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Great Depression
The Great Depression plunged the American people into an economic crisis unlike any endured in this country before or since. The worst and longest downturn in our economic history threw millions of hardworking individuals into poverty, and for more than a decade neither the free market nor the federal government was able to restore prosperity. -
Japan invades Marchuria
Manchuria, on China’s eastern seaboard, was attacked by Japan in 1931. -
Hitler becomes Germany chancellor
On this day in 1933, President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler leader. -
First Anti-Semitic Law is passed
Anti Semitism and the persecution of Jews were central tenets of Nazi ideology. Nazi party members publicly declared their intention to segregate Jews. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
Italo-Ethiopian War, (1935–36), an armed conflict that resulted in Ethiopia's Subjection to Italian rule. -
Hitler Militarizes the Rhineland
Nazi leader Adolf Hitler violates the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Pact by sending German military forces into the Rhineland -
Germany Annexes Austria
German troops march into Austria to annex the German-speaking nation for the Third Reich. -
Lend Lease Act
Proposed in late 1940 and passed in March 1941, the Lend-Lease Act was the principal means for providing U.S. military aid to foreign nations during World War II. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor. -
Creation of the United Nations
An international organization formed in 1942 to increase political and economic cooperation among member countries. The organization works on economic and social development programs, improving human rights and reducing global conflicts. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Hiroshima was almost completely destroyed by the first atomic bomb ever dropped on a populated area. Followed by the bombing of Nagasaki. -
Nuremberg War Crimes trials begin
On this day in 1945, a series of trials of accused Nazi war criminals, conducted by a U.S., French, and Soviet military tribunal based in Nuremberg, Germany, begins.
