Hitler wanted to annex Czechoslovakia in order to provide more living space for Germany as well as to control its important natural resources. France & GB promised to protect Czechoslovakia. Hitler invited French premier Édouard Daladier and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain to meet with him. When they arrived, the führer declared that annexation of the Sudetenland would be his “last territorial demand.” they signed the Munich Agreement, which turned the Sudetenland over to Germany. -
Rome-Berlin Axis
Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco’s forces with troops, weapons, tanks, and fighter planes. The war forged a close relationship between the German and Italian dictators, who signed a formal alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis. After a loss of almost 500,000 lives, Franco’s victory in 1939 established him as Spain’s fascist dictator. -
Nonagression Pact
An attack on Poland might bring Germany into conflict with S.U., Poland’s eastern neighbor. At the same time, an attack would most likely provoke a declaration of war from France & Britain—both who promised military aid to Poland. The result would be a two-front war. Stalin signed a nonaggression pact, which fascist Germany & communist Russia committed never to attack each other. Germany & S.U. also signed a second, secret pact, agreeing to divide Poland between them. -
Blitzkrieg
German luftwaffe (Air Force) rained bombs on military bases, airfields, railroads, and cities. At the same time, German tanks raced across Poland. This invasion was the first test of Germany’s newest military strategy, the blitzkrieg, or lightning war. Blitzkrieg made use of advances in military technology—such as fast tanks and more powerful aircraft—to take the enemy by surprise and then quickly crush all opposition with overwhelming force -
Britain & France Declare War on Germany
2 days after the terror in Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany. The blitzkrieg tactics worked perfectly. Major fighting was over in three weeks, long before France, Britain, and their allies could mount a defense. By the end of the month, Poland had ceased to exist—and World War II had begun. -
Phony War
French & British troops on the Maginot Line, a system of fortifications built along France’s eastern border waited something to happen as they watched Germany. On the Siegfried Line a few miles away German troops stared back. The blitzkrieg had given way to what the Germans called the sitzkrieg (“sitting war”), what some newspapers referred to as the phony war. -
Hitler's Invasion of Denmark & Norway
Hitler launched a surprise invasion of Denmark & Norway in order “to protect [those countries’] freedom &independence.” But in truth, Hitler planned to build bases along the coasts to strike at Great Britain. He turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, & Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The Phony War never ended. -
Hitler's Invasion of the Netherlands
Next, Hitler turned against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, which were overrun by the end of May. The phony War never ended. -
Germany & Italy's Invasion of France
German offensive trapped almost 400,000 British and French soldiers as they fled to the beaches of Dunkirk on the French side of the English Channel. A few days later, Italy entered the war on the side of Germany and invaded France from the south as the Germans closed in on Paris from the north. -
Marshal Philippe Petain
On June 22, 1940, at Compiègne, as William Shirer and the rest of the world watched, Hitler handed French officers his terms of surrender. Germans would occupy the northern part of France, and a Nazi-controlled puppet government, head- ed by Marshal Philippe Pétain, would be set up at Vichy, in southern France. -
The Battle of Britain
Luftwaffe began making bombing runs over Britain. Its goal was to gain total control of the skies by destroying Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). On September 15, 1940 the RAF shot down over 185 German planes; at the same time, they lost only 26 aircraft. Six weeks later, Hitler called off the invasion of Britain indefi- nitely -
Battle of Stalingrad
Germans had been fighting in the SU since June 1941. The cold had stopped them in their tracks outside the Soviet cities of Moscow and Leningrad. Luftwaffe—German air force—prepared w/ nightly bombing raids over the city. In defending Stalingrad, Soviets lost 1,100,000 soldiers—more than all American deaths during war. Despite the death toll, Soviet victory marked a turning point in war. Soviet army began to move westward toward Germany. -
Pearl Harbor Attack
Japanese dive-bomber swooped low over Pearl Harbor— largest U.S. naval base in
Pacific. The bomber was followed by more than 180 Japanese warplanes launched from six aircraft carriers. Japanese had killed 2,403 Americans and wounded 1,178 more. The surprise raid had sunk/damaged 21 ships, including 8 battleships—nearly the whole U.S. Pacific fleet. More than 300 aircraft were severely damaged/destroyed. These losses constituted greater damage than the U.S. Navy had suffered in all of WW1. -
Battle of the Atlantic
German aim in the Battle of the Atlantic was to prevent food and war materials from reaching Great Britain & S.U. In the first 4 months of 1942, Germans sank 87 ships off the Atlantic shore. 7months into the year, German wolf packs had destroyed a total of 681 Allied ships in the Atlantic. 3,000-mile- long shipping lanes from North America were her lifeline. Hitler knew that if he cut that lifeline, Britain would be starved into submission. -
Operation Torch
Name given to the Allied invasion of French North Africa. Operation Torch was first time the British and Americans had jointly worked on an invasion plan together. From North Africa, the plan was to invade Sicily and then on to mainland Italy and move up the so-called “soft underbelly” of Europe. -
U.S. Convoy System
Allies responded by organizing their cargo ships into convoys. Convoys were groups of ships traveling together for mutual protection, as they had done in First World War. The convoys were escorted across the Atlantic by destroyers equipped w/ sonar for detecting submarines underwater. US launched crash shipbuilding program. By early 1943, 140 Liberty ships were produced each month. Launchings of Allied ships began to outnumber sinkings. -
Unconditional surrender
before the battle in North Africa was won, Roosevelt, Churchill, and their commanders met in Casablanca. At this meeting, the two leaders agreed to accept only the unconditional surrender of the Axis powers. Enemy nations would have to accept whatever terms of peace the Allies dictated. -
D-Day
Under Eisenhower’s direction in England, the Allies gathered a force of nearly 3 million British, American, and Canadian troops, together with moun- tains of military equipment and supplies. Eisenhower planned to attack Normandy in northern France. Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for D-Day—first day of the invasion. Shortly after midnight, three divisions parachuted down behind German lines. -
The Battle of the Bulge
Hitler hoped that a victory would split American and British forces and break up Allied supply lines. Tanks drove 60 miles into Allied territory, creating a bulge in lines that gave this desperate last- ditch offensive its name, the Battle of the Bulge. As the Germans swept westward, they captured 120 American GIs near Malmédy.Germans had lost 120,000 troops, 600 tanks and assault guns, and 1,600 planes in the Battle of the Bulge— soldiers and weapons they could not replace. -
Harry S. Truman
President had a stroke and died. That night, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the nation’s 33rd president. -
Death of Hitler
he wrote out his last address to the German people. In it he blamed the Jews for starting the war and his gener- als for losing it. Hitler shot himself while his new wife swallowed poison. In accordance with Hitler’s orders, the two bodies were carried outside, soaked with gasoline, and burned. -
V-E Day
General Eisenhower accepted the unconditional surrender of the Third Reich. On May 8, 1945, the Allies celebrated V-E Day—Victory in Europe Day. The war in Europe was finally over. -
Bloody Anzio
One of the hardest battles the Allies encoun- tered in Europe was fought less than 40 miles from Rome. This battle, “Bloody Anzio,” lasted four months—until the end of May 1944—and left about 25,000 Allied and 30,000 Axis casualties. During the year after Anzio, German armies continued to put up strong resistance. The effort to free Italy did not succeed until 1945, when Germany itself was close to collapse.
